Last Plinking in Crossover. Fo Real This Time.

I am getting a new vehicle soon....  I thought I'd take it upto the mountains one more time & go plinking.  This was March 16th.

Shot my Glock 19, HK USP(.45) & my AR(Daniel Defense/M&P).

Car got really dirty, but I thought it was fitting for its last hurrah...

*a few weeks later*

GUYS: "We are going shooting."

Didn't feel like going, but buddy I hadn't seen in awhile suggested it, so I was like let's do it.  Also, he has the same truck I have on order, so I wanted to check out what he had done to it as well(Ford Ranger). 😇

I'm not gonna lie.  Driving the only crossover in convoy of pickup trucks made me wish I had a truck of my own already.  Even if it's just Ford Ranger.  😭

My new steel plate...  I think it must've been green-tip 5.56 that punched holes right thru it at 60 yards or whatever. 😆😭

                                       

I almost forgot my chair & had to come back for it.  I was the last car, so everybody's gone.  I load the chair up & leave.....  See one of my buddies waiting for me just couple minutes away which was great....  Then random chime & indicator light starts flashing in the instrument cluster.  I'm going "oh great", as I'm trading this car in hopefully next month.  Indicator is flashing so fast I can't even see what the car is trying to warn me of. 

Right before we get on the highway, I pull over & tried to figure out this mysterious problem.  Light flash again, but this time, it stayed on for like half a second, just long enough for me to make out which indicator it was.  It's just the door ajar light.  Scared the crap out of me.  😩

New Rifle Bag Stays Home, We Go Plinking.

Ordered this awesome looking 3-way carry 43" rifle bag by Lancer Tactical.  I've liked their bag in the past.  Low price, excellent design & quality.  This one I would not recommend though.  

It's hard to see what's wrong with it at the first glance.  It certainly took me a  minute.....  This frigging bag is upside down.  Zipper fastener is on the wrong side(bottom).  Everybody I showed it to saw same as me, so I emailed Lancer Tactical.  They replied, but just to say that it is that way by design.  Alrighty then.  I don't know that the hell I'm supposed to do with this thing.  😂

While I didn't get to take my new upside down gun bag plinking, few of us were able to get out to the woods.  We were worried about snow on the ground(I'm actually riding in a 2WD truck here), but there was zero snow.  Phew.

My buddy had very base Ford Ranger, but he had lifted it couple inches, bigger wheels & also added a headache rack.  It actually looks pretty good.  My Ford crossover is having problems again, so it had to stay home.  I do not recommend buying Ford crossovers.  You can say whatever you want about Japanese cars, but OMG man, I've never encountered major car repairs until I owned a Ford.  2 other people who has the same car's also running into expensive major repairs.  What a POS.  I recently ordered Ford Bronco though, so I'm special kind of stupid.

I usually come up here alone, so nice to have other people setup targets for change.  😇

Friend goofing off.  We call him all sorts of names when he does this, including Chechnyan special forces. 😂

Shot my new FN15 little bit.  Trigger felt little bit better this time?  I forgot, but I remoil-ed it couple months ago, too.  Maybe that helped.  Jerking sensation was gone.

We stayed there little longer than planned, but I think we all had fun.  It was beautiful day for it.

 

FN SRP G2 Carbine aka FN 15

Day before Thanksgiving, I was on a mission to go shooting.  1) I had just picked up a new AR rifle & 2) Been waiting to test new 12rd magazine I bought for my carry pistol(Sig P365).

Where I go shooting, it was all rain with the exception of Wednesday.  Mission was successful.

Foggy on the way up there, but no problems.

Let me get this out of the way.  Trigger on this rifle sucks.  Whether talking about Glocks or AR-15s, I hear & read about swapping, upgrading triggers.  Never really understood it.  People are spending lot of money & effort to upgrade these triggers, so I'm sure they are really nice.  However, I'm okay with most standard factory triggers, and ones that came with my three AR's before(Bushmaster 308, M&P Sport 2 & PSA lower), I actually liked those.  

I just sold my Bushmaster 308, because I have nowhere to really take advantage of  its extended range.  Jumped on this FN 15 from Botach.com, because 1) It was on sale for $899(after shipping & background check $974 😬) 2) Been interested in FN, because along with Colt, they provide U.S. military with it's full-auto cousin M4 rifles & 3) I wanted to replace my backup AR with little bit more reputable lower(it was PSA before this)

There were other points too, like my backup AR upper(M&P Sport 2) had shorter handguard than I like.  I've also been wanting to upgrade backup sights to steel ones & they cost like $200 or more for the set?  I found that bit outrageous.  Just for that, it was like taking another $200 off this new rifle since it comes with a set.  Here's a pic of my outgoing backup rifle.  It's been stripped of nicer accessories & probably sold soon:

My backup AR-15 before the new FN15. Wanted more reputable lower + longer handguard, maybe free floating barrel.  Consists of M&P Sport 2 upper, PSA lower w/Magpul STR stock, MOE SL handguard & Burris AR 536 red dot/prism scope kit.

