Category Archives: Shooting hardware

Rifles and their parts

CMMG Dissent 5.56 Pistol

Product review, Shooting hardware

I recently wrote a review of the CMMG Banshee, and I was very impressed with nearly everything about it. So I decided I wanted to try another gun from CMMG, and reached out to see if I could get my hands on one of their Dissent pistols. After some waiting I was happy to see the little CMMG box show up at my desk.

The Dissent
The Dissent is not your typical AR-15 type pistol, it utilizes CMMG’s buffer-less compact action. This means that it doesn’t need the bulky buffer tube that comes standard with most AR-15 patterned rifles. The compact action instead utilizes a dual spring pack that runs right above the bolt carrier itself, it carries in between the spring set a rubberized stop if the carrier should reach a full stroke to the rear. The two uneven spring guide-rods are keyed into a steel boss at the back of the upper receiver, but remain independent of the receiver itself. The front of the two springs are captured in a T-shaped housing that appears to be part of the bolt carrier itself.
From there the Dissent is almost the same as a standard AR, using what appears to be a standard bolt, cam pin and firing pin parts. I say almost because there are a few other differences.

Because the spring assembly sits where the charging handle would normally be, they had to move the charging system to the front of the action instead. There is a steel charging block that rides in a groove inside the handguard at twelve o’clock, the charging handle itself slides in from the side of the handguard and rides in its own grove from there. A claw is attached to the front of the charging handle to keep it from reciprocating, and as far as I can tell it is reversible to either side of the handguard but requiring you to purchase a right-sided charging handle. The charging block only pushes on the bolt carrier when pulled to the rear, but remains captured during the cycling of the bolt carrier.
The Dissent is available in 5.56, 300blk, and 5.7.

Initial impressions
As I pulled the gun from its packaging I have to say I was impressed. The Dissent came to me in a handsome charcoal green Cerakote sporting CMMG’s muzzle device and a pair of Pmags. The buffer tube hole at the back of the lower receiver had been covered by a vertical pic rail, to allow for a brace or stock installation should you choose to be infringed upon by the NFA.
The Dissent comes standard with a Trigger Tech AR-D two stage trigger which was crisp as the air on a December morning. I found myself triggering the gun over and over in anticipation of shooting it. Fairly standard controls, with a 45 degree safety and ambidextrous mag release buttons. I found the left side mag button to be a little close to the bolt release for my taste, it seemed like it might be too easy to drop the mag when your trying to drop the bolt. But we’ll see about that at the range.

SPECIFICATIONS

Caliber 5.56
Capacity 30 round P-Mag
Weight 4.8 lbs
Length 14.7 inches
Barrel Twist 1:7
Barrel Length 6.5 inches
Operating System Compact Action Direct impingement
Muzzle Threads ½ x 28
Trigger Trigger Tech AR-D

PROS & CONS

PROS
  • No buffer tube required
  • Picatinny rail for easy stock or arm brace installation
  • High quality upper and lower with flawless union
  • Fantastic Trigger Tech trigger from the factory
  • Very reliable functioning operating system
CONS
  • Must purchase separate charging handle to run on right side of firearm
  • Awkward shooting without a buttstock or arm brace

FIRST RANGE OUTING WITH THE DISSENT

I was excited to get the Dissent out into the open where I could shoot it. It was a beautiful winter afternoon, with temps in the teens. Not exactly a perfect day, but close to it. I did nothing to the gun as far as lubrication or anything like that. We just started loading P-mags and went to it.

My very first impression was, how am I supposed to shoot this thing? AR pistols are small enough that you can shoot them like a pistol, but it feels awkward and silly to me. So we tried several different ways of holding the gun and ended up with one hand on the pistol grip and the other on the magwell or handguard area.

I had mounted my US Optics TSR 1X red dot for a sight, and lucky for me, it was near perfectly zeroed at about fifty yards. We went through several magazines of American Eagle 55 grain ball ammunition, and the DIssent kept plugging away.

Most things inside 50 yards seemed fairly easy to hit, I’m sure it would be useful at further distances, but something was going to need to change first. It was difficult for a guy who mainly shoots precision rifles to properly steady the rifle without having a rear point to anchor to the shoulder.

This is certainly not the fault of the Dissent, just something I’m not used to. Before testing any accuracy with the gun, I wanted to get a proper brace or buttstock to shoot it right.

Even so, we had a great time shooting the little charcoal green pistol. At no time during testing did the firearm show any malfunctions or issues, and it was fun to shoot.

I decided to throw a suppressor on the gun as well, to see how it did as a host. I had my Yankee Hill Machine Turbo 556 suppressor handy and spun it on after removing the CMMG muzzle device.

