S&W M&P15 Sport II - First Range Day

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S&W M&P15 Sport II - First Range Day:

Well the rifle did okay, but I had some issues that mucked things up.

I set up 1 large target at my club range at 100m+. I put 2x 10RD mags through the M&P15 and went to have a look. (1-4x24mm so I can't see much at 100m.)

Not bad considering it was bore sighted after taking it off the MR1. I made a 1 1/2" change to the right and fired the rest of the rounds from there.
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Next I setup a second target to test my CZ 527. This is with the stock that was badly cracked that I fixed and bedded. 20RD, last 10RD almost locked in on the #8 ring.
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However at this point I noticed I had about a dozen ticks on me. I have long sleeves and pants on so brush them off and quickly head back to the bench. Once there my wife notices I have a tick on my right arm. (Sleeves are pushed up.) I try to brush it off but it sticks. I use a spent 5.56 case and it pops off. Now I'm feeling a little creeped out because I get that itchy all over feeling. I take off my shirt and my wife sees one on my back, which she is able to just wipe off. Then I see two more on my pants that I missed, or collected, walking back to the bench. Brush them off and pull up my pant legs to check but legs seem good.

Here is the walk that got me 12 ticks.
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So, at this point, I'm only 30 minutes into testing and sighting in the rifles but no way I'm making the walk again. So I just put the CZ 527 away and proceed to fire another 180RD of mixed 5.56 brass China Surplus and Barnaul .223.

Using binoculars I could see I'd shot out the bull on the top target but no way I was going back to get it after my last trip. Zooming in with the cell camera was as close as I was going to get.
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On the drive home I had one more tick appear on my hand that I was able to get into a water bottle with my wifes assistance. And later still at home when I did a full body search my wife found one more tick on the back of my leg.


I can't see or feel any bite marks yet but I'll be checking later in the bath. Maybe after tick season I'll try this again...

Both rifles did great. No FTF, FTE, hang-ups or cracks. I used some G96 after the first 50 rounds on the M&P15 to keep it wet but that was about it. CZ 527 looks fine two but I'll know more when I go to clean them later.

Rifles tested:
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Bugger that followed me into the car so we stuffed him into a water bottle.
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Target area:
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Very cool, but ticks give me the creeps, I would have been outta there. ;)

Ya. For the rest of the day I was constantly checking myself and feeling itchy. (The fact I found 3 more on my skin by the time I was home didn't help.)
We had planned on bringing the dog but decided not to as rain was in the forecast. Glad we left him at home!

I guess I've been lucky in the past. I've never had an issue with ticks before, but then I didn't spray anything on myself either since I was going to the club.

The sighting in was a bust, but at least it's on paper and I can finish it another time. All the magazines I have worked great. LAR-15 grey, PCV Beowulf, LAR-15 black, MFT 10RD, and some 5RD mags that came with different rifles.

It liked all the ammo equally, this trip. 5.56 FMJ 55gr 1995 surplus, Barnaul .223 FMJ 55gr, Barnaul .223 HP 55gr. I'll try some nicer rounds once I've sighted in properly.

I do think I'm going to have to get a 1-6x24 or better scope. The 1-4x24 just doesn't quite show me enough at 100m. Old eyes suck!
 
Just use the "Enhance!" feature on your phone to zoom right in on those little bullet holes.

I have a used Millet 1-6x and used Strike Eagle 1-6x for sale, PM if interested.
 
Ya. For the rest of the day I was constantly checking myself and feeling itchy. (The fact I found 3 more on my skin by the time I was home didn't help.)
We had planned on bringing the dog but decided not to as rain was in the forecast. Glad we left him at home!

I guess I've been lucky in the past. I've never had an issue with ticks before, but then I didn't spray anything on myself either since I was going to the club.

The sighting in was a bust, but at least it's on paper and I can finish it another time. All the magazines I have worked great. LAR-15 grey, PCV Beowulf, LAR-15 black, MFT 10RD, and some 5RD mags that came with different rifles.

It liked all the ammo equally, this trip. 5.56 FMJ 55gr 1995 surplus, Barnaul .223 FMJ 55gr, Barnaul .223 HP 55gr. I'll try some nicer rounds once I've sighted in properly.

I do think I'm going to have to get a 1-6x24 or better scope. The 1-4x24 just doesn't quite show me enough at 100m. Old eyes suck!

