finally set up my LMT MWS .308

[DacoRoman]

Obligatory Gun Jesus video if you haven't seen it yet:

Very nice! Thanks for posting, greatly enjoyed that. Gun Jesus is such a polite and well mannered young man isn’t he, seems like a cool dude. I kept waiting for John Cleese to come into the frame with some Monty Python...”this rifle is quite heavy” “ no it’s not”...
the L129 would have worked great in that Quest for the Holy Grail killer bunny scene actually, much better than the Holy Grenade. But I digress into sheer silliness for some reason.


I am hoping to go zero it tomorrow on the indoor 100y range. The recoil seems a little spicy! I’ll probably be glad to have the extra heft too, like Gun Jesus. It’ll be interesting to see how much I could stay inside the scope on follow up shots, as I’ve never shot a .308 AR.

[StraitR]

Nice! Was it too heavy to lug around for hunting I'm guessing? Those British Designated Marksmen with those LMT L129A1's are getting a work out with it too I bet. I've been getting a work out with mine just messing around with it, of course my role for it will be perched prone somewhere banging steel Mine may be a bit lighter due to the MLok rail, but probably not that much.

Those other boom sticks are sweet looking too btw! Noveske and KAC! You've got great taste! Thanks for posting that picture.

Thanks. The KAC is gone, and only the Noveske remains. It's a 2011ish model, from when John was still around running/building things, so I can't bring myself to part with it. It's my most shot carbine, and has been 100% since day one, unsurprisingly. Wears a Geissele rail, different furniture, and an EoTech EXPS3-0 these days. There's some current configuration pics in the "long gun" photo thread, and "what did you shoot today" thread.

Basically, I lacked experience, and built it for something that I dreamed up, but was totally unnecessary in practical application. Sick rifle, though.

[DacoRoman]

Got the gun zeroed using the scope, I didn't get to the offset irons this time around, they'll have to wait until next time.

I used my bipod on top of the shooting bench at an indoor 100 yard range, but one of these days I need to get a mat for prone shooting.

Ammo used was IMI 175gr. Match Ammo.

Below is the last target of the session when I was trying to fine tune the zero.
The top Left 5 round group was going to be my last group because my eyes got pretty fatigued by that point. I shot that one using 16X. But I thought a .1 mil adjustment to the Left would be a good idea, so I dialed that in and just wanted to get one last 3 shot group in before I quit to see if that windage adjustment gave me a more centered group. The top right 3 round group was that last group, also shot at 16X.



I had good fun shooting the rifle. I'll tell you though, I had sort of forgotten how much more .762Nato kicks compared to 556!
Overall I'm quite happy with how the session went. I didn't clean the rifle prior to shooting, I just lubed the bolt carrier group, and had no malfunctions whatsoever, and the gun felt super solid and slick. I used a 10 round and a 20 round PMag incidentally. I only shot around 50-60 rounds which is a total joke insofar as any sort of reliability testing goes, but I was glad to not have any malfunctions nevertheless.


I'm satisfied with the groups I was able to get, and with practice I'd get even better I'm sure, but that may have to wait until I can get more ammo because I want to save what I have now for the Corona Apocalypse which will hopefully never come ! In any case I will now look for a place where I could shoot steel out to some distance!

When I got home I was curious to see if the relative levels of the rail and scope had changed. It took me quite a while to get the levels exactly the same when I mounted the scope. I was expecting no change post shooting the rifle, but alas, there was a tiny change.
Here's a picture post the zeroing session showing a slight discrepancy..and the problem is I don't have the knowledge base to know if that's a big deal or not:



I re-torqued the screws using the Nightforce prescribed 25 in/lbs and they didn't seem to be loose.

I'm inclined to just leave things as is, and just check it again to see if it has migrated more post the next shooting session, but what do y'all think? Should I loosen the ring screws and re-align the scope so that the level is perfectly aligned to the rail, and possibly torque the screws juuust a hair more than 25 in/lbs in case my wrench is not perfectly calibrated?

This will be an out to 600-800yard gun, not an out to 1600yard gun, so I'm guessing that the tiny ass difference won't make a significant difference, but please let me know if I'm wrong.

