i have had an spr a1 for a number of years. it is only "tactical" rifle i own. got it before i was married and put one of those fixed 10x leupold M3 scopes on it. the trigger was a bit heavy from the factory, but other than that. . . it is just about boring to shoot. different powder combinations print to the same point of impact. 168 and 175 grain sierras shoot the same sized groups. it is an amazing rifle.
folks that say a chrome lined bore won't shoot are wrong. i won't get into the whole thing about groups, but 5 shots will do better than touching one another at 100 yards. you can see head splash on shots out past 250 yards on groundhogs because of the weight of the rifle. the only thing i don't really like is the detachable magazine. it is not intiuitive to load. really is one heck of a rifle. i bought mine through cdnn back when they were cheap, like $1.1k cheap.
Posts: 831 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 28 January 2005
fish, you might as well give it a try if you have the money. i think the fbi switched over to this rifle for whatever they use these sorts of rifles for. i would definitely get one with the floor plate instead of the detachable box mag.
this thread made me get off my but and load some rounds. will take it to the range tomorrow. when i was buying mine it was the first year of the a1. there were some teething problems with the A model. was hard to find the right set-up for mounts and rings, so I contacted badger ring company who got me straight. they also put me in touch with the engineer who helped design the a1. he was a bright guy. talked to him on the phone for 5 minutes or so. he said that the platform was more or less built to shoot black hills 168 grain ammunition. he also went into a lot of detail about the throat on that rifle and how it had been improved or something -- i don't remember. it has a 1:12 twist, so i guess it does better with the 168s. i can't tell a difference between that and the 175s, but i don't shoot past 300 yards.
the only thing i would do different with my set-up, other than the floor plate, would be to get an M1 instead of an M3 leupold scope. the M3 adjustments are 1 minute with a bullet drop cam. i would be better off with 1/2 minute clicks.
Posts: 831 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 28 January 2005
390ish, I think I'm gonna give one a spin. I like having a few 'tacticalish' pieces around. Accuracy is a thing for me, and I really like the performance for all around hunting of the 308. Good tip on the scope, I was thinking of a Z-plex conquest on there. The 1/2 minute clicks make sense. I actually shoot off of bi-pods a lot while hunting, and have found that I can achieve some great field accuracy, and this rifle would kind of fit that style, and gives me a CRF rig, which I don't have one of! Have a bunch of rifles, and all are push feeds, so I like the thought of this rig for several reasons.
Thanks again--Don
Posts: 3563 | Location: GA, USA | Registered: 02 August 2004
It is nothing that I will be caught dead with..I have been shooting wood and rust blued guns for too many years to change now! I sot in my ways..besides who wants a gun that looks like my wifes vacumm cleaner or the bumper on a new car.
Ray, sure you're right! I might get it slapped into a piece of walnut if I like everything elses as much as I think I will....just seems like it's gotta be a shooter, and I don't have a 'true' CRF rifle....just seems like I should
Posts: 3563 | Location: GA, USA | Registered: 02 August 2004
just to spite everyone, i am taking my ugly FN 308 groundhog hunting tomorrow. should be a lot of fun hauling around 13 pounds of rifle and scope. will let you know how it goes. i have even uglier FN products -- one of those ps90s that is a glorified 22 hornet and and FAL i once missed a mule deer with. the bolt action is a beauty queen compared to those two.
Posts: 831 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 28 January 2005
Originally posted by 390ish: went three for four on the groundhogs this morning. closest was 145 yards, furthest was 214. the ugly rifle did just fine.
I like it! But sounds like a light day on groundhogs, or is it common to only get a go at 3 or 4 or so where ya'll hunt?
Posts: 3563 | Location: GA, USA | Registered: 02 August 2004
I hunted from about 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Wife had to go to work and it is about a 45 minute drive to the field I was hunting. The animals were moving a lot, open fields to tall grass. I usually limit myself to 3-4 per day, I usually only hunt half days.
Posts: 831 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 28 January 2005
I wonder if they might finally have all four scope mount screw holes drilled in a straight line?
On most of the Winchesters I've seen over the last twenty years the screw holes kind of started off in the northeast corner of the back ring and maybe ended up in the southwest corner of the front ring - sort of wherever the guy with the Black & Decker felt like leaning. If there was a front sight, it was usually about 20 degrees over to starboard.
Whatever FN does, it's gotta be better than the way things were. Hell, they could bore and rifle a crowbar, epoxy it into a 2x4, and fire it with a nail and a ball peen hammer, and it would be an improvement.
Posts: 6033 | Location: Alberta | Registered: 14 November 2002
Thats funny tumbleweed! My first rifle I ever bought is a push feed .270. Its the only rifle that I still own that I had to USE the windage adjust in the leupy rings. I have to cock the scope about 1/8 of an inch to starbord. LOL. I do however have an itch for a FN 70 in .300 Win. I don't know why but it's been floating around in my head for a few weeks.
Posts: 445 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 02 January 2006
Is that the same outfit that sells that stupid $50 worth 5,7mm toy pistol. When I seen $900 tag I nearly fainted. 
If there was a front sight, it was usually about 20 degrees over to starboard.