The Dissent doesn’t have an adjustable gas block, but it didn’t seem to matter. It kept banging along, suppressed, which was obviously more pleasant for the user. Slightly more noticeable gas was felt for the shooter, but not something I would be too concerned about.

RELIABILITY

The Dissent showed no malfunctions during my testing. It was using P-mags, metal GI mags, and an assortment of ammunition. Besides the American Eagle 55 grain ammo, we also shot some Frontier 55 grain hollow point ammunition and a handful of others that had collected in the bottom of my range bucket.

The seven-twist barrel of the dissent also had no trouble shooting some 75-grain loads that worked without problems.

ACCURACY

The short stiff barrel of the Dissent worked great for keeping shots consistent. Once a brace was added, I found it was easy to keep groups under 2 MOA at one hundred yards.

As the Dissent is more configured as a personal defense weapon (PDW) or something of a short sporting arm, I found this level of accuracy to be perfectly acceptable.

OVERALL FEEL

The Dissent definitely feels like a quality-made firearm, as with other CMMG firearms I have shot before this one. The fit and finish are top-notch, as are the CMMG furniture and accessories that come with it.

Everything from the Cerakote finish to the engraving looks very well done and justifies the rifle’s price point.

THE BUFFERLESS OPERATING SYSTEM

The best feature of the Dissent is its bufferless operating system. It utilizes two springs and guide-rods that are housed above the bolt carrier in the upper receiver. They are captured at the rear with an aluminum block and pass through a T-shaped boss on top of the bolt carrier.

This design allows the Dissent to be more compact than its buffered competitors.

FORWARD CHARGING HANDLE

The charging handle for the Dissent is mounted in the handguard in front of the upper receiver. There is a steel charging block that slides in its own keyed slot of the handguard, and the charging handle slides in from the side. The whole assembly can be drawn to the rear by the left hand to operate the action.

The charging block isn’t attached to the bolt carrier itself. It simply pushes back on the front of the carrier. This makes the charging handle non-reciprocating, for which the engineers at CMMG added a claw capture to the front of the charging handle to keep it in place.

The forward charging handle makes a lot of sense for a gun like this; having the traditional top-rear of the upper receiver charging handle would be very awkward.

The only downside I can see is that the charging handle isn’t reversible, it can be switched to the right side of the gun, but that requires purchasing an additional right-side charging handle.

STOCK/BRACE PIC RAIL MOUNT

Since the Dissent has no buffer tube, CMMG has installed a vertical pic rail in place of the buffer tube to add either a sling mount, arm brace, or a stock.

I tried mounting an arm brace from a Sig MCX Rattler that I had, but it wouldn’t slide over the Picatinny rail section. The only option I found worked was one clamped over the pic rail.

TRIGGER

The Trigger Tech AR-D trigger was a fantastic addition to the Dissent. It had a very clean pull and crisp break. The reset felt slightly different than I expected, but I wasn’t sure if that was by design or simply my lack of familiarity with it. Regardless, it is a fantastic component of the gun.

BACK TO THE RANGE

After installing an arm brace, I wanted to further test the Dissent and see how much better I could do. Additional accuracy testing proved the rifle to be very capable of 1-2 MOA depending on ammunition type. And I felt much more comfortable with the gun, shooting it as a rifle vs. a pistol.

The very short Dissent is extremely agile when moving through a course of fire. The short length makes the rifle quick to get on target and easy to maneuver. In my opinion, the addition of a suppressor is almost a requirement, as the gun is so short that one can easily get the support hand into the extremely dangerous muzzle area. Adding a suppressor greatly reduces the likelihood of your fingers’ proximity to gas and bullets being expelled from the muzzle.

I found myself really appreciating the enlarged magazine release buttons on the Dissent. They did make it easy to perform reloads quickly. The bolt release did end up being a touch obscured for my taste. After reloading, it took a little bit more attention than normal to ensure the bolt release was depressed acutely.

I was again impressed with the trigger, as I always have been with Trigger Tech products. It made a significant improvement, in my opinion, in my ability to accurately shoot the Dissent.

Continue Reading here…

A Solid Season: hunting with Cayuga solid Bullets

hunting, Product review, Shooting hardware, , , , , ,

You may have seen me talk about Cayuga solid copper hunting bullets before, but today we are going to go in a little deeper into these very high quality bullets from Patriot Valley Arms. I have always been a match bullet shooter, for targets or game. I suppose I didn’t know what I was missing out on with these solid match-grade projectiles.


What’s so Special about solid bullets?