[TGS]

@DacoRoman,

For a high end gun/optic you're purposely looking to use at long range, I would get it to a gunsmith for them to mount the scope. What you're experiencing could very well possibly be the result of uneven rings torquing the scope, which could hurt the zero but could also damage the scope (especially when you talk about over-torquing stuff).

It might not be what's causing it, but there's still a reason you're supposed to lap rings for high end applications so it should be done regardless.

[TGS]

Correction: Was just rereading the thread and saw you are using a one piece mount. What I wrote shouldn't be a concern.

[DacoRoman]

Correction: Was just rereading the thread and saw you are using a one piece mount. What I wrote shouldn't be a concern.

Thank you very much for the heads up, and correction. It gave me the opportunity to review the NF manual and the manual does indeed state that when using the NF Unimount, or Extended Unimount, mine is the extended Unimount, that lapping the rings is not necessary.

I'm wondering if possibly it is error of measurement on my part to begin with, since I'm using the imperfect method of putting a bubble level on the rail and top of the scope ring, but I could swear that I had it leveled just a bit more perfectly before the shooting session.

In any case I just sent an email with the picture to NF and we'll see what they say.

Maybe I'll sign up to Snipers Hide and see what those dudes think. I had signed up and posted a pic of the rifle prior to zeroing in Sniperforums but that place seems totally dead.

[DacoRoman]

I can't find the EDIT button to edit my target post, but I forgot to mention specifically. The zero target I posted was shot at 100 yards.

[HCM]

I can't find the EDIT button to edit my target post, but I forgot to mention specifically. The zero target I posted was shot at 100 yards.

Two things:

16 X maybe too much of a good thing at 100 yards. Too much magnification magnifies are natural movement and can cause you to rush shots instead of following the shot process.

If recoil is a concern a muzzle break and or suppressor or one option, another option is switching to a 6.5 CM barrel. The ability to switch to 6.5 CM or .243 is part of the reason to buy a modular weapons system. Unless you already have significant stocks of 308 match ammo those intermediate calibers may make better sense for long range shooting.

[rd62]

There are scope leveling devices on the market you can use. I have one you can borrow if you promise to return. It levels the rifle and then you hang a plumb at distance to level the reticle.

The recoil of the .308 isnt bad but the massive chunck of.recoiling BCG in that .308 gas gun made me work for consistent follow-up shots.

I'm not an accomplished or experienced long range shooter but my moderate performance with my MWS imrpved with practice and ammo selection had an effect.

[DacoRoman]

Two things:

16 X maybe too much of a good thing at 100 yards. Too much magnification magnifies are natural movement and can cause you to rush shots instead of following the shot process.

If recoil is a concern a muzzle break and or suppressor or one option, another option is switching to a 6.5 CM barrel. The ability to switch to 6.5 CM or .243 is part of the reason to buy a modular weapons system. Unless you already have significant stocks of 308 match ammo those intermediate calibers may make better sense for long range shooting.

Roger that.

Before going to zero I anticipated using no more than 10X. As I started fine tuning at 100 yards, I kept gravitating back to 16X, magnified wobbly natural movement and all. I will say that the lighting was a bit dim at the 100 yard line and that's possibly why I felt I needed to keep pushing the magnification. Maybe that's also why I developed eye strain so quickly. But, ultimately I wasn't necessarily going for the tightest groups with the most precision, but rather, I wanted to do a basic zero of the rifle.

Having said that this is the first time I shot a centerfire rifle with a scope that has that much magnification and maybe I was also mesmerized by the increased potential of higher magnification. Prior to that the most magnification I shot with was using a Burris XTR II 1-5X scope (on a 5.56 gun) out to 600 yards in a John McPhee long range class. Actually I take that back as I did try another student's gun using 8X at a 500 yard target.

But when I go back and can focus more on precision, I will try my luck with various magnifications. I also look forward to shooting outdoors on a sunny day with little to no wind as well .

Good thoughts on recoil control devices and on the 6.5C. Eventually I do want a 6.5C barrel for it for sure.

Lastly I will say that the LMT stock 2 stage trigger is a bit heavy in fact. I may put in an extra Geissle SSA trigger that I have, as I have one in another rifle and it feels much smoother and lighter than the LMT one.