AR High power competition

[britz]

I made the mistake of going to a local shop that just opened up and talked to a salesperson who is talking me into trying some rifle competition. Not that I have any time or money to do it... I'm still considering it lol!

Question for you experts out there is about the rifle... I'd like to get an AR that would work well w/ mounting optics for varmit hunting but I need Iron sights for the High power stuff. Do you know if it is "legal" to use sights that mount on the picitinney mounts for the high power stuff?

would I be nutz to use a 20 or 24" heavy barrel for this competion?
would I be nutz to use a 20" standard barrel for shooting dogs off bipods?

as always, short of cash so I'd like to see if I can get one rifle to do two jobs.

If needbe, I'd consider getting a different upper later...


Also, opinions on Stag arms please? I'm torn between ordering a stag arms gun, or getting a lower unit from the shop (off brand) and getting the DCM, bull 20, or bull 24 upper by DPMS and putting the thing together myself?


twist rate??? would you recomend an 8" or a 9" twist for this thing?


Thanks for looking,
Mark.

 

[thorbird]

Hey Mark, I have the same question, I know the new rules for this year have come out recently. In the past it was not allowed because the M3 config. was not standard issue, but I think they are being issued right now to, I believe some army units? Sure would be nice to use the M3 with sights attached. I can attest to the DCM barrel that DPMS uses. It was a Wilson air-gauged barrel, and the one I had was very accurate. It was an 8 twist, and that is what I would use if I were use. It will stabalize bullets up to 80 grains, like the Berger and 77 SMK.

 

[BountyHunter]

You are on the wrong site to ask those questions. Go to the experts.

long range target shooting and match shooting usa sites.

BH

 

[britz]

bh, thanks for the reply,

I just thought I'd ask and hear form people I trust will have honest answers.

I'll post on another site too.

Later,
mark.

 

[TargetTerror]

I just went through a similar analysis. If you are shooting service rifle, then you are limited to a 20 inch barrel. All indications are that you give up maybe 100-150fps if that over a 24 inch barrel, so not all that significant for varmint shooting.

The main issue is in the sights. Regardless of whether a flattop AR is legal, there has been some issues about whether the carry handles' sights will adequately get you up to a 600 yard zero. So, most people (myself included) tend to get a standard A2 style upper. However, this poses a problem for mounting a scope b/c the only way is on top of the carry handle, which is less than ideal particularly if you are taking the scope off and on.

A matchgun might work better, though i don't know the ins and outs of them. I'd think that you could probably get a matchgun with a picatinny rail and then swap the scope and rear sight back and forth.

Or you could be uber hardcore and just buy an A2 upper and shoot varmints with open sights.

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Britz,

Take a look at the rules governing the Service Rifles vs Match Rifles. If you want to shoot the Service Rifles (and go Distinguished, or make the President's Hundred; Service Rifle ONLY!) this will limit your choices a bit. If you want to shoot in the Match rifle class, your options are a lot more open. A Picatinny type rail or some other base that allows easy mounting of scopes is pretty much standard there, and most of the iron sights on the market have bases that use these rails as a mount. The AR is an incredibly versatile system, and merely swapping out an upper on an existing Service Rifle will allow you to step up to the Match Rifle class with minimal expense.

As to the options you've mentioned here, Stag's not one of the big names in this game, and I have no first hand experience with them The odds on favorites in this game are probably Rock River, DPMS, or Armalite. As far as the twist rates, absoultely no use whatsoever for a 1x9" so don't bother. The 69 grain bullets will be the heaviest you can use reliably, and they won't cut it for this competition. You need a 1x7" or a 1x8" at a minimum. Either of these will allow the use of the 77 grain bullets that most of us use across the course, and the 80-82 grain offerings you'll need back at the 600 yard line. Don't hesitate to ask questions, since I'm sure there's many of us on LRH who have shot this type of competition and are very familiar with this game. Done it for 30+ years now myself, and showing no signs of quitting anytime soon!

See you at Perry!

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

 

[webs]

Stag is one of the few manufacturers in the country for AR's/ I believe they make parts for Rock River, Colt and S and W I own a 2L from Stag and even though its a 16" barrel it shoots decent.

 

[britz]

thanks for the info. I was leaning towards a different purchase, but now you got me thinking about it again!

Big boys erector set