If you’ve never looked into these or any other solid bullets, let me explain why they perform so well.
Cayuga’s are turned on a CNC Lathe from a solid bar of copper, this precise fabrication allows consistency and concentricity to be perfectly matched from one bullet to the next. So for one they are more consistent than jacketed bullets, even the open-tips are perfectly uniform. But there is still more to it. Solid copper bullets are lighter than jacketed bullets of comparable size, for example the 7mm 170 Cayuga is about the same size as a 7mm 195 jacketed bullet. The design of the Cayuga gives it a superior Ballistic Coefficient, (A mathematical score of the bullets efficiency in flight) This high BC gives the Cayuga it’s better than average flight characteristics for long-range shooting. The efficiencies of the BC also allow the bullet to cheat some of the effects of wind, high BC bullets like the Cayuga are affected less by wind as they fly through it on their way to the target.

An average 5-shot group. Accuracy comes standard with these bullets.

But there is still more:
The lighter weight of the Cayuga bullets when compared to jacketed bullets means that they can be shot even faster. So not only are they more consistent, and high BC, but by increasing the muzzle velocity you can further increase the energy they carry and the range to which they are effective. And higher speed means they will arrive at the target faster, giving the wind less time to affect their flight path.

The owner of PVA and I have been talking for years about everything from terminal ballistics to airplanes, Josh is a bit of a mad scientist crossed with a pitbull who doesn’t let go.

A couple years back, he sent me some of his first Cayuga solid bullets, they were the 122 grain 6.5 Cayugas. We used them to take down a pair of cow elk from 475 and 520 yards from a 24″ 6.5 Creedmoor, both of them dropped in their tracks never to move again. Watch the video here

Last year, I tried the 6mm flavor of Cayuga bullets, they came in at 100 grains. We again used them to take down a couple small mule deer bucks, though taking them down from 680 and 1000 yards is no small feat for a little 6mm. Both bucks went straight down, and never got back up. The Cayuga’s fired from my 24″ 6MM GT were extremely accurate and very impressive.

This year, I wanted to get even more data on the Cayuga’s as a hunting bullet. We had plenty of ballistic data on how they fly and such, but more terminal data was needed to better illustrate the benefits of these bullets as a hunting projectile. So we loaded them up in a few different calibers to see just how many animals we could kill with the Cayuga.
First up was my son Leo’s antelope hunt. Since the GT performed so well last year, I thought we’d give it another chance. And 6mm’s are great for antelope hunts on the open prairie.
You can read the whole story here, but the salient facts are these; We took two mature doe pronghorn antelope from six hundred-ish yards, and the 100 grain Cayuga did an excellent job of dispatching the animals.

One reason I like using cartridges a little lighter than most, is because I hate loosing meat to bullet damage. The 6mm Cayugas did just the right amount of damage in my estimation, enough to kill the animal clean but not take too much of my delicious meat with it.

The next hunt up was the general season mule deer hunt. We had the whole family hunting with Cayugas solids this season, in 6mm, 6.5, 260 rem, 270 wsm, 7SAUM, and 300WM. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get them all in the right place at the right time, but does it ever work out to plan?

We did manage to take a few deer with the 6.5’s and .260’s though. The first 6.5 shot was on a small buck from a distance of approximately 175 yards, the shot placement wasn’t as good as I would have hoped and he made it about forty yards before laying down to die.
The second one fell to the same 122 grain Cayuga fired from a 16″ .260 Remington owned by my son. He made a quick shot on an escaping buck to drop him right in his tracks, the shot passed through the shoulder, disconnected the coronary plumbing and sailed through the other side. The distance of this shot was three hundred and thirty yards.

My other son put the moves on a small spike using the 6.5 Creedmoor and 122 Cayuga. This little buck was around 300 yards away when he took a Cayuga through his liver. He made it a little farther than I would have liked, but better shot placement is the only fix for that.

The last deer we shot was with the same 6.5 Creedmoor, this time it was my wife’s buck. He thought he had given us the slip, but he didn’t know we were waiting quietly for him to step out.
When he did, we were ready with another 122 grain Cayuga. The shot was just over two hundred yards, and it hit him like a copper train. He jumped a couple times into the brush stumbling around until his feet were in the air.

The Cayuga absolutely wrecked his heart, I’m always surprised to see an animal move at all after an impact like this.

The season wasn’t over just yet, I still had a cow elk tag to get before the end of the year. In the last few days of the season, we were able to close in on a couple cows. And being so short on time I wasn’t going to be picky when the opportunity was presented.
I carried with me that day my SRS M2 again, this time using the 7 SAUM barrel I’ve had for years. In the magazine were handloaded 151 grain Cayugas with a modest muzzle velocity of 3100FPS. I’d shot them with very predictable accuracy beyond one-thousand yards, so I was prepared for about anything.

A young cow elk taken with the 151 Cayuga

As it turns out, the shot presented was only 250 yards away. The elk was quartering away but looking back, the shot impacted the right shoulder passing through both lungs and exited just in front of the left shoulder. She ran a short distance before expiring but the damage of the impact was very apparent as we butchered the animal. I would consider the minimal meat damage to be better than average, which I also consider a big plus.

