StealthyBlagga

FYI, my original DPMS mags only held 19 rounds, but with a recent batch I received, I could squeeze 20 rounds in - maybe DPMS fixed something ? The mags were tight going in the rifle, but they did go in. Cycling the bolt was hard though, and I've not had the chance to test fire these mags... I just threw them in the safe, but when I get a chance I will play with them some more and see if I can make them easier to insert (e.g. by clipping some coils off the spring). I also want to compare the followers in old vs. new mags.

I run Estate birdshot in my 11-87, and it rarely misses a beat. I use 1-1/8oz 3DE #7-1/2 Competition loads for most shooting, with 1-1/4 3-3/4DE #4 or #6 Heavy Game loads where extra ooomph is needed (I shoot a sawn-off... no choke ).

+1... I'm not clear what the proposed modification buys you. I'd also be concerned about relying on screws tapped into an aluminum receiver (though inserts might be an option). Maybe this would have been a good idea before the days of the flat top receiver, but not now. An upper receiver can be had for around $100, and a suitable A2 rear sight for another $50-100... you can recover a lot of this investment by selling your old A2 upper. Here's an example:

I used to have a DPMS, but sold it when it became clear they were not supporting it nor coming out with hicap mags. I bought a Ciener, and it has been Swiss-watch reliable with cheap WalMart Federal bulk pack ammo ever since. I run Black Dog 31 rounders in my SBR: If you want an economical dedicated upper, take a look at the ones from Model 1 Sales. I've not tried one myself, but they seem popular. The $500 price, including the bolt group and one magazine, seems competitive. Personally, like I said, I like the concept of a Ciener in a 5.56 upper... if nothing else, it would be a great excuse to get a new primary match upper and use your old one for .22 practice .

Just so you know, the SteadyGrip stock cannot be used with an extended magazine tube as this would violate 922r (unless you install the required US compliance parts), and probably also violates the CA AWB .

1 - Ciener conversion PRO: Cheap. Use your current optics. Feels the same as your match rifle (it IS your match rifle). Mags available the same shape/size as GI 30 rounders. CON: Non-optimal barrel makes for hit-or-miss accuracy. Barrel needs a thorough cleaning after practice sessions. LEAD CAN ACCUMULATE IN YOUR COMP ! 2 - Dedicated AR15 upper PRO: Can be made to feel the same as your match rifle. Mags available the same shape/size as GI 30 rounders. No need for frequent cleaning. CON: Cost comparable to any new AR upper, or a Nordic 10/22. Needs dedicated optics. Use an A1/A2 flash hider to avoid lead accumulation. 3 - Nordic 10/22 PRO: Can be made to feel similar to your match rifle. No need for cleaning ever . CON: Cost comparable to a new AR upper. Needs dedicated optics. Manual of arms and magazines are completely different. Personally, I would go with #1 or #2. If you already have a Ciener conversion kit, and if your practice sessions are under 100yds, you might also consider a hybrid approach: buy a spare 5.56 upper to semi-dedicate to the Ciener kit. You could configure it as a backup for match use, but with an A2 FH to avoid lead accumulation. Use it mostly with the Ciener kit, but its only a good cleaning and re-zero away from being match-ready in the event that your primary upper goes down for any reason. In my experience, non-magazine AR15 function problems originate primarily in the upper, and the easiest way to get back on the firing line is to pull a complete known-good replacement upper out of your range bag. This approach is the closest to having your cake and eating it.

I also vote NO ! Please, please, please leave things as they are. As long as it's the same for everyone, whats the problem ? If someone wants the schlep a 100 round mag around a 35 round stage, I say "go nuts". I've seen maybe a handful of stages over the last 8 years where a Beta mag would have been a measurable advantage (the rollercoaster at SMM3G07 springs to mind). Kurt is right - the .MIL is always looking to get more rounds in a magazine, and for good reason. To say that this is somehow not "tactical" is just silly. Oh, and if people think using a $250 Beta Mag is unfairly buying your way up the score sheet, then maybe we can just impose a budget restriction ? Yeah, thats it, make a rule that the gun, accessories and ammo for the whole match must not have cost more than, say, $1000. Hmmm, yes, that would be fair. Better still, at the start of the match we could have everybody puts their guns in a pile, and then hold a raffle to decide who gets to shoot which gun in the match. As our Dear Leader said, "We Have To Spread The Wealth™".

No, I'll let anyone copy it for free... "Spread The Wealth" !

OK, so how about the arrangement shown below ? Only one mag touching the ground, same footprint as a single mag - none of the supposed stability advantage of the "two-mag bipod". The whole contraption is still shorter than a 40-rounder (shown also, for comparison). Of course, I'm being slightly facetious, but you see where I'm going with this. To paraphrase: "Make silly rules - Get silly compliance".

I don't want to sound like an ass, but you should focus on fixing your equipment so it does not malfunction... this is a much better investment of time and energy than optimizing your malfunction drills IMHO. The problem described could be ammo related (dud primers, raised primers, inproperly sized rounds) or gun related (weak recoil or striker spring, dirty striker channel, chipped striker tip). Make sure you 100% inspect your ammo for high primers and run every round through an ammo gage before you consider it "match ready". Oh, and "tap-rack-bang" FTW .

