ar 15 Archives

There is something to be said about a rifle that is near perfectly balanced and maneuverable. Today I am here to share with you one of those rifles, an AR-15 that just feels perfect in my hands. Built from an Aero Precision X15 lower receiver and mated with a lightweight eighteen-inch upper and barrel.

What makes a perfect carbine?
Obviously, that varies for most of us, but I’ll tell you what I think this carbine is perfect for. The lightweight barrel and handguard assembly make this rifle very balanced, and it has a very effective muzzle brake as well to help reduce any recoil or muzzle rise.
A fairly minimalist Magpul MOE SL-K buttstock also helps keep the weight down but still offers all the agility and modularity I’d want for shooting on the move. The trigger in this rifle is nothing extraordinary, but it breaks clean enough to shoot accurately.

On top of the rifle is a Vortex Crossfire II 1-4 LPVO, I know some of you are gonna disagree with me here but I like this scope for this gun. Apart from a good color combination, I think the 1-4 power is great for a rifle intended to shoot n’ scoot.
Any kind of shooting scenario where you expect to be rapidly moving and engaging targets from fairly close distances would be a great. That could be a two or three gun competition or a car lot in Wisconsin, but you’d find yourself pretty well equipped with a little carbine like this.
Your idea of a perfect carbine might be a little different than mine, I have no issue with that as ten years from now we may have swapped opinions.

Good Parts
Good parts make a good rifle, and while the X15 receiver from Aero may not be the greatest or best of all time but it is still a good place to start. The barrel in this rifle appears to be a Faxon gunner eighteen-inch barrel, it is nitride finished with a nickel teflon coated barrel extension and 5R rifled. Sounds like a winner, but we would see for sure on the range. The handguard is an MLok carbine length from AT3 Tactical, it’s pretty minimalist, and comfortable to hold.

Rangetime
The first time I took this rifle to the range I wanted to basically just prove it out and make sure everything worked together. I was quickly pleased to see that everything was in order and needed no additional attention, it was ready to burn up some ammo.
I ran several magazines through the rifle and I found it to be very controllable, the light recoil was further reduced by the brake making target acquisition quick and easy. I was also impressed that the light weight made it much easier to hold the rifle on target, not just hold it but to hold it still. Something I am not used to due to the heavy guns I usually shoot.
My daughter had come along and wanted to give the rifle a try herself. She too found the rifle comfortable to maneuver and shoot, which further credits the rifle’s handling.
I did put the rifle across some sandbags to see how it patterned. For a proper accuracy test I would have liked to put a better rifle scope on the gun, and perhaps shoot some better ammunition than I had on hand. The Crossfire II scope did work well enough for my purposes however, I didn’t have much trouble hitting what I was aiming at. The best group I came up with during my testing was a 2 MOA pattern, not exactly match-grade shooting but I’m sure I could have improved on that with a little more refined aiming and magnification. Continue Reading Here…

Intro

Ruger joined the AR 15 market some time ago, and I’d been meaning to see how well they had done on their initial offerings. But life being what it is, I only just recently got the opportunity. Always a glutton for shooting, I jumped in with both feet.

The Legend

No not the Will Smith movie where he takes poorly aimed shots at post apocalyptic deer of some kind as they run through the city with his M4 variant. Im referring to the 350 Legend, and Will Smith would have probably done a little better against deer sized game had he been shooting 180 grain Federal blue box 350 Legend. But hey, zombie apocalypse makes for strange hunting practices.

The MPR with **US Optics scope** and **Atlas Bipod**

Continue reading here

350 legend ammo with a ruger mpr — .350 Legend is a great match for the Ruger MPR

The .350 Legend came from Winchester Ammunition. They tout it as the fastest straight-walled cartridge available today. The Legend looks like a straight-walled .223 case with a .35 caliber bullet at the front instead of a bottleneck. Legend ammo can be had from 140 grains all the way up to 255-grain sub-sonics, making it very adaptable to your purposes.

THE RUGER MPR

The Ruger MPR is like most AR-styled rifles, and it has all the familiar controls and features. The only difference between this and many others I’ve shot (besides the obvious .35 bore) was the use of a .350 legend magazine and a shorter gas tube.

As tested here, the rifle featured a 16-inch barrel, taking up just half of the overall length of 33 inches when the buttstock is collapsed. The rifle weighs in at 6.5 pounds and comes with Ruger’s Elite 452 two-stage trigger. The muzzle is threaded at 1/2-28 and comes with Ruger’s own radial ported muzzle brake.