The destroyed lungs from the elk

As I had anticipated, it has been a season full of bounty. From the very first time I killed an animal with a Cayuga, I had a good feeling that these were essentially bottled-lightning. And after this successful season, I can again confirm that the flight-performance and terminal performance of the Cayuga is outstanding. If you are looking for something to enhance your hunting performance, give them a try.

-CBM

Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus 12 Gauge

Product review, Shooting hardware, ,

It’s hard to imagine an autoloading shotgun without thinking of one of the popular models from Beretta, like the A400 Xtreme Plus, which we will review today. The Italian company has been in the business as long as anybody. Sure there is something about a name, but there has to be more than that for dedicated shooters and hunters to pick a shotgun from the rack.

I often mention that my father is more of a shotgun nerd than I am, so I frequently look to his guidance regarding such topics. Several of the many high-end shotguns he enjoys shooting come from Beretta. For me, shotguns are a bit more utilitarian than anything, more of a hunting tool than the expensive rifle toys I play with more often. And hunting waterfowl has been one of my favorite hunts since I first started hunting.

Enter the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus, a gas-operated 12 gauge shotgun with a 28-inch barrel and 3.5-inch chamber, one of the better all-weather hunting shotguns available. But just how good is it? And why would I choose it over something else? We’ll get to that in a moment, but I can tell you that the Xtreme is reliable, robust, and durable enough for whatever your hunt may have waiting.

Reliability
The A400 is one of Beretta’s leading hunting model shotguns, so reliability is an absolute must. During the course of the 350-400 shells I’ve fired through the gun, I’ve yet to have any issues with it.

We get some pretty crummy weather around here this time of year, but the Xtreme just keeps pumping shells and steel. Rain, sleet, and snow don’t phase this shotgun. A dunk in muddy water is never good for a gun, but this one quickly recovered from the dreaded dunk.

Accuracy
The various chokes that come with the Xtreme give you the option to customize the patterns it shoots. I found the Xtreme very easy to be effective on birds. The right choke and lead would nearly always result in a puff of feathers. I suppose there isn’t a turkey out there that wouldn’t fall to the Xtreme’s tight full pattern.

Overall Feel
Like most Beretta shotguns, this one feels like a perfect fit when it’s against your shoulder. The Kick-Off stock absorbs much of the recoil, which allows for tight cheek welds and follow-up shots.

The quality finish of the gun looks as handsome as it operates and protects it from vicious elements like salt water. Shooting with gloves is easy, and the controls are the right size and allow easy manipulation. Continue reading here

IWI Tavor X95 5.56 Bullpup

Product review, Shooting hardware, , , ,

Your first reaction to the IWI Tavor X95 might be wrinkling your nose and wincing at the word bullpup. After all, the short and stubby design is not as common in America and is typically frowned upon by many.

But those that look down their nose at these rifles do so at their own loss, as there are many benefits and even superior features to some bullpup designs.

Today we will look at one of the flagship rifles from the Israeli arms giant IWI, the Tavor X95 bullpup. Like all bullpups, the X95’s breech and firing mechanisms are behind the trigger. This shortens the overall size of the weapon by utilizing the space in the butt of the firearm that is normally vacant.

I’m no stranger to bullpups, so prepare yourself for some perspective as we go over this very popular and robust little rifle.

The first trip to the range with the X95 included a hundred or so rounds. I’d brought a few magazines to run through the rifle of various types. I had only installed a red dot as a sighting device with plans to shoot with a riflescope at a later date.

After loading a few magazines and a quick preflight inspection of the rifle, it was time to go hot. Charging the rifle is a very familiar process, seating the magazine and running the charging handle to chamber a cartridge. The safety selector is easily operated with the thumb, making the rifle ready to fire.

I fired a few magazines through the rifle, adjusting my sight a few times for a better point of impact. My initial impressions of the rifle were better than expected. The rifle shot smoothly and reliably. The trigger was a bit mushy for my taste, something common with some bullpups. But I could still shoot properly and get hits where I wanted them.

Reloading the rifle is different than a typical modern sporting rifle. Stabbing the magazine into the rear of the rifle can take some getting used to if you are new to bullpups. The bolt release is centrally located behind the magwell, allowing you to actuate it with your thumb upon seating the magazine. I would have liked to see a more flared magwell, but it could have just been my familiarity with this particular model.

The controls and ergonomics of the rifle seemed to fit me well. The charging handle does have a claw to capture it under recoil. I would have liked a slightly different configuration that offered just a smidge more purchase but again, this is just my preference.

