What's the first thing you would get

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12 years 8 months ago #11055 by paulv
What's the first thing you would get was created by paulv
So I got my armalite ar10t .308 caliber coming next week.
First post on this forum, Hello World

What is the first thing you did to your ar10t after the initial breakdown and lube?

Cheers,
~Paul

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12 years 8 months ago #11056 by faawrenchbndr
Replied by faawrenchbndr on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
Loaded a magazine..........

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12 years 8 months ago #11058 by bigdtd
Replied by bigdtd on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
I put a 6.5X20X50MM Pentax on a Burris PEPR mount sighted it in and put 40 rounds of Federal 150 FMJ through it. Cleaned between the first 10 shots, then by the time I was finished the last 5 shot group could be covered by a quarter at 100 yards,my AR-10T is a tack driver. B)

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12 years 8 months ago #11059 by faawrenchbndr
Replied by faawrenchbndr on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
I actually changed the stock to a MagPul UBR, added a MOE grip, installed a set of Troy sights, and installed a Leupold VXIII 3.5-10 on a Larue mount.

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12 years 8 months ago - 12 years 8 months ago #11066 by txlongshotb4
Replied by txlongshotb4 on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
This depends greatly on what you intend to do with your rifle. Hunting rifles need different set ups than competition rifles, and three gun match rifles need different set ups than longe range match rifles. That said, one thing that all of them need universally is to be as accurate as possible. All of that other ninja gear doesn't make a dime's bit of difference if you can't hit what you're aiming at every time, so I am going to depart from the ideology of the first thing to get, and suggest the things that you should get to achieve top-notch accuracy-because in a nutshell, top-notch accuracy IS the first thing you should get.

First thing is optics, if you intend to use them. Again, this will vary greatly depending on what you intend to do with the gun, and there is a huge variety of stuff out there to suit any and every need. Whatever you intend to do, select the appropriate optics or sights that you feel the most comfortable with for the desired application and get sighted in. The one single caveat I have to the optics selection has more to do with mounting options...as a general rule with any rifle, the closer you can get your scope's objective lens to the barrel of the rifle (without actually touching it) the better off you will be with accuracy.

Next on my priority list is always a good quality match grade trigger. I'd go with a lighter trigger pull than what is standard...4 lbs to 2 lbs of pull. Believe me, a good, smooth, light trigger with a crisp,clean break like a Jewell or a Timney trigger will tighten up your shot group far more than you might think...it's worth the money.

Once you are comfortable with your optics and the trigger, get to the range and shoot for the best groups you can produce. We all vary in our abilities, and you'll have to make the call for yourself on rather or not the gun is acceptable in accuracy. At peak performance, an AR-10 should be capable of producing consistent groups of about 1/2 MOA (1/2 inch at 100 yards). Unless you get really lucky, your factory barrel will not do this for you. I am personally a freak about that, and so I always wind up re-barreling the rifle with a match grade barrel. There are a lot of companies out there that make great barrels. I currently have a Lilja match grade barrel on my AR-10, and I always get the "one ragged hole" effect downrange, with all of my bullet holes touching one another (except for the ones I let get away from me...still working on that.)

Another factor is the stock of the rifle. Simply put, your face needs to be able to find a good spot on the rifle stock that allows you to get eye alignment on your sight/optic every single time, the same way, the exact same place. More specifically, the area where your cheekbone meets your upper jaw area needs to be resting firmly against the upper crest of your stock, and the stock needs to be aligned properly so that when this occurs, your eye is naturally centered on the ocular lens of your optic or lined up with your sights. This is known as stock weld, and it is so critical that if you have the best components known to man, your accuracy will be terrible if you cannot achieve stock weld. To facilitate this, you may need to buy a stock with an adjustable cheek piece, or buy a peripheral cheek piece to go on whatever stock you have or choose for the rifle.

