AR15 Magazine Torture Test in Shotgun News

Writer David Fortier recently conducted an extensive torture test of AR15 magazines — both polymer and metal-bodied. Fortier’s test results, some of which may surprise you, are found in David’s article “Feeding Your AR”, published in the latest (November 20, 2009) edition of Shotgun News.

Fortier tested a variety of popular AR mags including PMAG, Tango Down, CProducts SS, Brownells, Bravo Company, Lancer, MSAR, and Tapco. The “torture tests” included dropping the mags on their feedlips from 8.5 feet, driving a full-size army truck over the mags, jumping on the mags, and deliberately tilting the followers. The mags were also tested for fit and function with live-fire shooting. Results were a little surprising. When dropped from 8.5 feet on their feedlipgs, the Tango Down, PMAG and TAPCO all split down the spine. CLICK HERE for Test Photos.

The Lancer L5 model seemed to be the toughest magazine tested, and Fortier noted how the “old-fashioned” aluminum mags did surprisingly well. Lancer L5 magazines have “see-through” translucent polymer bodies (similar to Sig 55X series magazines). In addition, the Lancers feature teflon-coated, hardened steel feed lips, and a rubber-coated “bumper bottom”. Lancer L5s are offered in 20-round, 30-round, and 48-round capacities. The 48-rounder employs a special coupler to provide super-high capacity for 3-gun comps. Below is a Lancer-produced video showing the L5s being dropped from 5 feet (on both base and feed lips) without injury.

Fortier, posting on AR15.com concluded: “PMAGs are very good, but not as indestructible as some think. Aluminum mags are not as bad as some think. You should consider checking out Lancer’s mag…they surprised me. If MSARs mag dropped free they would be an interesting option. Dropping mags onto cement is A LOT tougher on them then running them over with a SUV…. but all those videos from the various mag companies sure did work wonders for advertising didn’t they?”

Old Metal 20s — Still Best Match Mag?
Editor’s NOTE: I won’t speculate as to the best 30-round magazine for field and military use. But in all the ARs I’ve owned, and most of the AR target rifles I’ve shot, the best magazine for Bench use and High Power Match use was the old 20-round straight aluminum mag with silver-colored metal follower. These 45-year-old mags seem to work perfectly, even when the gray powder-coat has worn off in spots revealing a dull brass color underneath. The silver metal follower still works better than most of the new “no-tip” polymer followers.

There may be better 20-round polymer mags today, but match shooters won’t go wrong with the original metal-bodied straight 20s with metal followers. I’ve bought, sold, and traded many AR mags over the years — and my old GI metal 20s are the only ones I’ll never sell.

Handy Products from NRA Store Holiday Catalog

The NRA Store’s Holiday Catalog has hundreds of interesting items for sale, ranging from belt-buckles to a ballistic calculator watch. There are plenty of unique gift items — how about a “Don’t Tread on Me” blanket, or a stag-handle NRA Tomahawk? Among the many catalog items, two smart, utilitarian products caught our eye.

AR15 Cleaning Mat
New for 2009 is a 40″ x 14″ waterproof, stain-resistant Zorb-tech cleaning mat for black rifle owners. Printed on the $15.95 mat (item SA 21577) are complete AR parts schematics, plus cleaning guide and AR assembly instructions. If you’ve ever fiddled with all the little parts on an AR15 bolt assembly, you’ll know how handy this Assembly/Cleaning mat can be. A smaller version with 1911 pistol schematics sells for $12.95.

Magnetic Gun Clamp
For years we’ve been wanting a product like this. This simple magnetic device allows a handgun to be stored out of sight, yet instantly retrieved in an emergency. The device is simplicity itself. A magnet strong enough to lift 10 pounds is sealed in durable, scratch-resistant plastic, and backed with a mounting bracket. You can easily place the magnet under countertops or on the side of a cabinet or desk. (On steel surfaces the magnet will grip without screws or through-bolts). The NRA Rapid Access Gun Magnet (item SA 24385) costs $26.95.

