First real AR drills... and I don't have my AR calluses

[Jayne]

New to the AR game so I wanted to start practicing some basics. Been dryfiring at home, but at the range I loaded mags with 1 round each and ran drills... basically doing reload after reload after reload. 100 shots, 100 reloads. It's like being in CA... on no wait, they can't have detachable mags of even 1 round. Poor bastards.

What I learned:

1. I don't have any AR calluses. The edge of my middle finger is all chewed up from rubbing on the ridge where the trigger guard attaches to the lower/grip. The edge of my thumb is raw from working the safety. The edge of my support hand pinkie is bruised from where it gets pressed into the pseudo foregrip. I'm assume this just works it self out like the Glock calluses that appeared over time.

2. Mag location really matters. Out of the first mag pouch (up front) I'm pretty smooth. Things get worse as I go back because I don't get a consistent grip on the mags. Don't notice that with pistol mags, but maybe I've just practiced enough.

3. There are a lot of levers and widgets to work. I was doing some transitions from standing at 25 yards on paper to "leaning sideways against a low wall" for 250 yard shots on a 10" gong. Sequence was shoot paper, drop mag, load new mag, drop bolt, flip safety, flip magnifier over, move, get position on the wall, rifle up, safety off, take shot, drop mag, load new mag, drop bolt, flip safety, flip magnifier out of the way, move, rifle up, safety off, take shot. That's a lot of move this, push that. Pistols are so much easier!

4. The rifle really gets hot. Even strings of 4 shots with a reload between every shot and it gets warm after a while.

5. No real feed problems with all those reloads. I had one time where I didn't seat the mag all the way and tap-rack solved the issue, but that wasn't the rifle's fault.

6. PMAGs (gen 2) dropped away nicely for 98 changes. Crappy pre-ban USGI mags didn't drop at all the 2 times I worked them in the rotation.

7. I now officially have 650 trouble free rounds in this PSA rifle. Yes, I'm tracking it on a spreadsheet.

8. My surefire mount was slightly lose after banging around. It's the only thing I've not locktighted on (yet).

9. I'm totally digging this AR for some reason.

I've got a half case of wolf 223, my goal for the rest of the holiday is to get back out there at least twice more and do a total of 500 mag changes before the new year.





EDIT. I wasn't going to post this because it's embarrassing, but whatever, I don't respect you people's opinions anyway. This is my 25 yard target, shots taken as fast as I could get the rifle up after the reloads. I was just putting the dot in the middle and whacking the trigger, I don't have proper trigger control yet. I should have been aiming at the middle of the A zone, not the middle of the whole target. Next time. Rifle as a 100 yard zero on it and you can really see the effects of mechanical offset here with the group being 2" or so lower than my POA.

 

[Friday]

While not the collector that some of our guys are, I have quite a few rifles in all different flavors and actions. My favorite is still the AR15 chambered in 5.56.
But I don't hunt either. I imagine most of our hunters here would choose something different.
As a side note, the AR15 is the favorite center-fire rifle with the newbies also. It always goes something like this; "That was fun! It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be..."
That's when I tell them that if they have a gun question, come ask me, and stop asking the tv.

 

[Howland]

EDIT. I wasn't going to post this because it's embarrassing, but whatever, I don't respect you people's opinions anyway. This is my 25 yard target, shots taken as fast as I could get the rifle up after the reloads. I was just putting the dot in the middle and whacking the trigger, I don't have proper trigger control yet. I should have been aiming at the middle of the A zone, not the middle of the whole target. Next time. Rifle as a 100 yard zero on it and you can really see the effects of mechanical offset here with the group being 2" or so lower than my POA.

View attachment 33481

Gut shots are very effective. Fully half of those hit the liver. Foie gras anyone?

 

[NKD]

New to the AR game so I wanted to start practicing some basics. Been dryfiring at home, but at the range I loaded mags with 1 round each and ran drills... basically doing reload after reload after reload. 100 shots, 100 reloads. It's like being in CA... on no wait, they can't have detachable mags of even 1 round. Poor bastards.

