Dusty44

Noon, Thursday, 15 March, 2012. Last night I called up the Brownells web site and ordered some PMags for an AR-15, one for my LR-308, a BAD-A.S.S., another pistol grip for an AR. It is an act of faith. The LR-308 rifle in my gun safe is as fully equipped as it needs. There is no AR-15 when I submit the order. Cabela's opens at 9 AM. Today starts a special sale. Plans go awry, as usual. It is 10:30 AM when I push through the doors. There are not going to be very many of these sale-price rifles in this store. I am late. Straight to the gun sales counter. Point to the picture in the flier. Salesman smiles, waves me to the far end of the counter and shows me a rifle. I tell him it is what I am looking for and he grabs it out of my hand and gives it to the next customer to look at. I am confused; then from nowhere he has a new rifle still in the sealed original box and begins the real sales process. A new rifle almost untouched by human hands. 11:15 AM: I am pulling out of the parking lot with my new AR-15 in the trunk. It is a DPMS Oracle, the barrel stamp says: DPMS 5.56 1 - 9. I have a scope that has needed a home for a long time. Primary other parts are in the mail. Might wait to see how it feels when fired before fitting a Limbsaver to it. Or maybe not. Wait and see how the Limbsaver decision works out. Zero recoil is just too nice. Next big item is a new dedicated 22LR upper. Need advice from all of you. If I might borrow from Robert McNamara, "Cost Effective!!" That means not necessarily the cheapest or the highest priced but whatever seems to give the best consistency and accuracy for the money spent. And of course it has to easily slip onto the DPMS AR-15 lower. Thoughts on a scope for the 22LR upper are welcomed, also-- but my Bushnell 4X bubble-pak glass is doing so well on the 10/22 that I might just rinse and repeat? Eventually there may be a third upper: 18 or 20 inch bull barrel with free-float tube. Targets and coyotes, but that can wait (My pocketbook nerve is saying it can wait a very long time!). And that scope will most likely be a Nikon mil-dot variable like the one on my LR-308. Tried the feel of the trigger on this new rifle. Does not feel too bad? Never know until the gun is hot on a live-fire range. Everything is different when it is all for real. Will let you know. Would have ordered an RRA NM last night but Brownells was out of stock and could not find mention at MidwayUSA. The price of the RRA is chilling enough; the price of any of the 'drop-in's' is more than I can deal with. I really like my LR-308's A-2 stock. Will wait and see how the collapsible stock on this new rifle does and feels before getting another A-2 for it.

The Wildcat ammo I used was a brick. The others are packaged in plastic boxes, 100 rounds, each cartridge in its own little hole egg-crate style and cost a lot more than a brick. I will try to shoot some more and try to do better benchrest shooting for a more definitive result. Might even use the original rotary magazine instead of a banana clip so the rifle can nestle into the sandbags. The object is to try to see what this cartridge is capable of and not really what the shooter can do. Use of a good shooting rest or mechanical rifle holder would be good but I do not have one of those. I bought some Aguila 60 gr subsonic to try next time. Interesting stuff. All bullet with a 22 Short case (?). Would be interesting to know what powder is used. Exposed bullet seems to be completely coated with some kind of lube. That's good. Would love to see some more photos of targets with details of ammo and rifle or handgun. Lock that sucker in a rest or on sandbags and post the picture of the target. Picture of the gun and set-up would be good, too. I am very interested in what an M-15 with 22LR adapter does and what a dedicated 22LR upper and a full-tactical 22LR rifle does. Don't be shy. We all actually would get the same results if we were shooting the same rifle in the same place. If you don't have a prime store-bought target, just make one from a sheet of printer paper. A stick-on aim point is great but a splot of paint or ink or patch of colored paper will do. If you want sex, paste the printer paper to a cereal box cardboard backing. I said glue but clear package wrapping tape is prime stuff. All that matters is the holes in the target with a good dimension measure like a good ruler across the image or draw a one-inch or 25 MM grid for reference. Tell what it all is-- ammo and dimensioning-- if not self explanatory.

