Remington R-15

[Dr T]

I am thinking about adding a Remington R-15 to my collection as the AR-15 example (I have also considered a Bushmaster Predator).

Anyone have any thoughts about the Remington R-15 in terms of accuracy, adjustable (sliding) stock versus fixed, etc.?

The Remington site lists a 1 in 10" twist for the fixed stock and a 1 in 9" for the adjustable. What will be the practical effect of this change?

 

[txhoghunter]

The effect of this change would be the maximum weight of the projectile that the rifling can stabilize. The 1 in 9" twist will stabilize a heavier bullet. Do you know if the R-15 is chambered for .223 Rem, or 5.56x45mm?

 

[Dr T]

Remington says 223.

See http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-15/model-r-15-predator-carbine-cs.aspx

 

[txhoghunter]

Ok well with the .223 REM and a 1 in 9" twist most projectiles up to 70gr will be stabilized just fine.

However, I just looked at Rem.com and could not find a .223 with a 1 in 10" twist.
Could you post the link?

 

[Dr T]

Here you go:

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-15/model-r-15.aspx

 

[Uncle Alvah]

IIRC,the Remington rifle is actually a Bushmaster built product, but I might be mistaken......

 

[IdahoLT1]

IIRC,the Remington rifle is actually a Bushmaster built product, but I might be mistaken......

I believe a company (forgot the name) manufactures the rifles(or main components) for Remington, DPMS and Bushmaster, just puts different company on the guns.

 

[IdahoLT1]

I am thinking about adding a Remington R-15 to my collection as the AR-15 example (I have also considered a Bushmaster Predator).

Anyone have any thoughts about the Remington R-15 in terms of accuracy, adjustable (sliding) stock versus fixed, etc.?

The Remington site lists a 1 in 10" twist for the fixed stock and a 1 in 9" for the adjustable. What will be the practical effect of this change?

Any specific duties for the gun (i.e. actually predator hunting)? I checked on Bushmasters site and didnt see a camo option but ive known they made them. If you want to go predator hunting, camoing the gun is a good idea.

As far as the telescoping stock vs the A2 stock, its all user preference. If you predator hunt during the winter, the telescoping stock is nice because you can adjust it to fit you in a heavy winter coat.

The R15 seems to be cheaper(atleast MSRP) but it doesnt look like it will shoot 5.56 NATO, unlike the Bushmaster. If you want to shoot NATO ammo, Id go with the Bushy.

 

[NCsmitty]

Scuttlebutt has it the R-15 is made by Bushmaster and the R-25 by DPMS, and it's all in the family.
A 1in9" twist will handle a bit heavier/longer bullet, but still shoot the lighter 55gr very well. It would be my choice.



NCsmitty

 

[NY Marksman]

I owned an R-15 for about a year. It is a good accurate rifle (I had the 22 inch barreled model with the non adjustable stock). The R-15 is strictly a .223 chambered rifle. Mine had the 1 in 9 twist and although I only shot 55 grain ammo but it was extremely accurate with it. The only real drawback I felt was that it is fairly heavy. I only got rid of mine because I decided that I would rather go back to an all black AR.

 

[IdahoLT1]

Scuttlebutt has it the R-15 is made by Bushmaster and the R-25 by DPMS, and it's all in the family.
A 1in9" twist will handle a bit heavier/longer bullet, but still shoot the lighter 55gr very well. It would be my choice.



NCsmitty

And the 3 are owned by Cerberus Capital Management

 

[jdh]

Just a hint, the floor plate on the factory R-25 mag is marked DPMS.

 

[Cosmik de Bris]

The R15 is made by Bushmaster and although marked .223 the chamber is 5.56, it says this on their website.

Cheers

 

[Kurt_D]

Last time I checked Remington didn't use chrome lined bolt carriers; makes cleaning them out a little harder and lowers the reliability with a high round count. Don't mistake this for chrome lined barrel which you won't find in this type of rig and don't need. It seems Remington does make the barrels for their r15 and r25 despite Bushy and DPMS suppling the rest. I've seen them with their triangle barrels.

I like the Bushmaster Predator better b/c of the chrome lined carrier and 1:8 twist 20" barrel. The chamber is a hybrid that handles 5.56 loads too. The 1:8 twist will stablize 75-77gr bullets which helps for distance, but still shoots 55gr bullets well too. Krylon can fix the camo issue, if there's one. I also prefer the A2 stock on this type of AR, a magpul PRS can be added if you need more adjustment.

 

[bhk]

I have a R-15 carbine and like it a lot. It shoots 3/4" groups at 100 yards with no problem. The carbine is rather light for an AR and make a perfect coyote calling gun. I really like the fluted 18" barrel, a rather unusual AR barrel length. I did replace the trigger with a Timney. Mine has the A2 stock.

Feedback from the factory indicates that although the rifle is marked .223, it actually has a hybird chamber, making it safe to shoot 5.56. If I had to bet, this is true of almost all modern .223 marked sporting ARs (excepting true target guns). I think they mark them .223 for marketing reasons and use the hybrid chamber for liability reasons.

 

[WYcoyote]

I have the R-15 22" fixed stock in .223. Mine says 1-9" on the barrel. They also chamber a .204.
On AR-15.com it was determined in a lengthy thread that they do have the hybrid chamber. Mine can put 5 shots at 100yds just under .5" with Hornady 55gr V-Max. The trigger was creepy and unaccecptable to me so I replaced it with a Timney.
I went with the long barrel because I wanted the slight velocity bump for shooting in the wind and at extended ranges. some of my hunting is in big country.
For calling doggies in thicker cover the 18" would be better.
In spite of the trigger I really like mine.

 

[txhoghunter]

Ok the link you posted has the 1 in 10" twist for the 30 REM AR cartridge, not the .223. All of the R-15s chambered in .223/5.56 have a 1 in 9" twist

 

[Dr T]

Update: Thanks to all for the insight provided. It was all very useful.

I bought an R-15 VTR-CS in 223 a couple of weeks ago, topped with a Redfield 4-12x40 in a Burris PERP mount, and took it to the range earlier this week. Out of the box, the trigger feels like it is about 2.5 to 3 lbs. (They had two CS and one fixed stock on the rack, and I took the one with the best trigger. The trigger on the ones left behind were creepy. One was about 3 to 3.5 lbs and the other was about 4 lbs. There was no consistency).

I put 40 rounds through it while dialing in the scope using the Hornady bulkpacked (50 rounds per box) 55 gr. SP. I was using a couple of bags as an indifferent rest. With that, it was shooting consistent 1,25" to 1.5" five shot groups and I certainly find WYcoyote's accuracy comments in line with my feelings about how the gun performs. Frankly, I was surprised and I am beginning to think that it is a keeper.

This is certainly acceptable for minute of coyote and minute of bobcat with the bulkpack ammo.

It is shooting well enough to make me wonder how it will do with a little load development.

Has anyone noted a preference for heavier bullets with the R-15? The Hornady 60 gr. soft points are as near to being a bargain (at $14/100) as I have seen and it would be interesting to see how well this rifle could do.