Equipment

Let’s talk about twist rates.

Specifically, I want to dig into the purpose of rifling and how to determine the right twist rate for your rifle and cartridge.

There’s a lot of engineering voodoo that goes into making a rifle work well and fire accurately. The length of a rifle’s barrel and how it affects the velocity of the bullet is one of those major factors.

Most articles walk you through the basic steps of getting your iron sights zeroed, but they lack an explanation of why you’re doing the steps you’re doing. Let’s change that.

This post is a little more off-the-cuff than my usual, but it’s something that’s been weighing on my mind lately. Producing the new podcast is quite the learning experience. I don’t say that just about the technical audio stuff, either, but the wisdom of the folks I’m talking to. To date, I’ve talked to four very experienced shooters across the tactical and competition realms. I’ve asked all of them about the caliber wars, and where things like .224 Valkyrie or 6.5 Creedmoor fit in. Though I keep waiting for the answer to change, it doesn’t: shoot the .308.

Like barrels, triggers, and all the other choices, Ar-15 optics are a challenging one. There’s a lot of misunderstanding and “fluff” out there. I want to take a few moments and discuss some thoughts on optics selection.

The M16A5 configuration, though somewhat ambiguous, is some of the most fun you can have with the AR15 platform. You might know it as any combination of collapsible stock and 20″ barrel, but there is actually a history here I wanted to get into. At the end, we’ll talk about building your own version.

Check on any given online forum focused on the AR-15/M4, or really any gun board, and you’ll likely find a debate over using ACOGs in a world full of red dots and Low Power Variable Optics (LPVO). I decided to test it out. Internet speculation and hokey superstition are no match for cold hard data.

The Minuteman Rifle, as I call it, was a commemorative reminder of my time as a Minuteman ICBM launch officer. This lightweight KISS rifle was my main AR project between 2016 and 2017, and now one of my favorites to shoot. Let’s walk through the decisions I made and see if you can’t get any ideas.

This is a review of my BCM 20″ Government Profile Barrel, which I purchased as part of a complete upper in 2014. To date, it’s been a fantastic piece of gear, but is the 20″ outdated at this point?

The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in the country. This guide discusses a good first rifle configuration, and provides some technical info to back it up.