The word that comes to mind is SMOOOOOTTTTHHHH.

I will not be able to hit the outdoor range for 2 or 3 weeks but I wanted to get it on paper and function test a bit so I used my indoor range which is only like 15-18 yards so these are only some quick observations.

The gun is put together very well and finished nicely. All the serial numbers and logos etc are cut beautifully. Good upper to lower fit.

It is lighter then I thought it would be. I really like the feel of the forearm/rail.

It ran flawlessly. Little over 100 rounds. Mix of Gold Dot Soft Point, Remington 55 grain green box, Federal Bulk stuff and a box of PMC.

Again it just ran so incredibly smooth.

The trigger is GREAT. Nice two stage affair with a wicked nice break.

The OSS banner seemed to do great at both hiding flash and probably aiding in how smooth the gun shot. My guess is the 18inch barrel, rifle gas system and that brake/flash hider all came together to make for a really nice feeling rifle.

The Gold Dot ammo would one hole with ease. I realize we are talking super short range but 10 Gold Dots in a group the size of my thumbnail with an Aimpoint being shot by a guy with an astigmatism. Rested off my shooting bag. Well I was happy and it bodes well for the real shooting outside. Off hand it was super easy to bang rounds out fast and small shoot and see circles.

I love the STS stock. So comfy.

The Raptor charging handle is VERY NICE.

If I have any complaints at all it is I had to adjust the rear MBUS a little far to the right for my liking.

So even though I have shot various higher end ARs this is my first "Modern" AR if you will. I have two early 2000 Bushmasters that are fantastic but they are military triggers, A2 style guns. One is a 14.5 with pinned AK brake that wears and ACOG, Rogers Stock and Surefire and it's a great handy rifle. The other is a bone stock 20 inch heavy barrel, naked barrel. Both are great guns but very utilitarian. This Armalite just comes together and shoots sooooo easily, I was shocked at how nice it was to shoot.

So far I am very happy. I am dying to get this out to get it dialed in at range.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cslinger,

Not to make you paranoid at this stage, but maybe give Armalite a call and see about needing to adjust the rear sight so far over. For that price, everything oughtta line up pretty dang straight. Otherwise it sounds like a pretty promising rifle.

ETA: Of course it may make sense to try a different rear sight before calling Armalite just to verify that there was no problem with the MBUS.

Thanks for writeup. I know its gets knocked from time to time for not being "the original armalite", but I've become a very satisfied Armalite customer. I have a factory built A2 service rifle that really couldnt be better (once mil spec trigger was upgraded). And i'm even a bigger fan of a well set 18"dmr type gun. I've built/shot a number of Mk 12 type clones, with douglas or or other decent clone barrels, and they flat out just shoot great. A lighter weight 18" set up like yours is next on my list. Post up some pics if you get a chance as well as any 100 yard results thanks.

.

Conrad's, You got a lot of rifle for the money !

https://armalite.com/shop/m-15-tactical/

I have three Armalite's , Two AR10B's and one M15.
Very pleased with their performance.

I got it at a place online called TSS Warehouse. It was on sale and I may have gotten the only one. I no longer see it listed but the 16inch is listed for $1089.

So good news bad news.

GOOD NEWS - I did get to the rifle range today. YAY!!!!!

BAD NEWS - I forgot to bring any kind of spotting scope or binoculars. So sighting in was problematic. I did have my ACOG rifle with me but that only mounts a mini ACOG so besides being a pain in the ass it really did' have the magnification to really help. So I sighted at 25 yards.

GOOD NEWS - I did manage to get a few nice groups at 50 yards once I was getting dialed in.

Some more observations.

-Comparing this trigger to my Old Bushmaster is like the difference between dragging your finger through pudding vs crushed glass.

-still 100% reliable with all loads.

-I LOVE the OSS Banner. It is so quiet compared to most muzzle brakes. In comparison the AK brake on the Bushy barks with authority.

-I love the SPEER Gold Dot soft point ammo. Both rifles seem to love that stuff and it prints really nice groups. I think this going to be my go to ammo of choice.

-My eyes still suck. Go me. I came out of the gates with crappy eyes and as we come around the second corner of this race they ain't getting any better.

-Why must most front post AR height adjustments be a pain in the ass (comparatively). Would a small dial or easy screwdriver type affair be so horrible???

-So after another hundred rounds or so once again the word is SMOOTH.

I am just pissed I did not get to really dial in at 50 yards and TRY at 100. I don't hold a lot of hope for 100 yards with a red dot and my eyes but we will see. The reality is I am just not the greatest rifle marksman there is. I still get a trophy right? I mean I am participating????? I get to go to Camp Perry right??? We all deserve a chance???? Sorry I was channeling my inner millennial.

Next time, please update your existing thread rather than creating two threads on the same subject.

Apologies I figured it was a different enough topic. My bad.

Chris.

If you have bad eyesight why struggle with a red dot?

Get yourself a quality 1-4/5/6x scope with diopter adjustment and enjoy a clear field of view.

