Remington r-15

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walkerdog

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How many of you guys have one? How do you like it? I've been drooling to get my hands on one for calling purposes but figured maybe id ask some questins and get user opinions before taking the bait and buying one!
 
I've got an R-15 with the 18 inch barrel and it is one very nice shooting rifle. I'm embarrassed to say that it sits in the safe most of the time, because I prefer hunting with bolt rifles. But, I would highly recommend this rifle for anyone that wants an AR style. I did replace the trigger on mine with a Timney, because I didn't care for the factory trigger.
 
The 3 I had were very accurate w/my hand loads from the 40g to 55g vmax, all under an inch or less at 100yds 18" bbl. Sold them all and went back to my bolt guns though.
 
I have the 22" in 204. I really like this rifle. The only problem I've had is it would not feed Winchester 34gr HP, other than that zero issues. It even came with a fairly good trigger. It likes the 32gr Accu-tip which is what it was designed for and works well with Brownell's 20rd mags. I wouldn't be afraid to buy another.
 
I have a R-15 VTR 18" barreled collapsable stock model and one of the new ones with the 16.5" barrel and magpul furniture. Great rifles, you won't go wrong...
 
I have an R25 in 243 and after changing the trigger out to match my other ar's I could not be happier. It will shoot right along side with my bolt gun in 243. I can tell you one thing that I would not shy away from another one.
 
I have an R15 Byron South edition in .223 and love it. It has killed more stuff than any other rifle than I own, from bobcats to a 154" 12 point whitetail. Any factory load I have tried runs from 0.5 - 0.75 MOA. It likes them all. The two stage trigger on the Byron South was pretty good, but not nearly as good as the Gieselle SSA-E that it sports now. Keep in mind that, contrary to most AR's on the market, the .223 version SAAMI chambered for .223, not 5.56. Yes, there is a difference. The chamber throat (or leade) is shorter than in a 5.56 chamber, thus there is a shorter distance before the bullet engages the rifling, thus resulting in better accuracy. You are not supposed to shoot 5.56 military ammo from it.
 
ive had two. My current one has a 3lb timney and shoots a clover leaf group at 100 yds w reloads. Ive been pleased with it. love it in tight quarters in the woods!
 
Originally Posted By: KizmoKeep in mind that, contrary to most AR's on the market, the .223 version SAAMI chambered for .223, not 5.56. Yes, there is a difference. The chamber throat (or leade) is shorter than in a 5.56 chamber, thus there is a shorter distance before the bullet engages the rifling, thus resulting in better accuracy. You are not supposed to shoot 5.56 military ammo from it.

Are the Remington's really 223rem's, and not 223 Wylde's? I didn't know anybody still made an AR chambered with 223 rem SAAMI throats, especially considering that the Rem brothers of DPMS and bushmaster use wyldes.

Definitely something interesting to learn!
 
Originally Posted By: VarminterrorOriginally Posted By: KizmoKeep in mind that, contrary to most AR's on the market, the .223 version SAAMI chambered for .223, not 5.56. Yes, there is a difference. The chamber throat (or leade) is shorter than in a 5.56 chamber, thus there is a shorter distance before the bullet engages the rifling, thus resulting in better accuracy. You are not supposed to shoot 5.56 military ammo from it.

Are the Remington's really 223rem's, and not 223 Wylde's? I didn't know anybody still made an AR chambered with 223 rem SAAMI throats, especially considering that the Rem brothers of DPMS and bushmaster use wyldes.

Definitely something interesting to learn!

Yes, but, at least at the time the R15 was introduced, Bushmaster didn't make a gun with an 18" barrel, so I'm not sure if these are Bushmaster barrels. I've seen this stated in several places, and I have no reason to believe the first poster on THR linked below is lying, so I haven't emailed Remington myself to hear it from the horse's mouth.
Remington R15 chamber
 
Originally Posted By: KizmoOriginally Posted By: VarminterrorOriginally Posted By: KizmoKeep in mind that, contrary to most AR's on the market, the .223 version SAAMI chambered for .223, not 5.56. Yes, there is a difference. The chamber throat (or leade) is shorter than in a 5.56 chamber, thus there is a shorter distance before the bullet engages the rifling, thus resulting in better accuracy. You are not supposed to shoot 5.56 military ammo from it.

Are the Remington's really 223rem's, and not 223 Wylde's? I didn't know anybody still made an AR chambered with 223 rem SAAMI throats, especially considering that the Rem brothers of DPMS and bushmaster use wyldes.

Definitely something interesting to learn!

