Navy Chief

Woke up to a bright and sunny day! Spent a couple of hours at the range running the Federal 90Gr Fusion rounds through the Valkyrie at 100 and 200 yards. Groups at 100 yards ran from a low of 0.758" (0.75 MOA) to a high of 1.389" (1.4 MOA). The 200 yard groups actually suprised me, smallest was 0.693" (0.35 MOA)and largest was 1.624" (0.82 MOA). OK, so why were the longer shot groups actually tighter? The only thing I can come up with is the old adage "Aim small, miss small". I use the same 2 " bullseye aiming point (2 MOA at 100 Yards, 1 MOA at 200 yards) so maybe I simply held on target better at the longer range. Whatever, I had fun, the rifle has now had about 50 rounds down the tube, the accuracy is well within my requirements for factory rounds, and I think I can get tighter groups with a bit of tweaking and some good handloads.

So there I was, reading all the reviews on the new .224 Valkyrie cartridge and thinkin' to myself that it could be a great round to play with. Well, I crawled into Ma's office lookin' as pitiful as I could but she saw right through me (after 46 years of "Wedded Bliss" it ain't easy to sneak anything past that girl!) and asked what I wanted to buy. So after beggin', whinnin', and pleadin' ... er, negotiating ... she allowed me $350 for Christmas and I was off and running! Picked up a Bear Creek complete upper in .224 for a whoppin' $225 (delivered), an Athlon NEOS 4-12x40 scope for $110 (delivered), and pulled an old cantilevered scope mount out of a Junque box. Ta Da, $15 bucks under my limit so I spent $14.99 for a box of ammo! The upper came equipped with BCG and .224 Valkyrie bolt, 22" SS Fluted barrel, SS birdcage, 17" M-Loc free-float forend, low profile gas block and rifle length tube. The scope was half the price of a lot of Wally World Blue Light Specials and yet, after a thorough test procedure, I found it to be extremely accurate, very clear, and frankly, one of the best value-for-the-money scopes I've ever come across (and I have owned scopes from $25 to $2,500). OK, so how does it shoot? Well, I mounted it on my Bushmaster lower, slithered out to my range, bore sighted it and put 3 in the black at 25 yards, turned around and fired three 3 shot groups at 100 yards, 1-1/4", 1-1/2", and 1"! Yee Ha! Moved over to the 200 yard bench and shot 3 groups 2-1/2", 2-1/2", and 3"! The cartridge was designed for the 90gr "long for caliber" bullets (long throat) and the shorter 75gr loads are not noted for accuracy but my results were a lot better than I expected, especially from a new rifle that had not been broken in. I bought some 90gr rounds and as soon as the rain stops I'm going to try them out, I'll post more info when that happens. Cheap guns are so much fun!

Jeff, my old Bushmaster would shoot 2 MOA all day with good factory loads but that just wasn't good enough so I changed the barrel. Got better but still ... so I changed the trigger ... er, the handguard, grip, and stock too ... uumm, the BCG, buffer and spring went by the wayside ... Oh wait, I need to lap the receiver and bed the barrel extension ... uh, how about a new scope ... long story short, you CAN get sub MOA out of an AR but get ready to play PIMP MY RIFLE! If your bone stock AR shoots 2 MOA, it is about as good as it is going to get without spending a bunch of time and money. Have fun and go burn some ammo!

I run into a similar issue when I load test a new round. Basically, I fire one round of a known load for a "base line POI", dry patch the rifle, walk to the target to mark the shot (200m), and walk back. By the time I get back to the bench the barrel is within 10 degrees of cold temp and I start with my test string using the same technique for each round. I typically shoot 8-12 test rounds loaded in 1/2 grain increments and at the end of the string the barrel is never more than 30 degrees warmer than when I started. At the end I fire one more round of the original known load to verify POI hasn't changed and I'm done. I have found that (in my rifles at least) there is no measurable change in POI between the first "base line" round to the last POI verification round. Now having said all that, I'm an old codger so it takes me about 5-6 minutes to walk to the target and back, you young whippersnappers probably just run it in a minute or two! Seriously, five minutes between shots will be plenty of cool down time unless you are leaving the rifle in the hot sun on a hot summer day.

May be a bit far for you to drive but Standing Stone State Forest (about 8,800 acres) is in "B" and is about eat up with deer. (I live in Hilham about a mile from the forest). The terrain would be about what you are used to hunting (steep ridges, lots of creek valleys, and many cut over areas) and this time of year it is not hunted hard (at least in our area). Standing Stone State Park is in the State Forest and has rental cabins for a base of operations. The Forest has the same rules as Unit B so Does are fair game and there are hogs galore that can be harvested during Deer Season. Just a thought.

It is actually noted under the "Farmland Owner License Exemption section. It states that if you (or your kids) are hunting your own land you are exempt from the Hunter Education and Blaze Orange requirements. Like Omega noted, I keep it with me and wear it to and from my stand just in case somebody is trespassing on my land.

