danmojo82

With my new job as a Small Arms Instructor in the Army Reserve I might be getting the opportunity to go to the National Matches at Camp Perry this summer. So while we wait to see if the unit will cut us orders for it, I've been looking at getting a good service rifle to take down there since I don't want to take a rack weapon from the Arms room.

So this is what I was thinking....

A Bushmaster DCM lower with the lead weight, minus the trigger assembly
A pre-ban upper from White Oak Arms with a Wylde chamber
A Hi-Speed National Match 2 stage Service rifle trigger from Geiselle

Shouldn't cost insanely more than just buying a complete rifle from Bushmaster or Rock River Arms. Any thoughts on something good to swap out with or additional parts?

I really wanted to do both Rifle and Pistol matches but they're to far apart and I don't want to miss that much work. So this year I'm going just for the Rifle with the main focus on the Presidents 100 match. We're planning on doing a few of the other events while we're there as well.

Has anybody else on the forum ever gone to the National Matches or placed in any of the events?

Imrahil

If it was me I would go with the Krieger H-Bar DCM, have them install it to the receiver, and then also have them install a free floated hand guard (the VM16-10). I would also skip on the threading (no flash hider), go with a Stainless Steel barrel, and run an A2 upper instead of a flat top. The solid sight is just one less thing to worry about, and one less critical piece that could move and change the POI.

danmojo82

This is going to be a strict competition and practice only rifle so I will be going with a A2 style upper. I do like the idea of a threaded barrel for a muzzle brake though. I will be looking into Krieger though, seeing some good things on them so far.

danmojo82

Oh I'll get my ass kicked I'm sure. But I have high hopes. The way I see it is that this will be a good learning experience for the next one. One of the guys in my unit went last year and was 7 points from getting in the top 100. Granted he was like 200 people down the list, but its one of those things where if you get 1 point you jump 75 people up. I'm hoping to get a good rifle so I can start with the best chances and we will be putting in a a lot of range time between now and then to include time at a 600 meter range. Luckily being a Small Arms instructor at a small arms training unit I am surrounded by some highly skilled individuals with a lot of knowledge.

Imrahil

The reason I would go without the flash suppressor is simply to allow the gasses to expand in a much more even manner as they exit the barrel. The A2 flash hider has no openings on the bottom of it so that the shooter isn't exposed to debris from the ground but that can also create uneven gas dispersion and cause deflection. A dirty crown can be much harder to clean with the flash suppressor on, and the grime can actually act as its own crown causing POI problems. There is also evidence that a flash suppressor that has been put on incorrectly (overly tightened) can distort the barrel and decrease the accuracy. The problem with this is that to properly inspect and clean your crown you will need to remove the flash hider and then tighten it back on. Obviously the more this happens the more likely you are to cause problems.

The one advantage (that I know of anyway) of having the flash suppressor is that it will generally serve as protection for your crown. Of course this is something that you can easily do by simply taking care of your muzzle.

Just my opinions, and I probably don't have nearly the experience that you do with the M16/AR-15 but I have worked as a gunsmith building custom competition rifles.

danmojo82

You're right, I just did find out that you can't use a compensator or muzzle brake in the CMP matches so I'll be going with a post ban style barrel. Im also sure that you have a lot more experience than I do, most of my time is with issued M4's which aren't anything special.

danmojo82

Any advice from anybody else?

Zpack

No advice but it's about 5 minutes from my work. I'm going to try to get out there and watch this year.

Imrahil

Don't discount familiarity with a platform. Confidence with your firearm can and will be shown in your shooting. If I remember correctly the CMP rules will allow you to install a screw/bolt that will tie your upper and lower receivers together creating a more solid lock up between them. Getting rid of that little bit of wobble between your butt stock and your sights will help. If you aren't wanting to go that far you may be able to get in touch with your local group and find out if you can use the torsion pin in place of your take down pin.

Edit:

You also might want to check out the Enidine Buffer, and of course make sure that it is ok to be used. It is expensive, but it is worth every penny.

grumpy1

It's sounds like your budget on your rifle will be around $1200 or so. I'm not a big fan of mix and match guns, so just keep that in mind with the following advice. I would looki into the LaRue OBR or one of the LMT rifles. the LaRue comes with the Geisizel triger group and is an amazing rifle. LMT has several models and are top quaility guns. You might also want to look into the WEDGE, it fits in the lower reciever by the rear push pin and tightens up the upper and lower reciever and cost about $8 to $10 and can be removed if needed. If you go with the LaRue or LMT I don't know if you would really need one as they keep everything pretty tight.

A little bit of advice as far as training for Camp Perry, something I found out in preparing to go to the USAMS SRT phase 2 marksman/observer course is that shooting fewer rounds more frequently gives you better training sessions. Lets you focus a bit more. Seeing that you 'work' on a small arms range I would imagine that shooting 50 rounds a week wouldn't be to hard to do.

Good Luck