doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: The AR-10 follies (the AR-15 in .308)

In times past, I've been in Wisconsin woods that look like that Alabama picture. The only place slugs dominated were in their so called limited range weapon zones. Some folks would use full house magnums. Why not, better put to use than just sit in a safe, but ther was generally a large area that had to be carved out. My sense was lever rifles far out numbered the slug shotguns. While the woods could be thick, I think most folks would look for stands with open lanes where they could watch more ground and might get a longer shot.

I suppose a big difference would be, up north there'd be more or less leaf drop depending. There was a tendency for deer hunters to take a mid day break, so I'd be out around lunch time for some grouse hunting. I hear there aren't as many birds these days.

I have a m1a NM that will do better than that.

�Minute of Orange� on the first trip out with the gun is nothing to sneer at.

There will be other trips, and the group will get tighter. Our hero will not end up with M1 thumb, however.

Best,
Ted

I shot a .308 M1 Garand in High Power Rifle matches for several years. It had a lot of $$$ dumped in it. Krieger heavy barrel, match trigger, bedded and assembled by an former US Army armorer. It took a lot of work to get it to shoot sub MOA....On the other hand, my buddy shows up at the range with a new AR-10 and cranks out a near sub MOA group out of the box. No doubt the AR platforms can be seriously accurate. I've had some that would nearly embarrass my good bolt guns.

He wouldn�t get M1 thumb shooting a M1A either. I used to shoot M1A�s and M-14�s in matches. My most accurate match winner was a TRW M-14. Pretty much bone stock except for the NM sights. The Springfield Armory M1A�s are usually match ready right out of the box. I�ve honestly never seen one that wasn�t. Shutting off the gas really makes it a tack driver. The platform is inherently accurate.

I used to build FAL�s as well. I put together around 5 of them total. All of them were new parts kits that were still in cosmoline, 3 were stg58 Austrian made Steyr�s The other 2 were all Imbel. I used Imbel receivers on all the builds. They too were all pretty accurate but nowhere near what a M1A was. You can also shut off the gas on the FAL and make it a �bolt gun �. I didn�t shoot matches with the FAL�s. They couldn�t compete. The sights on FAL�s suck compared to the old GI & NM sights found on Garands & M1A�s.

The AR platform has a lot of potential, no doubt. In my experience....it�s not as accurate as a M1A/M-14 platform. They are fun to shoot, accurate enough and can be had much cheaper than the other two platforms I mentioned earlier.

I've prairie dog hunted with a guy who had an AR in .223 that had been worked over. I didn't bench rest test it, but he had and he had no problem hitting prairie dogs out to 400 yards or so pretty consistently. The guy was a great shot and his rifle was as accurate as the Remington 700 in .222 or the CZ in .204 that I was shooting. With enough time, money and skill, you can make an AR do amazing things.

Which is also true of the M1A.

They are battle rifles.
The AR platform does 2x the work with half the weight.

Nostalgia aside of course.

Zapper's right about that. However that is not why the AR is the most popular rifle in the US. The popularity, it seems to me represents public disapproval of heavy handed government infringement on our peculiar, in worldwide terms civil right to own and bear arms...Geo

The talk of accuracy in AR rifles is interesting. I just acquired my own "platform", a Sig MP400. It shoots like crap. 6-8" groups at 100 yds. And with one magazine, it doubled or tripled 4 times. The other 3 mags that I shot did not. It seems to have all the precision of construction that would would expect in a box spring mattress which is what it reminds me of when listening to all the springs and vibrations humming with each shot.

I think its popularity is a function of 1. the entertainment industry, 2. familiarity for all ex military and LEO, and 3. it appears "high tech, modern" whether it is or not.

Aside from local or national salespersons, I think they appeal to folks that like to tinker. I understand there are shops that specialize in builds, but I'm aware of many that're respectable bolt rifle level tack drivers built with off the shelf parts.

I noticed AR 10's and 15's increasingly in ranch trucks. They must instill enough confidence to bounce around on a rack year round and perform on demand. So far, I don't even have thoughts of dabbling in that area.