Yes, but, at least at the time the R15 was introduced, Bushmaster didn't make a gun with an 18" barrel, so I'm not sure if these are Bushmaster barrels. I've seen this stated in several places, and I have no reason to believe the first poster on THR linked below is lying, so I haven't emailed Remington myself to hear it from the horse's mouth.
Remington R15 chamber

Read the response in the 5th post.


Quote:Somewhere buried deep in my files I have a copy that Bushmaster (the actually maker of the R-15) sent indicating the R-15 actually had a hybrid chamber and firing .223 and 5.56 was totally safe. This was probably a more honest answer. Remington's name is stamped on the gun and, in no way, can they recommend firing a cartridge in a rifle if that cartridge is not stamped on the gun.

Just found the e-mail. It was sent to a member of another shooting website concerning the barrel of R-15s:

Hello,

Subject: Chambers

The barrels have a custom match hybrid chambering that uses the tighter .223 SAAMI Spec headspace from the shoulder of the chamber to the bolt face. It has the longer 'leade' or throat that will accommodate the 5.56 ammunition so it can be used without developing higher pressures as in a .223 caliber chamber that have a shorter 'leade' or throat. Both 5.56mm and .223 caliber ammunition can safely be used in the rifles.

The 1:9 twist barrels will stabilize bullets from 40 to 75 grains.

Thank you,

Jim Eden
Technical Support
Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC
Office: 1-800-883-6229 ext. 277
Fax: 207-892-806


Not to mention...I have yet to see a single case of firearm damage or anything from a 5.56 designated round in a 223 Rem chamber. The response from Remington is a bean counter CYA response.
 
More discussion on the subject. Scroll down to the long post. As I inferred above, this appears to be a Remington barrel, not a Bushmaster barrel, else, why would Bushmasters not be available with 18" barrels?

R15 chamber
 
I have a friends son who builds the R-15 rifles. The barrels are from Bushmaster. It's all bushmaster minus the labels.

If really in doubt, cast the chamber. Easy and effective.
 
Master Blaster on here has a R-15 that he can occasionally hit something with. Just depends on how motivated he is not to miss.
 
Rems are most likely all bushy stuff.

The whole chamber thing is a bunch of BS lawyer crap. Iv never seen one blow up. The brass is the weak link in guns. Actions are built to take 20 times the pressure a case makes. Sammi and nato pressures are measured in totally different ways and cannot be compared.
 
I shoot the R-15 in the target match varmiter with the 24 in triangle barrel.this has been the easiest rifle of the 56 i own to get to shoot sub moa.anything i have tried fron 40 grs to 77 grs shoot under 1 moa most under .5 moa trigger was ok replaced with chip mccorrmiks 2.5 lbs one crisp and breaks like glass.these are pricey to buy wished they were avabile 40 years ago.
 
I suppose that I have to admit - it's been many moons since I've shot any 5.56! 223rem is all I shoot, all I have dies for, and all I load. I seat bullets according to my desired jump that my rifles told me that they like, or the length that fits in the mag box - whichever is shorter.

But I'm mostly interested that Remington wouldn't be focused on bringing out a 223 Wylde when they released the R-15's. Whether they actually are a Wylde or not, it seems like it'd be impossible to sell a pure 223rem model in these recent years where "new gunners" are the ones buying up AR's and buying boatloads of surplus 5.56 ammo.
 
I’ve had my Remington R15 VTR since 2010 and use it for target shooting and coyote hunting. It has always been very accurate and I’ve never had a problem with it. I started reloading for it 2 years ago and found Winchester 64 grain Power Points shot just under 1 MOA. I’ve finally been able to start purchasing powder again since the pandemic started. Just loaded up some Sierra 69 grain HPBT’s with Ramshot TAC and got a 0.38” 5-shot group last weekend. Although that is extremely good and better than I hoped I could achieve..... I’m going to see if I can fine tune that load a little further by trying a few different seating depths. Then I’ll load a few hundred and use those for long distance shooting.
I put a Vortex FFP scope on it, a Timney Calvin Elite 1.5 lb. trigger and a rubberized pistol grip on it and have always been very pleased with my R15.
I live on a farm here in MN and have a 100 yard shooting range in my yard & I’ve got 35 acres just down the road with a 400 yard range set up. Can’t wait for the snow to melt so I can test those 69 grain Sierra’s at distance.
 
Old thread here, but, first, welcome aboard KJB. Secondly, those 69's will shoot great out to distance, but if you ever shoot coyotes, I wouldn't recommend the Matchkings at .223 speeds. Been there, bad results. FYI.
 
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