FN Herstal Develops ‘Black Box’ Round Counter for Firearms

This story may seem like science fiction, but we assure you the details are real. FN Herstal has created a new electronic device, appropriately named the “Black Box”, which can record and store a rifle’s round count and firing sequences. In addition, the FN Black Box contains digital identifiers for the weapon. This means that, when coupled to a GPS, the FN Black Box can transmit the gun’s ID and location to a military command or other monitoring authority.

Black Box Technology Limited to Military… For Now
The technology is exciting, though the ramifications for gun control are chilling to say the least. At present, FN Herstal envisions its Black Box as an add-on for military or law enforcement weapons. No one has yet suggested that black boxes be fitted to civilian arms.

The FN Black Box can record multiple types of firing data: round count, burst rates, burst lengths, and firing sequences. The digital sensors can even detect stoppages due to failures to cycle. FN evisions that this information can alert armorers when weapons require maintenance. In addition, by tracking the numbers of rounds fired, military commanders can determine when ammunition resupply is required or when barrels need replacement.

The Say Uncle Blog notes that while this kind of digital recorder may seem novel for weapons, “the same concept is often applied to industrial machines”, allowing factory owners to optimize maintenance schedules.

It there a black box in your future? We don’t see much application for Benchrest or High Power events, but this kind of round counter might prove useful in speed shooting disciplines. We do worry about the potential application of “black box” technology to defensive firearms. The digital records of shots fired as well as the sequence of those shots could be used as evidence in trials of gun owners. Imagine being on trial and having your testimony “impeached” by a digital chip removed from your gun.

Grendel-based 6mmAR Cartridge for High Power

A full-time lawyer, Robert Whitley is also an avid prone, Highpower, and cross-course shooter. Over the past two years, Robert has pioneered a cartridge for these disciplines (as well as long-range varminting) based on the 6.5mm Grendel necked down to 6mm. Robert calls the cartridge the “6mmAR”.

The 6mmAR cartridge has performed very well in AR-based comp guns, both with shorter bullets loaded to mag length, and 105-107gr bullets single-loaded. Robert has complete info about the 6mmAR on his website, 6mmAR.com, including recommended loads and field test results. Robert has also developed a higher capacity version, with the shoulder blown forward and a shorter neck. He calls this the 6mmAR Turbo. This round can drive 105-108gr bullets in the 2850-2900 range, and it has proven very accurate. It is one of the best options for AR-platform space-gun shooters.

Though making 6mmAR brass from 6.5 Grendel brass is quite straight-forward and simple, Robert receives many questions about forming the brass, so he recently prepared a video. The two-minute video shows how quick and easy the brass-forming process can be:

Robert also builds and sells products for across-the-course shooters, including complete AR uppers, chambered in a variety of calibers, including 6mmAR. Jerry Tierney, 2005 NBRSA 1000-yard champion, has a 6mmAR upper built by Robert and Jerry says the upper “Absolutely shoots great. I love it.” In the past few months, Jerry has broken many NRA senior records with his new 6mmAR-chambered rifle.

CLICK HERE for Feature Article on 6mmAR and Robert Whitley (many photos)

CLICK HERE for 6mmAR LOAD DATA

Gun Give-Away Contest on ShootingUSA.com

Every month ShootingUSA.com offers a handsome new firearm in a drawing. This month the prize is a S&W M&P 15, a 5.56 (.223 Rem) AR15 clone with adjustable stock and iron sights. The MSRP $1,406.00. To enter the contest, you need to provide personal info and the name of an FFL-holder to whom the gun can be shipped. In addition, you need to answer a question. The question this week relates to the Bianchi Cup: “What is the highest possible score on the barricades at Bianchi?” Suggested answers range from 370 to 1920. The answer can be found by watching this week’s episode of Shooting USA.

HINT: there are 48 shots total in the Barricade Event.

