RECCE ROOM

The Rifleman came across a social media post the other day where in an individual was complaining about the cost of a gun class. This particular gun class was a one-day class, and the cost was $100. Clearly, this individual had no clue whereof he speaks. Let's break it down. 1. Supplies First, you will need a target holder. One that will not sway in the wind. You can purchase a dozen stakes at a home improvement place for about $8. You will need at Target backer. Those are a dollar a piece. However, the smallest denomination you can purchase them in is a 50 pack. $50. You will also need silhouette target. These, too, are a dollar a piece. However, these are also sold in large bundles. $100. Staples. You will read that you need to bring a staple gun and Staples. A person who complains about a $100 class, though, will not bring a staple gun and Staples. These aren't free. $5. Class - specific targets. Here is where it will get very interesting. The instructor could tell yo...

The Rifleman is your guide for AR15 buy / build.  The AR15 is the rifle of choice for anyone who wants to stay alive in a bad situation. Here are some ground rules. 1. Fancy don’t mean sh!t. I know that most people go all out with their ARs; but for a first gun, you want simple and effective. 2. Just because you can go as cheap as possible doesn’t mean you should. This is not to say you can’t go cheap for certain components but stuff like uppers, barrels, gas systems and the gun’s actual mechanism need to have some semblance of quality behind it. Don't cheap out on optics, either.  Buy once, cry once.  3. Pre-built isn’t a bad thing. Although some people have a slight stigma over someone just going out and buying something like an M&P or some similar AR, they aren't bad at all.  Make no mistake, those super cheap ARs aren’t as reliable as people pretend they are, so take some solace in that your M&P 15 can actually con...

Sad, but true story. The Rifleman was out and about, wearing his Atlanta Braves Baseball cap (just like the one pictured above). As a small group of people passed by, the 50+ year old "lady" (with missing teeth, of course) calls out to me: "Row Tahd!!!" The Rifleman thinks that translates to "roll tide," the asinine 'war cry' of the Alabama Crimson Tide.  Naturally, I pay no notice as I am not an Alabama fan. She says it again, and points to my hat. "Oh, that's an Atlanta Braves baseball cap." I replied.  "I thought it was Alabama." She said.  Folks, this is an Alabama hat: Not very similar. Maybe the "A."

Interview taken from “Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshall” by Stuart N. Lake “I was a fair hand with pistol, rifle, or shotgun, but I learned more about gunfighting from Tom Speer’s cronies during the summer of ’71 than I had dreamed was in the book. Those old-timers took their gunplay seriously, which was natural under the conditions in which they lived. Shooting, to them, was considerably more than aiming at a mark and pulling a trigger. Models of weapons, methods of wearing them, means of getting them into action and operating them, all to the one end of combining high speed with absolute accuracy, contributed to the frontiersman’s shooting skill. The sought-after degree of proficiency was that which could turn to most effective account the split-second between life and death. Hours upon hours of practice, and wide experience in actualities supported their arguments over style. The most important lesson I learned from those proficient gunfighters was t...

The 25m / 300m zero is a myth. Your AR15 rifle can be zeroed at either 25m, or at 300m. But not both at the same time. Now, The Rifleman can already hear the murmurs in the crowd... "Well, you'll be close!" Perhaps. However, if by "close" you mean that you can zero at 25m, and be on paper at 300m, then The Rifleman has some bad news for you. It's not gonna happen.  The best way to get a true 300m zero is to take your rifle to a range that goes out to 300m and zero it at actual distance. The next best way is to zero about 3.5" high at 100 yards.  Or, you can zero on the money at 36 yards (33m). Don't believe The Rifleman?  Check this out! Using an AR15 with a 16 inch barrel - arguably the most common AR barrel length in the United States - The Rifleman performed an evaluation. The rifle wore a Primary Arms 1-6x scope featuring the patented ACSS reticle. The scope has been zeroed at 100 yards, as per the instructions. Additionally, it has bee...

