Archive for the 'AR-15s' Category

Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about him.  He’s a soy boy from the inner city who wouldn’t know how to pick stalls, doctor a dog or horse, grow produce, or string a barbed wire fence.

I can do all of those things, and calculus too.

These results are very interesting.  The 14.5″ and 16″ barrels had greater penetration, but obviously the 20″ barrel tore up the medium better.  It’s almost as if genius Eugene Stoner designed it that way.

Now.  Do 77 grain.

Via reader Ned.

I’ve followed the infantry weapons in use, from the bullpup IPI Malyk to AR-15s and AKs.  Of course, some idiot always drops by to respond that it’s all propaganda rather than really add to the conversation about weaponry.

This article outlines some really nice rifles recently given to their fighters.

Ukrainian National Guard special forces have started to receive their first 5.56x45mm AR-15-patterned rifles. This comes as some Ukrainian National Guard units have begun to rearm in line with NATO standards as part of closer alignment with the western alliance.

The official press announcement of the Ukrainian National Guard does not name the unit, only saying that a separate special unit of the Eastern Territorial Administration has received new UAR-15 assault rifles. The Firearm Blog website mentions that in recent months Ukraine also received a shipment of US military aid worth $60 million. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Donbass and the annexation of Crimea, Ukraine has undergone a massive rearmament program and kick-started its defense industry with a number of attempts at developing a small arms manufacturing capability which has seen the development of the FORT-250 rifle and the M4-WAC-47.

The rifles in the photos released by the National Guard are clearly marked “UKROP”, a branch of Ukraine’s state-run “Ukroboronprom” concern. The UKROP UAR-15 has been exhibited at a number of defense trade shows since 2018, and it seems that production of the rifle is now underway. The rifle appears to be patterned after the AR-15/M4, with a KeyMod forend, an enlarged T-charging handle, an adjustable stock and a full-length top rail. The rifles also appear to be select fire. They are also shown with Lancer translucent polymer magazines and a suppressor with flash hider, which is reportedly rated for up to 10,000 rounds.

I see the flash hider, I don’t see the suppressor.  Maybe the author is wrong about that.  But they are using translucent mags, a light KeyMod forend, a nice charging handle, and MLOK attachment rails along with a full 1913 rail on top.  The rifles appear to be Cerakoted charcoal gray.

Andy at Practical Accuracy sends this video of shooting his RRA rifle at 1000 yards with iron sights.

Andy is a good shooter.  I can’t see a quarter that far without magnification though.  I’ll say again, Rock River Arms rifles are shooters.  We’ve discussed it many times before, but the 1:7 twist which is MilSpec was never put in place because of accuracy requirements.  Steve at RRA and I have discussed this before too, and they make their rifles 1:8 (some of them 1:9).

I have M-Lok Stuff.  I still like Keymod better.

One has been seen in the wild.  Despite my predictions of poor performance and rim-locking, it seems to be well-functioning.

Might have to look into one of these given the good price point.

Andy with practical accuracy sends me a note with a video he did as a challenge from a commenter here at TCJ.

First of all, it’s nice to be in the mix of thing where you can affect outcomes like testing of weapons systems.  Second, his results are interesting and seem to me to put to bed the notion that a 1:9 twist rate can’t stabilize a 77 grain bullet.  This is the same thing Steve Mayer at Rock River Arms told me several years ago.  But it’s nice to see it tested.

By the way, nice shooting Andy.  A 1 MOA group is always good in my book.

I have been watching (perhaps not closely enough).  This is the first time I’ve seen anything other than COMBLOC weapons.

It also appears to have a nice charging handle (perhaps a Raptor charging handle?).

TFB.

It’s compatible with AR-15 lowers, and with the package comes a magazine and buffer and buffer spring.  The cost is $350.

I still think the wise move is to wait and get a feel for its performance (e.g., rimfire cartridges tend to get rim-locked, tend to be too weak to hold the slide back, etc.).

But I have to say that the price point is right.  They haven’t overpriced the upper.

It’s his video so he gets to say what he wants to.  I would add the following.  I like the BCM, but I wouldn’t recommend Colt.

I would recommend against a low tier AR and steer you towards: Rock River Arms, BCM, LaRue, Aeroprecision, or Daniel Defense.  Those are all going to cost in the upper tier price range, but it will be worth it in the long run.

As for hand guards, I have both KeyMod and MLok.  They both work.  I like KeyMod better, but that’s just me.