It has been around 20+ years now. Since one of my older bro's(Recon combat grunt in Viet Nam). Advised me to get rid of my bolt rifle & buy me an AR. I told him, "I do not like that design". He followed up, "They are an accurate rifle & have a very fast follow up shot". Yet I held off buying one for awhile anyway. Not long afterwards. I bought one & gave it a go. It was a 20" HB 1:9 twist .223 Bushmaster AR. I bought varying mfg ammo & bullet weights. Wanting to find the most accurate ammo. While testing those various bullets. I quickly realized how accurate my rifle was. Shooting the 45gr HP Win Varmint pack. It would print(no crosswind days). 1/2-3/4" groups consistently off of a bench rest or shooting prone. The 55gr Win Ballistic Tips. Were more accurate @ 100yrds in a crosswind vs the Win 45 gr HP Varmint Pack ammo. Which would drift 4" in a 10mph crosswind. I used both for hunting coyotes. Which ended up very similar in the kill shots. I've been hooked on AR's ever since. I still miss my 22-250 bolt rifle now & then. Because it was a tack driver shooting prone.
My introduction to the AR platform
- Thread starter medic joe
- Start date
DoubleLungRage
Well-known member
Even though I have killed pigs, coyotes, and deer with mine, I am still a bolt guy.
AR's are fun to shoot though. I am going to build a good long range AR one day.
I have an old NEF single shot with a 1:12 twist that loves those 45gr Winchesters.
AR's are fun to shoot though. I am going to build a good long range AR one day.
I have an old NEF single shot with a 1:12 twist that loves those 45gr Winchesters.
My introduction to ARs. 55 years ago they handed me one when I landed in Chu Lai Vietnam, took us out in the jungle and we sighted them in. A week riding around in the dozer was enough and I went to the armory and traded it for a M-14 and a Stevens pump shotgun.
Fast forward a half century and I won the PM Egg Shoot and the first prize custom AR in 20P, beautiful rifle and very accurate, I just couldn't get comfortable with it, it was just awkward in my hands. I tried everything else including a shorter upper(it helped a little) the have a few different risers, I just can't get into it like bolt-actions or a combo gun. Yes I have it a chance and then some, killed some coyotes with it even, if it weren't a sentimental trophy I would have sent it down the road . Ive tried chassis and get the same vibes from them. I have four thumb hole stocks and two are laying on the stock shelf, one is on a rifle for my wife and the other is on my target 222 Rem, it works fine on a benchrest.
Fast forward a half century and I won the PM Egg Shoot and the first prize custom AR in 20P, beautiful rifle and very accurate, I just couldn't get comfortable with it, it was just awkward in my hands. I tried everything else including a shorter upper(it helped a little) the have a few different risers, I just can't get into it like bolt-actions or a combo gun. Yes I have it a chance and then some, killed some coyotes with it even, if it weren't a sentimental trophy I would have sent it down the road . Ive tried chassis and get the same vibes from them. I have four thumb hole stocks and two are laying on the stock shelf, one is on a rifle for my wife and the other is on my target 222 Rem, it works fine on a benchrest.
Shot bolt guns all my life hunting and 25 years in competition. Never paid any attention to the AR's until they started showing up and shooting well at matches. Picked up a Bushmaster Preditor and it was a tack driver. The AR pistol grip provides a straighter trigger pull, more natural position for my hunting style, sitting w/rifle shouldered on sticks for duration of stands in brush country.
Plant.One
Well-known member
i had shot preban colts back in the day. wasnt real impressed, but we were just blastering with irons and surplus ammo.
fast forward years later... grandpa passed away and all of us grandkids got a small check out of the estate, his only requirement was spend it on something that will last.
so... i picked up a bushmaster ORC & a cheap bushnell, got my reloading press, fed it my first batch of handloads - and shot what still is likely one of the best groups of my life with some 55gr vmax over varget. holy sh!t i was hooked.
currently i have 11 calibers in the ar platform (including ar10), multiple of which are setup for 500yd+ usage. most of those will produce sub MOA accuracy, some of them capable of sub ½ MOA.
they've claimed multiple deer for the freezer, tore varmints of various types to pieces, and made a *lot* of holes in paper and splashed paint off steel.
fast forward years later... grandpa passed away and all of us grandkids got a small check out of the estate, his only requirement was spend it on something that will last.
so... i picked up a bushmaster ORC & a cheap bushnell, got my reloading press, fed it my first batch of handloads - and shot what still is likely one of the best groups of my life with some 55gr vmax over varget. holy sh!t i was hooked.
currently i have 11 calibers in the ar platform (including ar10), multiple of which are setup for 500yd+ usage. most of those will produce sub MOA accuracy, some of them capable of sub ½ MOA.
they've claimed multiple deer for the freezer, tore varmints of various types to pieces, and made a *lot* of holes in paper and splashed paint off steel.
William Suter
Well-known member
Had a few but they never lasted very long. Just don't have much use for them.