Need help picking first AR

[xsn10s]

My new AR has a 1/7 twist. I sighted in with 55 grain bullets and shot well but this was only 100 yards. I was going to order some heavier bullets to try and looking for suggestions on bullet weight.
What weight is everyone shooting?
Thanks for suggestions

So far in my 1-7" I've shot 53gr VMAX, 55gr VMAX, 73gr ELDM, and 75gr ELDM.

 

[crashlanding]

My new AR has a 1/7 twist. I sighted in with 55 grain bullets and shot well but this was only 100 yards. I was going to order some heavier bullets to try and looking for suggestions on bullet weight.
What weight is everyone shooting?
Thanks for suggestions

Do tell! What ar did you go with?

 

[M1A1ABRAMS]

Do tell! What ar did you go with?

Post 36,
I'd like to thank everyone for their input. After reading and rereading all your replies and doing a little research I went ahead and ordered a palmetto state armory 5.56 ar with a 20" barrel. They were running a new year's sale on what I was looking for. I will use the $$ saved on this purchase and probably upgrade the trigger and get a decent red dot scope.
Thanks for all the pm's to help me choose what was going to work for me.

 

[birddog 68]

Sounds like I should go ahead and try something heavier than the 55's.
It shot quite well with open sights and the trigger isn't bad. A bit heavy but not bad.
In case you missed the above post crashlanding I bought a palmetto state armory.
I forgot how much fun semi auto's are!

 

[xsn10s]

Sounds like I should go ahead and try something heavier than the 55's.
It shot quite well with open sights and the trigger isn't bad. A bit heavy but not bad.
In case you missed the above post crashlanding I bought a palmetto state armory.
I forgot how much fun semi auto's are!

If it's just plinking ammo with some varminting or coyotes then 55gr Hornaday Spire point should be fine.

 

[ARlife4me]

If it's just plinking ammo with some varminting or coyotes then 55gr Hornaday Spire point should be fine.

All of my dead yotes were via m193's. Fun shoot'n from a heli!

 

[crashlanding]

Solid AR, thanks M1A1ABRAMS, I missed that post

 

[rpol98]

For 100 yards and less I'd use a Aimpoint red dot. I know expensive.... But if that's your criteria I'd just use the iron sights until you saved up for a Aimpoint. I think in the long run you'll be happier with the results.

i'd recommend the Aimpoint CompM4. bulletproof as a tank. new they cost about $900, but you can get them used off of ebay for about $500, maybe $450 if you're patient. main thing to look for is if there's scratches on the glass coating, both ends, and that the battery cap looks good. Ignore scratches and scuffs on the housing. They'll last forever. battery life is about 8yrs. CompM4s goes for a little bit more, $50-$100 for the low-mount battery compartment version.

 

[xsn10s]

i'd recommend the Aimpoint CompM4. bulletproof as a tank. new they cost about $900, but you can get them used off of ebay for about $500, maybe $450 if you're patient. main thing to look for is if there's scratches on the glass coating, both ends, and that the battery cap looks good. Ignore scratches and scuffs on the housing. They'll last forever. battery life is about 8yrs. CompM4s goes for a little bit more, $50-$100 for the low-mount battery compartment version.

Yeah I had one on T&E, I really liked it.

 

[ZOGMAN]

Build it!

AERO PRECISION

 

[FlyFishn1]

Sounds like I should go ahead and try something heavier than the 55's.
It shot quite well with open sights and the trigger isn't bad. A bit heavy but not bad.
In case you missed the above post crashlanding I bought a palmetto state armory.
I forgot how much fun semi auto's are!

Interesting thread.

I read a few pages back you got a Palmetto variant of one type or another. Can you elaborate on the model?

I was looking hard at the low end of their range as they were around the $450 mark last I looked. My local dealer can't get them so I went researching other options.

Long story short - I found the brand Del-Ton. They have rifles in the sub-$1000 range. The one I got is the Sierra 316L with 1:7 barrel (they have the same with a 1:9 barrel also). They were selling through my dealer network at a bit over 41% under MSRP, if you can believe that one. The store had to do a double take and they couldn't believe it, either, but was what it was.

