Matt.Cross

You can bet that I will!!! I got permission from the range officers to shoot from prone, so I'm gonna get to do those handloads justice. I just ordered a box of Federal GMM and a box of Hornady A-MAX Match from cheaperthandirt, and depending on which one groups better, I'll order a box of the better + a box of Black Hills Gold Match.

Well, I had an awesome day at the range today. I'll stick with the highlights for now, since my shooting wasn't stellar. The target pics will appear later. The first good thing I'll mention is that I'm done with break-in and I can go about shooting better ammo now with absolute confidence. I shot up the last of my super-saver (but DPMS warranty-friendly) bulk ammo today and I couldn't be happier that it's gone. I didn't have sandbag rests to work with today so my groups aren't anything to write home about but I'm noticing more and more improvement with every range session. While I was at the range, a rather nice fella introduced himself to me and complimented my rifle, and we struck up a conversation right away. Turns out he is one of those ridiculously meticulous OCD hand-loaders that crank out really nice match loads, and very knowledgeable about shooting in general. I told him I was nearing the end of my break-in and he mentioned that my cheap ammo was probably a large part of the reason my groups weren't closing up very well, and handed me 5 of his own handloaded match rounds to try out. I felt kinda bad about taking free ammo from him but I was also curious how it would do so I went and shot a VERY careful 3-round group. I burnt a single only-slightly-smudged hole with those 3 rounds and was grinning from ear to ear when I took the other 2 unspent rounds back to him. Since he had kindly given me his own handloads, I asked him if he wanted the 180 rounds of brass I had on hand from my break-in, and of course he lit up like a christmas tree and said yes. Later, as I was making my way through my last box of shells, he put a box of shells on my bench, smiled and said "There's ya a whole box of that stuff you shot earlier, and next time I see ya I'll have another one. I come out here about every Saturday, so be looking for me."... Couldn't help but laugh at getting hand loaded tack-drivers out of some spent brass I couldn't do anything with for a while anyways.... I even got in all my range time before the weather went bad! All that's left to say is that there's too many days between now and next Saturday, but that'll give me some time to order another couple boxes of match ammo. Any recommendations fellas?

I'll be on the range again tommorrow, providing the weather complies with me. I will do exactly as you said and will have some pictures of the results. Saturday is my new favorite day of the week!!!

I feel sure that enough of us went and looked at the page that we could hold some sway in this... I went there and saw the price, I'm sure I'm not alone. I'd be happy to put my name to anything that will help you rectify the situation. These guys are heavy sellers on Gunbroker and it would not do well for them to establish a reputation as being fraudulent. Whatever I can do, I will back you 100%.

Good for you!! Put their feet in the fire, and make them honor their deal. They can check their prices BEFORE they go posting them online, not afterwards. The quickest way to disappoint and make sure a customer won't return is to pull a shady deal like this one, and someone needs to be telling them so. Personally, you can rest assured that while I have browsed from their store, I won't be buying from them at any point if they don't do right by you, and I would most certainly warn anyone against buying there in that event, if at all possible.

Welcome to the institution Randy!! <thumbsup>

I just blame all my gun buying on 'the voices'... It pretty well keeps me from having to converse with anyone except gun lovers about how I justify the cost of all this stuff...

Ahhh yes, I have already found that glorious toy, much to the disgust of my wife.... She gives me that look that makes me feel as if I might well be neutered in my sleep, whenever I get on there.... So yeah, use carefully gentlemen!

What got me really tickled was the way everything was layed out in place, leaving a beautiful place for your imagination to fill in the gap with a very expensive and complex set-up.

This makes me sick... (not really, congratulations!) You building more guns while I have to be content to try to get mine broke in before I spend any more cash. I can already tell that my competitive side is going to drive me bankrupt hanging around this place.... <lmao> <laughs> <dontknow> Well, anyways, keep us posted, you're off to an excellent start!

Well, I now have two items on order from DPMS, no idea when they will ship... I ordered this buttstock extension and a "Receiver Claw", have no idea when they will ship. DPMS must be absolutely slammed with orders right now. Edit: Oh and I just got word that JP is shipping my 2" picatinny for the bottom of my VTAC handguard, I can finally install everything and make use of my sweet LaRue QD bipod adapter. Pics will soon follow!

I'm careful about how much oil I apply, because the more you shoot, the more fouling the oil will collect, and pretty soon it will be a very nasty mess inside your receiver. I'm not so particular about what oil I use, so long as it's good stuff.

