What to do to Bushmaster?

Y

yotenighthunter

New member
I recently bought a Bushmaster Varminter and was wondering what some of you AR-15 guys would do to this stock gun to make is shoot better and last longer and just make it an all around better quality gun. This is my very first AR-15 and I'm not sure where to start or what to do besides a nice after market trigger. Thanks for all your help and opinions.
YNH
 
The things I have done to my varmiter are;
Added a length to the stock
Adjusted the trigger (varmiter is adjustable)
Put a standard AR Trigger spring in it
Shot every .223 and 5.56 factory ammo to find what it liked
Put in a wedge (just to keep it quiet)
Put in a "gapper"
Installed new springs all the way through it. (havent noticed any difference there)
Put on and took off a Muzzle break (very loud)
Wrapped it in Bear Tooths camo
Put a decent scope on it
Put on front harris legs

Its a fun rifle to shoot. Goes every where with me.
 
I didn't know the trigger was adjustable on the Varminter model. Bushmaster must have upgraded them since my friend purchased one a few years ago. If by chance yours is not adjustable you really should consider an aftermarket trigger. Stock ones, at least the early models, suck.

I also made up a set of shooting sticks and removed my bipod, the shooting sticks work much better for me.

Consider a good sling and sight and you are set.
 
HI YNH,
The first thing I would recommend is put a J-P trigger in it or if you want to spend the money a Milazzo or Jewell. Adjustment not that good on Varminter.

Next, shoot all the rounds to see what shoots best?
I would recommend the Win. 40gr. BST's first as they seem to shoot very well in all the AR's I have shot them in.

Then, put a top quality scope on it. You can't shoot what you can't see.

The only other item would be a Tubb Recoil Spring
(www.zediker.com) This takes away that whine sound out of your ear when the gun cycles.
 
Hi Yotenighthunter,

I purchased a Bushy V-Math a couple months ago. I may replace the trigger down the road but personally I think the factory one is fine unless you shoot competition. Just get out and find the load that yours likes and you'll be fine without spending the money on a new trigger. I found a load that easily shoots sub 1" groups with the gun straight out of the box. I had most groupings around 3/4" with some better than that. I simply put a Nikon Monarch scope, Bipod and camo and it was ready to go. Good luck with yours.

Steve
 
Okay first off, I am an AR-NUT. I collect, build, and customize all mine (about 6).

The nice thing about the rifle you purchased from bushy is the fact that most of what you bought already lends itself to the task you purchased it for. Bushmaster already customized the rifle pretty well for the task your are using it for.

They already gave you the ergo-pistol grip, free-floated the barrel, and gave you the BMAS scope mini-risers.

My suggestions to you would be to put your scope on the rifle WITHOUT the risers first, and see if the scope fits. The idea here is to get the scope as close to the barrel as possible to keep your line of sight as close to the bore-line as possible, allowing you to accuratly shoot further with minimal effort.

If you have a huge honkin' scope, I would go ahead and use the risers, but try it both ways and see which one feels the best. But the optimal scope placement is without the risers.

Another thing that you can do is to get your lower a little lighter. This is a personal preference though. I like my rifles to be as light as possible. (my hunting carbine is 3 lbs unloaded).

The best way to lose the weight in the lower is to purchase a new stock. Bushmaster is selling the ACE Skeleton Stock right here. It costs $120, but if weight is a concern on your part in the least, it is well worth it. (To be honest, it is the best customization I have made to any of my firearms.) It gives you the exact same cheek weld that you have with the regular A2 stock (the on ethat came with your varminter), but is has a foam padding instead of metal or plastic. This foam is good for two reasons. Your cheek doesn't freeze in cold weather, and the sweat on your face doesn't make you slip around in hot weather. It aslo acts as a shock absorber for the recoil.

*But the .223 doesn't have any recoil*

When your are shooting a .223 out of a 24" barrel, it is going about twice the speed of the same cartridge coming out of a 16" barrel. You will definitly feel some recoil.