NSSF Explains Hunting Role of AR15 in Video

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s educational campaign on modern sporting rifles has created a new video that explains how (and why) AR-platform rifles are suited for hunting, varminting, and other sporting uses. The campaign is designed to reach a wide audience in the hunting and target shooting community, with emphasis placed on educating sportsmen whose preference for traditional-looking firearms can lead them to misunderstand AR-15-platform rifles and to even describe them as “assault weapons”. This can inadvertently lend support to elected officials and organizations who want to ban these rifles.

NSSF President Steve Sanetti writes, “We ask everyone who values their gun ownership rights to correct misunderstandings about the use and operation of these modern sporting rifles. If we let misinformation go unchecked, we only assist those who would ban ownership of these and other types of semi-automatic firearms, like your duck-hunting shotgun. We can’t let that happen.”

California Juniors Win Infantry Team Trophy

If you were trying to predict the winner of the 2009 National Trophy Infantry Team Match (NTIT), odds are you would have focused on the top military teams in the event. This makes sense considering that the last time a civilian team won the NTIT was in 1930. That is until a group of juniors from California stepped up to the firing line at Camp Perry on August 7th 2009, and made history.

Team California Grizzlies O’Connell shot a 1284 to win the NTIT, becoming the first junior team to ever win the event and the first civilian team to win in 79 years. In fact the top three NTIT teams this year were civilian. Forbes Rifle and Pistol Club finished second with a 1275 and Oklahoma Rifle Assn. finished third with a 1250. The Grizzlies won the event shooting Hornady 75 gr BTHP match bullets in their .223 ARs. The team also won the junior title and set new records in 2008 and 2009 in the NTT.

The California Grizzlies O’Connell team was named for team coach Jim O’Connell. The team captain was Anthony Henderson, and firing team members were Cheyanne Acebo, David Bahten, Matthew Chezem, Chad Kurgan, Joshua Lehn and Jim Minturn. The team is based out of the Yosemite area in central California, but team members come from all over the state.

Juniors Win Despite Restrictive California Laws
The group’s accomplishments are particularly impressive considering that California State Law prohibits juniors from handling rifles with a removable magazine. In California the team can only practice with a 10-round fixed magazine that can only be removed using a tool. This makes training for rapid fire difficult, and the only time the team gets to practice with standard removable clips is when they arrive to Camp Perry for the National Matches.

The team… can only get together as a whole team a few times during the year. One of those team meetings comes in the summer, when the team attends Camp O’Connell, lead by the team’s coach Jim O’Connell. The eight-day camp is held at the remote Coalinga Rifle Club in Central California, where team members sleep in tents and do range maintenance projects in addition to their training.

Much of [the team's success] derives from an introductory program that the Grizzlies have established to attract new shooters. Tim Finicle, whose son and stepson are on the team, told us: “We have a .22LR program that introduces the sport to about 160 juniors a year, ages 10-16. If juniors show interest in this group, they move to the farm team where they shoot AR-15s at 100-yard reduced targets until they reach Sharpshooter classification. This shows they have the interest to get better, then we let them on the team”.

READ MORE ….

Story by Sommer Wood, CMP Writer, courtesy ODCMP.com. The full story appears in the current edition of The First Shot, the CMP Online Newsletter.

TECH TIP: Take-Down Procedure for AR Bolt Assembly

Accurate, modular, and supremely versatile, the AR15 is America’s favorite semi-auto rifle. But let’s face it, the AR is a maintenance hog.

There are various schools of thought when it comes to maintaining an AR. Some folks prefer to run their AR “dry” with minimal lube on the lugs and friction surfaces. Other shooters prefer to run their ARs “wet”, with lots of lube. But whatever your preference, you need to clean your AR regularly. And nothing is more important than the AR’s bolt/carrier assembly. Because it is involved in feeding, firing, and extracting, the AR-15 bolt/carrier assembly can be considered the most critical portion of the AR-15 system.

The editor of the Top Quark Blog has created an excellent illustrated AR15 Bolt Take-Down Guide that shows how to disassemble an AR15 bolt and carrier for regular cleaning. Even if you’re an experienced AR15 shooter, you can learn something from this page (sample at left), and you may want to bookmark it for future reference. The photos are large and clear and there are helpful hints for each step of the process.

