Zak Smith

No, they do not go single stack. The 6.8 rounds are wider towards the shoulder than the 5.56 rounds. 5.56 mags have deeper ribs on the forward end, and I think this conflicts with the wider shoulder. After about 6-8 rounds, it gets hard to seat the next on in the mag. Yes, 115gr bullets make major (320PF) , but barely. 120gr bullets with a short ogive would be easier to make major with. -z

Dies from the Hornady custom shop. It looks like the extractor is modifed. -z

Got out today and had time to shoot about 20 rounds. Recoil is comparable to 5.56. The gun ran perfectly. 5.56 mags do not work well, holding only 5-8 rounds. A replacement mag body plan is in the works. The ammo I have is pre-production, which I bought as a source for once-fired brass. Because of the prototypical nature of that ammo batch, it is not accurate. Handloads using the 110gr VMAX or 115gr Hornady should be sub MOA easy. Powders of comparable speed to 2230 are reputed to work well. My custom dies should arrive in about 2-3 weeks. -z

The Fedex man just dropped off my 6.8SPC upper. MSTN built this for me and Wes has been great. Modified Bolt: [ link to larger image ] [ link to larger image ] Troy sights: [ link to larger image ] It is, really: [ link to larger image ] [ link to larger image ] [ link to larger image ] Full index: http://apollo.demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/6.8mm/ Details: 18" stainless barrel, chambered by PRI. OPSINC 4-port brake K-G coated black. Handguard is PRI. I believe the upper receiver is LMT. Bolt is custom machined. Bolt carrier is JP. -z

Erik, With two squads for every stage and nearly 300 people, it's no surprise I didn't meet everyone. Regards Zak

Flexmoney, BC encapsulates mass, shape, sectional density- everything. That's why in the Hornady reloading book set (and/or Speer), the trajectory tables are based off of BC and MV. If you look at the differential equations that the G1-G8 drag functions use in modern small arms ballistics calculators, they use BC and not mass. -z

Isn't wind drift going to be a function of BC and flight time? If that is so, I would expect two loads with similar BC and MV to have similar drift. The hot BH load is the MK262Mod0 (or Mod1?). There was an AR15.com group buy of like 50k rounds of it through Georgia Precision last year. It took about 6-7 months for delivery. The velocity ended up 50-100fps faster than Red Box and it was not as accurate. On the 6.8, I just had to try it out. Being a "standard" used by LEO and Military, this should catch on better than the proprietary wildcats. I'm having MSTN build me an upper which will be delivered shortly (mostly LMT and PRI components). Dies are on order, I think I can piece together a 650 conversion. I've got 400 rounds of the loaded Remington ammo in my office right now. Until the 115gr bullet is available, we can use the 110gr VMAX. I'm not sure if any of the heavier bullets with fit the OAL. -z

My SMM3G report posted here: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=71466 Picture index: http://www.demigod.org/~zak/DigiCam/SMM3G-2004 Here's what I did for sighting in Tactical on Stage 1: I was rockin' on that stage until I placed my ejection port too near a barrel on the RH 3-target array. Doh. Major jammage as the fired case bounced off and came back in the port. Enjoy

The factory 6.8 load is a 115gr BC 0.365 at somewhere between 2700-2800 in an 18" barrel. Compare to 75gr .223, which is BC 0.395 at about 2725. There's not going to be a lot of difference between those in trajectory. It will definitely hit steel harder. I should have some solid first hand data on 6.8 in the next month. -z

I'll be shooting the '04 ITRC with Glenn Frank. Can't wait.. except for all the practice I need between now and then! -z

In my M1S90, I use Federal Tactical slugs (say HydraShok on the box), and Winchester AA127 #7.5 1 1/8oz loads. It runs perfectly. -z

The Best Western Supersitition Springs is full for the 11th-13th, but the Best Western Mesa Inn (480-964-8000) still has rooms available. -z