AMMO-
You would be best at finding a weight of 55-62 gr for the 1-9" twist that you have with the varminter.

I was witness to a ballistics seminar that (among other things) explained twist rate as it related to bullet weight.

1-12" twist = 50-55 grn
1-9" twist= 55-62 grn
1-7" twist= 62-69 grn

This has served me well, and I would recommend it without reservation.

Your best bet would be to get a few hundred rounds of 55 grn (it is the most common), and practice.

I use this round religously, and have NEVER had a problem with it. It is also the cheapest I have found. AIM Surplus, South African Surplus 55grn. (words from the wise, DO NOT USE OLYMPIC AMMUNITION OR SELLIOR & BELLIOT AMMUNITION)

A good place to find out more about your firearm. as well as ask any questions, is here- AR15.com. My name is -UHLEK-, and there are some VERY knowledgable people there. They are actually the ones that told me about this place.

And here is EVERYTHING you EVER wanted to know about the .223.

I hope this helps.

Email me if you have any other questions-
k_leraas@hotmail.com

-UHLEK-
 
Yotenighthunter,

I fought with my bushy varminter for 6 months before finally finding the right combination of powder and bullet. I just wasn't satisfied with 2" groups and kept working at it. I finally got 40 grain vmax shooting .468 inches and 55 grain Hornady SPSX shooting .238". It took some time though. I came to the conclusion the gun is rather finnicky as it wouldn't shoot any factory ammo under 1". Keep at it and you'll come upon the right combination.
 
Quote:

When your are shooting a .223 out of a 24" barrel, it is going about twice the speed of the same cartridge coming out of a 16" barrel. You will definitly feel some recoil.

I've crono'd many rounds through both my 24" AR and my 16" and I've never seen more than a 250 fps loss from my 16" barrel. In some really really long range shooting 250 fps can make a difference. The ranges I'm shooting, under 300 yards, it doesn't. I like the shorter barrel.
 
Let's not get too far away from reality here. A 9" twist is optimum for the 69MKs, as proven by several thousand match shooters. It even usually works with the 70VLDs. The 75VLDs are iffy with a 9", may or may not work. A 8" twist is quite able to handle the 80VLDs. Any more twist just makes blow-ups happen sooner.

KY-23 has a good grip on velocity vs barrel length.

Jack
 
If a 24ih barrel will shoot twice as fast as a 16in barrel I want a 32in barrel on mine.But Im wondering will the bullet leave the barrel so fast that theres not enough gas to cycle the action?
 
I swear !!! some people must type faster than they can read, make that twice as fast!! please proof read your post so as not to embarrass yourself
 
I have to agree with KY-23. I have 16", 20" and 24" ARs and used to regularly run my .223 loads through a chrony. Velocity will not double from a 24" barrel vs a 16". It's been awhile since I've done it but if I remember right I would take a load that was running 3200 fps out of my 20" and it would run around 3000fps out of my 16" and a hair over 3400 fps out of my 24". I switch between the 24" and 16" AR for calling. I do notice a performance difference between the two with a hollow point anyway. The small increase in velocity does seem to make the bullet behave differently when it hit's it's target. The 24" seems to hit harder than the 16". Closer to my 22-250. Little more "lift" on the groundhogs and a little more punch on a coyote.

Those numbers sound right Jack? I want to say it worked out to about 50 fps per inch of barrel? I could be wrong though. It's been awhile and I'm certain I have Alzheimer's. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Do any of you guys remember when the DC shooters were doing their thing and the talking head "expert" on the news said the .223 had an effective range of 6,000 meters? How do you think they got that range? Velocity, no doubt! They must have been using a 40" barrel on that Bushmaster. Mystery solved!
 
Curt
50fps per inch seems reasonable. Maybe a touch on the high side for a 223. But a lot depends on the powder and bullet. Slower powders and heavy bullets benefit more from longer barrels than fast powders and light bullets.

Jack
 
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