What I learned:

1. I don't have any AR calluses. The edge of my middle finger is all chewed up from rubbing on the ridge where the trigger guard attaches to the lower/grip. The edge of my thumb is raw from working the safety. The edge of my support hand pinkie is bruised from where it gets pressed into the pseudo foregrip. I'm assume this just works it self out like the Glock calluses that appeared over time.

2. Mag location really matters. Out of the first mag pouch (up front) I'm pretty smooth. Things get worse as I go back because I don't get a consistent grip on the mags. Don't notice that with pistol mags, but maybe I've just practiced enough.

3. There are a lot of levers and widgets to work. I was doing some transitions from standing at 25 yards on paper to "leaning sideways against a low wall" for 250 yard shots on a 10" gong. Sequence was shoot paper, drop mag, load new mag, drop bolt, flip safety, flip magnifier over, move, get position on the wall, rifle up, safety off, take shot, drop mag, load new mag, drop bolt, flip safety, flip magnifier out of the way, move, rifle up, safety off, take shot. That's a lot of move this, push that. Pistols are so much easier!

4. The rifle really gets hot. Even strings of 4 shots with a reload between every shot and it gets warm after a while.

5. No real feed problems with all those reloads. I had one time where I didn't seat the mag all the way and tap-rack solved the issue, but that wasn't the rifle's fault.

6. PMAGs (gen 2) dropped away nicely for 98 changes. Crappy pre-ban USGI mags didn't drop at all the 2 times I worked them in the rotation.

7. I now officially have 650 trouble free rounds in this PSA rifle. Yes, I'm tracking it on a spreadsheet.

8. My surefire mount was slightly lose after banging around. It's the only thing I've not locktighted on (yet).

9. I'm totally digging this AR for some reason.

I've got a half case of wolf 223, my goal for the rest of the holiday is to get back out there at least twice more and do a total of 500 mag changes before the new year.


View attachment 33479


EDIT. I wasn't going to post this because it's embarrassing, but whatever, I don't respect you people's opinions anyway. This is my 25 yard target, shots taken as fast as I could get the rifle up after the reloads. I was just putting the dot in the middle and whacking the trigger, I don't have proper trigger control yet. I should have been aiming at the middle of the A zone, not the middle of the whole target. Next time. Rifle as a 100 yard zero on it and you can really see the effects of mechanical offset here with the group being 2" or so lower than my POA.

View attachment 33481

Glad you are having fun!

What made you settle on a 100yard zero?

 

[Jayne]

Gut shots are very effective. Fully half of those hit the liver. Foie gras anyone?

Wouldn't that damage the liver and ruin any chance of making foie gras? See, I was trying to save the heart, for like transplant purposes. I'm a nice guy that way.

 

[Jayne]

Glad you are having fun!

Dude, this isn't fun, this is like serious training or something. In just a few years I'll be lousy at 2-gun as well as just pistol. That's progress.

What made you settle on a 100yard zero?

Ignorance mostly. I run a 100 yard zero on my bolt guns, so when it came time to zero this I just went with what I was comfortable with. I now know that a 50 or 25 is preferred by the top gun slingers, so eventually I'll put the bipod back on and change it up. I do know the hold-overs for 200 and 250 with the setup I have now, but I'm not wed to them.

 

[NKD]

Dude, this isn't fun, this is like serious training or something. In just a few years I'll be lousy at 2-gun as well as just pistol. That's progress.



Ignorance mostly. I run a 100 yard zero on my bolt guns, so when it came time to zero this I just went with what I was comfortable with. I now know that a 50 or 25 is preferred by the top gun slingers, so eventually I'll put the bipod back on and change it up. I do know the hold-overs for 200 and 250 with the setup I have now, but I'm not wed to them.

If you are doing a 50, just skip that and do a 200. Or get it close at 50. then get it right at 200!
Should come out to the club and we can do some ARing.
I started working out so I do t mind hard work now!

 

[Jayne]

If you are doing a 50, just skip that and do a 200. Or get it close at 50. then get it right at 200!

The club goes out to 250, so I've got the opportunity to do it right. I've also got the time this week. Crazy. (bet I don't get it done because I get side tracked with other stuff).

Should come out to the club and we can do some ARing.

Good idea.

