This past Tuesday, after being ordered by my doctor to "de-stress" and "get some R&R", I promptly drove down to Heaven (Brown County) to visit my folks, and to get some fresh air. I first stopped by home to pick up my range bag and M4, just in case.
lovemywoods had recently received a care package from LaRue tactical, and I was eager to fiddle with its contents. After some family chit-chat, he and I decided to hit the range.
As always, we were careful to first define our purpose(s) for this trip:
Pistol range
Set up 50yrds from the target, along the dam
View from the target
lovemywoods gets things set up on the shooting bench
First things first, we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the Trijicon Accupoint. So, after roughly mounting it in the LaRue SPR-15 mount, we mounted the entire thing on my Bushmaster Patrolman's M4. I also used Kr_Treefrog2's new Harris BRM bipod with LaRue QD mount and lovemywoods' new 20rd PMAGS for the testing. (I'm such a gear thief. . . .)
First thing we noticed was that the scope was not level in the mount, so we adjusted it. But before we did that, we tried snapping some pictures through the scope. The second picture really shows the reticle well.
Its tougher to see against he orange target, but in the very center is an amber colored reticle, powered by fiber optics during the day and tritium at night. The camera would pick up some light gray "ghosting" from the front sight base, but you could not see it with the naked eye.
Just for fun, I decided to zero it to my rifle first, and then re-zero to Dad's later. It literally took me 3 rounds to zero! After that I felt very confident in my ability to make hits where I wanted them. At one point a black bug of some sort flew onto the target. With Dad at the spotting scope, he said "bet you can't. . . . ." I quickly took one shot, which did not remove the bug, but rather it took off his wing, and he went spiraling down to the ground. Now I can proudly say "I can shoot the wings off bugs".
Getting bored with punching paper, we laid out Dad's shooting mat on the dam so we could shoot prone down the length of the lake to a stand of 2 steel targets 206 yards away. One target is about the size of an average male torso, and the other is an 8" plate.
I attempted to take a photo that would show the distance to the steel, but the camera still compressed the image enough that the targets look much closer than they really are. At least you can get the idea. . .
We both made hits effortlessly at this distance. In fact, I'm not sure if we missed when shooting prone. Putting 10 rounds on the 8" plate was quick and easy.
Next we decided to zero Dad's new Troy rear BUIS. We found that red-dot optics really spoil you, and getting back familiar with the irons is a good idea every once-in-a-while.
After the irons were g2g, we decided to shoot an impromptu competition for smallest group.
After that we put lovemywoods' Accupoint back on his rifle and re-zeroed it. Then we removed it and put on the Aimpoint CompM2 and confirmed that it had indeed still held its zero after being off the rifle for the past several weeks.
A side note about LaRue mounts-- I friggin' LOVE what LaRue has done with their quick-disconnect mounts. Between our (lovemywoods, Kr_Treefrog2, and myself) 3 ARs we can swap around various optic combinations to suit whatever we want for the moment, and can then change everything with just the flick of a lever or two. They mount up VERY solid, and they always return to zero when mounted in the same position. I HIGHLY recommend the kool-aid!
As it started getting dark we packed everything up and retired to the house for grilled chicken, herb and cheese biscuits, and a side salad. Since it was just us guys, we also watched a show on the History channel about current military snipers while we ate.
And what did we learn?
lovemywoods had recently received a care package from LaRue tactical, and I was eager to fiddle with its contents. After some family chit-chat, he and I decided to hit the range.
As always, we were careful to first define our purpose(s) for this trip:
- Familiarize ourselves with lovemywoods' new Trijicon Accupoint 3-9 scope with LaRue SPR-15 mount.
- Zero the new Accupoint to lovemywoods' Colt M4.
- Zero a new LaRue-marked Troy rear BUIS on lovemywoods' Colt M4.
- Confirm zero on lovemywoods' Aimpoint CompM2 in LaRue LT-115 mount.
Pistol range
Set up 50yrds from the target, along the dam
View from the target
lovemywoods gets things set up on the shooting bench
First things first, we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the Trijicon Accupoint. So, after roughly mounting it in the LaRue SPR-15 mount, we mounted the entire thing on my Bushmaster Patrolman's M4. I also used Kr_Treefrog2's new Harris BRM bipod with LaRue QD mount and lovemywoods' new 20rd PMAGS for the testing. (I'm such a gear thief. . . .)
First thing we noticed was that the scope was not level in the mount, so we adjusted it. But before we did that, we tried snapping some pictures through the scope. The second picture really shows the reticle well.
Its tougher to see against he orange target, but in the very center is an amber colored reticle, powered by fiber optics during the day and tritium at night. The camera would pick up some light gray "ghosting" from the front sight base, but you could not see it with the naked eye.
Just for fun, I decided to zero it to my rifle first, and then re-zero to Dad's later. It literally took me 3 rounds to zero! After that I felt very confident in my ability to make hits where I wanted them. At one point a black bug of some sort flew onto the target. With Dad at the spotting scope, he said "bet you can't. . . . ." I quickly took one shot, which did not remove the bug, but rather it took off his wing, and he went spiraling down to the ground. Now I can proudly say "I can shoot the wings off bugs".
Getting bored with punching paper, we laid out Dad's shooting mat on the dam so we could shoot prone down the length of the lake to a stand of 2 steel targets 206 yards away. One target is about the size of an average male torso, and the other is an 8" plate.
I attempted to take a photo that would show the distance to the steel, but the camera still compressed the image enough that the targets look much closer than they really are. At least you can get the idea. . .
We both made hits effortlessly at this distance. In fact, I'm not sure if we missed when shooting prone. Putting 10 rounds on the 8" plate was quick and easy.
Next we decided to zero Dad's new Troy rear BUIS. We found that red-dot optics really spoil you, and getting back familiar with the irons is a good idea every once-in-a-while.
After the irons were g2g, we decided to shoot an impromptu competition for smallest group.
After that we put lovemywoods' Accupoint back on his rifle and re-zeroed it. Then we removed it and put on the Aimpoint CompM2 and confirmed that it had indeed still held its zero after being off the rifle for the past several weeks.
A side note about LaRue mounts-- I friggin' LOVE what LaRue has done with their quick-disconnect mounts. Between our (lovemywoods, Kr_Treefrog2, and myself) 3 ARs we can swap around various optic combinations to suit whatever we want for the moment, and can then change everything with just the flick of a lever or two. They mount up VERY solid, and they always return to zero when mounted in the same position. I HIGHLY recommend the kool-aid!
As it started getting dark we packed everything up and retired to the house for grilled chicken, herb and cheese biscuits, and a side salad. Since it was just us guys, we also watched a show on the History channel about current military snipers while we ate.
And what did we learn?
- LaRue gear is fantastic, and so is their swag.
- Shooting guns can qualify as "R&R".
- Bugs that land on targets are stupid.
- Cameras do funny things when looking through a scope.
- I like to pilfer other people's gear.
- Shooting stuff is FUN!
