CyberSmith's Blog

Ballistix: A rifle ballistics program

2008-11-17T20:52:00.006-05:00

I recently created a rifle ballistics program that is simple to use and has proven to be very accurate. The ballistic calculations are based on the formula's of Arthur Pejsa. If you Google him you will find his website and book on the topic. The topic intrigued me, and because I am a Java guy, I decided to code some things up. Anyhow, all you need is some basic imput information like muzzle velocity, bullet weight, and the bullet coeficient (BC). From there I can tell you your point of impact starting from zero out to over 1000 yards. I can also show you your muzzle velocity, flight path, etc. I even built in a "range card" feature that creates a printable table complete with the number of MOA to adjust your scope. You can find the BC of your bullet by looking on the manufacturer's website. For instance I had some Black Hills .223 Match Ammo. When I looked it up on the website they gave me the muzzle velocity, and spec'd the bullet as a 69gr. Sierra Matchking. I went to Sierra's website, and they provided the BC. I shot this ammo out to 600 yards a few weeks ago, and the program was dead-on. Check it out here: GenXApps.com

AR-15 Field Stripping, Maintenance, and Cleaning

2007-01-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

I created a few video's explaining how to field strip the AR15, as well as the Bolt and Bolt carrier parts for cleaning and inspection.

I uploaded them to YouTube, here they are:

AR-15 Field Strip

AR-15 Bolt Carrier Dissasembly

AR-15 Bolt Carrier Assembly

Connecticut (CT) Gun Laws - in plain english

2007-01-18T18:03:00.000-05:00

In this post I will try and provide my interpretation (in plain English) of the current Connecticut gun laws surrounding the AR-15 type rifle. I am in no way a lawyer, and although I believe these statements to be accurate, you must check with your local authorities before purchasing or obtaining a firearm.

Now that we got the disclaimer stuff out of the way, let's start with a little background information.

We are going to focus on the AR-15 type rifle. Most people will immediately notice it's resemblance to the M-16 automatic rifle like which was carried in Vietnam. The M-16 is an "automatic" rifle . By automatic, we mean you press the trigger and it continues to shoot until you let off, or the ammo runs out. In Connecticut, it is illegal to have an "automatic" weapon of any make or type (see notes for exceptions), it is also illegal to have a weapon which can readily be made into an "automatic" , or to have parts to make a weapon into an "automatic".

The original Colt AR-15 was a "selective fire" rifle (more on that later). Today, several manufacturers produce AR-15 spec rifles with the exception that they are semi-automatic only. In the case of a "semi-automatic" rifle, you squeeze the trigger, and one round is fired. You then need to let off the trigger and re-squeeze it to fire another round. These manufacturer's include:

Colt
Bushmaster
Stag Arms
DPMS
Rock River Arms

In Connecticut, it is also illegal to have a "selective fire" weapon meaning the user can select different firing options including:
Automatic fire (see above)
Burst fire (typically this is a 3 round burst with a single pull of the trigger)
Semi-automatic fire ( one round per squeeze)

Any weapon which allows you to select different firing modes is considered an "assault weapon", and is not legal to have in your possession in CT.

It is also illegal to own any of the following specific firearms determined to be "assault rifles":

Algimec Agmi
Armalite AR-180
Australian Automatic Arms SAP Pistol
Auto-Ordnance Thompson type
Avtomat Kalashnikov AK-47 type
Barrett Light-Fifty model 82A1
Beretta AR-70
Bushmaster Auto Rifle and Auto Pistol
Calico models M-900, M-950 and 100-P
Chartered Industries of Singapore SR-88
Colt AR-15 and Sporter
Daewoo K-1, K-2, Max-1 and Max-2
Encom MK-IV, MP-9 and MP-45
Fabrique Nationale FN/FAL, FN/LAR, or FN/FNC FAMAS MAS 223
Feather AT-9 and Mini-AT
Federal XC-900 and XC-450
Franchi SPAS-12 and LAW-12
Galil AR and ARM
Goncz High-Tech Carbine and High-Tech Long Pistol
Heckler & Koch HK-91, HK-93, HK-94 and SP-89
Holmes MP-83
MAC-10, MAC-11 and MAC-11 Carbine type
Intratec TEC-9 and Scorpion
Iver Johnson Enforcer model 3000
Ruger Mini-14/5F folding stock model only
Scarab Skorpion SIG 57 AMT and 500 series
Spectre Auto Carbine and Auto Pistol
Springfield Armory BM59, SAR-48 and G-3
Sterling MK-6 and MK-7
Steyr AUG
Street Sweeper and Striker 12 revolving cylinder shotguns
USAS-12
UZI Carbine, Mini-Carbine and Pistol
Weaver Arms Nighthawk
Wilkinson "Linda" Pistol

OK, so know we understand that we can't own an automatic or selective fire weapon in CT, so that means we just need to find a semi-auto only version from any of the manufacturer's and we are legal right? Wrong!