One thing I did find a little annoying was during a reload motion; my trigger finger would often migrate behind the trigger. This made for an awkward transition back to shooting, but again it is likely just a lack of practice with the rifle that could be overcome with some training. Continue reading here

Colt M4 Carbine

Product review, Shooting hardware, ,

The AR-15 is perhaps one of the most well known rifles in America, enough to even be known as America’s rifle. And of all the many different AR-15 configurations perhaps one of the most popular is the M4, or one of its clones. Colt has been one of the longest standing manufacturers of this type of rifle, so it feels a bit daunting to try and revisit this as a review. After all, what could I possibly have to offer that hasn’t been said a thousand times over the past twenty years?

The Colt M4 Carbine
The M4 Carbine I received for review is as familiar as Mom’s bacon and eggs on a Sunday morning. The rifle uses all of the standard features we have come to know, a mil-spec two-stage trigger, detachable Stanag pattern magazines released with the push of a button. Charging handle at twelve o’clock above the buffer tube, with a collapsible CAR type buttstock. A single sided safety operated by the thumb, and a bolt-release on the left side of the receiver.
This model came with a sixteen-inch seven twist barrel, threaded 1/2-28 at the muzzle and you guessed it; a bird-cage flash hider on the muzzle. Also included were sling attachment rings front and rear, as well as a fold down rear sight assembly to use with the gas-block mounted front sight.
This is almost exactly the rifle we have all seen in the movies and magazines since childhood, with its flattop receiver designed to take whatever kind of sight you’d like to install there. Commonly you’d see an Aimpoint, Eotech, or ACOG in this position. The only thing left to investigate was to see if it lived up to the expectation.
I prepped the Colt for a range trip, which consisted of mounting up a Trijicon MRO and some ammo to feed it.

On the Range
The M4 is configured for a fighting scenario, or for civilians like myself lots of shooting and maneuvering at relatively close range. Surely it can be used at further distances but for the most part two-hundred yards or less are a most likely where it will be used. A red dot sight like the MRO works great for that scenario.
After sending a few test rounds, I zeroed the sight at 75 yards. Shooting for accuracy is a little easier for me to do with a riflescope, but I was able to shoot some inch and a half groups at seventy five yards. I don’t imagine it would open up too much more at one hundred yards, but it was certainly accurate enough for hitting forty-five percent IPSC targets all over the range. The XM193 ammo flowed through the rifle like a Vegas slot machine payout, and it felt just as valuable to watch it disappear.

Shooting the Colt M4 was as pleasant as you might expect. The mild recoil of the 5.56 cartridge makes shooting the rifle soft and easy to control, muzzle rise is minimal and easily reduced by adding a different muzzle device. The collapsible stock is easily adjusted to fit smaller statured shooters or to accommodate body armor. I’ve never envied left-handed shooters that had to operate an AR, and yet my oldest who has been given by Uncle Sam the opportunity to shoot the M4 extensively using his left-handed stance seemed to not have any issues. He even likes it to my surprise.
Hitting targets for both of us was great fun while using the MRO, I am definitely a scope kind of guy so using iron sights always comes with its contrasting results. It would likely serve me very well to spend more time shooting through these sights if only to improve my capabilities. The Magpul rear sight that came with this rifle was easily used through the Trijicon, I just need to up my iron game.
The M4 comes with pretty much no embellishments, a standard trigger, Magpul Pmag, single-sided safety and so on. That came as no surprise for a service-grade weapon, but I found it didn’t significantly inhibit the performance. Making shots and reloads went as smooth as I could go, and only slowed by my skills or lack of them anyway. Continue Reading Here…

Christensen Ridgeline 300WSM

Product review, Shooting hardware, ,

I was born and raised in the dry desert state of Utah, as such I am no stranger to the fine firearms manufacturers in this state. One of the more famous firearms companies comes from the beautiful little town of Gunnison Utah, Christensen Arms. I have known of the company for some time, but several years ago I was offered tour of their facility. Their famous carbon fiber is just part of the whole Christensen production, titanium, stainless and aerospace technology are all part of Christensen’s multi-faceted production facility. Many manufacturers, particularly those with higher price-points source their barrel blanks from well known barrel producers. Christensen cuts their own barrels, and wraps them in carbon fiber before mounting to their custom actions. They are then married them to a stock or chassis that also might be built from carbon fiber molded right there in the factory.
Things may have changed even more since my visit to the factory, but ever since then I have been wanting to try out one of these rifles. Today is finally my first chance, as I have in my possession a Christensen Ridgeline 300WSM.

