Paule

The first drawings of SPR barrels I have are from a 1998 prototype done by a then future, and now former, AMU member. The contour then was for a barrel 17.9" long, .875" under handguards, and .725" forward of the gas block. The area under the handguards had eight fluted and the weight came in at 42.5 oz. This was spec'ed as a 5140 barrel, 6-groove, 7-twist bore, with MIL-STD-171 hardchromed chamber and bore. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first ancestor of the MK12 series of "SPR's". The original was too heavy and not accurate enough, and gave way to a 416SS tube, same length, no flutes, and a smaller diameter aft, which shaved 4 oz. off the total, down to the current 38.5 oz weight. Knights Armament had no role in development of the platform. Their 12" FF RAS forend and their 600 meter rear, rail folding front backup sight combo was chosen by Crane as the configuration for the Navy version (the MK12 Mod1), but it was never a very popular setup for the SEALS. DevGroup was much happier with the 16" RECCE carbine that they had designed and felt it served their particular set of needs better. The Army still liked the SPR, but primarily in the MK12 Mod1 configuration, with PRI components, including their carbon fiber forend, flip-up front sight and gasblock combo, and ARMS #40 rear sight. Most of the SPRs built for both the Army and the Navy came from a private contractor, (not us). They are still building them to the specs that were available in 2001, which is that last time barrel dimensions were changed. The SPR contour was designed to handle sustained, aimed fire without POI shift, hence the relatively heavy contour for a carry rifle. They were designed to provide acceptable accuracy out to 800 yards for man-sized targets and to be deployed in a DMR role. The Army still uses them for this purpose. The Marines, true to their marksman roots, decided that the nominal 18" barrel gave up too much velocity and came up with their own "Squad Augmented Marksman", or SAM contour. These are 20", similar to a Service Rifle Match contour in weight (about an ounce lighter), na dare all built on Krieger 7-twist blanks. The SAMs shoot better on average, not surprisingly, but they are a lot to hump around. The biggest mystik surrounding the SPRs was/is the OPSinc muzzle brake and barrel collar that were standard on every SPR. These were mated to the OPSinc 12th model can, a 40db reduction marvel that is still nearly impossible to obtain without a 4-6 year commitment to Uncle Sugar. Time marches on however, and new players are coming on the scene all the time. We've built several hundred SPR "Perfect Clones" in the last five years, many of them are in the sandbox, doing what they were meant to do. Many others are standing watch in safes around the country. They are still favorites of many, but not really a 3-gun contour, per se. Too heavy for most current tastes.

Brian, Thanks for posting the videos of the range. If I understood, it is 8/10's of a mile from the main range to the North Range, and the bays on the North Range extend for 1/3 of a mile or so to where the new bays are being readied? Hopefully I got that right. From what I see, there will only be parking in the field across the road to the north, and access to the field will be limited to the holes that you have cut through the bushes into the field. Looks like this will preclude parking close to individual stages. Are the South Rifle Range and the LD Bay in another area? I didn't see those on the video, at least by name. Can anyone confirm the status on the shuttle and what the route/schedule will be?

No doubt, looks like every squad has a stage missing. Adding the chrono made one too many stops for the number of timeslots available per squad. Looks like two more Sunday slots or give up a stage. I'll gladly skip the slug-only load fest

The Larue targets are not designed to fall at 300 with a 55-gr hit lower than the on the head. They recommend that the lower half of the targets be block by railroad ties when set at ranges beyond 200 yards for engagements with .223 rifles. (Only because everyone always blames the targets when they don't fall). 77gr, especially MK262, works better lighter .223 bullets too.

