What is the state of LMT MWS-H complete uppers these days?

S

Sid Post

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May 13, 2006
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Texas and Oklahoma, USA
#1
I want to add a complete MWS-H upper, most likely in 6.5CM. Things seem to have stabilized for supply chains and related costs due to better availability as well so, I'm entering the market again. Inflation still bites but, there is nothing I can do about that!

What are my better options today? Is LEGO'ing an upper together a reasonable way to go or, is a complete ready to shoot upper a better choice?

I am looking for a midweight upper to whack feral hogs at up to 400 yards so, reduced recoil for follow-up shots and reduced rifle weight are considerations. A 17+ pound rifle sucks so I am looking for reasonable trade-offs. I shoot with a can and heavy thermal so, I am thinking a midweight 20" barrel 6.5CM.

I am open to other suggestions but, I think a 6.5CM is as small as I want to go to retain the capability I want on big boars and 20" for overall length considerations. I want to stick in the 1MOA range with normal off the shelf ammunition so, no wildcats or super specialized rounds or expensive rounds (i.e. not looking to shoot cheap imported stuff but, round counts are high so ammo costs are a consideration and tall grass eats spent brass so premium or expensive brass is wasted). Hog counts are as high as ~17 a night so, I do run through ammo pretty fast when the hogs are out.

I shoot dogs and coyotes on my livestock at 200 yards with good success (67 one month) with a KAC SR-15 but, feral hogs with less than a 6.8SPC don't go down reliably so, smaller cartridges than a 6.5CM will be a hard sell for me.

TIA,
Sid
 
#2
My two(ish) cents. I recently picked up, then sold due to lack of time to use, a FDE 15.3” upper that had zero alignment issues from Titan Defense. Factory barrel shot sub minute with factory GMM 130bergers.

D Wilson did a Proof CF barrel conversion that was equally accurate, just lighter and not as tolerant to longer strings.

Relatively cheap considering, as well as very accurate for a gasser out to 1200m

That being said. I have a Geissle 16” 6ARC that I shoot now instead with a MARS-C. I’ll be sticking with that for everything inside 900m with a gas gun right now.

As the kids used to say, YOLO
 
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#3
If looking at LMt and inside of 300y, I would get the LMT 7.62 Piston. It’s extremely soft shooting, noticeably more energy on target as you would expect, and most calibers have the same drop out to 300y anyways. Ammo is cheaper since you’re shooting a lot. I don’t find the weight to be problematic.

The best alternative is a small frame 6 ARC. Very affective cartridge.
 
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#4
I’ve shot a lot of big hogs with my 6.5 Grendel night hunting with a thermal. I’m shooting 123gr SST out of an 14.5”. Anything over 175lbs it doesn’t slow them down too much unless you get a CNS hit. At that range I doubt you’ll be getting CNS hits through a thermal. Some of the large hogs I don’t even get an exit wound. A lot depends on the hogs forage also. The ones in the grain fields are much larger, more energetic, more fat. The ones one pasture seem to be a little easier to kill. If your wanting to nail them to the ground, 6.5CM would be the smallest cartridge I would use, but having to consider cost I would choose that or 7.62. Both are very cheap. I’ve shot several with 6.5CM and it definitely nails them down better than Grendel. Magnums usually seems to be lights out.
IMG_3332.jpeg
 
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#5
Sid Post said:
I want to add a complete MWS-H upper, most likely in 6.5CM. Things seem to have stabilized for supply chains and related costs due to better availability as well so, I'm entering the market again. Inflation still bites but, there is nothing I can do about that!

What are my better options today? Is LEGO'ing an upper together a reasonable way to go or, is a complete ready to shoot upper a better choice?

I am looking for a midweight upper to whack feral hogs at up to 400 yards so, reduced recoil for follow-up shots and reduced rifle weight are considerations. A 17+ pound rifle sucks so I am looking for reasonable trade-offs. I shoot with a can and heavy thermal so, I am thinking a midweight 20" barrel 6.5CM.

