Windham SRC

[vamo]

So for quite awhile I have been drooling over LE6920's and keep coming a hair from buying one, but the pain of spending so much money on one item always stops me. Notice that these Windham SRC's seem to have a decent rep and can be as much as $400 cheaper depending on the retailer. I know it comes with no optics; while iron sights would be better than nothing I was planning to scope my ar-15 anyway. Has anyone had any experience with the Windham SRC? How does it compare to other AR's you have used?

I would like to note that Ar-15 stats are still greek to me. I know a 1:9 barrel is preferable for shooting most cheap target ammo that I'll likely be using and a forward assist seems to be a nifty luxury to have. Other than that I am a bit clueless about AR's.

 

[Centurian22]

I have no experience with AR's yet but have been doing lots of research. I've heard good things about Windham's. If you're looking at entry level guns check out the S&W M&P Sport too. Good luck.

 

[ugaarguy]

I know a 1:9 barrel is preferable for shooting most cheap target ammo that I'll likely be using and a forward assist seems to be a nifty luxury to have.

That's a very common misconception. The only reason not to get a 1:8 or 1:7 twist bbl is if you intend to shoot thinly jacketed varmint ammo at or near max velocities.

Windham is the old Bushmaster reincarnated. Hopefully they've now figured out how to properly cut chambers, stake carrier keys, not cut several other corners.

FYI, searching slickguns.net the lowest price I found on a Windham SRC was $719 shipped, and I found the Colt 6920 for $995 shipped.

 

[vamo]

I heard that 1:7 was for heavier specialty rounds, 1:9 was for target/military ammo, and 1:12 was for varmits? Have I been misinformed?

 

[Fishbed77]

I heard that 1:7 was for heavier specialty rounds, 1:9 was for target/military ammo, and 1:12 was for varmits? Have I been misinformed?

To a degree, yes.

1:7 is the standard twist rate for current-issue military M4s and M16s. It will work well for almost everything except the lightest varmint rounds.

 

[ugaarguy]

I heard that 1:7 was for heavier specialty rounds, 1:9 was for target/military ammo, and 1:12 was for varmits? Have I been misinformed?

Yes, that's one of those old rumors that just wont die. The US Military has never, to my knowledge, issued an AR-15 / M16 / M4 family rifle with a 1:9 twist bbl. They went from 1:14 (M16) to 1:12 (M16A1) to 1:7 (M16A2). The US Army's own testing indicated that the M16A2 was just as accurate as the M16A1 when firing M193 (55gr FMJ) ammo.

All a 1:9 twist lets you do is shoot thinly jacketed varmint bullets at higher velocities than a 1:8 or 1:7 twist. If you're going to be shooting large amounts of those types of bullets you're better off with a 1:12 twist to further minimize jacket deformation.

Another issue is that heavy bullets are becoming more mainstream, while lighter bullets are fading into the specialized use for varmint hunting.

Last, it's bullet length, not weight, that mandates twist. Solid copper bullets are becoming more and more common, and aren't really a specialty anymore. Such bullets are long for their weight, and require faster twists.

All of that said, a 1:9 twist will stabilize most .223/5.56 bullets. Your max weights for a 1:9 twist are 55 to 62 grains for a copper solid, and about 70 grains for copper jacketed lead core (the notable exception is that Hornady offers a 75 gr bullet that will stabilize even in a 1:9 twist bbl. Few bullets over 70 gr will stabilize in a 1:9 twist .22 bbl).

 

[Quentin]

I would get the Colt 6920 over the Windham. And I'd go with the 1:7 twist for the reasons Fishbed and ugaarguy said.

Now if the price of the 6920 really bothers you then look at PSA and maybe Spikes. Both offer much better rifles than Windham/Bushmaster/DPMS/etc. yet the price is about the same.

If you look at PSA and Spikes, look at their midlength barrels, and maybe even the pencil/lightweight profile. They also have a "lighter" profile midlength that's lighter than the standard government profile but heavier than pencil. Both companies use FN barrels so they are very similar.

 

[Doc Savage]

Personally I love my Windham. It is a tack driver out at 100 yards and it is more accruate than the iron sights at 200 yards (post covered more of the target than the grouping). The twist rate works well with the 47-55 grain bullets I use. Haven't used anything heavier yet. And the best part, it eats the steelcased cheap stuff with no problems. Almost like it as much as my LR308 (but as I have a decent scope on the 308, it's a bit more accurate for now).

 

[LebbenB]

The US Military has never, to my knowledge, issued an AR-15 / M16 / M4 family rifle with a 1:9 twist bbl.

While it was never issued, several prototypes of the M16A2 had 1:9 rifling. Testing revealed that while 1:9 worked for the M855 FMJ, it couldn't stabilize the longer M856 tracer bullet. 1:7 was chosen as a twist rate that could handle all four 5.56 bullet types then in the inventory - 55 gr M193 FMJ, 55 gr M196 Tracer, 62 gr M855 FMJ and 64 gr M856 Tracer.