Maybe USPSA is taking a page out of SASS's playbook. The cowboys never saw a new division they didn't like and their membership seems pretty happy about it. If a goal of USPSA is to continue increasing membership AND participation, eliminating divisions is a bad idea. One thing I have seen over and over is that most shooters who like to compete also enjoy winning something on occasion. Plaques, certificates, and trophies are often far more lasting "treasures" than a lot of the stuff that ends up on prize tables. Think about who you know well that shoots a lot of matches. How many of them (us) have an "I love me" wall or room, where all the plaques and trophies go? I bet quite a few, maybe most. As to Single Stack in particular, I can say personally that I have not shot it yet. I have, however, bought three pistols just for the new division. One I plan to customize myself (a new Colt Classic .45), the other two SVI SS.40's. The .40's are great, and shoot the same loads as my Limited guns. After getting the second one I decided I went a little overboard and decided to sell one. Took about five minutes. The number of folks who called about it was amazing. And I didn't advertise, just told one guy about it and showed it to a second (he bought it on the spot). Of the folks I talked to, virtually all are planning to shoot SS, but are looking for a gun to shoot it. For the record, most were what I consider younger guys, mostly 20-somethings, but they guy who bought it is pushing 50, liked the idea of a SS division, and bought the gun specifically to compete in SS. Making the SS Classic a USPSA Nationals event was a great idea. Even better, plans to expand participation will be a boost too. Where my wife and I live there are no local matches. Decent ones are 1.5-2 hrs each way. So we travel a fair amount to big matches. If we are going anyway, might as well make it a little longer trip and enjoy the best events we can. But getting into the National matches is so difficult that we don't even try. I can only guess that more divisions will help clear this logjam and allow more people to attend the big matches. By comparison, the recent SASS End of Trail had 913 competitors, Mule Camp had 453, and neither turned anyone away, as far as I know. Just like USPSA matches, some come to compete seriously, others to enjoy the event and the camaraderie. Pretty good blueprint for success...

Never underestimate the value of a few good meds.

If you are talking about broken extractors, I have seen one (last week, 2nd round fired on a new unit), and have heard of a couple others.

My understanding is that the roads on the range are fairly narrow in spots and that carts might add an unacceptable level of traffic/congestion. I have not seen them, but I believe a lot of the new bays are in the North Range area? I heard that it is a good ways from the rest of the range. Maybe there is someone from the club that can enlighten us as to the layout. If it's feasible, I would like to see the option of rental carts, whether the MD feels they are needed or not. What is convenient is a personal determination, not a universal truth. My experience with mass transportation is that it is rarely going exactly where you want, when you need it. I would hate to see the match drag with folks waiting to catch the "bus".

Cindy, Sharon and I will be there. Apps going in the mail today.

Having recently moved from Memphis to a more serene locale I can say there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that carjacking is nearly a mainstream sport in Memphis. When I moved there in '91, friends told me you weren't really a Memphian until you had your car stolen. Mine was, about six months later. The good news, The MED (regional trauma center) treats so many GSW's that their survival rate at patching up shooting victims is very high, I believe still over 90%. Or maybe the shooters in Memphis are all as bad as that guy they interviewed for the article.

Suggestion only, but I would run at least three to four mags through before you start cutting to get it warm and dirty. What I have found, YMMV, is that cutting springs for use in a rifle receiver extension has a very marginal effect. The pulse is fairly long and soft to start with. It's more successful and noticeable using a carbine spring and buffer in either a carbine extension or a rifle extension with a spacer inside to make it the effect length of a carbine one. Depending on ammo, magazines, buffer weight, gas volume and carrier weight, you will be able to cut as many as 8 or nine coils from a carbine spring. All the various factors will bite you if you aren't careful, but experimenting with springs, which are cheap, is a good way to learn what can work. Also, I would not do this with a new upper that has less than 500-1000 rounds through it. Otherwise, you will end up recalibrating until the bolt, carrier, barrel extension, and receiver wear in. Don't heat the spring, and if you break the wire, rather than cut it, the end will be smooth enough. Put the cut end aft, formed end forward arouond the buffer.

George and Bob are spot on. Only thing I would add is that when the 1k and beyond bug bites that last 2-3% makes a difference that is easy to measure. One thing that helped me pick up some of that slack was to buy new, quality brass and completely prep every case prior to ever loading them. Resize (on a single stage press), trim, chamfer, clean primer pockets and flash holes, and uniform case neck thickness. Not full cuts, only until 60-70% of any extra thickness is gone. I like to do this as it makes neck tension much more consistent and easier to attain. Another advantage for me is that cases that I have uniformed to neck thickness seem much less prone to stretching out after firing. I used to check OAL after every firing, but now I don't. Every four firings is plenty and then I rarely have to trim unless it's a particularly hot load. Once this is done to a batch of brass, sort it by weight and cull the extremes, If you did a lot of brass, separating it into several groups and keeping them segregated is good. Otherwise just use the odd weight brass for a different gun, or give it away. The frustration you will save later if you get it mixed up is worth far more than the brass you save. After all that, about 500 rounds per evening if you have basic tools, just load and shoot on your progressive. Far faster and just as accurate. If you find a powder your barrel likes, and that drops well in your measure, throwing consistent powder volumes is pretty easy too. I haven't used a trickler in years! Don't miss it a bit, either.