We also need to be concerned with some specific banned "features". These features are typically referred to as "pre-ban" features, as they were identified an outlawed in the Federal 1994 Crime Bill. Connecticut lawmakers then passed state law that was based on the 1994 Crime Bill. Although the Federal 1994 Crime Bill has since sunset, the CT laws have not.

What are these "pre-ban" features you ask?

If the rifle has a detachable magazine and a "pistol grip", then it cannot also have any of these features:

a) a folding or telescoping stock
b) a bayonet lug
c) a threaded barrel end
d) a flash suppressor
e) a grenade launcher

This means, that if you want an AR-15 style rifle, by default it will have a detachable magazine, and a pistol grip, therefore you hit the CT legal limit of features on that rifle. Anything else makes it an "assault rifle". That means you can't have that a 6 position tactical stock that collapses, you can't have an upper assembly that has a bayonet lug, flash suppressor, etc.

What can you have? You can have something with "post-ban" features like the AR-15 pictured on my blog. My AR-15 is actually built from a Stag Arms lower receiver, the complete lower was built by Stag Arms, and has the ability to shoot in semi-auto mode only, and came with a stock looks like a tactical telescoping unit, but in fact is fixed. My DPMS upper has a "Bull Barrel" which means it doesn't have any flash suppressor or muzzle break attached. It also doesn't have a bayonet lug, or grenade launcher either, therefore it is legal in CT.

I should mention that you can own an AR-15 with a "muzzle break" which looks a lot like a flash hider, but it must be permanently attached i.e. welded, and not threaded on to the end of the barrel.

A few comments about the exceptions to owning automatic weapons. There was a time in which if you owned an automatic weapon, you could register it with the state and it would still be legal to own to this day. That time has gone, it is now illegal to own one unless it has been properly registered some time ago.

In respect to the exceptions on owning "pre-ban" weapons. It is legal to own a "pre-ban" rifle if and only if it was completely built prior to September 13th 1994. This means the entire rifle as a whole was 100% assembled and complete at this date, in addition you will need paperwork to prove this. There is a large misconception out there, that a person can purchase an AR15 lower that was built prior to September 13th, 1994 and add a pre-ban upper. This is definitely not legal. Owning anything other than a completed rifle built prior to Sept 13th 1994 with these features is not legal. If you do come across a "pre-ban" for sale, you will pay a large premium for the rifle, as well as want to see the documentation proving it was a complete rifle prior to 9/13/1994.

"Camp Blue Trail" at the Range in Wallingford Connecticut

2007-01-15T19:07:00.000-05:00

Today is a holiday. I and a few fellow shooters also had it off, so we decided to go up to Blue Trail Range in Wallingford, CT. We didn't have ideal conditions, as it was in the upper 30's and a light mist fell all day. We came prepared though ... one of my friends had some pop-up canopy's that worked great! We set them up right on the 200 yard firing line.

We had 4 different .223 AR's, an Alexander Arms .50 cal Beowulf upper on an AR-15 lower, and a few other pieces too.

Check out the magazine loaded with the beowulf rounds! The upper takes a standard magazine, which accepts the special .50 caliber round necked down to a .223

I shot some really great groups with my AR. The scope dialed in nicely, even after removing it from the A.R.M.S. # 36 extended rail to clean after my sight-in on Saturday! The A.R.M.S. #22 throw lever rings and rail combination returned the scope to zero within a 1/4 MOA.

I also managed to peg a quarter almost dead center!

Sighting in the Super Sniper on my AR15

2007-01-14T14:26:00.000-05:00

So far I ..

1) Selected the Super Sniper 10x42 scope for my flat-top AR15

2) Decided that the scope wouldn't fit to my liking on the standard flat-top rail

3) Selected the A.R.M.S #36 extended rail and #22 Medium rings to get the right fit

4) Bench mounted and bore sighted the scope

Now for the big day!

I went to the local range and sighted in. It went great!

I put up a standard sight in target (see pic) at 25 yards.

Within 3 groups of 3 shots I was zero'd

I then moved back to 100 yards, and within another 3 groups I was zero'd again.

I was so excited that I drilled each of the four corner targets with 5 shot groups. This setup is amazing!

Lastly I taped up a quarter and took a shot. The first was a tad low and left (likely me), and the second was a hit.