In regards to the Barnaul .223 ammo, do you know if it's steel coated or cored? The indoor range I goto doesn't allow steel coated or cored bullets and wanted to know if it sticks to a magnet? The Barnaul seems to be the lowest cost price at the moment and I'd like to get that if possible for the M&P 15.
 
In regards to the Barnaul .223 ammo, do you know if it's steel coated or cored? The indoor range I goto doesn't allow steel coated or cored bullets and wanted to know if it sticks to a magnet? The Barnaul seems to be the lowest cost price at the moment and I'd like to get that if possible for the M&P 15.

I don't think any Barnaul is steel core. The lead in the ones I've checked is harder than others but still lead. The jacket is bimetal and it does stick to magnets. My club allows all ammo but indoor must be under 2000fps. (So pretty much pistol ammo or rimfire.)

I was jus reading how the Ruger 5.56 doesn't seem to feed Barnaul well. My Benelli MR1 shoots it fine but doesn't like a lot of mags, black LAR-15 are horrid. But the M&P15 Sport 2 had no issues with mags or even Barnaul hollow points.
 
I have a used Millet 1-6x and used Strike Eagle 1-6x for sale, PM if interested.
"adamg has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space."

Think you need to PM me after you make some room. ;)
 
I'm going to Chatham to-day to shoot.Was there Sunday and didn't find/see any ticks.Going to be extra diligent to-day.:sok2

Watch for the traffic. They are repaving the highway and closed one or two off-ramps.

We also saw three deer that morning near the club. One poor fawn dead in the middle of the road, a doe on the club road, and another that shot off into the bush before I could get a look at it.

Also we got there just after 9:30am. It had rained hard, the ground was a soaking sponge and muddy as hell. Lots of tall grass at the sides and back of the berm area. It also looked like the grass had been cut in the last day but hard to say do to the rain. Tractor tire tracks could be seen in the dirt but not on the grass.

I grew up in Thamesville - not far away. What club was this at? I was only aware of Cloverleaf in Chatham.
Sent you a PM.
 
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Shot to-day and didn't find any ticks.The owner was cutting the grass and I asked about the tick issue.He said as long as the grass is cut short there's no problem.The Garand didn't disappoint with great groups.Wrung out my Henry Big Boy and shot the M&P Sport till the cows came home.Put a new compensater on the M&P and shot off my range bag.Melted a nice hole in my outer compartment on my range bag from the muzzle blast!Live and learnf:P:2:
 
Shot to-day and didn't find any ticks.The owner was cutting the grass and I asked about the tick issue.He said as long as the grass is cut short there's no problem.The Garand didn't disappoint with great groups.Wrung out my Henry Big Boy and shot the M&P Sport till the cows came home.Put a new compensater on the M&P and shot off my range bag.Melted a nice hole in my outer compartment on my range bag from the muzzle blast!Live and learnf:P:2:

They do get a little warm don't they? ;) I wonder why they didn't include a heat shield? When I could see the heat shimmer in the scope I just switched back to the CZ 527. The smell of the handguard plastic and white smoke rising was annoying and amusing. 200RDS didn't last long!
 
Is anybody whom has received their M&P 15 breaking in the barrels or are "we" just blazing away?

I cleaned the barrel,checked the action for proper lube,and just shot it.Didn't heat the barrel to an extreme just shot a few rounds,let it cool,then shot more.Came back from range and cleaned it.With my heavy barreled Browning X bolt in .204 Ruger varmint I did the barrel break-in procedure.Shoot clean,shoot clean etc. but not with the Sport.It's coated with Armalite from what I read and for me it's not a 500 yard tack driver but a 25,50,100 yard fun gun.I'll use it 3 gun also and that's why I have a red dot on it not a scope.I load my own .223 with CFE223 powder and it seems to keep things fairly clean.Bought a few upgrades that I wanted and so far it doesn't disappoint!
 
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They do get a little warm don't they? ;) I wonder why they didn't include a heat shield? When I could see the heat shimmer in the scope I just switched back to the CZ 527. The smell of the handguard plastic and white smoke rising was annoying and amusing. 200RDS didn't last long!

I changed out the hand guard right from the get go with a Strike Industries Viper (which has a heat shield).The J-89 V2 compensator (also Strike Industries) I installed reduces recoil 61% (did alot of research before purchasing) but gives a big blast on both sides of the muzzle break.That's what melted my range bag not the barrel leaning on it. Shoot from my Hoppes rifle rest now...:HR:
 
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