I took my Bushmaster Carbon-15 to the range this last Sunday and I have to say the rifle performed flawlessly. The rifle was purchased at Gander Mountain in May for the bargain basement price of $699. It came with a Bushnell red dot scope that has 6 M.O.A. accuracy. At the 100 yard range, the widest spread for a 10 shot group was 3-3/4". It has a great trigger on it and the first 200 rounds fed without any problems. This is my second Bushmaster and I have to say that I've been very happy with how they've performed up to this point. I am just wondering if anyone else has this rifle and what their experiences have been with it.
Range Test for my Bushmaster Carbon-15
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ugaarguy
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Nice to hear that the base Carbon 15 is working well for you. 3-3/4" groups with a sight that has a 6 MOA dot is good shooting. What ammo were you using, if I may ask? Also, please keep us updated on round count. I'd love to hear how the current Bushy Carbon 15s do with long term use.
It was just the standard Remington 55 grain MC rounds; the Remington code is L223R3V. If it shot that well with standard ammo, I'm wondering if it would do better with premium ammo. I'm definitely going to keep track of the ammo count on this rifle, because I am truly interested in how well the carbon fiber receiver will hold up. The gun is so light; it weighs in at just over 5 pounds. I bought it for my daughter to use for deer hunting. Her longest shot won't be more than 50 yards, so I'm confident in her accuracy especially at that range. I found some Federal Premium ammo that has 1100 ftlbs of energy at 100 yards and has 90+% weight retainage and is supposed to have excellent penetration. When she dumps her first deer I will also update you with that also.
ugaarguy
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I know plenty of folks who've taken deer with .223 ARs down here in GA. Most use 55gr ballistic tips from Hornady or Federal, but our deer are typically a bit smaller down here that what I've heard you have up in the Midwest. Typically they take chest shots behind the shoulder. Reported results are no exit wound, but easy, short tracking from blood (result of ballistic tip liquified heart & lungs) gushing out the entrance wounds. I rarely hunt myself, but the pictures they've shown back up their comments.
I also have friends who use more heavily constructed bullets in their 5.56 ARs for feral hog extermination. Compact size, capacity, and fast follow up shots are their reasoning.
As you know, the light weight, low recoil from the buffered semi-auto action, and stock adjustable to very short LOP make an AR carbine great for kids to shoot. I think all of that will help your daughter make more accurate shots with the Carbon 15 than she would with a heavier and harder recoiling rifle. With proper bullet selection like you're doing I think it'll be a great deer rifle for her. If it'll kill a much tougher animal like a pig reliably, it'll have no problem killing a deer.
I also have friends who use more heavily constructed bullets in their 5.56 ARs for feral hog extermination. Compact size, capacity, and fast follow up shots are their reasoning.
As you know, the light weight, low recoil from the buffered semi-auto action, and stock adjustable to very short LOP make an AR carbine great for kids to shoot. I think all of that will help your daughter make more accurate shots with the Carbon 15 than she would with a heavier and harder recoiling rifle. With proper bullet selection like you're doing I think it'll be a great deer rifle for her. If it'll kill a much tougher animal like a pig reliably, it'll have no problem killing a deer.
Your Bushmaster will probably do much better with a good low power scope. After about a 100 round break in my Carbon 15 is grouping from 3/4" to 1.5" depending on ammo.The 3/4" groups have been with Winchester 45 gr.hollow points.
I also bought a complete Bushmaster 6.8, M-4 upper. Groups have been 1.25" -1.5" with SSA ammo and my own hand loads with Hornady 110gr. BTJHP. My wife shot her buck this year with the 6.8 upper and SSA tactical Barnes TSX. Complete pass through,perfect performance.
I also bought a complete Bushmaster 6.8, M-4 upper. Groups have been 1.25" -1.5" with SSA ammo and my own hand loads with Hornady 110gr. BTJHP. My wife shot her buck this year with the 6.8 upper and SSA tactical Barnes TSX. Complete pass through,perfect performance.
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Damon555
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I agree with bowyer19. I've shot my brothers Carbon 15 quite a bit and it will do under an inch pretty easy @ 100 yards with some decent glass. Although compared to our other AR's his trigger is pretty heavy.
I used some J-B non-imbedding bore cleaning compound on the trigger and sear engagement ;clicked the hammer forty times catching it so it would not slam on the frame;then cleaned it thoroughly with gun scrubber. After that I lubed it with Break Free.Now it has a nice light trigger.It never was as heavy as the trigger on my Mini Thirty. Of course the better option would be a good after market trigger.
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