The airlines are getting a lot tighter on bag size/weight too. Some don't consider guns as sporting goods anymore and will charge you oversize and overweight when they can. I have about given up on flying with guns too. You can ship them to yourself at your destination though. Just as long as you are the shipper, and the receiver (you don't have to be there, just an adult signature), as long as you are the one to open the package at the other end. Same for the return, just ship to yourself. That way you know in advance that you gear is in place before you step on the plane.

Hey Kelly, I was sorry to have to miss this years match, but happy we were able to participate as a sponsor. You always put on a great match, even if there are the few inevitable complainers. Small consolation maybe but most people vote with their feet, and as your matches are always well attended I would say it speaks loudly about the quality of your work.

Billski, thanks for the kind words. The barrel in the picture started life as a Lilja blank. Contours are our own designs, which we have turned by Frank and Theresa's great crew at Compass Lake. I like the shiny ones for pics, as they show off the 7-flute design so well, but most folks like them with a little less bling.

We build a lot of 16" middies. They run very well.

I see a number of great points made in this thread, others, not so much... This may turn out to be Lake Wobegon, where everyone is above average, but it hasn't been proven yet. In fact, based on the apparent need for the change in board policy, there must be at least a few residents here who are lowering the curve. Zak, thanks for trying to make a legitimate case for ethical rules that are based on widely accepted priniciples of fairness. Unfortunate that some see it as a personal attack on their integrity, I never read it that way. Like you, I have seen situations on other boards where meanings of posters comments were changed. I have never seen it on this board, and it may never happen here. Saying that it can't happen here is just plain naive. When a poster's words and meaning can be changed without recourse (other than leaving), the potential for abuse is obviously there. The fact that it hasn't doesn't change the fact that it could. I'm not sure why Brian would want to leave that possibility on the table, but it's his board and he can if he wants to do so. Maybe a better answer would be to archive posts after a set number of days. After "x" days, no one can edit a post. If a moderator(s) feel that a post has inappropriate content after that time maybe deleting the post should be their only option. This would prevent anyone from gutting informative posts and would provide a level of confidence that a poster's words and meanings would not be changed, even inadvertently, without recourse.

.308 Win will get to 1k with 175gr SMK's, but not with 168gr. Might want to try first if you already have a .308. The 6.5's have many excellent bullets, which is a good reason to look there if you decide to get a new caliber. Barrel life is not as good with some though, like the 6.5-284. Barrel life is important if you shoot a lot.

SR25 mags are not the same today as they were a few years ago. I have older ones that never hiccup and brand new ones that are far less than reliable.

Only my opinion, but the perfect 3-gun scope hasn't been made yet. But there are a lot of makers working on it. Until then, the TA31F you have will hold it's value very well and do a good job for groundhogs and, with a little ingenuity, work well for 3-gun too. The TA31F has excellent field of view and very good glass. 300 yard groundhogs should be very doable with the right gun/ammo. For 3-gun, the ACOGs work great for 100 yards and beyond. for the close stuff the BAC can work if you practice it a LOT, or attach a front cover and use the red chevron as an occluded reflex sight. With both eyes open this is easy to do and with a little practice as easy as shooting with an Aimpoint. The PMT cover is the best one made and the new one that Steve designed for the TA31 is a work of art.

Don't forget safety glasses. Standard issue is two eyes and spares are tough to come by. Good habit to start with is to record everything you do, even if you think you have a great memory. You will not know what is in that coffee can you set aside three weeks ago to see how they shot next time you had a chance at the range. Then you end up spending a lot more time opertating that new bullet puller. Ask me how I know this~!

Alex, You been partaking of the Efes Pilsen? Or are you longin' for a Lone Star?

The PRS weighs 28.5 ounces without a spring or buffer, so it's plenty heavy. Even though we sell them, I can't recommend for a 3-gun rifle. Great for precision setups though. If you have to use the adjustable comb you will have trouble operating the charging handle during any malf clearing. No big deal gunning p-dogs, but time goes fast in the middle of a stage. If a perfect cheekweld is your goal, look at a mount that better suits your needs. 3-gun optics don't typically fall into the "big objective" category, so getting a good mount height is not generally a difficult problem.

If you are planning to shoot a true M4, make sure your ammunition allows you to make minor power factor with the 14.5" barrel. M193, M855 and Mk262 will, but a lot of the commercial loads that are used at 3-gun matches won't, especially the 50-55 gr loads. Most matches don't chrono rifle, but it can happen.

My wife hated Texas Stars, so I bought one and let her shoot it with no one watching. Allowed her to work it out with "no one watching". She does fine with them now, though I doubt she would say she likes them...