Ball Powders in the Colt H-bar

  I REALLY LIKE THE AR-15. The rifle just seems to shoot very well and is very forgiving to reloading technique and components selection. I fed my Colt 1-9" H-bar just about all of the standard ball powder loads in the 50-69 gr. bullet range and it never really shot bad enough to notice in my scores (maybe 10% either way).

    I messed around with H335 and Win 748 quite a bit with the Sierra 52-gr. match bullet. I felt that performance of the rifle was really quite impressive and the rifle was quite forgiving on load tolerance.

    I never delved into the H335 powder that much, but I feel that I could say that this would be a hell of a good powder to use in the 50-62 gr. range if you could get a deal on the price. I used Federal primers and LC brass for all of my loads. I would say that everything hovered around 1 MOA (depends on what you consider hovering).

    You know, I am going out on a limb to say this, but, Win 748 never really impressed me all that much. Which is strange, because I have found Winchester powders to be quite impressive-across the board. Win 760 and 231 are both at the top of my list for what they are good for. I know there are a bunch of shooters who swear by Win 748 for a competitive .223 load, but I never saw it. Maybe I was using the wrong primer? Now, don’t get me wrong, Win 748 is a very predictable and stable powder that gives good results across a wide range. It just never really impressed me as being exceptional with any one combination of bullet and volume. I plan on using what is left of my 748 with Win 55 FMJ’s for practice-plinking fodder.

    For the guy just getting started in reloading, the .223 AR-15 and Win 748 (or H335) make a good pair. Try to find some Lake City brass that has matching headstamps (I have about 8000 rounds of 92 LC from the same lot), use a VLD reamer and shoot-a lot.

My AR-15 Story  

     This is the year that I decided to make the big leap into the exciting world of highpower with full force. I had interest before but had, frankly, been to sick most of the time to do any competitive shooting (long story). I started with the Colt H-bar and it was more than adequate for my uses (it still is, really). The range where I practice is 300 yards, so a 1-9" barrel was fine. It shot the 69-gr. Sierra so-so. It ate the 52-gr. Sierra match bullet alive. It would hold a little over ½ MOA after I installed the float tube. It might have actually been better if the trigger hadn’t been so crappy. All I ever shot was moly bullets, that rifle never saw a non- coated bullet and the bore was smooth as a baby’s ass. I quit cleaning the bore last summer when I decided I was going to trade it, (you know, it never made a difference in the accuracy).

    At some point, I decided that upgrading my Colt was cost prohibitive. I considered sending it to Derrick Martin, but I just didn’t have the heart. There wouldn’t have been anything left of the original rifle after the "DCM" conversion. I decided instead to buy a new rifle. This led to the "DCM Quest" featured elsewhere in this web. To tell the truth I would have probably ordered a custom rifle from Derrick or Gunsmoke or the like, but the president of our rifle club assured me that I probably wouldn’t notice the difference until the barrel was already burned to the ground. I decided that I would travel to New Albany and pick up one of Carl’s Bushmaster DCM AR’s. The day I went in to pick one up someone bought the last two that day! The last two! I was really kind of lost at this point. I checked around and I couldn’t find another one anywhere. Carl told me that they were all on back-order.

    A few weeks earlier I had noticed a local dealer a gun show that had three Armalite "DCM"NM M-15’s. I had looked the rifle over and regarded its quality as very good and marveled at the shiny stainless barrel. I could tell that the dealer was not thrilled about the gun show folks handling these particular specimens. I racked the bolt to check the Eagle trigger that I had heard so much about. I thought it kinda’ sucked compared to the Compass Lake in the Bushmaster that I had messed with at Champion Shooter’s. I think I was prejudiced by the $1400 price tag. The Bushmaster triggers are nice…

    You must understand my patience level. I will eat at McDonald’s before I will wait to be seated in a restaurant. The thought of waiting until summer to get a rifle was totally unacceptable. I do my of my load testing early, and may not test again until I miss two groundhogs. I had a plan for the year and it did not include switching rifles mid-season.

    To make a long story short, I swallowed my dignity, found the dealer from the gun show and paid for one of the Armalite’s. I had a really good year at work and decided to reward myself with not worrying about the money. I was skeptical after talking to all the top gunsmiths around the country. Some of these guys have a tendency to treat all shooters as a High Master client (not a bad idea from their end). ArmaLite convinced me that I would be satisfied with rifle, so far they were right!    

   I weighted the thing down with lead in the forend and bullets in the butt until it balanced in front of the magazine well. I spent many hours dry firing trying to break in the trigger and finding a good position. The trigger never broke in; I will have to get it stoned. I broke the barrel in off the bench with iron-sights. I shot about twenty rounds with my plinking load and groups hovered around 1MOA. This was typical of groups fired through my Colt so I was not surprised. The sights on the Armalite are far superior to anything I have shot with (except for my air rifle). When I switched to my 52-gr. match load, things got interesting…

    My current 52-gr. load is with the Sierra bullet (moly) and 24 gr. of Accurate Arms 2015BR. This is essentially the same load I took to South Dakota in my Varmint Rifle. I happened upon this load for the AR by having about 300 rounds left over from my P-dog hunt. I decided to shoot them up in my Colt because I had encountered some problems with the Federal brass with which the rounds were loaded.

 The FC .223 brass I had used was junk! Stay away from the cheap Fed brass it is not the same!

    Anyway, I took this stuff to the range and shot about 100 rounds. What a difference! This stuff blew away all of my previous ball powder loads for accuracy and velocity. There was a noticeable difference even with my half-assed shooting. This has been my mainstay powder for light bullets ever since. The Armalite was the acid test. This load will consistently shoot under ¾ MOA-with iron sights! I have no idea what it would do with a scope on the rifle. I guess it doesn’t really matter, since you do not shoot service rifle with a scope. Let me put to you another way, this is a x-ring or better load in my ArmaLite.

NOTE:   These loads are shown here only as an indication of the DCM rifle's potential.   They are not to be used as a loading guide!  All rifles are different, throats are different, brass is different, powder lots are different!  Work up your loads from a reliable reloading guide and watch for pressure!  EPG accepts no responsibilty for your stupidity if you choose not to be smart!

    We have a new friend on the Internet!

    His name is Dennis.  I discovered that he had some loading experience that he was willing to share in regard to his cool Bushmaster "DCM" model rifle. I thought it would be great to try to get info on the potential of all the brands of this particular rifle. Dennis was nice enough to oblige my request and fired off some of his load data to me.

    Dennis is retired Air Force and have been shooting most of his adult life. He actively competes in both the Bullseye and Service Rifle National Match courses, and Long Range Rifle Silhouette events at the club level. He shoots in Las Vegas at the Desert Sportsmen Rifle and Pistol Club. Nellis Air Force Base also runs the rifle match and is NRA sanctioned. Dennis usually competes two or three times a month. He shoots in the low to mid 200’s in the pistol events and in the service rifle shot a 446 (possible of 500) at the last match.

I have one word for Dennis-- WOW!!! His rifle will shoot!!!
His numbers with the 80 gr. Sierra match bullet are incredible!

    I plan on getting more info on his rifle too. I am under the impression that is a box-stock Bushmaster "DCM".

(To tell you the truth he stole my powder! I have a lot of hope for AA2520, one the Masters in my club has had spectacular success with the 69 gr. Sierra match with AA2520 in his Eagle Arms-Wilson barreled AR-15.)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION-GZ