The author knows his stuff and offers some important insights. For example, he notes that “Extractor springs in most AR15 bolt assemblies are fairly weak, and this can lead to various extraction-related failures. One of the few high points about Colt assemblies is their usage of higher-strength extractor springs. You can tell the difference by looking at the inner plastic insert. ‘Normal’ springs feature a blue plastic insert, Colt strong springs have a black insert.”

There is one notable oversight on this page — the author doesn’t cover disassembly and cleaning of the ejector assembly. This is actually quite important. A few small brass shavings, combined with carbon and lube in the ejector slot, WILL cause malfunctions. In fact, when this editor is called to diagnose problem ARs, the first things I look at (after swapping magazines) are the ejector recess and the slot for the extractor. Clogged ejectors are responsible for fail-to-ejects and other jams. It is essential that you keep the ejector hole clean. Old, gooey lube residues mixed with carbon and tiny brass shavings in the ejector recess will create all sorts of problems. As shown in the diagram below, it is simple to remove the ejector (#6) and ejector spring (#5), by drifting the ejector retaining pin (#4).

AR-Platform Digital Magazine to Launch in Fall

As if there isn’t enough coverage given to AR-platform rifles already, Grand View Media Group announced it will roll out an AR-specific digital magazine later this year. The new AR Guns & Hunting “E-Zine” covers “gear and tactics” for AR sporting and hunting applications. Its creators intend AR Guns & Hunting to be much more than a conventional print mag re-packaged for the web. According to Grand View, AR Guns & Hunting will provide interactive content and a true “multimedia experience”. You’ll also find gear reviews, tactical news, and first-person hunting accounts.

For those interested in this new web resource for AR platform shooters, AR Guns & Hunting is currently offering FREE digital subscriptions. Just supply a valid email address to get access to the content. Grand View Media plans to distribute the first editions via direct email to subscribers. (Hmmm, you may want to check the privacy policy before you sign up.)

Editor: While we applaud any effort to expand the information available to shooters, we’ll withhold judgment until AR Guns & Hunting actually launches. It may be more flash than substance, created mostly to exploit the current market craze for black rifles and accessories. We also are not big fans of “digital edition” formatting — where you flip pages as with a paper magazine. It seems cool at first but then you realize the pages are slow to load, and you don’t have the flexibility of a “normal” web page with vertical scrolling, outbound web-links, and Google searchability.

The web is truly a different medium than print. Forcing readers into a “print magazine experience” is a bit like taking the wings off an airplane so passengers can experience bus travel.

New ‘Guns & Gear’ TV Show Debuts on Versus Network

Respected shooting sports journalist Jim Shepherd and Gun Talk Radio host Tom Gresham have teamed up to produce a new show, Guns & Gear, for the Versus Country cable network. Guns & Gear premieres Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 3:00 pm Eastern time on Versus. The first episode, which focuses on hunting with AR-platform rifles, will feature new products from from Kimber, Nosler, Springfield Armory, Smith & Wesson and Olympic Arms.

Every Guns & Gear episode will cover interesting and innovative new shooting products, showcased via range sessions and real-world field tests, combined with in-studio interviews with product engineers. Celebrity host Tom Gresham promises to deliver the “inside scoop” on the latest and most interesting gear for target shooters and hunters.

Dennis Builds Another 20 Practical AR Tack-Driver

Here at AccurateShooter.com, we have promoted the “20 Practical”, a great little cartridge created by simply necking down the .223 Remington to 20 caliber. Popularized for bolt guns by Warren B (aka “Fireball”), the 20 Practical is also an excellent choice for an AR-platform varmint rifle. It offers better ballistics than a .223 Rem, with less recoil, and more velocity. Plus the 20 Practical, by all indications, appears to be an inherently accurate cartridge that “wants to shoot”. Our own AR ‘Ultimate Varminter’ project rifle, developed with Robert Whitley, was chambered as a 20 Practical. That gun shot “lights out”, demonstrating how well the little cartridge works.

