Lab4Us
Professional
Enough of the icy nonsense had resolved itself by 10 am this morning that I headed to the range (indoor sadly, still need to drive out to outdoor range and see what they can do for me rifle-wise and if I want to maintain two annual memberships). That probably won’t happen until later in the Spring.
One each Springfield Armory Hellion 16” 5.56 Bullpup rifle
20 x PMC Bronze .223 Remington 55g FMJ-BT - 2900 FPS
20 x Federal American Eagle XM .223 Remington 55g FMJ - 3240 FPS
20 x PMC X-TAC 5.56mm 55g FMJ-BT - 3120 FPS
50 x Fiocchi Range Dynamics 5.56 NATO 55g FMJ - 3240 FPS
3 x 30 round PMAGs Gen M3
2 x 20 round PMAGs Gen M3
Various safety equipment and oil, oil, oil (of which I didn’t need to use any)
After having ammo inspected by range staff (apparently they have issues with some not following rules - imagine that), which went pretty quick since I bought it there last week
, I grabbed two targets, hit the range and unpacked.
Loaded up a 20 rounder with PMC X-TAC 5.56 FMJ and started working on sighting in the Vortex Red Dot. First five rounds not so great, very low and spread out (be kind, 25 years at least since I fired a rifle). Did a quick manual look up online to see how to adjust elevation and windage. WAGed some adjustments and fired 5 more AND focused a bit harder on grip, stance, and rifle fundamentals. Still a bit low (some still very low) and spread more than I liked. WAGed a bit more elevation and fired 5 more. FINALLY all in the blue - but low
. One more WAG elevation adjustment and fired off final 5 in the magazine - woo hoo. Hit what I was shooting at! This was all standing, no rest, no leaning on lane walls.
Thinking I had the dot zeroed as I liked (for 15 yd indoor range), I loaded up another magazine with 20 rounds of Federal American Eagle XM .223 Remington FMJ and began working on the top blue 20. Hmmm…off the the right a bit. Thinking it might have been an issue moving from 5.56 zero to firing .223 Remington, I went ahead and did a WAG windage adjustment since my next 20 were also going to be .223 Remington. Next 20 rounds of PMC Bronze .223 Remington FMJ-BT went into the bottom right blue as kind of a Mag dump…each round soon as red dot on target with controlled trigger press. Thought I did okay.
Time to change targets and finish off with the 50 rounds of Fiocchi Range Dynamics 5.56 NATO. 30 rounds into one magazine, 20 rounds into other 30 round magazine that hadn’t been used yet. It was time for VITAL DUDE! Since even I knew a 3yd start would be ridiculous, I moved him out to 7 yards to try the shoulders. First five attempts were into his right shoulder - uh oh. Since I didn’t want to mess with more dot adjustments, figured I’d just move him out to 15 yards and shoot the rest there. Next five were into his left shoulder, but landed in clavicle, plus I did 10 rounds into the center (at least that’s where I aimed).
Sigh, since I moved back to 5.56, figured I better do some more WAG elevation/windage adjustments. Made them and tried another 10 rounds. Still a bit low, but much better centered.
One final elevation WAG before the final 10 rounds. Success! Happy with hits with 5.56 NATO. I have a resupply of 5.56 NATO inbound from TargetSportsUSA and that’s what I’ll be using going forward. I only tried the .223 because like with all guns, I wanted to see how it handled a variety of ammo. Further thoughts on Hellion below.
I am quite pleased with this firearm. Fit and finish seem spot on and during my pre range disassembly and cleaning I found no blemishes. Upon reassembly there were no unexpected rattles, and the same held true during firing.
With stock all the way inserted, it was very easy to hold on target (though I quickly remembered that a PITA is was to use a rifle with a headset). The Vortex red dot that came with the gear up package remained solidly in place using recommended torques and zero locktite.
I lubricated IAW Springfield’s manual and added a bit to the charging handle and underside of bolt before I went to the range…working it in 5-6 times. There were zero lubrication issues during firing.
There were no malfunctions with any of the ammo I used on this trip and it all burned very clean (at least I thought so based on the amount of smoke I get out of some handgun ammo).
I haven’t tried to clean it yet, so I don’t yet know if today’s 110 rounds loosened up the trigger pack fitment enough to remove it.