The Ridgeline
The Ridgeline from Christensen is built from a stainless steel action, which shares many dimensions with the Remington 700 pattern. This allows users to utilize the large aftermarket support enjoyed by the 700 series. The action features additional cuts to reduce weight and enhance performance, and things like an enhanced bolt release make it superior to other designs. The Ridgeline comes from the factory with a Trigger Tech trigger, which are very well known for their quality and performance. The fluted bolt uses an M16 like extractor, and a plunger ejector. The threaded bolt handle comes with a petite bolt-knob which you can change out if you desire.

The carbon wrapped barrel on this rifle is chambered in the powerful 300 Winchester Short Magnum, a cartridge I am quite familiar with. The barrel is twenty-four inches long, and features a one-in-ten twist, and threaded 5/8-24 at the muzzle where you will find Christensen’s radially ported muzzle brake.
The stock for the rifle is a composite construction, which uses a pillar-bedded design to improve the accuracy and performance of the rifle. A comfortable recoil pad and sling-studs are of course standard.

In the hands
As I lifted the Ridgeline from its box, the definitive feature of these rifles was immediately evident. This thing is quite light! A rifle this size feels impressively light at under seven pounds, very desirable for a hunting rifle like this. I ran the bolt a few times, and squeezed the trigger to make sure everything looked good. And then It was time to get thing thing ready for the field.
I installed a Nightforce 30 MOA scope base, that made mounting my scope easy. I used one of my favorite scopes, and one that I frequently switch back and forth between a great many rifles. The TS20X from US Optics is an excellent choice for a long range hunting rifle like this. The 2.5X is useful for an up close encounter should you be a stealthy sneaker, and if you get a shot that is way out there, 20X is plenty for making those long shots. I mounted up the scope with a set of 34mm rings, I would have preferred a bit lower set to better fit me but these would do for now.
I also attached a Harris bipod to the front of the stock, a good bipod almost goes without saying on a long-range hunting rifle. The three-round magazine looked rather vacant without anything to fill it, so it was time to find some ammo. As I mentioned I am no stranger to the 300WSM, I’ve probably shot several thousand rounds of it over the many years I’ve spent chasing Utah’s big game, and preparing for the hunt. So I had everything on hand to make my own ammunition for the Ridgeline, but I also wanted to shoot some factory produced ammunition for those that want to know. I had on hand some Federal Fusion 300WSM loaded with 180 grain bullets, a perfect representation of what a Rocky Mountain hunter would want to use for elk or deer. Besides that I loaded up some Norma Brass with my favorite load featuring a Sierra 190 grain Match King, a load responsible for dropping a dozen or so big game animals from my first antelope at 880 yards to big cow elk at 400 yards.

Let’s Hunt
The Ridgeline is a hunting rifle, everything about it is optimized for a hard-core big game hunter. I imagine it in the frigid cold hands of a sheep hunter in the Northwest Territories, or over the shoulder of a backcountry elk hunter leading mules to a distant basecamp. I wanted to see how it would do in exactly that situation, so I took it deep into the high Rocky Mountains. After zeroing the rifle at 100 yards, I wanted to see how accurate the rifle would shoot considering Christensen rifles come with a sub-MOA accuracy guarantee. The Federal Fusion 180’s shot a sub-MOA three shot group, but when I fired two more it opened up what I would call considerably. I assume this is likely to do with the barrel heating up from the magnum cartridges and pressure.

I installed a suppressor on the rifle, in my experience most rifles seem to shoot better when suppressed. And besides that, it’s just better. The Desert Tech Sound Suppressor (DTSS) was a perfect match for the lightweight Ridgeline, its titanium construction doesn’t add much to the rifle. And it easily handles the pressure of the 300WSM reducing the noise to a reasonable raucous.
I then stretched out the rifle to some more realistic distances, this open country allows for long shots. It isn’t uncommon to find big game from a mile or two away, and stalking into a closer distance. Its also not uncommon for the terrain to keep you from getting within a certain distance, so being able to make shots at long-range is helpful.
Making hits with this rifle at five and seven hundred yards was not difficult, but I again noticed that after a few shots my hits began to wander despite the nonexistent wind. Continue Reading Here…

Howa 1500 Kratos 6.5 Creedmoor

Product review, Shooting hardware, , ,

Howa has long been a trusted brand for affordable performance. In today’s article we will be discussing another model from Howa, a variant of the model 1500. The Kratos 6.5 Creedmoor is sold as a hunting rifle and introductory precision rifle, built on the durable 1500 action and placed in a synthetic stock ready for whatever activity you choose.