I lock back the bolt in the open position, spray the inside of the receiver, close the bolt and spray the bolt lightly through the ejection port. With the bolt still closed, pull the REAR receiver pin and swivel the upper away slightly from the lower, and spray the back of the bolt from underneath, and finally spray the bottom of the bolt through the magazine well. I'm not going very heavy with the lube, just enough to run slightly wet. Basically you just wanna make sure that the inside of the receiver and the corresponding surfaces of the bolt are lightly lubed.

Well, awesome you should notice... LOL My breathing was what I was trying to get worked out... I was trying to squeeze the shot off at the bottom of a soft, slow exhale, and that seemed to work the best, but you are exactly right. I wasn't as shaky this time around and had a very stable shooting stance (rear bags & bipod as seen in the pic) so the main thing was trying to get my breathing right. I'm getting to where I can focus a little better and trying to rid myself of the habit of flinching at a shot somewhere else on the line. I also wanted to try to shoot fewer shots per group to try and determine what all I'm doing (good and bad) that is affecting my shots. I did have 2 or 3 other 1-hole 2&3 shot groups that I was extremely happy about, but I would follow them with a really poor last 1-2 shots, so I didn't show my other target from the day because it's downright embarrassing, LOL. All told, it was a terrific day to be outside, I got another 40 rounds downrange, I'm halfway through my break-in and getting better with every range session. I'm pretty excited at the prospect of running out of break-in ammo and finally feeding the beast some match-grade stuff.

As promised here are some pics from Saturday, my shooting is a lot less shaky now, but I'm still pulling some of my shots.... I shot 4 rounds per group, one per diamond. My other target is one we will not discuss right now, <laughs> Oh and one nice picture of my lil' buddy camping out on the range! [img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796702020.jpg [img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796701772.jpg [img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796701473.jpg [img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796701136.jpg [img width=800 height=600]http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/jm_cross/img1271796700733.jpg

I'm still breaking my 24" barrel in, but I already know with absolute certainty that @ 100 yards, this gun will shoot one-hole groups all day long, as long as you're doing everything correctly. I want to find out how my gun is going to perform at extreme long distance before I go cutting anything off of it, and in that same vein, would almost rather buy a different barrel for comparison than to cut the one I have.

I'm thinking about trying to go with a lighter trigger once I get an Enidine recoil buffer, right now I wouldn't risk it, it's light enough @ 3 lbs with no creep, but so far no issues. (It's the JP adjustable BTW)

Well, it looks like brighter days are coming! I talked to a gentleman with a private range this evening (50 yards) and he told me I could shoot in the evenings if I want to, just call first... and then another fella told me that his neighbor has a 100 yard range and wants to set up a 200 yard berm and that he would be extremely likely to let me shoot and work for permission to shoot anytime. <thumbsup> So today turned out to be a really good day for my shooting possibilities, I may soon have a 200 yard range to shoot @ free of charge. Score another one for responsible gun owners!!!

Ditto what 'Drew mentioned on the lube. I had my first failure-to-feeds on the range yesterday, and it only happened twice before I broke out the Rem-Oil and cured the problem by running slightly wet... I went through another 30 rounds after that with no problems whatsoever. Welcome to the forums, enjoy your stay. There are a lot of good people here, relax and post up some pics!!

Yay, had another range day today. Some pics & more details will come later, but I gotta say, I'm beginning to live for Saturdays!!! <thumbsup>

Wow, you are so thoughtful and selfless. LOL

They feel hard to the touch, but if you bite them they flatten immediately. They're definitely less hard than dried beans, which is what some others have used quite successfully.

I agree. At only 26, I've been married since I was 22, raising a family with a wife that only death could part me with, I work hard to maintain my family's well being and to keep a job and be a responsible american citizen. What sucks is the inescapable feeling that I'm part of a dying breed of people that will be overrun by a bunch of liberal drug-heads that see the US Government as their sugar-daddy. I bet the fine fellows who wrote our constitution have spent the better part of this nation's last 50 years rolling over in their graves...

Don't sweat it brother, it looks great!!!

Well, if the local farms & such were largely owned by old-timers still, it wouldn't be so problematic. The deal is that a younger generation owns a lot of the land around here, and the 'guns are bad' attitude is way more prevalent than suits my liking.