Forum member ‘Dennis in VA’ recently put together his own 20 Practical AR with all-premium components. Dennis took his impressive new gun to the range yesterday, and it looks to be a tack-driver. Check out the target below, shot with Sierra 39gr BlitzKing bullets. That’s three shots in 0.375″ edge-to-edge, at 100 yards. (NOTE: regarding this H335 load, we advise to start 10% low and work up.)

Dennis got his upper from Whitley’s AR-X Enterprises. It features a heavy billet upper receiver (with side charging handle), fitted with a 24″ PacNor SS Super Match 11-twist barrel. Mounted to the upper is a +20 MOA, GS-1 Scope Rail from GG&G. Riding on top is a Nightforce 5.5-22X50 NP-R1 scope in Nightforce ultra-light rings.

The lower is equally exotic. Machined from billet by American Precision Arms, it is fitted with with a RRA LPK and a Geissele trigger. The tan, adjustable stock is a Magpul PRS model (Gen II). An Ergogrip tactical deluxe Suregrip completes the build. Dennis in VA has put together a very nice set-up to say the least. And it definitely shoots.

To learn more about the 20 Practical cartridge for AR rifles, visit Robert Whitley’s 20 Practical Webpage. There you’ll find load data, info on dies and reloading, plus advice on hardware and barrel selection. Robert also has a video showing how to form 20 Practical brass.

Top Smiths for ARs, Service Rifles, and Space-Guns

It’s time for the NRA National Matches, which means that hundreds of Service Rifle shooters will be converging on Camp Perry, Ohio. It also means that AR shooters may need some expert help to tune up their rifles, and maybe fit a new barrel or trigger to improve accuracy. AccurateShooter.com has a list of Recommended Gunsmiths. Most of the smiths listed on our Gunsmith Page specialize in bolt-action rifles, for Benchrest, varminting, and long-range. While some do work on AR15s and “space-guns”, this is not their primary focus.

If you need a first-rate gunsmith for a service rifle, Sinclair International has compiled its own list of smiths including highly respected names. For service rifles (including AR types), Sinclair recommends the following:

Phil Arrington (Service Rifle) Arrington Accuracy Works 1408 West Ross Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85027 Phone: (623) 582-5066 Compass Lake Eng. (Service Rifle) 719 White Dr Alford, FL 32420 Phone: (850) 579-1208 Fulton Armory (Service Rifle & Parts) 8725 Bollman Pl., #1 Savage, MD 20763 Phone: (301) 490-9485 Derrick Martin (Service Rifle) Accuracy Speaks, Inc. 3960 N. Usery Pass Rd. Mesa, AZ 85207 Phone: (480) 373-9499 E-mail: ask-derrick@accuracyspeaks.com

Medesha Firearms (Service Rifle) 10321 E Adobe Rd Mesa, AZ 85207 Phone: (480) 986-5876 E-mail: medeshafirearms@aol.com Website: www.medeshafirearms.com Albert Turner Enterprises (Service Rifle) 38327 W. Mountain View Road Tonopah, AZ 85354 (623) 696-5843 ajturner@juno.com Bill Wylde (Service Rifle) Wylde & Co. PO Box 261 Greenup, IL 62428 Phone: (217) 923-3266

To Sinclair’s list we would definitely add John Holliger of White Oak Precision. John built the upper for the Smith & Wesson M&P AR with which Carl Bernosky won the Camp Perry High Power Championship in 2007. This marked the first time an AR-style semi-auto has won that event. John also builds many outstanding components for AR-style rifles, including windage-adjustable front sight bases, and the White Oak Precision Adjustable Buttstock (right).

John Holliger
White Oak Precision
101 South Perry
Carlock, IL 61725
Phone: (309) 376-2288

If you are looking for ultra-accurate, high-quality 6mm uppers for ARs and Spaceguns chambered for the 6mmAR and 6mmAR Turbo (based on the 6.5 Grendel case), contact Robert Whitley at AR-X Enterprises, (215) 348-8789. Robert’s uppers are built from the highest grade components and he uses premium barrels. Robert’s uppers shoot extremely well.