How do you shoot your M&P15 or other AR15?

[WVSig]

So I like hanging out here and talking AR15s like the MP&15 series and other AR15s.

I see a lot of the same questions over and over again. What red dot, what ammo, 3X scope vs red dot, sight picture, co-witness etc...

What is often missing from these posts is how people are shooting their AR15 rifle. Are they shooting off hand, from a bench, in competition, 3 gun, shooting for fun, shooting with their life on the line, shooting for a score, hunting etc....

I personally think the answer to the questions often asked change greatly based on "how" you are shooting your AR15. Shooting for fun plinking steel requires different tools than shooting when your life is on the line. I personally like to know what the "purpose" or "goal" the OP has in mind when they are considering their options. For example a red dot is not the best tool for the job if you most of your shooting is varmint hunting at 500 yards off hand. It is not IMHO a precision shooting tool.

So I wanted to ask a poll question. How do you shoot your AR15? I made the poll allow for multiple choices from a single user.

I think it might help the forum to know how people are using their AR15 so we can give better advice to the most common questions.

 

[petepeterson]

I'll start...

My GF and I shoot her AR (I usually use my Mini-14 when we're shooting for beers) off-hand at 25, 50, and 100 yds. She's new, but found out how much more accurate you can be with a rifle than a pistol, so she really enjoys it.
We're open-sight folks, so out past 100 gets a little tough on the eyes, unless you keep increasing the target size!

 

[cyphertext]

I marked shooting from bench out to 300, off hand out to 300, and hunting. Me and my friends will "compete", but it is for bragging rights, not money other than maybe beer money. I also like to do run and gun type shooting, but don't get to do that often since my in-laws sold their land.

Primarily use a red dot on my AR, as I am not trying to shoot small groups... my hunting is on hogs, within 75 yards typically. It is more eradication than hunting though, where a hit on multiple hogs is what I am after. At our old deer lease, we were on strict orders from the land owner to shoot every one of the hogs we saw.

 

[lrrifleman]

Hi, great poll!

I have been an active high power competitor since 1988. From 1988 to the close of match season 2006, I was an active service rifle shooter, having used an M1MkII, an M1A, then an AR15A2 HBAR Match Target, after using an M1903A3NM to learn the game. My life, and shooting style, charged in May 2007 after I was involved in a MVA that left me disabled.

Beginning in 2011, when I was physically able to resume my shooting adventures, I built a long range capable AR for F class matches. I now shoot an AR in F T/R matches at 600 yards, with the possibility of stretching that to 1000 yards.

 

[MichiganScott]

I have been an active high power competitor since 1988. From 1988 to the close of match season 2006, I was an active service rifle shooter, having used an M1MkII, an M1A, then an AR15A2 HBAR Match Target, after using an M1903A3NM to learn the game. My life, and shooting style, charged in May 2007 after I was involved in a MVA that left me disabled.

Very close to my own story except I blew out my back in 2013 and ended up in a wheelchair. Four surgeries corrected it enough that I can hobble around with a cane. I'm relatively pain free but simply can't move very well.

I use a M&P15 5.56 for positional practice for hunting and one in 6.8 SPC for hunting deer.

 

[fyimo]

I have 3 AR-15's and one of them is a S&W Sport 2. I take them to the range and I shoot them at 50 and 100 yards. At our range 100 yards is the max distance I can shoot. I haven't hunted with any of my AR-15's yet but I do plan on varmint hunting with them in the future. Two of my AR-15's have Nikon P223 3x9x40mm scopes on them and the 3rd one has a Nikon 2x7x32mm scope on it.

 

[WVSig]

Great responses so far...

 

[EPWrangler]

I plan on hunting with my 300blk. With supersonic out of a 16 barrel.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[sgtsandman]

Can't hunt with it, so basically range shooting from the bench or off hand.

 

[Rastoff]

I checked "Train and shoot because my life is on the line because of your profession." However, the reason I checked it is probably not what you were shooting for when you made the poll.

I'm a self-defense guy. So, I train and practice to use the gun for self-defense. I'm not a police officer or on active duty for the military. I am a USAF civilian employee and we've been specifically singled out by at least three terrorist organizations as intentional targets. So, yeah, I may not carry a gun for my job, but my job has put me in a class of people who are targets. (Plus there isn't a category for self-defense.)

 

[Rick_A]

One is mostly an informal target rifle.

One is mostly a plinker (22lr).

One is mostly an indoor range blaster.

Another is mostly a home defense tool.

Another is in the works and will mostly be a close range iron sight practice gun (9mm).

I used to think one AR could do it all, but that'd be like picking one revolver.

 

[C J]

I bought my Sport as a HD weapon. i realize that many here will be quick to tell me that was a mistake but I don't think so. If it goes boom when you pull the trigger (and every time thereafter) it works well enough for HD. I don't train because it's my profession but I do train for SD because I think it's a good idea. And I don't do nearly as much of that as I once did. My health also took a turn for the worse a few years back.

I do love long range plinking and target shooting (informal only because I am not up to shooting competition even though I came very close to getting into 600 yard matches at a local club. But that's when my health finally got me out of that frame of mind.

I still shoot 500 yards or so when I can. But it isn't with my Sport. I have a .223 Savage 12 LRPV that is very close to being identical to the F Class Savage rifles built specifically for that sport. The only differences are my barrel is slightly shorter and the stock is different. Many in the Savage community will say the 26" barrel is actually better than the 30" barrels on the Savage F Class rifles because of balance issues. My Savage has a 1:9 twist rate and I've done a good bit of shooting at 500 yards with it. I got to where I could consistently shoot 4"-5" groups at that distance as long as the wind wasn't really bad. Heavier bullets were better for that reason (the wind). I use 75 gr. bullets for shooting that distance although my best group was actually shot with 52 gr. bullets. The wind was nil that day and everything came together just right and a passing fairy sprinkled dust on my rifle and I shot a 1" group at 500 yards. It was only one though and I don't expect to do it again.

I had to move away from my home club and getting involved in the local club proved too much for my health. So my shooting is limited at long distances now. I did manage to shoot a target at 125 yards with my Savage not long ago. I had not shot it more than twice in the previous year (which stinks). I managed this 4 shot group once I walked the bullets in to get zeroed. I only shot 10 rounds and this was the last 4.

I do practice shooting my Sport some. There are coyotes around but they are wary of me ever since I had one dead in my sights at 150 yards. I had the Savage 12 in my hands setting it up to shoot that distance when the coyote appeared. I didn't have a bullet with me though. The coyote looked at me and must have realized it was in danger, or would have been if I had a bullet. because it took off and I haven't seen it again in 2 years. Other people have seen it though along with it's mate. I hope to get a shot at both before long and I hope to nail both of them with my Sport. The Savage is a single shot which limits it's ability to get more than one varmint at a time (depending on what type of varmint I'm shooting I guess.) My Sport does shoot pretty accurate. It's not like my Savage of course but few rifles are. It's much better than I worried it might be. I'm very happy with it. I should have no trouble nailing a coyote at 150 yards, which is about the limit I have for distance here at the house.

 

[SWMP15Pks]

If I could I would check more than one box, but I just went with the most common purpose for the gun in my house. I shoot offhand or bench for practice to get good - really good - at hitting what I am aiming at at any distance and for any purpose.

.223 is much cheaper than my 300 Win-mag or the 7mm mag to practice with, yet allows me to play with 200+ meter range grouping. the .22LR or .17 wouldn't really be very viable for that where I live, the wind is usually 15+.

Most of my shooting is at a close by spot that allows me 100 yards max. I shoot offhand standing, prone, sitting, kneeling, and moving. Bench or rest shooting I do sitting or prone. I just got my Harris 9-13inch, and am excited about seeing my prone groups with it.

I practice with my .270 at 250 yards, and on my portable bench (a white plastic folding table from W-Mrt. and my popcorn filled pillow cases, my best groups were under an inch on a no wind day. Usually I'm running 2-3 inches. I don't reload - yet - so I'm pretty happy with that. I am excited about getting out and doing the same thing with my M&P 15 PSX and see what kind of groups I can throw at those distances.

All of my distance shooting up until I got my AR's has been with magnified optics, 4-16x50 Leupold duplex, 3-9x40 Bushnell (made in USA I believe in 1960)standard X, and both on an imported .270 Interarms Mauser. (I don't think I've felt a better bolt action) I've set up one of my ARs to have both a 3-9x40 Nikon and the MBUS pro Offsets, and another with a (future) red dot and open Mbus Poly MBUS to allow me to plink at my 250 yard location with open sights and see how many hits I can put in a xxxx can on a stick... I can't wait to run over there soon.

I will hunt some white-tail this year, as well as some hogs on a buddies farm south of me. I am supremely confident in the weapons ability to humanely harvest game with a decent shooter at the controls.

Maybe one of these days I'll have enough extra cash to go buy 500 rds of .300Wmag or 7MMmag and see just how good they are. Until then, I'll get to play with my ARs and run through a few thousand rounds for that kind of money; And have enough left over my 12 year old son can show me up... but that's another story.

 

[WVSig]

99 Votes. Any other thoughts?

 

[Kadonny]

I chose bench even though I like offhand too. Can I vote twice? Nope, I can't.

I've done some tactical shoots and they were a blast, but those are more for fun that true competition....at least the ones at are range are, so my vote stays the same.

 

[WVSig]

I chose bench even though I like offhand too. Can I vote twice? Nope, I can't.

I've done some tactical shoots and they were a blast, but those are more for fun that true competition....at least the ones at are range are, so my vote stays the same.

Actually I think the polls lets you pick more than one option that is why there are more than 102 answers. LOL

 

[otisrush]

I almost always shoot from the bench - with the goal of shooting tight groups - within reason. (I say "within reason" to mean if I can have a load that does 1 MOA I'm happy. I don't chase sub-MOA.) I also reload, so I really enjoy trying different loads and seeing what the gun can accomplish (using 2 bags) and then seeing what I can do using only 1 bag.

Overall (shooting an AR or not) when shooting rifles, I like the challenge of shooting well - the sequence of sight picture, breathing and trigger pull. I try to make it a "Zen" thing.....getting in the groove of shooting well.

OR

 

[Hotshot9]

I plan on hunting with my 300blk. With supersonic out of a 16 barrel.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I plan on doing the same. Changing the upper to 300 BLK Out and adding a scope. Still looking for a scope. And I also go to our state park shooting range and shoot from 25yrds to 100yrds that is the max they offer. I really never plan on shooting over 100yrds at this point.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

You left out the non-professional self-defense category, so the poll, in my opinion, is skewed. That's the primary purpose of most of my AR15s, held in reserve in case we ever have total societal breakdown.

I do have some I use for hunting and practice (aka plinking). Would like to get a couple more, especially a DCM model, before the liberals here attempt a ban in early 2017.

 

[WVSig]

You left out the non-professional self-defense category, so the poll, in my opinion, is skewed. That's the primary purpose of most of my AR15s, held in reserve in case we ever have total societal breakdown.

I do have some I use for hunting and practice (aka plinking). Would like to get a couple more, especially a DCM model, before the liberals here attempt a ban in early 2017.

Of course the poll is skewed it is purly for entertainment LOL. Non-professional self defense is a use of your AR15 but in my view if that is your use you are more than likely shooting offhand, prone or from a bench position under 500 yards so it would be covered by the poll. At least that was my intention. I guess I could have had a category training in a non-professional setting to defend yourself.

Holding a AR15 in reserve for when the SHTF is not "how you shoot your AR15". It might be why you own an AR15.