In big bore shooting one of the prime items is mention of group size. In all the 22LR forums where I have poked around, all comment is about rated velocity or subjective statements about how some particular brand offering is "very accurate," "good accuracy," etc. What I am asking is for something definitive. Attached is a photo (iPhone, re-sized some) that shows the groups I got one day. I have tried to identify the specific ammo used so that anyone could find it on a store shelf. The holes in the paper speak for themselves. The target is laid out with one inch circles for the bullseye; a one-inch grid overlay; the added orange target dots measure one inch. 50 yards at a public shooting range. We all know that each rifle has its own quirks and likes and dislikes. My target shows some of this. I was shooting a 10/22 carbine that has been subjected to some attempt to improve its accuracy; 4x Bushnell scope that came in a bubble pak. I was seated at a bench with my left elbow perched on sandbags; otherwise the rifle was fully supported by my hands and arms. It was not an attempt for maximum critical results but rather each time the crosshairs in the scope jiggled across the orange dot I yanked the trigger. I considered that if I were shooting squirrels or tin cans and had a tree or branch or anything for a bit of extra stability I could shoot with about the same level of consistency. It would appear that my rifle does best with ammo rated very close to 1300 FPS. What has been your experience? Please try to be as definitive as you can manage?

US and International laws. Cannot buy for you at all. You need to find an importer who can buy the gun from the manufacturer and then transfer it to you and all in compliance with all rules and laws.

Very old thread. I have primer pocket cleaners, standard reloading item. They look almost like interchangeable bits for a screwdriver handle. They have a small blade on one end for 'small' primers and a slightly larger blade on the other for 'large' primers. A quick twist of tool or case with fingers breaks primer residue loose and it falls/pops out. This will not harm the primer pockets. It also is a great opportunity to inspect the cases. This is a standard item from Lee. Another tool I have begun using, more recently than the original date of this post, is a primer pocket reamer from Lyman. The tool looks like a screwdriver with a very short shank. The tip is a reamer for primer pockets with military primer crimps. There is a separate tool in each of the two primer sizes. The tool cleans up the primer pocket, if needed, to exactly the right size. This is in addition to using the Lee tool to remove primer residue.

Thanks for the response and triggering my memory. I do very vaguely recall seeing ads for the Russian SMG look-alike, long ago.

Mitchell's Mausers is offering a .22LR clone of the Russian PPSh 41 sub-machine gun. The PPSh 41 is the quintessential Russian sub-machine gun with the perforated pipe over the barrel and a big drum magazine. The PPSh 41 is vintage WW-2, used in various versions through Korea and Viet Nam. The rifle was heavily used by the Red Army in WW-2 and captured weapons were favored by the Wehrmacht. In Korea a version was used by the Chinese and proved superior in close combat to the weapons used by the US and NATO forces. Some of these sub-machine guns were also used in Viet Nam. (Ref: Wikipedia.) Primary chambering of the PPSh 41 is the Tokarev 7.62x25 MM, an impressive cartridge worth some internet research time. The Mitchell PPS 50/22 is the 'Gun of the Month' in the April 2012 "Guns." The description sounds like it is a copy/trickle-down version of the Russian rifle and not a 10/22 rewrap? 50 round drum magazine and 10 & 30 round clips. Price mentioned in "Guns" for their giveaway is close to $650. Interesting but much too rich for my pocketbook nerve. 'Call up' Gunsmagazine.com and enter the drawing? If anyone has any more information it would be interesting to hear.

I am a 308AR guy. My rifle and my primary interest. I also shoot a 10/22 that has had a lot done to it. Some BlackPowder. I reload some cartridges-- you know, reload so there is something (new ??) to shoot, shoot so there is brass to reload? Next project is a 9 MM pistol, then maybe a M-15 piston rifle? The M-15/AR 5.56 will probably also get a conversion unit of some kind for 22LR. I will try to contribute things that might be relevant to the thread and the forum.