The Kratos
The God of war seems a bit off for the name of a hunting or match rifle, but here we are. The features that set he Kratos apart give it some excellent handling and performance. The synthetic stock feature bedded pillars in its composite structure to keep the action firmly stabilized. The model I received came with both a hinged floorplate and a detachable box magazine system that holds five rounds. The exterior of the stock features a very nice texturing that allows excellent handling, and the whole thing is finished off with an attractive camouflaged paint pattern.
The 1500 action and barrel are also Cerakoted in a tan color, which makes the whole thing quite handsome. Controls on the action include a right side safety near the bolt-shroud, and opposite that is a petite bolt-release lever. The bolt is a ninety-degree two lug type, it uses an M16 type claw extractor and a traditional plunger ejector.
The barrel itself is a twenty-two inch eight twist barrel of a fairly light profile. Nothing wrong with that for a hunting rifle, but it did seem a little light for even an entry level match rifle. This was of little concern to me, as the only plans I had for the rifle was as a hunting tool.
The muzzle of the rifle features a very slender muzzle brake with radial ports to reduce recoil. Underneath the brake were a clean set of 1/2-28 threads, perfect for mounting a suppressor. The rifle I received also came with a one-piece scope base, which would reduce the time needed to get a scope mounted and on the range.


Range Preparation
The first thing I wanted to add to the rifle was a good scope, I had a Crimson Trace Hardline 3-12 scope handy, and already in a mount. This made installing it a breeze, leaving me needing only to zero the gun and get shooting. But before that, I installed a Harris bipod and I also grabbed my Yankee Hill Machine R9 suppressor which would make a nice addition to the ensemble.

With several hunts coming in the next few weeks, I wanted to make sure the rifle was ready for anything. Both my wife and son would also be hunting this year, and I was going to see if either of them wanted to try the new Howa as their main gun. That being the case I grabbed a couple different selections of ammunition, a Hornady 120 grain Match Load, as well as my own custom hunting load featuring the Patriot Valley arms Cayuga bullets. I’ve used these bullets many times in the past to take deer and elk, and these 122 grain bullets loaded in the 6.5 Creedmoor have dropped elk with outstanding performance.

After packing up all my gear and accessories, I took the Howa to my shooting spot. With a target hung at one hundred yards, I laid down behind the Kratos and bore-sighted the scope. I zeroed the rifle using the Hornady ammo, and also tried some 130 grain Federal Gold Medal ammunition. They all shot equally, so I tried my Cayuga hunting load as well. They averaged right at one MOA with a five shot group.

With a little refinement I figured I could tighten that up before hunting season. I would prefer the rifle shoot half MOA groups, this better consistency is very handy when shots get longer.
One thing I noticed while shooting the rifle at one hundred yards was how much I liked the two-stage trigger. You could tell it wasn’t a seven thousand dollar sniper rifle trigger, but it still was a great little trigger and better than average for a hunting rifle. I also noticed just the slightest bind on the bolt when running it, but it was also dry. I added a touch of lube to the contact points and it ran as smooth as could be.

Now that I had the rifle zeroed, I figured I would do some real world shooting. My favorite part of shooting here in the mountains is that it allows me to practice in the same scenarios that I would during a hunt. I picked out a rock about the size of a deer’s vitals, I picked it because it had the right shape, and lay surrounded by nothing but dry dirt. I ranged it with my LRF, and the range came back at four-hundred-twenty yards. It was a steep canyon and my target lay deep below me, so I dialed the elevation correction, subtracting for the incline of course. I favored into the wind which was coming down the canyon, and took up the first stage of the trigger. When my hold was just right, I pressed harder and sent the shot crushing the thin rock into the dirt.
With a fresh sense of confidence, I decided to try another shot. This one was straight across the canyon, with a good wind blowing at full-value. The laser came back with six-hundred and fifteen yards, so I again corrected my scope elevation for the distance and evaluated the wind as I lay there. A full MIL into the wind seemed a bit much, but I’ve certainly misjudged the wind before so I held the full MIL. After breaking the trigger again, I watched my bullet impact a few inches downwind of where I wanted it too. Shoulda probably held 1.1 or 1.2 MIL, but that is exactly why I like doing this, to get more experience doping the wind. Continue Reading Here…

Keltec RDB 5.56 Bullpup

Product review, Shooting hardware, , ,

I’ve had a bit of experience with bullpups, some more than others. But if you’re interested enough in them to be reading this, you may want to read my last piece “Ode to bullpups” where we discussed bullpups in general. Today we will be speaking specifically about the Keltec RDB bullpup, a sixteen inch barreled 5.56 bullpup semi-auto.

Keltec
Keltec has been around since the early nineties, with a motto of creating original and innovative firearms in the state of Florida. An overview of Keltec firearms gives the impression that affordability, alternative designs and materials are all part of their operation. My personal experience with Keltec has been modest at best until this RDB came to me, so this review will represent a fresh look at the rifle.