It should be noted that when you are adjusting for windage and elevation on your scope turrets, you can go "up" (clockwise) on any adjustment and stop on the mark you desire. However, if you are going "down" i.e. counter-clockwise, you need to go past the desired setting a few clicks, and come back to it. This is because there is a slight amount of slack in the mechanics of the scope, which can lead to a miss.

Mounting the Super Sniper

2007-01-14T13:55:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine came over Friday evening to help me mount the Super Sniper.

He had all the right tools including a bench vise, levels, and a bore sighter.

We started by leveling the firearm in the vise. We compared the level of the flat-top rail with the A.R.M.S # 36 extender already installed to the barrel itself. Everything looked good, so we proceeded to install the base of the A.R.M.S. # 22 rings and lay the scope in. We then put just the slightest bit of tension on the rings so I could pickup the AR and see if the eye relief was to my liking.

It was close, but we needed to move the scope forward about a 1/4". The AR went back into the vise, where we loosened the rings and moved the scope up. A little bit of tension again, and we removed the rifle and re-checked. The eye relief was perfect this time, so it went back into the vise.

Each time we returned the AR to the vise, we re-leveled and checked the gun. Using the levels we ensured the scope was level front to back, as well as the horizontal reticle line. Without a good gun vise, I think it would be difficult to ensure the latter.

After adding a small drop of Blue loctite to each of the rings screws. I slowly tightened each screw a 1/4 turn at a time. This needs to be done like you would a valve cover on an engine block in an alternating fashion (see figure 1) .

When it was all tightened, we removed the rifle from the base and I re-checked the eye relief and fit. It felt great!

Lastly, we placed the laser bore sighter into the end of the barrel and pointed it at the wall about 20' away.

I held the rifle and looked through the scope. the red dot was a little low and to the left. The elevation has no bearing here, just the windage (left to right). I quickly adjusted the windage knob on the Super Sniper until the laser dot appeared behing the verticle reticle line.

With this final step complete, I am ready to sight-in at the range!

A.R.M.S. #22m rings (30mm) for the AR-15

2007-01-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

I received the A.R.M.S. #22 rings in medium I ordered today. They look real nice, and have a throw lever to secure them. I got them to mount to the A.R.M.S. #36 rail that I also received today. The rings have a real solid feel when the throw lever is locked in place. I don't think these things are going anywhere! I test fit my super sniper 10x22 scope to setup my eye relief and check clearances. Everything looks good! Now I just need to wait for a buddy of mine to help me bench align everything!

A.R.M.S. #36 Extended Rail for the AR-15

2007-01-11T18:14:00.000-05:00

I received an A.R.M.S. #36 extended rail for my flat-top (a3 style) AR-15 today. It came in a bag with the instructions printed on it, an allen wrench, and some loctite. The instructions say you should pull back the charging handle to allow the rail to slip on from the rear of the firearm. I found that I needed to separate the upper and lower and remove the bolt and charging handle to get it on. No big deal, we do that all the time while cleaning right? I also had to lightly "tap" on the extended rail as it was a snug fit. The piece itself is a bit greyer than my all black Stag, but oh well.

A.R.M.S front and rear flip up sites for the AR-15

2007-01-10T16:25:00.000-05:00

I have a set of the flip up front and rear iron sites from ARMS on my AR-15. They are very well built, however I have a few comments for those of you considering them.

1) I originally purchased them with the idea that they would be "backup iron" in case I couldn't use my scope. The reality here is that this isn't that practical. I purchased a flat-top AR for the sole purpose of getting the scope mounted lower i.e. not on top of the carry handle in a typical A2 setup. If I do that, the rings aren't tall enough to see ther iron through.

2) No elevation adjustment on the rear site.

3) You need a special tool to adjust the front site elevation. It is not the typical front site tool.

4) the apeture distances are not the standard distances.

These things aside, they do work well, and fold out of the way when not in use. I am not convinced that they work well in a backup iron scenario, but for close range tactical use, they would probably work great.

Super Sniper AR mounting

2007-01-10T16:14:00.000-05:00

As you can see, there is no way I can get the second ring mounted onto the rail. I've seem plenty of setups like this one, but I am not that comfortable shooting this way.

It looks like I will need a rail extender for my AR to position the scope where I would like it. I want the eye piece to be just forward of the charging handle.

Super Sniper 10x42 Rifle Scope

2007-01-10T15:43:00.000-05:00

I received the Super Sniper 10x42 scope today from SWFA aka riflescopes.com. It came with a set of see through lense covers the one on the eye piece having a yellow tint. I will be mounting this scope on an AR-15 flat top style rifle. I took a series of measurements which I hope will be useful to others for ring and base options. The rail on my AR is 6" long as it is on all other milspec AR types. My goal is to have the back of the eye piece as far forward as possible, because I prefer to have my nose almost touching the charging handle when firing.