My AR is PERFECT now!

[swingset]

Had a neutered 20" Hbar Bushmaster that I bought on a whim a while back. Shot well enough, but was a pretty boring rifle. Had a long couple years to look at it and dream all the setups I could come up with to improve it.

In the end, I decided to keep it simple, but still make it unique. What I decided was to shorten the barrel to 18", thread and attach a FH/Brake and turn the barrel down to the smallest profile of the Hbar (.720" IIRC) all the way down to the barrel nut. The brake is the Bushmaster Izzy brake. A good brake, too. Works well to reduce flip but isn't abusively loud like the MiniY.

I just got it all put back together and recently put the gun through its paces with crappy & then good match loads to see how I like it. Here it is:

The balance and weight of the gun now is PERFECT. Very agile, but not too light. Accuracy is still great, at 100 yards with my handloads I had no problem keeping 10 rounds into 2", and that was with my crappy eyesight and a stock trigger.

It's only a tac-sling away from greatness, but thought I'd share my new baby. I highly recommend this setup, it's a wonderful compromise between carbine and rifle.

 

[clown714]

sweet

what are your handloads?

clown

 

[OpenRoad]

That IS cool. Thanks for sharing and

*bump* for others to see.

 

[usp_fan]

Nice rifle!

I too recently lightened and shortened my barrel to 18" and moved to a flattop upper. I agree, the length of barrel is really ideal. I does make the rifle much more lively. I'm just deciding between an A1 or colapsable stock to finish it up.

--usp_fan

 

[psyopspec]

It's a beautiful piece. Are you considering anything in the way of optics?

 

[swingset]

Not planning any optics on it, I have other AR's with optics. Kinda wanted this one to be plain and functional. Something elegant about a std. A2 with no doodads, I think.

Clown, my handloads are pretty simple...but work good in the 1:9 Bushy barrels. 53gr. Sierra Match Kings in front of 25.5gr. of Varget in Lake City Brass, CCI primers. Seated to max mag length for feeding, no crimp. I uniform the primer pockets and flash hole, and weigh the brass and sort it for consistency. Very good load. In my scoped 20", it'll do sub-MOA no problem.
Hits to the same POA that XM193 does, which is my std. range ammo. If you use commercial brass, you can up that by a full grain or so since the brass is thinner. YMMV.