The Ruger MPR paired nicely with the **R9 suppressor from YHM** and an LVPO from **U.S. Optics.**

I installed just a couple of accessories to the rifle prior to testing. First was one of my standby optics, an LVPO from U.S. Optics. Second, I added a bipod to the hand guard for better stability when needed. Lastly, I ran the rifle with two of my newest 9mm suppressors from Yankee Hill Machine, the Nitro N20 and the R9.

Before I had even made it to the range though, the rifle was quickly gaining my favor. Just basic handling of the gun proved it to be lighter than I was used to – a welcome feature that made it quick to shoulder and point. Fairly standard collapsible Magpul MOE stock and pistol grip felt like a perfect match to the rest of the rifle. The trigger that Ruger put in this rifle felt very serviceable at 4.5 pounds. It was great for almost any situation I would use this gun. A 45-degree safety was another nice feature I hadn’t expected.

PACKING LIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS

After some playing around in my basement for a bit with the rifle, I decided to take it for a hike into the mountains. I purposely left without a sling because the lightness of the rifle impressed me. I wanted to see if that impression remained after hauling it around for a mile. Before leaving, I stuffed a box of Winchester 145-grain FMJ ammo into my back pocket.

The Ruger MPR proved to be an easy rifle to haul up the mountain

As I walked up the partially icy trail, it was immediately evident that this lighter rifle was far more pleasant to pack than what I was used to carrying. It was easily carried around in one hand either by the grip or around the handguard.

In what seemed like a shorter time than normal, I found myself at my shooting spot. I surveyed the landscape as I caught my breath. A bit of movement caught my eye just across the canyon from where I was perched, a young deer made its way up the opposite ridge, perhaps having heard or seen me.

PRACTICAL ACCURACY TESTING

I had previously bore-sighted the scope before leaving the house, so my plan was to see how close I was by shooting into a small dirt pile clearing approximately 100 yards in front of me. With my U.S. Optics scope zoomed into 6x, I took a few preliminary shots. Hitting just a few inches high and right. After a few minor adjustments, it was on target.

I wasn’t expecting a significant amount of recoil, as I’d shot plenty of .350 Legend in the past through my Desert Tech MDRX. But this Ruger was a significant amount lighter, so I thought this might increase the recoil I felt. Whether it was the muzzle brake or the suppressors I mounted, this rifle was a smooth and soft shooter. It was easily something I could put my 12-year-old daughter behind.

After a few rounds getting comfortable with the rifle, I decided to see just how useful the rifle would be had the deer I saw been a buck. I looked back to the spot where I had seen the deer, and there in the game trail was a patch of wet dirt. Likely, it had been snow only hours earlier before the sun had its way. The wet patch appeared to measure eight or so inches, and I figured it was as good a test as any. This was deer country at deer ranges, and the scenario could have easily played out during deer season. But was the rifle up to it?

I fired a few shots at the wet patch of earth, easily hitting it and sending mud splattering across the clean white rocks nearby. The distance was just over 180 yards. With the ability to make hits on vital-sized targets at that range, it seems like a no-brainer. This rifle would make an excellent deer rifle within the envelope of the Legend’s capabilities. With its lightweight and easy manipulation, a person could handily take down a deer inside 250 yards.

I think the six-power scope is a great partner for this rifle. It provides quick target acquisition and engagement for those shorter distances inside 300 yards. The muzzle brake provided by Ruger seems to tame the already light recoil to a very soft impulse, giving you plenty of control for multiple shots should you need them.

ACCURACY

I shot the gun on paper to see how it performed concerning accuracy, and the results seemed to be on par with what I had seen in the field. Groups averaged just under an inch at 100 yards, certainly good enough for smacking deer and hog-sized game within a reasonable distance. This gun seemed to prefer the heavier ammunition, like the 170 and 180 grain from Federal and Hornady. That is fine by me, as that seems like the appropriate proportions for the above-mentioned animals.

The Ruger MPR proved to be very accurate in formal testing as well

CONCLUSION

I was pleasantly surprised by this little package. It was light, handy, and very functional. The great benefits of the AR platform are exemplified here in what would make a perfect little ranch gun, swamp shooter, or even apocalyptic urban deer slayer.

-CBM