Re: Spike's Tactical .22 LR upper
Got back from the range today. Excellent conditions for testing a .22 LR - horizontal rain (well, almost), gusts to 35 MPH coming from 10 and 2 o'clock (alternating for about an hour) and of course a late start. From what everyone was wearing I thought there was snow on the ground - parkas, fleece jackets, heavy boots. Kestral said it was 68 degrees F.
Eventually the rain stopped and the wind became more manageable. Bottom line - managed to zero the iron sights on the Spike's upper with a lot of help from Mike. Popped a few rounds at the swingers and managed to dent one of the blades with the CCI MiniMags (36 gr HPs).
First thing about the Mad Dog magazines - the feed lips are sharp! I'm a slow learner so I got a few cuts on the finger tips. But I'm a learner - tilt the rounds into the feed lips from the front of the mag and slide back with your thumb. Mags functioned well and you can count the remaining rounds through the side plates. Had 10 FTFs and 4-5 FTEs out of 200 rounds today. The FTFs were from either not seating the mag well or riding the bolt after release causing the round to hang up and not chamber. The FTEs were from the rounds that failed to chamber. A couple of hits from pulling the charging handle to the rear and letting fly chambered to round to battery. Firing cleared the stuck round.
Had a couple of doubles - only two rounds fired while holding the trigger back. After the second round fired (still holding the trigger back), the hammer was caught by the disconnector and no other rounds fired. Squeezed off the remaining rounds in the mag to see if I could repeat the double, but everything worked like should. Suspect a real light charge and the hammer didn't rebound enough, didn't engage the disconnector, followed the bolt and fired when the bolt closed. I think this is the hammer/recoil spring problem. Didn't happen when I fired some standard Aguila 40 gr lead rounds so kinda inconclusive at this point. Kinda neat when it happened - just a real short BRRP (only two rounds - I counted the remaining rounds), like a short minigun burst. Both rounds impacted the steel swinger plate at 50 yards.
Which reminds me - no muzzle jump with a standard A-2 bird cage. I think the M-4 profile barrel is heavy enough to keep the muzzle on target during recoil. I was watching the lead splash after hits on the swingers. "A3 flat top with 16" 1x16 twist chrome moly barrel (M4 cut on 16"), M4 handguards, flat top gas block..., birdcage flash hider, Spike's Tactical .22lr bolt and charging handle. **FYI: The legal 16" barrel goes inside the receiver approximately 1.5" so the barrel looks like a true military 14.5" length. The barrel also comes with the end threaded 1/2 x 28." - from Spike's Tactical web site.
The bolt and carrier were a surprise - nicely plated and slick feeling without any lube. Wiped on some CLP with a cleaning pad and that's all the lube I used today. All the carbon wiped off with a cloth after firing. No wax or lead/copper build up that didn't wipe off with some light rubbing.
Spent the rest of the morning popping the swingers, checking POA/POI with the iron sights when the wind wasn't roaring through (gusts to 35 MPH) and generally having fun again. 200 rounds = $14.00 vs 50 rounds of .223 Rem = $30.00+ (slightly less when reloaded). Cheap fun.
Gunfighter
Sorry, no pictures this time - too wet for camera in morning.
