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Old February 26, 2019, 05:05 PM   #1
PlatinumCore16
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Range test for new rifle (and me)

So I made some swaps recently because I was hardware-rich, but not stuff I was actually going to end up using any time soon. I traded into a Mossy MVP .223 with the bull barrel and scope. I took it to the range this last weekend to double check the POI and just see how it fed with different mags. I found it didn't like the metal 15ers, but I could make em work if I really felt the need, just didn't want to mess with it. Started close (20yds) just to make sure I was on. Had to double check the target with my binocs to make sure I saw what I had seen, sure enough 2 bullets in almost the exact same hole**, so walked it out to 50yds. 3 holes touching. Finally took it to 100yds and ended with another 2 sets of 3 holes touching. I forgot to take a picture, so I'll have to add it after, but I was sure happy.

**The stars are here because I think most people would be pretty upset if they weren't that accurate at 20yds. However, without ever really having a rifle this accurate, I've tried my best to always have good fundamentals, but never really been able to see the fruits of my labor. Seeing the rifle shoot this well was awesome. But seeing that I was also able to hold this accurate myself was almost even more satisfying than seeing how accurate the rifle was.

Anyways, add a +1 to another satisfied Mossy MVP owner. Excited to take this to the prairie dog fields this year and also continue honing my personal skills to continue shooting at longer ranges.
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Old February 26, 2019, 06:12 PM   #2
std7mag
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Let us know how she shoots at 300 yards, then 600.

Glad you found a rifle that makes you happy!
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Old February 26, 2019, 06:27 PM   #3
RC20
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There is alwyas that tension of is it the
A: rifle (and the stuff on it and stock et al)
b: the ammo
c: the shooter.

Always a relief to get a good shooter so you can at least refer back to C and say its something else!
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Old February 27, 2019, 12:56 AM   #4
bamaranger
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ours

Bamaboy has recently acquired one of these rifles, at a drop dead price I might add. The store (going out of business) had a light weight carbine version as well, but I could not swing the cash, so passed on the little rifle. But the heavy came home with the boy.

At anouther shop, a few weeks later, I stumbled up on a used Burris 4-16x with PA and XTR rings for a decent price as well, and he said buy it. The rig is now assembled and ready to shoot.


We've not taken it to the range, but your reports are encouraging.

Could you please post the ammo/load you were using??

Hope you continue to enjoy your new rifle.
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Old February 27, 2019, 03:42 PM   #5
PlatinumCore16
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I sure can: 55gr FMJ .223 rem and 55gr FMJ 5.56 fiocchi surplus
I'll get pics of the boxes/rounds when I get the pic of the target uploaded.
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Old February 27, 2019, 11:43 PM   #6
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thanks

That's pretty run of the mill ammo, and that's not condemnation, that's a compliment to your new rifle. Some top shelf ammunition and it might really shine, but sounds like it's sub MOA with budget ammo,and you're a fortunate fellow indeed.

I may still buy one of the carbines, someday, but the odds are against it at this point. I had a rifle on layaway at another shop when we discovered the MVP's at budget prices. I sold a flintlock rifle to fund most of the other rifle, and sure did not want to sell another firearm from my collection. Swinging two rifles at once was just too much cash at the time, I had hunt club fees due as well in the same month and I had to pass. In hindsight, the light MVP was the more useful/practical choice, for me, the high capacity of an AR, but at a fraction of the weight. The little rifle had a package scope on it as well. But, as I had committed to the other sellers, I did not want to crayfish out of the deal.

Hope you continue to enjoy your rifle.
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Old February 28, 2019, 12:21 PM   #7
ndking1126
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Quote:
never really been able to see the fruits of my labor. Seeing the rifle shoot this well was awesome.
I know that feeling! It's nice when you can finally hold a rifle in your hands, that you own, and finally being able to confidently say "I knew all those other poor groups weren't me!"

If you only read things on the internet, it would be easy to believe every rifle made can shoot under 1 MOA at 100 yards with cheap hunting ammo. If mine won't, it must be me, right?! I had some rifles that on all accounts should have been accurate and consistent, but weren't. I never knew if it was me or the rifles.

My moment came after assembling a semi-custom 260 Rem with heavy match barrel, aluminum bedded stock and an aftermarket trigger. The first range day was exciting, but I was still nervous. I had convinced myself that the next range day would have bad groups (cause that's happened to me many times!). After a few more, I gained some confidence in the rifle and now it's just a joy to shoot.

Congrats on a great rifle and successful trading. I bought a used, cheap Savage 10 in 243 that shoots just about as well as my 260 Rem. No matter how accurate the rifle, it's always a little more satisfying to own if you got a good deal on it! Haha
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Old February 28, 2019, 12:29 PM   #8
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That's pretty run of the mill ammo
Bama, I think Fiocchi is underrated ammo. Everything I've shot with them functions flawlessly and is normally very accurate. I had a 223 that I shot the 69 grain Fiocchi Exacta ammo in. It was every bit as accurate as the Federal Premium at a lower price. My Sig SP2022 (a pistol, I know, wrong forum) shoots the cheap fiocchi better than all other ammo I've tried.

You can't go wrong with Fiocchi in my experience.
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Old February 28, 2019, 06:28 PM   #9
bamaranger
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duly noted

Fiocchi has been making ammo for a long time, I just recently bought some buckshot so branded. With rifle ammo, I tend to be a bit of a snob.

I wouldn't pass any Fiocchi .223 up at a fair price.
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Old March 4, 2019, 02:09 PM   #10
PlatinumCore16
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So I wanted to come correct myself, as I went back and looked at the ammo and I also had some further shooting from this weekend.