 

[NKD]

The club goes out to 250, so I've got the opportunity to do it right. I've also got the time this week. Crazy. (bet I don't get it done because I get side tracked with other stuff).



Good idea.

Texted you.

 

[Magdump]

I like to zero my carbines at 50 and 200. At 250-300 yards I put the dot on the throat area of the target. Most shooters I've met do not bother with a magnified optic until well past 300 yards unless they have vision issues or they are attempting precision shots. Magnifiers burn a lot of time and can introduce parallax error if the dot is not perfectly centered.

 

[Jayne]

I like to zero my carbines at 50 and 200.

I think that's the new plan, just gotta get out and do it.

Most shooters I've met do not bother with a magnified optic until well past 300 yards unless they have vision issues or they are attempting precision shots. Magnifiers burn a lot of time and can introduce parallax error if the dot is not perfectly centered.

All my rifles are over-glassed, I really really like seeing stuff. The flip-up is a time waster, but I can ignore it if I get to where it's not needed. I do like being able to just use it to 'see' stuff, even off to the side I can flip the rifle sideways and use it like a spotting scope.

 

[Combat Diver]

Next time try two rounds in magazine for a controlled pair. Following range day try a double tap. These is faster then a controlled pair as you don't have 3 distinct sight pictures (1st rd, 2nd rd, 3rd requiring target) Double tap has 2 sight pictures, first rd and reacquiring target after two rounds. Load 10-30 rds in the mag. More shooting then mag changes as you should have that down by then. "Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast" as they say. Don't push for speed, it will come naturally as you progress.

3 most common loads out of a assumed 16" gun. 25/50/100 yd zero
with 55/62/77 gr loads (got pics in wrong order)

CD

 

[Charlie]

My middle finger also gets chewed up a bit so I bought a pistol grip that has the trigger guard bottom built into it. I have not shot with it much yet but hope it will help solve the problem. I got it from Brownell.

 

[Jayne]

Next time try two rounds in magazine for a controlled pair.

@NKD and I were discussing this today at the range, but ran out of time before we could do any 'fun' drills.

We established a 200 yard zero with the 55gr stuff... and man is my pattern at 200 embarrassing. I used to be a precision rifle guy, and seeing something that looks like it came out of a 12 gauge makes me sad. Dave tried to cheer me up pointing out that the 4 MOA dot I'm using covers the whole target, but still, it's just an excuse.

I like this setup with the 50/200. At 0-250 I just sorta put the dot in the middle and go.

An additional thing we discovered was that my "good" S&B brass 55gr stuff has a steel core. It's not marked M855 or anything, no green tips, but it sticks to a magnet. I bought 3 cases of the stuff in 1996 for $99/each, and it's been sitting since then. Probably a little too late to try to take it back.

 

[Precision Seeker]

You can return it to me. I'll gladly give you your money back that you paid for it.

 

[Jerzsubbie]

Next time try two rounds in magazine for a controlled pair. Following range day try a double tap. These is faster then a controlled pair as you don't have 3 distinct sight pictures (1st rd, 2nd rd, 3rd requiring target) Double tap has 2 sight pictures, first rd and reacquiring target after two rounds. Load 10-30 rds in the mag. More shooting then mag changes as you should have that down by then. "Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast" as they say. Don't push for speed, it will come naturally as you progress.

3 most common loads out of a assumed 16" gun. 25/50/100 yd zero
with 55/62/77 gr loads (got pics in wrong order)

CD

That's an awesome illustration, never seen it before but I'm quite familiar with the different zeros. As this illustrates, the 50yd zero requires the least amount of thinking from 0-220yd IMO. At 300yd, hold at the neck to hit center mass. Beyond 300yd, I'm going for a different rifle because all of my ARs have red dots.

OP, that's not bad shooting. That's real life, not benchrest shooting or online BS'ing ("5rd group @ 200yd", aka my best 5rd from 50yd).

 

[Jayne]

That's real life, not benchrest shooting or online BS'ing ("5rd group @ 200yd", aka my best 5rd from 50yd).

I can honestly say that even making changes to the optic, none of my shots missed the target.... now just because it was a large pizza sized target shouldn't matter.