I'm starting to lean that way. I have just had such good service out of my aimpoints over the years.

I did manage to grab some various ammunition today and get out to the rifle range again. As an aside I swear EVERYBODY and their brother has an AR15 or six. Geez they really are ubiquitous.

I brought the following rifles.

Armalite M15TAC18
Aimpoint, Scout Light, MBUIS


Early Ban Era Bushmaster 14.5inch Pinned AK Brake
ACOG 1.5X, Surefire X300, Carry Handle Irons, Rogers Stock


Here is some of my pattern.....errr "groups" from today. A couple notes I am just an OK shooter and I have crappy eyes. The Aimpoint dot at 100 yards basically takes up most of the target and pretty much all of the small targets at 50 yards.

Starting with the Armalite groups.










The following is pretty indicative of my 100 yard shooting and was about the best I could muster with the Aimpoint and my skill and eyes. I might be able to tighten it up a bit with the Gold Dots but I don't really think its an ammo or equipment issue, but a skill one.


Now for some of the old school Bushmaster groups. You can see that with a finer cross hair type optic, even with low magnification I do better then with a dot type sight at range.






All in all I am pretty happy with my outing today. Both rifles will eat anything they are fed. The Armalite continues to just be a joy to shoot. I love the trigger and the OSS Banner.

One file picture. I have to admit my first reaction to this is........its kinda delta bravo'y but it has sort of grown on me and I find my self embarrassingly kind of starting to dig it. Don't Judge me.



As always take care and shoot safe.
Chris

Didn't have a "gooseneck" style mount handy and wanted a more forward mounting. I figured the free float hand guard was rigid enough may pull it back to compare.

That poor scope placement is making it pattern like a punt gun.

Yeah I moved back to the receiver. I really though the handguards would be rigid enough.

As a test once I put a laser on my handguard and zeroed it to my optic.

I could flex it off a few feet at 100 yards with marginal pressure.

If you want to group better with a red dot, try using a target large enough that you can shoot without the dot covering the entire target. I like a simple 8.5x11 sheet of paper at 100 yards.

Don't sell yourself short
Green tip is notoriously inaccurate, and your optics are not designed for precision. You are in TN. TN and KY are great states for 3-gun. Dive in, shoot fast, all hits count.

One final update.

I moved the Aimpoint back to the receiver. All is good there.
I adjusted the free float forend and the rear sight is centered with just a click or three to the right to zero.

I have run the following through it with nothing even approaching a malfunction even when run without cleaning. As a matter of fact I have never had a gun pile brass so consistently in the same spot no matter what I run.

-Winchester White Box 55 grain
-Federal American Eagle 55 Grain
-Green Tip 62 grain
-Remington Green Box 55 grain
-PMC Bronze 55 Grain
-Speer Gold Dot 64 Grain
-UMC 45 Grain Varmint Stuff
-MFI Steel 55 Grain
-Monarch (Academy branded either Tula or one of the "Bears") steel 55 grain

All of it runs absolutely smoothly.

I am sighted in for 50 yards.

At both 50 and 100 yards the rifle easily keeps all rounds 10/20/30 in a 3 inch shoot and see with most falling between 1 and 2.5 inches. (Red dot or irons and I suck). Also I am not measuring with calipers just making a SWAG based on the 3 inch diameter target.

The Speer Gold Dot is by far the most accurate and 3 and 5 shot groups are very tight. It's the only premium ammo I have run and it groups extremely well.

What surprised me the most was that the crappy steel stuff did about as well as the PMC/White Box. Usually that stuff doesn't work near as well for me.

All in all I am very happy and for me to keep multiple tens of rounds all in a 3 inch shoot and see 50/100 yards across the board is great for me and as I said limiting groups to 3 or 5 especially with the Speer the groups are small clusters touching/same holes.

Putting a single shoot and see on a white paper helps. Also keeping Dot intensity as low as possible helps.

I imagine that with high quality ammo, a real scope and a good shooter this would run pretty tight groups. What has amazed me is that every load I have run has been pretty consistent with each other. The Speer was a standout and the Remington Green Box seemed to do better but the rest was all fairly consistent with each other with point of impact changing slightly more so then group size.

All in all I am super happy with this rifle. (I realize a 3 inch shoot and see isn't impressive to most but take into consideration I am running a red dot or irons, have and astigmatism/crappy eyesight and am not the most skilled shooter so 2-3 MOA with most any ammo and largish shot counts is friggen great for me.

Nice. It sounds like adding a good 1-?X scope at some point in time might wind up being a rewarding exercise too.

This type of open circle is my favorite type of target for sights with a dot reticle. I size the circle so that the dot appears just a bit smaller than the outer black ring at the distance I’m shooting. I haven’t found anything better for achieving a consistent sight picture. Another thing to be aware of when shooting at 50 yards or closer is the possible effects of parallax. When trying for the smallest groups, I try to ensure my head position is the same every time. I do that by positioning my head so that the red dot is in approximately the same place with respect to the front sight for every shot.