I tested the SBR with the suppressor and Leupold VX-II scope today at Fairfax Rod and Gun Club.

The upper is equipped with a free-floated 10.5" Shaw chrome-lined barrel from JP enterprises http://www.jprifles.com/.

The float-tube is a Troy Industries model http://www.troyind.com/indexA1.htm.

The suppressor is a Gemtech HALO http://www.gem-tech.com/.




Beautiful day for a range trip. Perfect temps, bright light, little wind.

Testing was done at 50 yards and 100 yards.

I had the opportunity to test 200 yards. However, I chose to forego that test, as I learned as much as I needed to know by the time I finished firing at 100 yards.

Ammo tested was:

Winchester 55 grain Q3131 (white box)

Federal 55 grain XM193 (brown box)

Black Hills 77 grain (blue box)

The rifle functioned without any significant problem.

One case smokestacked on ejection of the last round in the mag, and without locking back the bolt.

All firing was done from my usual expedient bench-rest position – a heavy terry-cloth towel draped over an ammo can.

I wore a highpower rifle shooting coat for the testing.

I set the stock length to one notch short of the maximum length in order to acquire the best eye placement behind the scope. First time that adjustable-length stock feature really helped me out.

The scope remained fixed on 9x throughout the testing, and no attempt to adjust the reticle (crosshair) was made during today's activity.

The scope is mounted via Warne Quick-Detach rings, attached to a B-Square riser.

You may notice that the scope is rotated 90 degrees off the traditional mounting position, so as to position the adjustment turrets well out of the way of ejected casings. This scope has a simple duplex-type reticle. So, rotating the entire scope 90 degrees in any direction does not change its functionality.

Today's big disappointment was definitely the trigger. This rifle is equipped with a plain-jane "parts kit" trigger. This trigger truly sucks. I didn't bother to weigh the trigger, but it probably tips the scale somewhere around 8-9 pounds. Creep/mush is immense. Break-point was unpredictable. Overtravel was lurching.

It is now obvious to me that this trigger must be replaced. It should be a fairly straightforward project to obtain and install a trigger that maintains a reasonable pull-weight (4-5 pounds), and will break cleanly. Group sizes of the following targets are surely influenced by the poor trigger currently in the rifle. Try as I might, I could not make the reticle remain stationary during dry firing prior to shooting the groups – the trigger being the culprit. I am confident the group sizes can be reduced by at least 50% with a better trigger. A good AR15 rifle (especially a floated barrel off a benchrest) should be able to shoot sub-one-inch groups at 50 yards all day with any kind of decent ammo.

These targets are my home-made design on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. The ruler on either side of the target is standard inch-scale. The images below may not appear to true scale on your monitor. The ruler markings should lend the necessary perspective for estimating the true group sizes. Targets are marked with handwritten notation for the distance and ammunition.

Group location differed appreciably from one batch of ammo to the next. Nothing of a surprise there. All the more reason to search for the ammo that performs best, and stick with that ammo for any activities with higher ambition than fam-fire.

You will notice that each of the 100-yard targets appears have a shot "outside the group." I am inclined to say these "flyers" were a consequence of the rifle's godawful trigger, and my inability to hold steady through the mush and the creep - although, I can’t say for sure. I have great hopes for this rifle's potential to actually shoot respectable groups once the trigger issue is addressed.

As Colonel Townsend Whelen was known to say, "Only accurate rifles are interesting."

The search continues.