That done, I snapped a few pictures, and headed off to the range to function check and zero.
Function check: load one round in a magazine, insert in rifle, work charging handle, chamber round, safety on, pull trigger - nothing. Safety off, pull trigger - BANG, and bolt locks back. Good. Drop mag, load two rounds in magazine, insert, charge, pull trigger and hold - BANG ... Good. Release trigger, feel sear reset, pull trigger - BANG. Bolt locks back. Good.
Stapled up a sighter target at 25m, loaded five rounds, got slung up (note to self: order a Turner Sling!), get prone, check NPOA, focus ... squeeze ... BANG. Breathe. Hold. BANG. Breath. Hold. BANG. Etc.
Check group. About 1.5" excluding a called flier. Four inches low and two right. Adjust front sight for elevation, rear for windage, load five, repeat.
Elevation is spot on, windage still a hair right. Adjust windage, load five, repeat...
Prone. NPOA. Breathe. Focus. Squeeze. BANG. Breathe. Focus. Squeeze. CLICK. *BWAH?*
Work charging handle. Nothing comes out. Hm. Misfeed? Look. Spent round in chamber, rim ripped off by extractor. Sonofa ... No DammitStick in my truck or range bag, either. *swear some more* Remove upper, try to remove round with Leatherman tool and harsh words. No joy. *swear some more*
Packed up, headed home, stuck a brass rod down, and stuck case was removed in about thirty seconds. I will now have a brass rod in my truck at all times.
Lessons learned:
- This rifle is quite accurate. I expect when I have a dialed-in sight and hand loads with a proper sling, I will turn in pretty respectable scores.
- A DammitStick MUST be in my range bag from now on. This is the first stuck casing I've had in ANY of my firearms. EVER.
- Wolf .223 with a steel case really should not go in my AR, since that (steel casing) seems to be the reason the rim tore off. I have dies on order, have brass and bullets, need primers (HA!) and powder (double HA!).
- Wolf works fine in a Mini-14. It can stay there. I now have a near-lifetime supply of ammo for my Mini-14, since it is no match gun and will be relegated to utility work.
And now, on with the gun porn!
(Click to embiggen.)
Specs and particulars:
Lower: Territorial Gunsmith Limited Edition 2nd Amendment lower. #215 of 232. (Wife has 216.)
Lower Parts: M-A Parts. (Trigger is lousy. Considering upgrade.)
Grip: ERGO SureGrip right-hand.
Stock: Spec A2, rifle buffer.
Upper: DPMS DCM post-ban, 20" 1:8 stainless bull barrel, .223Rem, NM rear sight. Replaced front post with KNS reticle as mentioned above.
Magazine: PRE-BAN (it's dated 6/91) 30rd GI. I'll be ordering a pile of 10-round mags soon.
Engraving on the lower was part of the 2A edition. Color fill on roll marks is mine.
5 comments:
.223 Remington chambered, non-chrome lined, stainless barrels and Wolf ammo don't mix. I can run Wolf pretty reliably in my 5.56 NATO chrome lined barrel, but I always have a broken shell tool and a rigid range rod available.
Short of installing a two stage match trigger, Bill Springfield does a nice trigger job on standard AR parts. It is quite inexpensive and the turnaround time is very quick (I got mine back in under 2 weeks). You just send the relevant trigger parts, not the whole gun.
http://www.triggerwork.net/
Yes, a two stage match trigger is a bit nicer, but speaking as someone who has one of each, I'm quite sure the match trigger is NOT 5x nicer than the Bill Springfield mod (5x is about the cost difference).
Very nice rifle! Thanks for posting.
Rock River makes a self installed two-stage. I think Jewels are the best because you can set and reset the weight easily, but your mileage may vary.
Remington white box at Walmarts in Tyler and East Texas at 10 bucks a box.
I've got an AR post on top of my blog at Blackfork, by the way....
I have also seen issues with the steel cases from Wolf ammo eating up the chambers on some AR's - YMMV but just another consideration.
Nice rifle and glad you're nejoying it!
Peter, Sean:
I knew that the Wolf ammo may present an issue when I tried it - but I did want to know for sure, and I didn't want to burn my good LC FMJ if I could avoid it. :) The Wolf has now been relegated to the Mini-14 magazines, where it will function without a hiccup. I'll slowly be building up my stock of brass .223 as funding allows.
Robert - I briefly considered optics on this rifle, but decided I wanted to stick with the match A2s. I *love* the KNS hooded duplex front reticle ... With the 0-2 aperture it's super-fast to acquire, and with the 8/3 aperture it's pretty precise. I'm happy. As the next AR is built, it may end up with optics - probably a 24" varmint rig.
Alath - thanks for the tip on Springfield trigger jobs! I have looked at RRA's 2-stage match trigger, but would like to try one before dropping a c-note on one. If you see my next post, I stoned the trigger on this one and cleaned up the break nicely... I have been VERY spoiled by the Accutrigger on my Savage .22.
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