I am thinking the overall quality of the Del-Ton's might be a tad better than Palmetto, but the way I understand all these is they are "blueprinted". That is to say - the parts are all made to specs and you can interchange them. As someone put it to me - the "mil spec"builds just mean that parts met military specifications by the lowest bidder. So to some extent the parts all work together. The question is what is the material quality? IE - grade of metal used? Quality of casting process? Etc, etc.

Quick note on the 1:7 barrels -
I have been told that one large drawback to 1:7 is that it can over-spin bullets to the point they disintegrate in the barrel and come out as fragments. Not only is the bullet worthless when it comes out, it could foul the barrel quick.

I am curious if others have had this issue and if so - how big of a concern is it? Or does it happen rarely?

To my knowledge it is with lighter soft point bullets that this can happen. However, I am guessing this can happen with other types also.

Thoughts?

 

[xsn10s]

I have a Colt 20" 1-7 twist barrel on my AR15. I shoot everything from 53gr VMAX to 75gr ELDM with no issues.

 

[birddog 68]

Interesting thread.

I read a few pages back you got a Palmetto variant of one type or another. Can you elaborate on the model?

I was looking hard at the low end of their range as they were around the $450 mark last I looked. My local dealer can't get them so I went researching other options.

Long story short - I found the brand Del-Ton. They have rifles in the sub-$1000 range. The one I got is the Sierra 316L with 1:7 barrel (they have the same with a 1:9 barrel also). They were selling through my dealer network at a bit over 41% under MSRP, if you can believe that one. The store had to do a double take and they couldn't believe it, either, but was what it was.

I am thinking the overall quality of the Del-Ton's might be a tad better than Palmetto, but the way I understand all these is they are "blueprinted". That is to say - the parts are all made to specs and you can interchange them. As someone put it to me - the "mil spec"builds just mean that parts met military specifications by the lowest bidder. So to some extent the parts all work together. The question is what is the material quality? IE - grade of metal used? Quality of casting process? Etc, etc.

Quick note on the 1:7 barrels -
I have been told that one large drawback to 1:7 is that it can over-spin bullets to the point they disintegrate in the barrel and come out as fragments. Not only is the bullet worthless when it comes out, it could foul the barrel quick.

I am curious if others have had this issue and if so - how big of a concern is it? Or does it happen rarely?

To my knowledge it is with lighter soft point bullets that this can happen. However, I am guessing this can happen with other types also.

Thoughts?

This is what I got. I decided on this one since it's pretty darn close to what I used in the service many years ago.
I haven't shot it enough to give a honest opinion but I've run some 55 grain fmj and 62 grain sp without a hiccup and pretty decent groups for open sights and my old eyes.

 

[ARlife4me]

Interesting thread.

I read a few pages back you got a Palmetto variant of one type or another. Can you elaborate on the model?

I was looking hard at the low end of their range as they were around the $450 mark last I looked. My local dealer can't get them so I went researching other options.

Long story short - I found the brand Del-Ton. They have rifles in the sub-$1000 range. The one I got is the Sierra 316L with 1:7 barrel (they have the same with a 1:9 barrel also). They were selling through my dealer network at a bit over 41% under MSRP, if you can believe that one. The store had to do a double take and they couldn't believe it, either, but was what it was.

I am thinking the overall quality of the Del-Ton's might be a tad better than Palmetto, but the way I understand all these is they are "blueprinted". That is to say - the parts are all made to specs and you can interchange them. As someone put it to me - the "mil spec"builds just mean that parts met military specifications by the lowest bidder. So to some extent the parts all work together. The question is what is the material quality? IE - grade of metal used? Quality of casting process? Etc, etc.

Quick note on the 1:7 barrels -
I have been told that one large drawback to 1:7 is that it can over-spin bullets to the point they disintegrate in the barrel and come out as fragments. Not only is the bullet worthless when it comes out, it could foul the barrel quick.

I am curious if others have had this issue and if so - how big of a concern is it? Or does it happen rarely?

To my knowledge it is with lighter soft point bullets that this can happen. However, I am guessing this can happen with other types also.

Thoughts?

It's not the twist, but the velocity combined creating to much rpm.