I'll admit in public to doing it the old fashioned way: I cup the weak hand over the ejection port, turn the gun clockwise 90 degrees, and slowly retract the slide, catching the live round in the weak hand. I was taught this technique when I first started practical pistol shooting back in the early 80's, and it has kind of stuck. I am aware of the risk of a detonation, but I am very careful to retract the slide SLOOOWWWWLLLLLYYYYYYY. Unless I encounter a tight round that requires a lot of force to extract it from the chamber, I don't see my technique as being likely to result in a detonation. Now watch me blow my hand off at the next match I attend

IMHO, this kind of silly micromanagement of the shooter has to stop. Its not just monopoding off mags, its also the silly "vertical foregrip can't touch anything" rule. I don't use a VFG, so I don't really have a dog in this fight, but the guys who do happen to use one find this rule intensely irritating. If we are going to be this anal, maybe it will be easier to simply allow all manner of support devices, including bipods, in Tactical. Why not ? They have been built into several "real world" military rifles in the past. My only stipulation would be that any bipod would have to stay on the rifle for the duration of the match... I find the idea that you can add and remove a bipod during a match nonsensical and inconsistent with the principles of the sport. If you can handle the weight and bulk on a hoser stage, you get to enjoy the extra stability in the long-range stages.

The manual of arms is different, of course. Reloading is a lot smoother with an AR, and ergonomics generally are a big improvement. You can get a collapsing stock on the AR to try the sternum trick, but you will probably find the traditional shoulder position with nose-to-charging-handle is more productive. Lastly, if your MP5 is anything like the others I have seen (including genuine HK full autos), you will doing a lot less malfunction clearance drills with the AR

Me too, but good luck finding one these days. I just picked up a pair of DPMS 45 round mags, but haven't tested them yet... with a MagPul follower installed, they feel good though. I figure if I need more firepower, I have the Beta Mag on standby .

I got my son an 870 Youth 20ga with a 21" VR barrel for his 10th birthday. He uses it mostly for sporting clays, but he has also shot a few 3-gun matches with it. We installed a Choate 8+1 mag tube which extends just slightly past the muzzle (maybe 1") and works great. The standard factory stock works well, though we did fill it with lead shot to dampen recoil a bit, and to bring the ballance back (helpful with the extended mag tube). Your son will love this setup, and its cheaper (under $300 for the gun plus mag tube). Also, it is more "traditional" looking for clay shooting if your son finds he prefers that sport. Oh, and the barrel on the Youth model comes with RemChokes, so you can adjust choke according to the game you are playing. Here's a photo of the gun in 3-Gun configuration:

Also, check that your barrel clamp is not bending the mag tube... this can cause binding too. Remove the clamp and see if the follow bind goes away.

The GI front sight base is cheap and functional, and gives you a permanent "ready to go" front sight. As others mentioned, it is also pinned in place, which makes it more robust than a set screw type gas block. If the FSB blocks your view, you can indeed chop it off. The downside with the GI FSB is that there is no gas adjustment... some competitive shooters like an adjustable gas block. Personally, I prefer a non-adjustable gas block for reliability anyway, and I'll put up with a bit more felt recoil, but that's just me.

UPDATE. Meopta confirmed that something shook loose internally (again). They are sending me a new scope (again). Now I realize why I kept losing the reticle during the RM3G... I thought it was just me and my middle-aged eyes

I have a clear game plan for how many I'm going to load at each point in the stage. I plan not to run dry if at all possible. Like Kurt, I shoot as fast as possible consistent with a "zero tolerance" for misses. If I do need an extra shot, its probably only one, and in the subsequent load I make sure I load that one extra shell. It's rare that I find I miss more than one shot and therefore need to add more than one extra shell... if this happens, the wheels fall off big time . Otherwise, life is good.

He's in the United Kingdom, don't think 922r applies.... Dohhhhh... reading is not my strong suit.

It's actually pretty easy... I did mine in a few hours, and I went slow. The only thing that is remotely tricky is re-installing the bolt hold open. Some pearls of wisdom: (1) do NOT use one of the aftermarket recoil buffers (they make the gun unreliable), and (2) remove the floating dust cover (throw it in the trash - they can shear off at the worse time). The old FCG holes in the receiver can be welded up (as I did), or just left - they are only cosmetic imperfections:

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm pretty sure a PG stock on the M2 is illegal... it violates 922 ( r ) regulations. If you are already aware of this, and have added the necessary US compliance parts, then I apologize for the thread drift.

I generally try to build up a 1-shell buffer early in the stage, and then maintain that throughout. Ideally, I will finish the stage with that one shell in the chamber and an empty mag. Of course, I won't do this in circumstances where loading the extra shell will incur a huge time penalty (e.g. a standing load). The extra shell takes a tad longer to insert, but the flip side is that it instills in me the confidence to push my rate of fire. Don't underestimate the value of confidence. By the way, for outlaw matches, I'm a big fan of the 10+1 mag tube in Tactical. Although I start with 8+1 in the gun, I have a lot more flexibility as to where I can reload later on the stage. Often I find I can stuff one shell into the mag tube immediately after the beep, provided there is significant movement to the first shooting position. Likewise, when the stage presents an opportunity for 9-shots from one location, I can exploit this without running to an open bolt. All upside, very little downside IMHO.

Yeah, I did that... with the reticle focused as above, and the zoom at 4x, an object at 300yds is quite badly out of focus. I'm pretty sure this is abnormal, as my other scopes don't behave this way. I have sent the scope back to Meopta for them to check it out. Unfortunately, this is the second time in 6 months I've had to return this scope for repair. I'm starting to look back fondly on my iron sight days .

Not much. I read something about a larger case head (0.50"), but the image associated with the article is messed up: