Hey all,

I finally have my LOOOONG awaited MP15 MOE in FDE! As you know, I've been drooling about this since September and finally funded it! I AM EXCITED to take her out for our 1st time. That's right, I said "our 1st time" because this will be my 1st AR outing...ever. I have owned a 15-22 for a little over 6 months now and have shot at least 4k rounds through it. My 15-22 has a TRS-25. I have shot many pistols in various calibers, but not an AR15.

Now on to my MP15 questions:

1. Is it recommended that the rifle be cleaned and lubed out of the box before firing it? My 1st guess would be YES.

2. I was gifted a Nikon 3x32 P-223 Scope along with P-223 Rings also from Nikon. I've watched Midway videos on scope mounting and don't have ANY of the tools that Larry uses to mount a scope. Should I seek professional help with mounting or is this something I can just throw on the rings (eyeball that it is level) and lock them down onto the rail? The photo shows the scope but nothing is tightened down, it's on just for the looks/photo.

3. Is it possible to have the Rear Magpul BUIS in place with the scope attached? I tried several configurations but it doesn't seem possible with this Mid-Length MOE Rifle.

4. Is there a better setup where I can easily switch from the scope, to a red-dot, then to the MBUIS? Maybe I need something different than a scope. I've seen red dot setups with flip up from the side magnifiers? Just curious on optics.

I plan on going to a range that offers 100yd lanes and maybe will just try out this scope. Not sure on what I want yet but this scope was a gift.

Thanks in advance guys!!

Beautiful gun! I just picked up a used MP 15 Sport a couple of months ago. I'm from McKinney as well. Where do you shoot? Have you checked out the new Frisco Gun Club yet?

Thanks!! Haven't been to the Frisco Gun Club yet. After hearing about them on the news and their 7K/year VIP Membership, I was turned off a bit. I was a Platinum Member at Bullet Trap last year and spent most of my days there with my 15-22. I plan on making the 15-22 the rifle that my boys will mostly shoot. Can't beat no range fees with their Platinum Membership there. This year, I will be checking out other ranges and might look at the Elm Fork Range in Dallas as they have lanes longer than 25 yards. I thought about the sport but since I am fairly new to the AR Platform, I didn't want to learn/figure out how "change" stuff on this first purchase. I like the Mid-Length and wasn't comfortable with figuring out how to change it from Carbine length if I went with the Sport. I LOVE this rifle even before shooting it!! I plan on shooting it either tomorrow or Thursday.

Yes. It is always advisable to field strip, inspect, clean, and lube a brand new firearm prior to the initial range session. It gives you a chance to familiarize yourself with the condition of a brand new rifle, and give you a baseline for normal wear patterns over time. It lets you remove any manufacturing fouling that may remain in the rifle. It gives you a chance to discover any glaringly obvious manufacturing defects.

IMO, if you're comfortable doing the job yourself go for it. You'll never learn how to do it if you don't do it. Just remember not to over-tighten the scope ring screws. Those are screwed down to inch-pounds of force.

I don't know. That would depend on the eye relief necessary for that scope.

From the looks of it, you'd need a QD mount for your scope. Buy the right red-dot, and you should be able to mount a rear folding back up sight just fine.

A free scope is always a good thing.

Congrats on your new rifle & have a safe range trip!

__________________
-John

My 15-22 with it's Big Brother R-25 in .308.

Jack Wagon

My Sport.

Jack Wagon

Nice looking rifles there Jack. Can't wait to get out and shoot!

You made a good choice by buying the rifle with all the features you want right out of the box.

__________________
-John

Nice rifle.

You should give the Garland Public Shooting Range a try if you want to shoot 50 and 100 yards. It's $15 to join, and $15 per shooter per day. That gets you rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting. If you want to shoot regulation skeet, trap, or sporting clays, head on out to Elm Fork, but Garland is good for informal pasture clays.

Biggest drawback is that they do not allow FMJ on the range, but neither does Elm Fork. Garland is cheaper and closer to you though.

Very nice. JaPes pretty much covered it, but let me interject a couple things. First, nice scope, I really like the looks of the P223. Generally with a 3X scope, you won't be able to co-witness as the focal point for the scope is about 2 feet in front of your front sight. The front sight, for all intents and purposes, is invisible, and as such fitting a MBUS behind it serves no purpose.
With a red dot, co-witness between front and MBUS is easy. A good option for a red dot would be one from Primary Arms. They had one with a QD mount and kill flash for about $109. If you add a tip off magnifier, the rear sight lays down and once again, co-witness is not possible.