A while back I tried to duplicate the old VV data with 3N37, which was a 147gr at 1152fps. Here what I actually clocked: 147gr Gold Dot, OAL = 1.155 +/- 0.005, new Starline cases, WSP 3N37 5.0gr < 954> 922 (15.0) 3N37 5.2gr < 990> 951 ( 9.0) 3N37 5.4gr <1026> 967 ( 7.0) 3N37 5.6gr <1062> 979 (15.0) - up to here, no flattening 3N37 5.7gr <1080> 1012 ( 8.0) - here on, a little flattening 3N37 5.8gr <1098> 1033 (11.0) 3N37 5.9gr <1116> 1056 ( 6.7) notice about 60fps under published values * Why is this so slow ?! Number in brackets is the expected value interpolated from VV data (they listed 5.6gr and 6.1gr at 36300psi). -z

Great! Now how about if we get them to ditch the "MAP" pricing structure so we can continue to afford their scopes. -z

It seems like all the northern Colorado matches have results emailed out the same day. -z

See if you can get surplus from a local mining company. -z

Erik, I meant with an A2-style front sight tower using an add-on rear fixed sight for the flat-top like the LMT or ARMS #40. -z

Does anyone know what combination of mounts are required to co-witness a DoctorSight with the A2 sights on a flat-top AR-15? -z

I am looking for a partner for The International Tactical Riflemans' Championship match in Gillette WY Aug 27-29 2004. This match is shot in two-man teams: one bolt-rifle shooter, and one carbine shooter. I think both shoot pistol also. It involves a "gully" course that is very challenging to physical endurance and shooting skills. I am located in Colorado (Fort Collins) and would prefer a partner from the general area so we can get together periodically to plan and train for it. Slots in the match are apparently limited so I want to sign up ASAP. My mini shooting resume: Started shooting IPSC & 3Gun in 2003. Shot about 10 IPSC matches and came in first or second in L-10 3 or 4 times. My classification is currently "C", but my average is only about 2% away from B. Shot 5 or 6 local 3Gun matches, usually scoring in the middle of the pack. At RM3G-Raton, I came in 35th out of 75 in the Tactical class. Summary: I don't suck, and I'm improving. I'm in decent shape at my ripe old age of 28 and should be able to handle the physical challenges of this match. I am currently set up perfectly to shoot the "carbine" portion, so I'd prefer a partner who can run a bolt rifle out to 900 yards. However, if that's not possible, there's still enough time for me to get a bolt rifle sorted out and have some practice by August. Since the 3Gun community is pretty small and well-connected, I'm hoping that someone here is interested and looking for a partner for this match, or knows someone else who might be. thanks Zak - zak@computer.org

This is incorrect. A visit to the ATF FAQ will confirm. A nonlicensee can ship to a licensee (FFL) in any state. If you are selling the gun, the FFL's on the receiving end normally "like" to get a copy of your driver's license to log it into their books. I don't know if that last part is required by law, though. I don't think this is actually true for non-FFL to FFL. For FFL to FFL transfers, the sender definitely needs an ink-signed copy. For non-FFL to FFL transfers, to be within the law, the receiver just has to be an FFL! Getting a signed copy is one way to verify. I normally just use the ATF FFL Ez-Check system online to verify, though. -z

Matthew, The beauty of the scheme is that the Armalite conversion kit includes the mag body and follower. All you need is the spring and the floorplate from the old mag. That cheap pre-ban "junk" M1A mag-body, when disassembled, just makes your mostly-new mag legal. -z

For cheap AR10 mags, you should be able to buy those cheap, junky $15 aftermarket pre-ban mags, then buy the $30 conversion kits from Armalite. -z

I think what happened was that the local 'smith I had install a new trigger and clean up a couple things fixed this too, and forgot to mention it. I remembered I hadn't cleaned the pistol since I got it back from him a few months ago! thanks Zak

I took apart my 1911 for some long overdue cleaning and found this: I don't remember that "grind" mark being there before. I cleaned it, and colored it with blue permanent marker, reassembled, and ran the action a bunch to see if it would rub off, and there was no effect on the marking. The pistol has been running 100%. There are no marks on the barrel or link. The slide stop pin looks fairly normal. I basically couldn't find matching marks on any other part. Any ideas what's going on? Did someone file on my guiderod when I wasn't looking? -z

The Dan Wesson Patriot has a forged frame. -z