cal30_sniper
WKR
I, for one, at excited about the new iron sight only regulations that Utah is trying out this year. While I wait on the off chance that I drew either of the iron sight units I put in for, I’ve been toying with one of my planned mechanisms for hunting them.
It’s a repurpose of a rifle I screwed, hammered, and wrenched together a few years ago (I hear the term ‘build’ is only for those lucky enough to have a lathe in the home shop) that ended up flopping in use due to a Steiner Cinder thermal with a poor enough interface that I just didn’t like shooting it. So now we rebuild it with a different purpose.
The rifle itself is a small frame AR assembled on an Alexander Arms (Alexander, not Anderson, get your mind out of the parts gutter) lower and a Gibbs side charging upper. The centerpiece is a JP Enterprises 18” SuperMatch barrel in 6.5 Grendel, with an accompanying JP Bolt and LMOS carrier.
Why an AR? For me, it’s hard to think of a better iron sight combo than A2s outside of dedicated Target rifle sights. With a low recoiling round, you can mount the rear sight even further off the back of the receiver for more of a diopter effect, which really helps with sharpening targets against the front sight post at range. The JP barrel maintains its .750 gas block profile all the way to the muzzle, meaning a clamp on front sight block can be mounted farther forward for longer sight radius. I’m simultaneously messing with a Globe front sight on a Tikka, but the heavier recoil of the light .308 bolt action coupled with the lack of diopter effect from a rear peep that’s still forward of the bolt handle leads me shooting much better so far with the AR.
Now I know what you’re thinking, the UT reg forbids semi auto. Well, that’s where the adjustable gas comes in. With gas turned off, which requires a tool I don’t plan to carry with me in the field, it’s just a straight pull. That’s also the reason for the side charger. MUCH better purchase for getting the bolt open on an action that lacks primary extraction.
Range trip results are extremely positive. Here’s my first sighter group with Hornady Black 123gr BTHP at 2500fps:
After a couple of loosening and tapping sessions with the front sight base, I had windage within 1MOA of centered, which I figured was within the variability of different loads. At this point, I locked the front sight base down with 65in-lbs and red loctite.
The next 10 round group, with 120gr Nosler BTs over a bunch of XBR-8208. My rifles love this load. At 2600fps, it’s hot for an AR, but I’ve got a good bolt and I’m not seeing any pressure signs, so I’ll keep using it. I likely tossed the one or two of the high rounds, but will have to do some more shooting with this load to see:
Next (and final) ten round group was with Hornady Black 123gr ELDMs. At 2500fps, they’re slower than my handloads, but I was really impressed with the group. At this point, I was really settling in with the sight setup:
I’ll be doing a few more shoot-offs between this and the Tikka .308 as I continue to refine the sights on the Tikka. Another prospective contender is a 1915 production Winchester 1895 in .30-40 Krag, but the lack of suppressor and punishing recoil of that setup may keep it lagging behind in my mind. So far, the little Grendel is displaying the best sights, best shoot ability, and best ergonomics of the group so far. My mind may change when I get the suppressor mounted on the .308, or when I try something lighter than 220gr bullets in the .30-40. We’ll see.
Anyone else messing with iron sight combos in anticipation of tags you wont draw?
It’s a repurpose of a rifle I screwed, hammered, and wrenched together a few years ago (I hear the term ‘build’ is only for those lucky enough to have a lathe in the home shop) that ended up flopping in use due to a Steiner Cinder thermal with a poor enough interface that I just didn’t like shooting it. So now we rebuild it with a different purpose.
The rifle itself is a small frame AR assembled on an Alexander Arms (Alexander, not Anderson, get your mind out of the parts gutter) lower and a Gibbs side charging upper. The centerpiece is a JP Enterprises 18” SuperMatch barrel in 6.5 Grendel, with an accompanying JP Bolt and LMOS carrier.
Why an AR? For me, it’s hard to think of a better iron sight combo than A2s outside of dedicated Target rifle sights. With a low recoiling round, you can mount the rear sight even further off the back of the receiver for more of a diopter effect, which really helps with sharpening targets against the front sight post at range. The JP barrel maintains its .750 gas block profile all the way to the muzzle, meaning a clamp on front sight block can be mounted farther forward for longer sight radius. I’m simultaneously messing with a Globe front sight on a Tikka, but the heavier recoil of the light .308 bolt action coupled with the lack of diopter effect from a rear peep that’s still forward of the bolt handle leads me shooting much better so far with the AR.
Now I know what you’re thinking, the UT reg forbids semi auto. Well, that’s where the adjustable gas comes in. With gas turned off, which requires a tool I don’t plan to carry with me in the field, it’s just a straight pull. That’s also the reason for the side charger. MUCH better purchase for getting the bolt open on an action that lacks primary extraction.
Range trip results are extremely positive. Here’s my first sighter group with Hornady Black 123gr BTHP at 2500fps:
After a couple of loosening and tapping sessions with the front sight base, I had windage within 1MOA of centered, which I figured was within the variability of different loads. At this point, I locked the front sight base down with 65in-lbs and red loctite.
The next 10 round group, with 120gr Nosler BTs over a bunch of XBR-8208. My rifles love this load. At 2600fps, it’s hot for an AR, but I’ve got a good bolt and I’m not seeing any pressure signs, so I’ll keep using it. I likely tossed the one or two of the high rounds, but will have to do some more shooting with this load to see:
Next (and final) ten round group was with Hornady Black 123gr ELDMs. At 2500fps, they’re slower than my handloads, but I was really impressed with the group. At this point, I was really settling in with the sight setup:
I’ll be doing a few more shoot-offs between this and the Tikka .308 as I continue to refine the sights on the Tikka. Another prospective contender is a 1915 production Winchester 1895 in .30-40 Krag, but the lack of suppressor and punishing recoil of that setup may keep it lagging behind in my mind. So far, the little Grendel is displaying the best sights, best shoot ability, and best ergonomics of the group so far. My mind may change when I get the suppressor mounted on the .308, or when I try something lighter than 220gr bullets in the .30-40. We’ll see.
Anyone else messing with iron sight combos in anticipation of tags you wont draw?