I am open to other suggestions but, I think a 6.5CM is as small as I want to go to retain the capability I want on big boars and 20" for overall length considerations. I want to stick in the 1MOA range with normal off the shelf ammunition so, no wildcats or super specialized rounds or expensive rounds (i.e. not looking to shoot cheap imported stuff but, round counts are high so ammo costs are a consideration and tall grass eats spent brass so premium or expensive brass is wasted). Hog counts are as high as ~17 a night so, I do run through ammo pretty fast when the hogs are out.

I shoot dogs and coyotes on my livestock at 200 yards with good success (67 one month) with a KAC SR-15 but, feral hogs with less than a 6.8SPC don't go down reliably so, smaller cartridges than a 6.5CM will be a hard sell for me.

TIA,
Sid
Click to expand...
I went the D Wilson route with a small frame LMT in 6 ARC and it is tearing hogs up.
 
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#6
Thomas Geistman said:
I’ve shot a lot of big hogs with my 6.5 Grendel night hunting with a thermal. I’m shooting 123gr SST out of an 14.5”. Anything over 175lbs it doesn’t slow them down too much unless you get a CNS hit. At that range I doubt you’ll be getting CNS hits through a thermal. Some of the large hogs I don’t even get an exit wound. A lot depends on the hogs forage also. The ones in the grain fields are much larger, more energetic, more fat. The ones one pasture seem to be a little easier to kill. If your wanting to nail them to the ground, 6.5CM would be the smallest cartridge I would use, but having to consider cost I would choose that or 7.62. Both are very cheap. I’ve shot several with 6.5CM and it definitely nails them down better than Grendel. Magnums usually seems to be lights out.
Click to expand...

Yep, the 6.8SPC seems to work best for me with FMJ rounds out to 200 yards so I get deeper penetration to reach vital organs or potentially break a bone. I shoot feral hogs over pasture so, they aren't monsters with most weighing in the 100lb range and a big sow or boar might be a touch over a 150lbs.

I'm looking at AR-10 options for more authority to anchor them better if I hit the shoulder or need to take a frontal head shot.
 
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#7
ut755ln said:
I went the D Wilson route with a small frame LMT in 6 ARC and it is tearing hogs up.
Click to expand...

5.56 for me and my friend who was a competitive shooter in the military was a waste of time. Sure, there are guys out there with "golden BB's" that take big feral hogs but, that isn't realistic for most people and most situations.

The newer AR-15 hotrods are probably pretty good for most people but, even an old-school 7.62x51 will give them a good run for the money and ammunition will generally be cheaper and much easier to find with a wide range of projectiles that will hold up to hard hits on big feral hogs.
 
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#8
The 20" LMT 6.5 creedmoors are heavy.
I could weigh mine if needed, but going off memory it's like 11lbs naked. Add a 2lb optic and a 2lb magazine... You'll be at about 15 lbs. Add a bipod/light/sling? 16-17 lbs.

If weight is any consideration, and you are looking for energy on target, I'd go with a 16" LW 308 barrel. It's still 9lbs on the dot with a CTR stock, so by the time you add a magazine and optic you are still at 13lbs, not a lightweight, but I'd hate for you to put together the 20" creedmoor upper and end up with something you were trying to avoid.

For what it's worth, my mars-h is probably my favorite rifle, and I generally don't like heavy rifles. The factory light weight barrels will likely shoot better than you expect. More than good enough for hunting inside of 300 yards. If you really wanted to drop some weight or wanted to stick with 6.5 you could get a barrel converted by dwilson.
 
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#9
I have a 16" MWS with the standard CL barrel in 308, and the quad rail upper. It is not a light rifle. I would keep the barrel 16" or less given your weight goals. A very handy rifle would be one of their 13.5" LW barrels and with some fast 150 gr loads, this would still work just fine.

For your range scenario, the size of hogs, and use of a shorter barrel, I would stick with 308. You won't need to use any fancy ammo to anchor 200+ lb hogs either.

You will be pleased with the improved terminal ballistics even with the shorter barrels.
 
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