Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

All,

My daughter-in-law used to shoot bb guns in middle school and now she wants to start shooting competitively again. I don't think there's any Small-Bore in our area, so I thought I'd get her set up for Service Rifle and XTC. I don't want her to be turned off by a high power rifle, so I thought I would buy her a mouse gun. What do you recommend for a reasonable AR platform to get started?

Thanks,
Charlie

Smaller is probably better so you don't put her off with recoil, but I would stress that she should choose (within reason). What does she want to compete in? What appeals to her? Much like a CC piece, if you don't take pride in it you won't put in the hard work to maintain it, practice, etc. I'd recommend (if possible) you take her around to different competitions and she what strikes her interest, particularly if the competition requires more active shooting (e.g. 3 gun, IDPA, cowboy, etc.) vice stationary target shooting.

Ever thought of 10m pellet?

gunderwood wrote:Smaller is probably better so you don't put her off with recoil, but I would stress that she should choose (within reason). What does she want to compete in? What appeals to her? Much like a CC piece, if you don't take pride in it you won't put in the hard work to maintain it, practice, etc. I'd recommend (if possible) you take her around to different competitions and she what strikes her interest, particularly if the competition requires more active shooting (e.g. 3 gun, IDPA, cowboy, etc.) vice stationary target shooting.

Ever thought of 10m pellet?

She says she wants to shoot rifle and the only thing around here ()that I know of) is the matches at Quantico. I've never even heard of 10M pellet...

How about the NRA Range in Fairfax?

"Sunday nights (September through April), beginning at 5 p.m., the Acorns, a junior league, meet for smallbore rifle competition. There's no need to be an expert -- with handicap levels for every class of shooter, you win by competing against yourself. So come on out for wholesome fun, fellowship and friendly competition!"

http://www.nrahq.org/shootingrange/nrah ... events.asp

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... air_pistol

There is a rifle version too...its an Olympic sport. IIRC NRA hold competitions and even CMP sells the rifles.

Edit: http://www.thecmp.org/airrifles.htm The rifles are not cheap, but ammo is much cheaper than firearms and depending on your property you can practice outside...even inside with the right setup.

Charlie & Gunderwood,

Thanks guys, but Quantico is 10 minutes away and the NRA range is well over an hour on the best of days. I'll ask her what she wants to do, but I'd like to keep it local if I can.

Get her one of these http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm? ... ory_id=226 and some magazines and ammo. that will set her up for some of the Quantico shooting. Recoil with a .223? Really? It's nowhere near what an M-14 or M-1 Garand has.

Jim

Jim,

jrswanson1 wrote:Get her one of these http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm? ... ory_id=226 and some magazines and ammo. that will set her up for some of the Quantico shooting.

Thanks!

jrswanson1 wrote:Recoil with a .223? Really? It's nowhere near what an M-14 or M-1 Garand has.

That's the whole point of getting her a mouse gun. I don't want to scare her away with a man's rifle!

R/s,
Charlie

jrswanson1 wrote:Get her one of these http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm? ... ory_id=226 and some magazines and ammo. that will set her up for some of the Quantico shooting. Recoil with a .223? Really? It's nowhere near what an M-14 or M-1 Garand has.

Jim

FYI

The Wylde chamber is great for matches and such, but it isn't meant to shoot lots of surplus out of. It can do it, but under certain conditins you may be approaching dangerous pressures.

gunderwood wrote:The Wylde chamber is great for matches and such, but it isn't meant to shoot lots of surplus out of. It can do it, but under certain conditins you may be approaching dangerous pressures.

What do you recommend in that general price range?

notesdev wrote:

gunderwood wrote:The Wylde chamber is great for matches and such, but it isn't meant to shoot lots of surplus out of. It can do it, but under certain conditins you may be approaching dangerous pressures.

What do you recommend in that general price range?

For competition the Wylde is probably the best. It just about knowing what you're buying. If you want a SHTF/tactical carbine you want a 5.56mm chamber. If you want to punch little groups at a match, get the Wylde chamber. The RRAs are good guns, but there is a reason they chamber their stainless steel match barrels/guns with the Wylde and their tactical guns with 5.56mm.

The Wylde is basically a tight chamber and throat designed for accuracy, but that's going to make it a poor choice for tactical purposes. I just wanted to make sure you understood that difference, nothing more. Not many people do which is why I mentioned it; they assume that .223/5.56mm and the chambering are the same. If you search for Wylde on this forum we discussed it at length.

gunderwood wrote:The Wylde is basically a tight chamber and throat designed for accuracy, but that's going to make it a poor choice for tactical purposes. I just wanted to make sure you understood that difference, nothing more. Not many people do which is why I mentioned it; they assume that .223/5.56mm and the chambering are the same. If you search for Wylde on this forum we discussed it at length.

Thanks - that was informative and I'll search as you suggested. I've known for many years that the SAAMI specs for max pressures were different, but I thought the outer dimensions were identical.

I saw a list of questions you posted on an AR in the for sale section, but several of the questions meant little or nothing to me even though I qualified with the M-16 for 20 years. Maybe you could post a FAQ for AR newbies?

notesdev wrote:Thanks - that was informative and I'll search as you suggested. I've known for many years that the SAAMI specs for max pressures were different, but I thought the outer dimensions were identical.

The case is externally identical. The case thickness usually is not. Military brass tends to be thicker which reduces internal volume and increases pressure. There are tolerance attached to everything and the Wylde tweaks the chambering dimensions a bit to get better results. One of the biggest differences is the throat. The 5.56mm throat is "loose" so that it doesn't spike pressures after carbon has built up from many rounds. That isn't a concern with a match gun where you shoot your set and clean.

notesdev wrote: Maybe you could post a FAQ for AR newbies?

Or at least point us to a reliable resource for info... I've been looking into them a little, but still have a lot to learn before I make any purchases.

gunderwood wrote:

jrswanson1 wrote:Get her one of these http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm? ... ory_id=226 and some magazines and ammo. that will set her up for some of the Quantico shooting. Recoil with a .223? Really? It's nowhere near what an M-14 or M-1 Garand has.

Jim

FYI

The Wylde chamber is great for matches and such, but it isn't meant to shoot lots of surplus out of. It can do it, but under certain conditins you may be approaching dangerous pressures.

That's true, but I seriously doubt that she's going to be doing mag dumps with this. Thanks for the reminder, though.

Jim

notesdev wrote:

gunderwood wrote:Smaller is probably better so you don't put her off with recoil, but I would stress that she should choose (within reason). What does she want to compete in? What appeals to her? Much like a CC piece, if you don't take pride in it you won't put in the hard work to maintain it, practice, etc. I'd recommend (if possible) you take her around to different competitions and she what strikes her interest, particularly if the competition requires more active shooting (e.g. 3 gun, IDPA, cowboy, etc.) vice stationary target shooting.

Ever thought of 10m pellet?

She says she wants to shoot rifle and the only thing around here ()that I know of) is the matches at Quantico. I've never even heard of 10M pellet...

You may also want to check with the local IWLA chapters. I thought the Fairfax IWLA had competitions open to the public. And the same may be true of Fairfax Rod & Gun.