Damaged Goods learns the hard way that high value men don't want to marry   damaged goods . In this postmodern society, too many women who are a "4" think they deserve a man who is a "9." It doesn't work that way.

This is how  you send a message to an unjust judge. A judge that won't uphold the law, even after such a message, should be removed from office. Those that resist should be made an example of in a more drastic way.

A delusional ex-wife fails to learn the most important lesson of marriage. And yet, she directly alludes to it four times. From   this article  - If we were having sex, he didn't give me a hard time about buying myself a new shirt. If we were having sex, he did things around the house willingly. If we were having sex, he acted like he liked me more. If we were having sex, he complimented me, the way I looked and how I mothered. If we weren't having sex, that all went away. He said it was because he felt neglected, unhappy and ignored. Contrast that with this statement - He just wanted to feel like a man. But it wasn't my job to make him feel like a man. If he couldn't look at me and see a wife who loved him, birthed his three kids, cared for him, and felt fulfilled and thankful, but who just needed to not feel pressured to give him an orgasm every other night, then I couldn't make him see all he had. A woman's worth goes way beyond how much sex she'...

Recently,  The Rifleman had the opportunity to shoot out to 500 yards.  Here is the setup used.  And here is the target, as viewed from the shooting position: Ammo used: Hornady Black 75 grain. The Point of Impact (POI) was within 1 MOA of the 500m hash mark on the ACOG. The wind guestimation was as follows: 5 mph from 1:00 to 7:00. No adjustments were made. No holdover was used.  You will see in the picture that the shots impacted a shade to the left.  Less than 1 MOA deflection.  Using the rucksack for a rest, and the shooting sock, a pair of 3-round groups were fired.  The group measured 5.25 inches across.  The exact distance via rangefinder was 530 yards.  This is good for a 0.95 MOA group.  This group was within the mechanical accuracy of this rifle with this ammo. 

The setup.  Rucksack, rifle, shooting sock.  But, for this drill, no rucksack or shooting sock was needed.  The Rifleman came across a target of opportunity at 355 yards.  With magazine rested on the ground, the target was engaged: 3 shots. 3 hits.  But, there are some that say the Rifleman's rifle is why he makes the hits. After all, it is a custom built specialty rifle capable of incredible accuracy.  The Rifleman contends that one cannot buy accuracy. One can, however, prevent accuracy by going too cheap.  So, let's try the same drill with a regular rifle.  How about, say, an M16A4 clone? Let's give ol' Addie a workout, shall we? 3 shots, prone. Rested on magazine.  From 355 yards: 3 more hits.  And here is the view to the target, and from the target. 

The rifleman's mom was a major league shit-tester. Me thinks this is why The Rifleman is so good at passing shit-tests. Lots of practice growing up.   What is a shit-test?   One of the more major ones I remember from growing up... my mother scheduled a birthday party for my sister on my birthday .  Yes, you read that correctly. Our birthdays were a month apart. As my mother requested I attend, I did show up.  Stayed a minute, had some cake and an unfortunate allergic reaction to something in the air, then left early.  Later, I overheard my mom on the phone with a friend. She admitted she knew what she was doing planning that party.  She told her friend that I cried in the corner.  Kinda reminds me of how #FakeNews treats Trump these days... gets the story completely wrong on purpose.   Of course, she asked me if I wanted her to plan a party for me. My reply? "Yes! Let's invite all my friends, and schedule it for my sister's birthday, and I'll...

Recently,  the Rifleman came across this   set of Rifle and Pistol quals . Naturally,  this piqued my interest,  so I decided to try them out.  If you've read this blog, you saw where I passed the rifle and pistol portions with flying colors.  But, what about the Designated Marksman qualification?  The course: 200 yards Target = 8.5x11" paper. 10 out of 10 shots on paper 2 minute time limit.  Here goes! Since the range I visited did not have a proper 200 yard range, I improvised.  The location I shot from was over 250 yards away, so I don't think anyone will mind if I actually performed the task in a more difficult manner.  The 250+ yard range.  Don't worry - the car was moved before the Rifleman took a shot.  I also decided to take the evaluation with my Aimpoint.  No magnification.  No scopes.  Just me and my red dot.  The results? Well under 2 minites...  and all 10 shots on paper!! But, I d...