Back to FN 15.  My new backup AR-15:

Already swapped the cheap stock & grip with Magpul STR + rubberized grip.

It looked like this stock:

Sighted in the backup sights before installing the red dot/scope.  These FN backup flip sights are great.  I would say HUGE upgrade over the Magpul MBUS.  Especially the rear.  #USERFRIENDLY

Only thing that worries me about these flip sights are those nail-sticking-out-looking release button on the (left)side?  I'm afraid of that thing getting snagged by clothing, straps, etc.

You can flip the peep hole for large or small.  Much, much easier to use than the Magpul MBUS I've used before this.

Looks really good after installing the Burris AR-536 kit(kit has FastFire 3 red dot on top of the scope).  AR-536 is actually designed for .308/7.62x51.  I originally got it for my Bushmaster 308(image at bottom of the page), but I've been since using it on my ARs, because I can't afford ACOG. 😭

As for the rifle, I have found my outgoing M&P Sport 2 to be more accurate.  Maybe because the trigger sucks?  I was only shooting sub-100 yards though, rest-shooting on top of the table & backpack.  Maybe it was me, who knows.  Hard to say after just one round.  Overall, I think the rifle's good.  But again, terrible trigger pull.  Never realized AR trigger could be this unsmooth.  Maybe I'll try cleaning & lubing it, too.  

I carry all sorts of spare batteries in my shooting pack.

It was pretty cold up in the mountains.  My red dot battery died.  Shortly after, my ear muffs.  😤

Shot my carry pistol Sig Sauer P365 after that.  With the ammo price & availability not improving much, I only shot it with this new 12-round mag.  It performed flawlessly with the plinking Blazer brass ammo & also Hornady hollow point.  Spring's mad stiff & I could only fit 11 round in it so far.  Magazine's also little longer, prints little more than the stock 10rd magazine with the pinky extension, but not that bad.  It's my new carry mag.

Also shot some with Glock 19(my go-to) & HK USP.  Yep.  Still sucks with both.  Thanks for reading.  😭

Bonus: My first real rifle.  I'm gonna miss you bud.

Bushmaster 308

 

 

Riton Optics X1 Tactix Mag3 Magnifier

So earlier this year, I thought I would be happy with this configuration:

Daniel Defense M4V7 Upper, S&W M&P Sport 2 lower + EOTech 512 red dot...... however, it wasn't that fun shooting steel at 100 yards with just red dot, zero magnification.  I needed little help.  

Shot good, looked nice, but my eyes needed more help with longer shots.

I thought about ACOG($$$), also EOTech Magnifier($$$), but I had so much expense so far this year, I had to shelve the idea.  It wasn't until just couple weeks ago, I caught this Riton Magnifier on Youtube & revisited the idea again.  

It was American company.  Origin of the manufacturer wasn't disclosed, but I think you could probably guess.  I saw couple of sources stating Riton import glass from Japan, which would be a plus for me.  It had decent reviews everywhere online.  Since EOTech magnifiers would cost $300+ ~ $500+, ACOG starting around $800, I decided to try Riton magnifier for $130(amazon).

Came back to my new favorite spot.  Lot of traffic below in trucks & SUVs, I think they were mountain bikers?  Not one actually came up to top of the hill where I was shooting though.  I had to stop few times, just in case, but it's always nice when nobody pull up to where you are shooting.  😅

One of the best backstops around.  I love it here.

Magnifier up.

Magnifier up.

Magnifier flipped to side.

Magnifier flipped to side.

I know!  I know!  It looks like a tacticool space rifle! 👀  For AR-15 shooters thinking about getting one of these magnifiers, here's more pics of how it looks flipped to the side:

Here are the pics of magnifier up, behind the EOTech 512 red dot:

You notice I kept the Magpul backup sights. Downside is now the magnifier hinge partially blocks EOTech switch on the right side(that's the "up" button right?). If you have giant hands, you may not be able to operate it, even with just your fingertip. 😬

It was nice & dry until I got to the shooting spot.  It was a drizzle the whole time.  I didn't get to shoot for very long.  😭  So far so good, glass was clear.  Eye relief wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be from something like this.  My only complaint was the flip mechanism.  You have to yank it back before you flip it over & it's clumsy as hell.  I hope it loosens up little bit over time.

 

Shot some .45's(USP & Kimber 1911).  I shot okay from 15 yards or so.  See the paper target below.  that's actually not bad for me.

Uh oh..... Fog moving in.

I'm going to call it a day.  Go Braves.