Nomercy448

Lots of topics in your last, so this will be a little scattered...

It's an AR, you should be able to watch your hits. Even in heavier cartridges like 6.8 and 6.5 Grendel, you'll be able to watch impacts without a brake. Try a 17rem AR in a 24" heavy profile sometime - THAT is low recoil!

Get your BCG properly lubricated, it'll likely start feeding for you - hence the reason your dad's NiB BCG ran well for you; the enhanced inherent lubricity of the NiB.

Your rifle is short stroking, meaning your action is starved for gas. Doesn't usually happen in factory carbines these days, so I'd be checking my gas block alignment and checking my tube for obstructions. Check the gas key to be sure it is tight, and check for gas leaks around the system. I answered a thread on another short stroking AR in the Gunsmithing forum last wk, check that out for troubleshooting. Personally, seeking out a hotter load to get it over the edge of reliability would not be on my list - I'd fix the problem.

The 60grn Nosler Partition is THE deer and hog bullet for the 223/5.56. I've used others in this service, but for deer in the AR, I likely will never use anything other than the 60 Partition from now on. The front of the bullet will expand like a conventional cup and core, a little more rapidly even, then stop at the shank. If you hit them at a high velocity, the tip will shed, and the shank will remain intact, penetrating deeply and typically exiting. Very similar in performance and function to the monometal bullets out there like the Barnes TTSX and Hornady GMX, but more reliable for lower velocity, longer range expansion. Very good bullet choice for 223/5.56 on deer and hogs.

salukipv1

May be late to this thread...

but don't overlook building the exact rifle you want...

there's many rifle kits online... You can buy a complete lower or build assemble your own.

buy a pre assembled barrel upper...

that is a fairly decent rifle at that starting point, at least for what you get on paper... no personal experience shooting it etc...

Best of luck!
Let us know what you end up with.

younggun308

Update:

I'm going to send the rifle in to Ruger to have it inspected with a note explaining the short-stroking "symptoms" for each load of ammo I fired through it, if applicable; main reason is I don't want to give them a reason to void the warranty. In a "concerns" section on this document, I relied on your diagnostic list, NoMercy---so in case someone is interested in doing a half-a** job over there minutes before lunch break, there's at least one psychological obstacle.

We'll see what happens then.

On a separate note, I'm fairly stoked about using this as a stalking rifle (when I'm hunting deer in states where legal to use a .22 cal). There is no comparison in overall weight and trigger pull between it and my Remington 673 (still has the old trigger; haven't mustered the will to send it in for recall).

I've read some killer reviews for the Barnes VOR-TX higher-grain offerings. Aside from user reviews on game, there's two reasons I feel comfortable committing to these:
1) The 55-grain TSX's in .223 Remington shoot well out of my rifle, already.
2) The 62-grain and 70-grain offerings are actually 5.56, not .223. Since my MPR's got a 5.56 chamber and a 1/8" rate of twist, I cannot imagine either of these bullets performing worse than the .223 55-grains have.

I'm just not sure if I want to order the 70-grain or the 62-grain. Reviewers have said the 70gr. fits in an AR mag fine (despite the fact all-copper bullets take up more space than lead), so that's not an issue. But I am wondering if the seating depth of the 70gr. load might imperil accuracy in some way (I have no idea what it is).

Here's a link to Barnes' ballistics table (from 2016) for all their VOR-TX loads, for reference:
https://www.barnesbullets.com/files/...cs-for-web.pdf

Cabela's website differs from this by saying that the 5.56 loads are actually TTSX bullets, not TSX. Either that's a typo, or Barnes has changed the bullet used over the past year. That the 5.56 loads, unlike the rest of the VOR-TX lineup on Cabela's website, ship directly from the manufacturer---not from Cabela's---is consistent with the possibility that Barnes has changed things up.

Either way, what do y'all think, 62gr. or 70gr.?

Nomercy448

Ruger doesn't have a Warranty, written, nor implied. They have a promise to customer satisfaction. It's spelled out as to why in your owner's manual. What happens, when you modify a Ruger firearm, is if you send something in which needs attention, they'll replace the modified parts with factory parts, and often charge you for them. I expect this paradigm will change, as they've thrown themselves into the AR-15, 1911, and precision rifle arenas, where consumer modification is the rule, not the exception.

Between the 62grn and 70grn, flip a coin. Both are going to kill deer efficiently. I would personally lean towards the 62, to keep the impact velocity higher, Barnes bullets just do NOT want to expand below 2000fps. Either should be well above that mark for stalking deer with a 223/5.56, but since either will do the job upon impact, I'd favor the greater impact velocity.

Personally, the 60grn Nosler Partition is the bullet I recommend highest for 5.56 on deer. It's a bit cheaper than the 62 TSX, loads about the same, and has a broader range of expansion velocity - BUT - with the same assurance the shank will penetrate deeply even if the tip is shed in a high velocity impact.

younggun308

Good point; instead of "not void warranty" I apparently should have said "keep customer service from blaming me/keep the ball in Ruger's court."


As for the ammo:
Based on the VOR-TX ballistics table, it seems the absolute maximum range would be 300 yards (and, realistically, probably a bit less, since the test barrel length is likely longer than 18").

I guess the reason I'm drawn to the Barnes bullets is the hope of consistently getting exit wounds to help with tracking. Reviewers on several sites using the 70gr. load attest to getting good-sized exit wounds even beyond 200 yards.
I'm generally going to prefer aiming for the lower 1/3 mark behind the shoulder, which should mean not too much tracking, but having a >.22 cal hole on the opposite side seems to be a bonus in case the shot ends up being a double-lung.
Perhaps I'm being too nervous about the cartridge's performance.

Have you had consistent exits with the NPs, or am I expecting too much out of a .223/5.56?

Nomercy448

I've not stretched the envelope to the extreme with the Partitions for range, but I've always had exits. You SHOULD have exits with both, but I would expect your legs to be less tired after taking one with the Partition than the TSX. Both should exit.

younggun308

UPDATE:

Upon closer inspection, it appears the culprit for the short-stroking is a dented buffer tube. The BCG showed signs of friction that aligned with the dent, suggesting that increased friction slowed down the BCG during cycling, preventing it from going far back enough.

Ordered a new tube and castle nut wrench. We'll see what gives next time I go to the range (about two weeks from now).

younggun308

UPDATE: changed the buffer tube; since it was my first time, I had the help of some YouTube videos.

Went to the range last Friday and was able to shoot 55-grain FMJ's without a single misfire, as well as 60-grain Nosler Partitions and 70-grain Barnes TSX's. Seems I'm in great shape for deer season---and any day I just want to burn through a few boxes of cheap stuff!

Loving this rifle.