Here's my Sport version of the MOE in Magpul FDE furniture, with a UTG red/green dot and 3X magnifier. If I could just get S&W to get up off a flash suppressor as used on your rifle, I'd have the perfect clone.



Good Luck and good shooting.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

With the current rings pgamboa is using, I would agree. However, if he were to switch out the Nikon rings to a quick disconnect mount, then iron sights could also be used.

I appreciate all the info guys. Since the Nikon scope and rings were a gift, I don't want to put those in a drawer yet . I would like to explore a QD mount for this scope. I currently have one for my TRS-25 that is on my 15-22. So....depending now how i feel and distances I would like to practice at, I would like to throw the scope on there for 100yd distances, then swap it out for the TRS-25, then, for 25 and less, go to MBUIS. I like the fact that the BUIS is a flip up. Fold down when not in use, but it seems that there is not enough room/rail space to do that.

I will be cleaning the rifle today in hopes to take it out and shoot it with the scope as it is. I didn't over tighten as stated in the manual and here. I "eyeballed" it and will see how it goes. Furthest I've ever shot is 25yds at some paper, so if I can brave the cold today, I will give it a whirl.

As for the local ranges, I know FMJ is Full Metal Jacket. Bullet Trap doesn't allow steel case ammo. Is this what is being referred as FMJ and not allowed at Garland or Elm Fork? Can someone clarify why FMJ would not be allowed or if it is the same reference as Steel Case Ammo (Tula/Monarch) stuff. I mainly have Federal 223 Brass, some BrassMax and a box of AE.

Thanks again for all the input!

FMJ refers to the projectile itself, not the case. The FMJ bullet will have a complete jacket of copper, or a bi-metal jacket on some. It will have a complete point at the end of the bullet, not a hollow point. Garland and Elm Fork require either hollow points or soft points to be used.

Forget about Elm Fork... I just read their policies for the rifle range. I've never shot rifles there, and now I know why! Check out the rules for 100 yard range before you drive out there.
Elm Fork Shotgun Sports

Steel cased ammo refers to the case itself, not the projectile that goes down range. Garland range will allow steel cased ammo, as long as it is not FMJ. Steel cases are typically on Wolf, Tula, Silver Bear, etc., but Hornady also offers a steel case round. Steel cased ammo is cheaper than brass cased equivalent ammo.

So it sounds like these won't work at either Elm Fork or Garland.

I've got about 500rds of this stuff.

I guess it's back to Bullet Trap 25yds then if that is the case.


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Nope, that is a no go. Is your American Eagle FMJ? I have a few boxes of that in 50 gr HP. Not my preferred ammo, but figured it would work for range fodder.

"3. Is it possible to have the Rear Magpul BUIS in place with the scope attached? I tried several configurations but it doesn't seem possible with this Mid-Length MOE Rifle."

I have (had) a Troy rear sight on mine and had to take it off when I put on the same scope and mounts as yours.

That's what I am figuring. I think with what I want, best bet for me is a QD Mount for the scope and red dot.


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Great looking setups!!

Frisco Gun Range is way out of the reasonable price range...Who are they kidding.

Garland is good for the price and decent people.

Thanks.

Pgamboa: All has been said except the scope mounting. With the rails, mounts, they should be fairly square to the bore. To get the horizontal/vertical you can use a piece of string, tack it to the wall, add a weight ( something that is heavy enough to pull string taunt ), ( plumb line ) and align the vertical cross hair then tighten down the rings. Congrats, Be Safe,

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I BACK OUR BLUE

Thanks for the advice. I picked up a wheeler bubble level and FAT torque wrench. It is mounted now. Just need to take it out and sight it in.


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Why would the range ban FMJ?? It is a copper jacket not steel, more penetration on flesh than soft point or JHP but on a steel backing, rubber in front, I really do not think there is any real difference or "excessive" damage. What is there backing made of??

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I BACK OUR BLUE

The backing is made of dirt. They are outdoor ranges that ban them. They are afraid that they will go through the berm, or ricochet outside of the range.

I have the level X3,bore sighter, reticle leveler, and still have found them to be off a degree or two because our eye tries to put the horizontal line above or below the line, while vertical tries to line up the vertical lines. I will look for the reference. Enjoy. Be Safe,

__________________
I BACK OUR BLUE

You are kidding right? My 50 with AP will not go through my 8FT berm!! I understand you have to play by their rules! At least you have a place to shoot. Be Safe,

__________________
I BACK OUR BLUE

Yes, clean. Preservative lubricants applied at factory are not suitable for regular use.