Bama: I was mistaken on the ammo, it was Federal .223, but the box has no further identifier. It's the cheapest box of 100 at teh local wally world, it's red and is not resealable. The 5.56x45 surplus was actually ALSO federal XM193 FMJ BALL. I can get further numbers in that string if you'd like, I just wanted to make sure I was not disingenuous.

This weekend was some reactionary target shooting. Small aside: IF YOU'VE NEVER SHOT REACTIONARY TARGETS, YOU SHOULD. IT'S AWESOME. I digress. Again I was shooting the Federal .223 wally world special at 55gr, no info on velocity. However, I also picked up some 62gr, 3050fps green tip ammo. Can't remember the brand name for the life of me, I'll have to get back to y'all again on that. Shot great and I was pleased. We were shooting napkin size and dinner plate size targets, but sometimes they were partially covered, so I would say some of the targets were closer to 4in by 4in, from ranges of appx 75yds to well over 150yds. Now take this with a grain of salt as I do not have a laser rangefinder, but walking out some of the distances and just going off of approximations from the reticle dots I was pretty confident of some of those distances. I only missed once and I called it because I wasn't set up well and I knew it. Pretty large targets for target shooting, but I was out in the backcountry and shooting from improvised locations the whole day. I will give a BIG shout out to the Magpul bipod I got last week. Full tilt, pan, adjustable legs from 7-10ish inches for under $100 (clearance on Midway right now) and it made my shooting so easy. I HIGHLY recommend it, even from my limited experience. Having a very adjustable bipod in the field made setting up good shots and staying on target a breeze. Even for someone as inexperienced as me.

Anyways, wanted to give an update that the rifle is still completely crushing my expectations and I had a complete blast (pun intended) with it this weekend.

Last edited by PlatinumCore16; March 4, 2019 at 02:17 PM.
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Old March 4, 2019, 02:59 PM   #11
stagpanther
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Quote:
There is alwyas that tension of is it the
A: rifle (and the stuff on it and stock et al)
b: the ammo
c: the shooter.
It's actually worse than that--in my case it's usually the shooter that's always a factor--so it becomes confusing and hard to tell just how much of the other two factors are involved.
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Old March 4, 2019, 03:32 PM   #12
Don Fischer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PlatinumCore16 View Post
So I made some swaps recently because I was hardware-rich, but not stuff I was actually going to end up using any time soon. I traded into a Mossy MVP .223 with the bull barrel and scope. I took it to the range this last weekend to double check the POI and just see how it fed with different mags. I found it didn't like the metal 15ers, but I could make em work if I really felt the need, just didn't want to mess with it. Started close (20yds) just to make sure I was on. Had to double check the target with my binocs to make sure I saw what I had seen, sure enough 2 bullets in almost the exact same hole**, so walked it out to 50yds. 3 holes touching. Finally took it to 100yds and ended with another 2 sets of 3 holes touching. I forgot to take a picture, so I'll have to add it after, but I was sure happy.

**The stars are here because I think most people would be pretty upset if they weren't that accurate at 20yds. However, without ever really having a rifle this accurate, I've tried my best to always have good fundamentals, but never really been able to see the fruits of my labor. Seeing the rifle shoot this well was awesome. But seeing that I was also able to hold this accurate myself was almost even more satisfying than seeing how accurate the rifle was.

Anyways, add a +1 to another satisfied Mossy MVP owner. Excited to take this to the prairie dog fields this year and also continue honing my personal skills to continue shooting at longer ranges.
Really bugs me when guy's make up words. I've been reloading for over 50 years and haven't a clue what a metal 15er is? used to be we called a spade a spade!
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Old March 4, 2019, 04:10 PM   #13
stagpanther
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Since he's referring to magazine function--I think he means metal 15 cartridge capacity magazines.
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Old March 5, 2019, 10:05 AM   #14
JN01
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I think he means metal AR15 magazines.
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Old March 5, 2019, 11:38 AM   #15
PlatinumCore16
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My sincere apologies, I was, indeed, referring to 15rd capacity, sheet-metal AR15 box magazines.
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Old June 3, 2019, 12:26 PM   #16
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Wanted to update this thread on this rifle as I have some more info and changes.

I have since replaced the original muzzle device from what was on it when I received it. The device that was on it was a birdcage style flash hider that only had slots on the top half. Without having shot it with no device, I cannot say what/how much it helped. I'm sure it made seeing your shots easier than a straight muzzle with no device. However I wanted something a little more aggresive, so I switched to a Surefire Procomp 556 Muzzle Brake. With 2 large ports on each side and some smaller porting on the top, the recoil is so minimal, it is very easy to follow the shot from a well-supported position. I did have to readjust the scope as POI shifted after switching the muzzle device. This was expected and was simple.

This past weekend I was back out in the wild, shooting at reactive targets. However, I did my best to get some range estimations so I was a bit more precise when shooting. The longest shot that was taken, I believe, was approximately just shy of 200yds. Unfortunately, to see the target, I was in a very improvised position, so I did not have a first round hit. But 2 shots later and I was rewarded with a flash. I am hoping to put a laser rangfinder on the list of priorities very soon so that I can get much more precise ranging.

Still a great rifle and still as accurate as always. Even with a few strings of shooting, the rifle stays pretty accurate after the barrel heats up a bit. Next trip is going to be to the range with known distances and a solid rest.
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Old June 3, 2019, 12:28 PM   #17
PlatinumCore16
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And I forgot pictures.

For reference, the other rifle in the 2 pictures is a Savage 110 tactical and it's not quite finished, but it is everything I hoped it would be thus far, so I'm really excited to finish that one.
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