Found more of these pictures, illustrating zeroes and holdovers for common barrel and ammunition combinations. Thanks to   Arma Dynamics . It is easy to realize, seeing these charts, that the flattest zero is a 50-yard zero. With the sole exception of the 10.5" barrel, all of the bullet & barrel combinations keep within a couple of inches out to 250 yds. And only a 7" holdover at 300. The 10.5" barrel, with a 50-yard zero stays equally close to 200, and needs only a 15" or 16" holdover at 300.

Dry fire is one of the most important training tools a shooter can use. It helps with trigger control and proper sight alignment. A smart shooter will also practice proper respiratory pause when performing dry fire, as well. One of the few irritations a shooter will experience when dry fire is that if an empty magazine is used, the bolt will lock the rear every time it is cycled. In AR15 rifles, an empty mag inserted into the gun helps facilitate the bolt locking to the rear. This is a tutorial on how to modify a magazine so that it will no longer lock the bolt to the rear during dry-fire practice. First, we have a PMAG. Look at the bottom of the PMAG, and find the floor plate release button. Press the release button in, and slide the floor plate to the front of the magazine. The spring and the follower will pop out of the bottom. Remove them. Replace the floor plate. Now, you are almost ready. The hollowed-out magazine should look like any other. Now, you will want to Mark th...

From Lefty:   My Church Family Here it is, with The Rifleman's notes in parentheses: My wife and I started attending a church about a mile from our house a little more than 4 years ago (6 years ago for The Rifleman). We have grown quite attached to our small church and the good folks who worship with us. The thing that attracted me most when we first started attending was the authenticity of the other worshipers. I never felt like anyone was putting on airs or pretending to be something they weren’t (The Rifleman felt there were a handful, but Lefty addresses what happened to them shortly). I still feel that way today. My church family is very dear to me. The past year has seen us endure a great deal of turmoil. We lost about half our membership, dwindling from four weekend services to three, and then two. It has been discouraging at times, but never once did we ever consider joining the exodus. In fact, the thought of changing churches and starting over again is physically...

Recently,  the Rifleman came across a series of rifle and pistol   qualifications . Naturally,  this piqued my interest.  First, we catalogued the pistol qualifications.  Now, it's time to catalogue the rifle qualification.  The conditions: 50 yards. Target = 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. 5 rounds standing, and mag change. 5 rounds kneeling, and mag change.  5 rounds prone. 8-10 hits = Marksman 11-13 = Sharpshooter 14-15 = Expert This sounds a lot like   the Trident . So, a range day was in order! First up, I took the evaluation with Lucy while she was wearing the Aimpoint micro dot: Perfect 15 and with plenty of time to spare.  However, she usually sports my ACOG scope.  So, I decided to take the evaluation with my ACOG on the rifle: As expected, it took a few seconds longer.  But, the result was still well within the time limit.  And, a perfect 15 was scored again.  Give this one a try!

A friend had asked me to run ballistics on his 10.5" SBR. It was wondering what zero would be most effective, by shooting the flattest. In the process of running numbers, I did a quick search, and found the above picture. These numbers have been verified through two different online ballistics calculators. Furthermore, M193 ammo will shoot with holdovers to within 1 MOA at the distances given. As an added benefit, and as you can see, there is also a chart for common zeros using an 18" barrel. An AR-15 nerd would realize that the zeros given for the 18 inch barrel almost exactly mirror those for a 20 inch barrel, using M855 or M193 ammo. Please note, this is not always the case, especially with heavier grain ammunition. Now, The Rifleman will search for similar pictures for other barrel lengths.

Happy Labor Day!