Range Report – Spikes Dedicated .22AR (Dial-up warning)

[lovemywoods]

Introduction:

A friend dropped off a new Spikes .22 upper on a Rick River Arms lower for me to check out.

The goals for this range work were:
-- Check the overall function of the rifle.
-- Determine best ammo type based on precision and reliability
-- Break-in the rifle in preparation for the owner to shoot in FNS and other competitions
Best of all, my friend even provided some ammo….what a guy!


Here’s a glamour shot of the rifle:

(Photo by Jenn of ‘His Kids’)


The rifle has a 16” Lothar Walther barrel, 1:16 twist; YHM lightweight rail and is outfitted with Troy flip-up iron sights. It has a Magpul ACS stock and a 2-stage trigger (very nice!). Black Dog Machine magazines were used, both the 15 and 30 round varieties. I also ran one of my CMMG conversion magazines with no problems.


Front sight

(Photo by Jenn of ‘His Kids’)



Rear sight

(Photo by Jenn of ‘His Kids’)


The bolt has an electroless nickel finish and is very similar in design to the Ceiner and CMMG conversion bolt design except the front of the bolt carrier doesn’t have the .223 casing welded on it. This bolt carrier mates to the breech of the dedicated upper. See the close up of the bolt and breech. The electroless finish is claimed to be smoother thus being more reliable and require less lubrication. I’d have to agree with that assessment.



(Photo by Jenn of ‘His Kids’)



(Photo by Jenn of ‘His Kids’)



(Photo by Jenn of ‘His Kids’)


I gave the rifle a light cleaning before taking it to the range.



Range Time:

Time at the range was spent doing two main activities. One was shooting standard paper plates to determine ammo performance (precision) and the other was just blasting away to work the rifle and check ammo reliability. All rounds were tracked and any stovepipes, failures to feed, or failures of any kind were tracked.

I shot 5 rounds using the large and small rear aperture at 25 yards and quickly determined that the small aperture rear sight gave better results (not a surprise).



I adjusted the windage one click to the right.


I installed a Millett DMS-1 sight and zeroed it with the 4 power setting. I used this optic for the rest of the testing.



I did the rest of the target shooting off the bench at 50 yards. It looked like this:




Here are some of the ammo types I tried.




Here’s a sample picture of the 15 shot groups I was shooting. Later, I did a simple average of the group size by taking two group widths at right angles to one another. If I shot multiple targets with the same ammo, I averaged the averages. (I’d post the spreadsheet but then I’d be opening myself to comments about being a geek or having OCD tendencies!).



I had some stovepipes. Here are two types.

Axial stovepipe.


Casing caught between the bolt and carrier.



I had some double feeds. I also had times when the hammer failed to reset. All errors were tracked and an ‘error rate’ determined for each ammo type.

I cleaned the rifle between range visits. It was moderately dirty around the breech and bolt, but otherwise not bad. The barrel was surprisingly clean.

During the second range trip, I added some other ammo varieties. Here’s a sample of the targets.




Conclusions:

This rifle was fun to shoot! The two stage trigger was crisp without being too light.

The iron sights are easily accurate beyond the distance that my eyes are accurate. The smaller of the two apertures provides the most accurate results. The sights are very well built and rugged. The Black Dog magazines ran without issue.

The hammer spring was very strong. I believe this contributed to the times the hammer wouldn’t reset. Between range sessions, I moved one leg of the hammer spring from its resting place on the trigger pin and let it rest on the bottom of the lower receiver. This helped considerably.


Ammo Reliability Rankings:
This is a ranking based on all errors noted (jams, stovepipes, doublefeeds, etc.)

High (zero errors):
CCI ‘Mini-Mag’ HP
Winchester ‘333’ bulk
Winchester ‘Wildcat’
Winchester ‘Xpert HV’

Medium (1.1 – 1.5% error rate):
CCI ‘Mini-Mag’
CCI ‘Blazer’
Winchester ‘Super-X’
Federal Value Pack

Low (7.4-8.0% error rate):
American Eagle
Federal ‘Champion’



Ammo Precision Rankings:
This is a ranking based on the group size of targets shot.

High (< 1.2” groups):
CCI 'Mini-Mag'

Medium (1.6 – 2.2” groups):
CCI ‘Mini-Mag’ HP
Winchester 333 Bulk
Winchester ‘Xpert HV’
Winchester ‘Super-X’
American Eagle
Federal ‘Champion’

Low (2.4 – 3.0” groups):
CCI ‘Blazer’
Federal Value Pack

Unacceptable (> 4.0” groups):
Winchester ‘Wildcat’ *

*I ran a second target because I couldn’t believe how poorly this ammo performed. The second target was almost identical!



Ammo Recommendations for This Rifle:

Use These:
CCI 'Mini-Mag'
CCI ‘Mini-Mag’ HP
Winchester 333 Bulk
Winchester ‘Xpert HV’
Winchester ‘Super-X’


Use These If You Can’t Find the Others:
CCI ‘Blazer’
American Eagle
Federal Value Pack
Federal Champion


Don’t Use This:
Winchester ‘Wildcat’ *


I noted that with the exception of the Winchester ‘Wildcat’ ammo, the CCI and Winchester ammos performed better in this rifle than those manufactured by Federal.



Final Comments:
Shooting stuff is fun! Friends who let you shoot their rifles and bring ammo are gems!

Here’s one more glamour shot!

[tyler34]

great report as always and even better pictures. I played with one of the spikes uppers before and about the only negative I have is if you get on the trigger your good shot to stovepipe ratio goes the wrong way. but I would guess this is fairly common in .22 uppers or conversions.

[AirbornePFC]

that is the definition of a range report... wow nice job!

[SavageEagle]

Now I miss mine...

Very nice range report. Was a very interesting read.

[shooter521]

Nice range report, though I had to laugh when I saw a post from you with a "dial-up warning". Shame you can't view your own thread at your own house.

Loved this pic; very DMR-ish.


I recognize that gun from another thread here. I hope can shoot it as well as you did!

[lovemywoods]

Originally Posted by shooter521

Nice range report, though I had to laugh when I saw a post from you with a "dial-up warning". Shame you can't view your own thread at your own house.

If I wait long enough, the pictures will display.

Originally Posted by shooter521

Loved this pic; very DMR-ish.

I don't get it. Enquiring minds want to know!!

[shooter521]

Originally Posted by lovemywoods

I don't get it. Enquiring minds want to know!!

United States Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.S. Marine Corps Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[lovemywoods]

Originally Posted by shooter521

United States Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.S. Marine Corps Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks Shooter! I read the link and now I understand! You've performed your educational duties for today. Sleep well!

[Chefcook]

Very nice +1

[redneckpastor]

problem with feed seems to be common with that upper.... friend of mine had a lot of problems, jamming, mis feeds. might have been the ammo, but as you reported some as well, was it more common with certain ammo or just that caliber .22 is hard for the AR to feed?