Mounting MBUS depends on the eye relief of your scope, height of rings, size of scope, etc. Mount a pair of Troy Micros on a 45 degree mount.

Co-witness schmowitness. Malarkey.

If you want a quick release mount for the scope, I recommend LaRue. If you want cheap, get an NCStar.

I prefer a red dot or holo on mine with a flip to side magnifier. But magnification is rarely necessary and you want to develop marksmanship with irons. Magpul is cheap and fine, but I buy Troy. The Magpul might melt on your gas block if you fire a lot, but most people dont. Magpul has some new metal sights.

My preference is to keep the weapon compact and light.

You can mount it yourself but you have to be careful. You can buy a professional reticle leveling system or just use a cheap level set from Home Depot and a known 90 degree on the wall. Part of the fun of owning weapons is learning to do stuff yourself. Just be prepared to either be very patient and careful, buy tools, and make mistakes. Worth it as far as im concerned, but money isnt a concern for me.

pgamboa, I have the P223 with Nikon rings set up on PSA rifle. Could not use rear Mbus sight so removed. I shoot at max around 100 yds with my set up and it is quite accurate at that distance, scope had good eye relief, zeroes easily, and seems to have good clarity. Hope you enjoy your set up. zorro49

At the very least, you should run a dry or very lightly oiled patch or bore snake through the bore before you fire a new rifle. That'll get rid of any machining chips or abrasive dirt that might have been left in the bore at the factory.

As for a cleaning and re-lube throughout, that should be done before you fire a lot of rounds, but failure to do so isn't likely to do any harm if you're just panting to squeeze off a few from your new rifle. Any new rifle generally might come bone dry, or it might have who-knows-what on it, as a shipping preservative. But probably not the best long-term lube for protection from wear and best functioning. What is the best? Ask a dozen guys, get two dozen answers. Whole 'nother subject there.

Regarding installing a scope and BUIS together:
You will probably find that scope mount rings directly on the rail leave the scope too low for comfortable shooting. Many end up installing a "riser rail" between the built-in rail on the upper receiver and the scope rings (permanent or QD rings). Depending on your face shape/shooting position of choice and the eyepiece size/eye relief of your scope, an "offset" riser rail (extends the mounting rail further forward than the rail on your upper receiver) might solve both the problem of fitting the BUIS on the rail behind the scope, AND finding a full field of view in your scope.

G'luck with your setup, sounds nice.

Yes clean the heck out of it. Most rifles ship with a compound that is meant to keep the gun from rusting. They don't know how long it will sit on the shelf or whatever. They want the customer to get a rifle that is not rusting etc.

You should pull out the BCG, tear it apart and clean that gunk off of it. Clean the barrel as well. Lube it up good, really good, almost dripping. When the rifle is new it can take a few rounds to break it in. Where the bolt head meats the barrel is where its going to do the most rubbing. It can be tight when its new. Lube....lube....lube. After about 200 rounds it should be broken in.

As far as the scope vs red dot...etc. Most people will experiment until they figure things out. In my opinion you need to figure our the purpose of the rifle then build to that. I would not, even with good Larue QD mounts, swap out a red dot and a scope. I have a separate upper with a scope on it. I have a dedicated upper with a red dot (Eotech) and a dedicated upper with a 3x9 Nikon scope on it.

Personally anything up to 200 yards I use my red dot. Its much more versitale to me. I hit 8 inch steel plates at 200 in a supported position. I would only want a scope for precision at that range, or for longer ranges.

I would highly suggest learning iron sights first. Get them dialed in. My preference is a 50/200 meter with my irons/red dot, 100 meter zero with my scope. I only really use the scope for hunting and lately I just use the Eotech.

Thanks for all the comments, suggestions and advice everyone! I surely appreciate it.

Here is a shot of a new Bushnell 3-12x40 scope with the same Nikon P-223 Rings. Has anyone mounted their scope this way? It looks kind of odd to me with the rings inverted rather than the same direction.

This scope has a longer tube base than the Nikon P-223 scope and combine that with rail space only leaves me with this configuration.





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I don't like the way that looks. I think you'll find keeping zero difficult. A bump will rock the scope rather than let it flex a little parallel to the barrel.

Is there any chance you can find a non cantilevered rear ring that has the same height as the nikon ring?

I have the Bushnell 3-9,and those rings fit that scope just fine in the normal orientation.

Well...So much for some range time tonight with the rifle. Rifle bay was closed for remodeling . Ended up plinking with 15-22, SR22 and XDM 9mm. Son wasn't entirely sad as we blew through 500rds of .22 and about 200rds of 9mm. More importantly, father/son bonding. Will look for another range later this week.