Remington R-15

yotekiller04

yotekiller04

New member
I am a die hard bolt gunner but brokedown and bout an r15 and put a nikon m223 on it. I can stack shots at a target but can't hit ANY animal what so ever with it!! Does anyone else have the same problem or know what im doing wrong?!? Im thinking about selling it and just going back to the trusty bolt gun.
 
I have the carbine version with the collapsable stock on it and I have the same problem. I took it rabbit hunting two weeks ago and made quite the mess of jack rabbits but thats the most mine has ever killed.

Being a die hard bolt gun guy as well, I think my personal issue is learning how to shoulder the gun properly and how to get on target comfortably / quickly.

One issue I was facing was that of too high of power on my scope causing a lot of paralax, so I quickly learned that using the 3 or 4 power made my life a lot easier
 
Which version of the R-15 did you get? I'd be interested in hearing your impressions of how the rifle shoulders for you as well
 
I have the vtr rifle. It has a 22" barrel and fixed a2 buttstock. It shoulders great! I don't have a problem with that. The mount made for the nikon m223 is perfect for me. If I had to do it again I would get the one you got just to have a more compact rifle.
 
I have been a bolt guy for 50 years and bought an R-15 three of four years ago for coyote hunting. I, too, have some trouble using the AR in the field. I think the reason is that my 'muscle memory' is so 'set up' for traditional style stocks that the transition to an AR is really rough. It is different, and the difference is significant. As you note, target shooting is not a problem. But quick field shooting is.

At this point, I switch back and forth between my bolt .223 and my AR. I do as well, or better, with the bolt gun. I really thought the AR would improve my kill rate. I never would have thought that I could do better on a running yote with a six-shot bolt action than with a fully loaded AR. But, I can.

I bet some of these younger folks who have shot nothing but AR style rifles have the same problem in reverse. Of interest (at least to me) that when the Army got me in 1971, I had already been shooting for years. Some of this shooting was competetive. The M16 drove me crazy! Especially 'night fire' where you had to shoot instictively. Even then, my muscle memory had an adverse effect on my AR style rifle performance.

I am not getting rid of my R-15, and I still like taking it afield. Maybe someday the coyotes will wish I had brought the bolt gun. Never to old!
 
I was the same way when I bought my first AR. I think it is more of a mental issue than it is the rifle. I tend to take more time to get settled in on the target with the bolt gun than I do with the AR because I know I already have a quick follow up shot with the AR and its going to take me a little longer to get the second shot off with the bolt gun. Once I got over that I really like hunting with the AR better than the bolt gun in certain circumstances.
 
me too, went back to bolt guns. Never could get used to the triggers or the hold. Cant put my finger on why, but just never warmed up to them in the field, and I also hated the sproing sound when firing.
 
One of the things that help me with my AR was to put a lower powered scope on it. It now carries a Leupold 1.5-5x scope on it, where my Sako 75 bolt gun carries a 3.5 to 10 power scope. Field shooting with the lower powered scope immediatey improved my AR performance. I can still shoot a running yote better with my bolt gun, though.
 
AR's have a lower sight plane than do most bolt guns because of the Ar's in-line stock. At least for me, when shooting at running targets, I find myself shooting my rifle more like a shotgun with most of the focus on the target and less on the actual sights. Because of the AR's low sighting plane it makes it difficult to do this because your line of sight is so far above the bore. I struggled with this myself for a while. A good holo/red dot makes this easier and so does keeping both eyes open while looking through your scope at the running animal.

However, when shooting at stationary targets I shoot my AR's better than my bolt guns because my Ar's are actually more accurate and I find it is easier to hold them steady. Getting used to the stock position, I think takes some time.

Lastly, confidense in your rifle makes a huge difference. If your not confident in your rifles ability to shoot (no matter how accurate your rifle really is) it is a huge hinderance in the field. Taking time to shoot smaller animals like squirrels and rabits with my rifles helps me to gain a feel and confidence in my rifles.
 
For most Coyote hunting in my area, the shots will be in the 50-100 yard bracket (sometimes they sneak closer, without me seeing them come in) and I use an EO-Tech on an Elevated Optical Platform...

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As stated in a post above, you have to train yourself to shoot with both eyes open, and it can be a really fast solution to a moving target...
 
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