I AM looking forward to getting my resupply of 5.56 ammo and trying again. I AM also starting to consider if I might now need a TRADITIONAL AR-15
. You know, to see if I can shoot it!
One each Springfield Armory Hellion 16” 5.56 Bullpup rifle
20 x PMC Bronze .223 Remington 55g FMJ-BT - 2900 FPS
20 x Federal American Eagle XM .223 Remington 55g FMJ - 3240 FPS
20 x PMC X-TAC 5.56mm 55g FMJ-BT - 3120 FPS
50 x Fiocchi Range Dynamics 5.56 NATO 55g FMJ - 3240 FPS
3 x 30 round PMAGs Gen M3
2 x 20 round PMAGs Gen M3
Various safety equipment and oil, oil, oil (of which I didn’t need to use any)
After having ammo inspected by range staff (apparently they have issues with some not following rules - imagine that), which went pretty quick since I bought it there last week
, I grabbed two targets, hit the range and unpacked.Loaded up a 20 rounder with PMC X-TAC 5.56 FMJ and started working on sighting in the Vortex Red Dot. First five rounds not so great, very low and spread out (be kind, 25 years at least since I fired a rifle). Did a quick manual look up online to see how to adjust elevation and windage. WAGed some adjustments and fired 5 more AND focused a bit harder on grip, stance, and rifle fundamentals. Still a bit low (some still very low) and spread more than I liked. WAGed a bit more elevation and fired 5 more. FINALLY all in the blue - but low
. One more WAG elevation adjustment and fired off final 5 in the magazine - woo hoo. Hit what I was shooting at! This was all standing, no rest, no leaning on lane walls.Thinking I had the dot zeroed as I liked (for 15 yd indoor range), I loaded up another magazine with 20 rounds of Federal American Eagle XM .223 Remington FMJ and began working on the top blue 20. Hmmm…off the the right a bit. Thinking it might have been an issue moving from 5.56 zero to firing .223 Remington, I went ahead and did a WAG windage adjustment since my next 20 were also going to be .223 Remington. Next 20 rounds of PMC Bronze .223 Remington FMJ-BT went into the bottom right blue as kind of a Mag dump…each round soon as red dot on target with controlled trigger press. Thought I did okay.
Time to change targets and finish off with the 50 rounds of Fiocchi Range Dynamics 5.56 NATO. 30 rounds into one magazine, 20 rounds into other 30 round magazine that hadn’t been used yet. It was time for VITAL DUDE! Since even I knew a 3yd start would be ridiculous, I moved him out to 7 yards to try the shoulders. First five attempts were into his right shoulder - uh oh. Since I didn’t want to mess with more dot adjustments, figured I’d just move him out to 15 yards and shoot the rest there. Next five were into his left shoulder, but landed in clavicle, plus I did 10 rounds into the center (at least that’s where I aimed).
Sigh, since I moved back to 5.56, figured I better do some more WAG elevation/windage adjustments. Made them and tried another 10 rounds. Still a bit low, but much better centered.
One final elevation WAG before the final 10 rounds. Success! Happy with hits with 5.56 NATO. I have a resupply of 5.56 NATO inbound from TargetSportsUSA and that’s what I’ll be using going forward. I only tried the .223 because like with all guns, I wanted to see how it handled a variety of ammo. Further thoughts on Hellion below.
I am quite pleased with this firearm. Fit and finish seem spot on and during my pre range disassembly and cleaning I found no blemishes. Upon reassembly there were no unexpected rattles, and the same held true during firing.
With stock all the way inserted, it was very easy to hold on target (though I quickly remembered that a PITA is was to use a rifle with a headset). The Vortex red dot that came with the gear up package remained solidly in place using recommended torques and zero locktite.
I lubricated IAW Springfield’s manual and added a bit to the charging handle and underside of bolt before I went to the range…working it in 5-6 times. There were zero lubrication issues during firing.
There were no malfunctions with any of the ammo I used on this trip and it all burned very clean (at least I thought so based on the amount of smoke I get out of some handgun ammo).
I haven’t tried to clean it yet, so I don’t yet know if today’s 110 rounds loosened up the trigger pack fitment enough to remove it.
I AM looking forward to getting my resupply of 5.56 ammo and trying again. I AM also starting to consider if I might now need a TRADITIONAL AR-15
. You know, to see if I can shoot it!
Perhaps everyone has a different cheek weld that affects the sights. 