OK, this may not be the correct forum but here goes (Moderator, please move if needed). For years I have always processed my own deer so maybe I have an inflated sense of how much meat I should get as a percentage of field dressed weight. Recently I took a deer to a local processor and was "less than pleased" with the amount I got back. Buck field dressed at 136# and I got about 40# back in the form of ground (about 18#), roasts (about 10#), back strap/tenderloin/steak (about 12#). My questions are (1) is this a "normal" return for a processor, (2) do any of you do your own processing and, if so, what do you typically get from your deer, and (3) what do you see as the Pro's and Con's of DIY butchering? Thanks and keep shooting!

Put up a new ladder stand Wednesday about 200 yards from the house, tried it out Thursday morning, took an 8 point at 8:00, and have now been informed that my season is over ... she is NOT buying a third freezer!

Thanks for this thread! I have a few pieces of "range brass" with those markings and that 3 point staking on the primer, wasn't sure what it was and haven't tried to reload it. The brass is almost identical in weight, case capacity, and neck thickness as the LC ('75) I use.

WA, an easy calculation if you don't want to climb around on the roof is ... "Pitch Multiplier for a 6:12 roof is 1.34 x width of the roof (from front facia to rear facia across the bottom chord) x length. Those measurments can be taken from the ground (or off a small ladder) then divide by 100 if you want the number of squares. Have you given thought to a metal roof? I had my house steel roofed by a Menonite Roofing Contractor from the Muddy Pond Community and the cost was almost exactly the same as a 20 year shingle roof (which, in reality only lasts 10 years). If you plan on staying in the home for many years it pays for itself from a "don't worry about roof leaks" standpoint!

Hey you are correct, the News Release left those facts out!

Because the anti-gun crowd has run out of bad things to say about my favorite “firearm of color” and seem to be simply repeating themselves I have decided to introduce a new and improved target for their ire. And so, without further ado, I give you … A News Release From BS Arms, LLC. Introducing the all new BR-549 BATTLE RIFLE! This Ultra Modern ROTARY MAGAZINE Box fed BATTLE RIFLE is being released to the PUBLIC for the first time! Built from solid billet Titanium Di-Oxide and other ultra light composted materials, this fully semi-AUTOMATIC WEAPON is virtually UNDETECTABLE by METAL DETECTORS. It comes equipped from the factory with a HIGH SPEED CLIP-a-zine capable of holding over 300 ROUNDS of DEADLY .556 CALIBER ammo. The HAMMER RIFLED double Bi-Flex Barrel is internally coated with CHROMALLOY-TEFLON for accuracy to ensure ONE SHOT KILLS! In SNIPER MODE, the GUN is guaranteed to hit its target out to 10,000 yards. The barrel is THREADED for TACTCAL STRATEGIC SILENCERS making for a TOTALLY SILENT GUN when used in ASSAULT MODE! The BR-549 also comes equipped with the newly released NEAR ULTRA INFRARED TRITIUM NIGHT SIGHT which allows the SHOOTER to SEE IN THE DARK and offers RANGE ESTIMATION and TARGET DETECTION even through walls and closed doors! The new and improved composite FOLDABLE STOCK makes the GUN EASILY CONCEALEABLE for inside the waistband CONCEALED CARRY and when folded the GUN can easily be HIDDEN in CARRY ON LUGGAGE. There is also an option for a BAYONET LUG on the SHORT BARREL! In addition, the SMALL SIZE of this BATTLE RIFLE makes it the PERFECT GUN for KIDS! The BR-549 BATTLE RIFLE has been deemed TOO DANGEROUS for MILITIA use and will only be sold to the PUBLIC. The LOW COST of the GUN, $6.47 at press time, is designed to PROMOTE MULTIPLE PURCHASES for your ARSENAL! Be the first on your block to ORDER BY MAIL for the NO WAITING PERIOD special!

Don't want to Hijack the thread but yes, Michael and Anthony said they will re-open the range in the Spring after they get the contamination cleaned up and the new make-up air system installed. Now back on the thread, I've seen the signs but have never been to Buds, it is a couple of hours up the road, are the prices/inventory worth the effort?

Had a similar problem on my LR-308 build but it was all on me! Dropped the receiver and dented a spot on the lip of the threads. Took a needle file to straighten out the threads, applied BLUE Loctite to the barrel extension and installed as usual. I've probably run a couple thousand rounds through it since and have had no problems at all. Extremely accurate rifle and the Loctite fills all the voids ensuring 100% contact between the receiver and the barrel (just be careful to not get any on the barrel nut threads or inside the action). I use the same procedure on all my 10/22 builds because the factory barrel to receiver fit is fairly sloppy.

The Vortex is very good for it's price point and should work well on the M1A. Ran one on my AR-10 for a short while, haven't had any issues with it and the glass is clear but I got to a point where I could afford an upgrade and wanted a higher power so I moved to a Nikon Monarch 5 in 3-15 x 42. I kept the Crossfire II and I'm currently running it on one of my AR-15s.