Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Ok, help me outfit this bad boy. I bought this yesterday at Quantico Tactical for $877. After tax it was $922. I get the $100 mail in rebate, so I got a S & W M&P 15 OR, 5.56, for $822. Which as we all know in today's market is just fricken awesome. They had 7 left in the store. Came with one magpul 30 rd mag. So any suggestions on optics, sights, acessories, rounds (it's a 1 in 9 twist). I'll be using it for yotes, varmits and home defense. Thanks for any suggestions.

For 1:9 barrels, you'll find better accuracy with lighter projectiles. When I owned an M4 carbine profile AR with a 16" bbl and a 1:9 twist, I liked XM193 and surplus M193 rounds for that reason. With the right trigger, optics, ammo - and of course technique - you can expect laserbeam accuracy out to 300 yards. Heavier rounds like the M855 will also work well, just not as well at longer range. Some extremely heavy .223 hunting rounds may not stabilize in flight with the 1:9 twist rate, resulting in keyholing, but that'll still kill a coyote.

Optics-wise, for coyotes and varmints, you'll want optics that have a wider field of view... so something low magnification, or an open-window holographic sight would be good so you can keep them in your peripheral vision as you swing onto target. For home defense, an open-window holographic sight with flip-up backup sights would be recommended. Anything EoTech or Aimpoint would be the best holographic sights money can buy ($450 and up ), but if you want to save some bucks, Primary Arms makes EXCELLENT quality red dot sights that are similar to Aimpoint, but at about 1/6th or 1/7th of the price ($70-80 depending on rail mount options, comes with flip-up caps, batteries, and a lens cloth). I have the Primary Arms red dot on my M&P 15-22, and a Primary Arms micro red dot that I use on my .357 magnum revolver. You can add a 3x magnifier or 6x magnifier on a swing-away mount to any holographic sight for hunting/longer range use. Burris Fastfire III is also a great mid-price range red dot sight (I have one on my .22LR target pistol).

Happy shooting!

Thanks for the advice Jason!!

1:9 is good for weights up to 69gr. For coyotes, I'd get a 2-7x or 3-9x scope with a Burris PEPR mount and a red dot sight on an offset mount for close in work. You'll find the offset red dot is handy if a coyote pops up inside 50 yards, and works well on the HD front, too.

Thanks! You know the best place to pick up the Burris PEPR?

I found a couple of good places, thanks, nice looking mount. I think I'll pair it up with the Nikon P 223 scope.

I have that Nikon in 2-7x. Great scope. You should probably find a .22 rimfire upper for it, too.