Another thing to consider is a free-floated fore-arm or rail system. Free floated systems do not contact the barrel except for the area right around the chamber of the rifle, and as such do not interfere with the harmonics of the barrel when fired. It also eliminates the possibility of "flexing" your rifle by binding the area where the upper receiver meets the barrel when pushing the rifle into sandbags or rests, which can dramatically change the point of impact of a round.
Last edit: 12 years 8 months ago by txlongshotb4.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Moby

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12 years 8 months ago - 12 years 8 months ago #11067 by paulv
Replied by paulv on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
"Leupold VXIII 3.5-10"
Nice, that's about the magnification that I would get.
I would eventually like to shoot accurately from 500 yards.
Whats your max distance with ol girl ?

"6.5X20X50MM Pentax"
I did see they had a 3-9, I'll read up about that, thanks!
Last edit: 12 years 8 months ago by paulv.

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12 years 8 months ago #11068 by paulv
Replied by paulv on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
txlongshotb4,

Thank you for taking the time to let me know all those great tips that you just shared with me.
This'll be my first long range rifle. My previous guns are a Glock 40 Cal and a Stg-556.
Advice with the scope would be the best advice I can receive at this point.
With my 556 I was able to shoot bowling pins from 100 yards which where my skill level is at now.
Never shot anything past the hundred because I never had the scope for it.
On the 556 I had eotech Holc+ 3x scope .

Side question, how many yards should I zero in my 308

Next week I planned on just using one of my buddies scopes and slapping that bad boy on the Picatinny
Certainly didn't plan all this out, I bought it as soon as I found one was available in .308, and now I am lookin at the upgrades :)

Thanks again, hope to meet more knowledgeable people such as yourself.

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12 years 8 months ago - 12 years 8 months ago #11069 by txlongshotb4
Replied by txlongshotb4 on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
I use and stand solidly behind Leupold MK4 LR/T scopes for my long range guns. There are other brands out there that are supposedly better like Nightforce or Schmidt and Bender, but I'll shoot my Leupold against them any day of the week and break hearts. There is nothing wrong with Leupold. It's been the U.S.Army's go-to for sniper rifle scopes since 1988, and the Army has killed lots and lots of insurgents with them every since...if it aint' broke....Besides, the Leupolds costs about half as much as Nightforce and Schmidt and Bender scopes.

If you want to shoot long range, go with the Leupold TMR reticle...pretty much any of the MK 4 LR/T line scopes are available with this reticle. You can use this reticle for both range estimation and hold-over for shooting when you don't have time to make dial-on corrections for range and wind deflection. ( I can explain how that works in a later post if you need it.)

As far as a good sight-in range, I'd say 100 yards is a good start point. We usually stick with a 100 meter zero for working with the elevation dial as a means of correction, but we also keep data for both 300 meter zero (mid range field) and 500 meter zero (long range field) with which we use the reticle to "snap-shoot" a target.
Last edit: 12 years 8 months ago by txlongshotb4.

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12 years 8 months ago #11072 by faawrenchbndr
Replied by faawrenchbndr on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
The Leupold has been fine out to 420m thus far.
I have access to another range with 600m and a 875m targets.
I'm not sure about the scope, but I need a bit more range time
before I take it out to the longer distances.

I have a Leupold Mark IV 3.5-10 on my FN SPRa1. It is a much
better scope than the VX III

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12 years 8 months ago #11080 by 13fcolt
Replied by 13fcolt on topic Re: What's the first thing you would get
First, everything txlongshotb4 said. Spot on.

Second, If I knew then what I know now, ammo, ammo, ammo, The mother of all reloading setups, ammo, and ammo. A rifle with irons and ammo will beat a rifle with an awesome scope & empty mags, every time at every distance.

Third, The most important and most difficult, making time and finding a place to shoot.

Embarrassing enough to admit it, If I go too long without going through the motions,..... my groups look like I was running the 12ga on the pattern board. :blink:

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