The RDB
The RDB is a 5.56 nato chambered bullpup rifle, the action and magazine are located behind the pistol grip. This allows the rifle to present with a much shorter and well balanced platform than a traditionally configured rifle such as an AR-15. The RDB is fed by standard AR type magazines, and those cartridges are loaded by a piston driven bolt-carrier. The sixteen-inch one in seven twist barrel features a 1/2-28 threaded muzzle that came with a birdcage style muzzle device, as well as an adjustable gas block to meter pressure into the operating system. The cunning ejection system that sets the RDB apart from its competition is it downward ejection, the spent cases are pulled behind the magazine and ejected out the bottom of the rifle. The controls of the rifle are pretty standard, but not like you are used to for sure. There is a reversible charging handle that can be placed on either side of the fore-grip after disassembling the rifle. The safety is ambidextrous and located in the right position, right where your thumb would expect it to be.

The magazine release and bolt catch are both located behind the pistol grip. The mag release is a stamped piece of metal that reaches around both sides of the lower-rear receiver, there is a push-pad at the front of this horseshoe shaped piece just behind the pistol grip to release the magazine. The rifles locks open upon emptying the magazine, and the bolt release is located on either side of the lower receiver, but uses a captured lever on the right side of the rifle to aid in leverage to easily release the bolt after loading a fresh magazine.
There is a picatinny rail across the top of the rifle for sight mounting, and there are several points on the rifle for attaching slings with a hook or other attachment. The Defender handguard features M-Lok slots at three, six, and nine o’clock for attaching additional accessories.

First Impressions
I have seen Keltec firearms for years and had many opportunities to handle them. So when the RDB case arrived I wasn’t particularly surprised by its contents. I picked the RDB up from its case, and cleared it for inspection. I shouldered the rifle to give it a feel, it was then that I noticed it was lighter than I had anticipated, six-point-seven pounds according to Keltec. This was a pleasant discovery.

I played with the rifle for a few minutes to get a full understanding of its operation and features, and then I stared at it for a bit. At first I thought it appeared like a high school or college engineering class had drawn this thing in Solid Works, but the more I looked the more I could see what they were working at. The bullpup balance was like most others I’ve held, balanced right at the grip area. I again ran the charging handle a few times, the handle can be pulled to the rear and lifted into a locked position to leave the action open. But the ejection port being on the bottom, there isn’t really a place to inspect.
I wanted to try out the trigger, which for many bullpups is famously terrible. To my surprise the trigger was not bad, the first stage gave way to a solid wall that broke clean and firmly. So firmly in fact I almost immediately felt the desire to open up the rifle and see what was making such a significant strike when I pulled the trigger. Internal inspection showed a very curious design, both the hammer and trigger mechanisms were far from what I’d imagined.
The hammer itself is not unlike a turkey wishbone, with two legs coming together at the top to form a hammer anvil. The hammer splits around the magazine well, and the sear/connecting linkage travel all the way up to the trigger group itself. The whole thing is quite interesting, and explains why the trigger feels so good compared to other bullpups.
While inside I noticed the very short bolt carrier. The bottom ejection requires the bolt-face to travel far enough behind the magazine as to allow spent cases to clear the magazine and trigger parts. The short bolt and firing pin are similar to most other semi-auto bolt designs, with a rotating bolt guided by a cam-pin that also locks into the receiver guide rails as it goes into battery.
With fresh perspective, I reassembled the rifle and went to work preparing it for a range session. The rifle had come with set of Magpul flip up sights, but I also added a Sig Sauer Romeo RDS. I was surely going to try the rifle suppressed as well, to see how the adjustable gas system could accommodate the difference.

On the Range
Once on the firing line, with some thirty-round magazines I loaded the RDB and prepared to fire. Initial ergonomics were not bad, the rifle fit me well. The charging handle on the left side of the rifle was easy to find blindly and provided plenty of purchase. With an easy click of the safety I was in business. Recoil was just what I expected from a 5.56 caliber bullpup, not bad at all. The spent shells began to pile up neatly on the ground in front of me. When my first magazine went empty, it was time to try out the reloading controls of the rifle. Stuffing magazines through the rifle and doing lots of reload drills taught me a couple things about the RDB. It could use a more flared magwell, as it seemed a little bit of a stickler to get the magazine stabbed in properly. The magazine release worked better than I had anticipated, almost too good. I have long heard of people complaining that the mag release is too easy to inadvertently drop the magazine while maneuvering the rifle. And it proved to be so for me as well, a slight miscalculated move of the shooting hand can drop your magazine from the rifle. The bolt release took some time to get used to as well, reaching back and hitting it with my right thumb seemed to be the best option. I’m sure with some training it could become second nature. Cross training on different rifle platforms doesn’t hurt anyone, and its a bit of a pet peeve of mine when bullpup haters act as though a slight retraining in operation somehow renders a gun “useless” in their opinion. Continue Reading Here…