Mouse fart loads

[EastTNHunter]

I will start out by saying that I am a recovering tinkerer… but I still have occasional setbacks. With that confession made, I also love to help kids and new shooters get into the sports of shooting and hunting. Without going into the details, let’s just say that I have introduced many new shooters and hunters to the sport.

With that as a background, the AR platform gives me an adaptable utilitarian tool to teach with. It is compact, adjustable, and mild recoiling. But even small amounts of recoil can be uncomfortable for new or smaller shooters. For the 5.56, I have used mild charges of Unique to provide recoil slightly more than a 22lr, but these loads will not cycle the action. I have also used mild loads of H4895 to give a little more oomph (including noise and recoil), but they WILL reliably cycle the action.

Yesterday I decided to do some more tinkering on my 6.5G AR with my son. He is 7, and can shoot the “Grendel” accurately for a few shots, but then his accuracy starts to suffer as he tries to anticipate the recoil and begins flinching. The recoil moves his body far more than mine, so I know that he feels the recoil from this mild round far more than I do. So I went to a starting book load of H4895 and Sierra 85gr Varminter, hoping to get lower recoil and still cycle the action.

Eureka! 24gr did the trick. We shot ~1.5” groups at 50yd from a seated position using an attached bipod, which is plenty accurate for busting bottles, cans, and other reactive targets in our backyard shooting range. I’m sure that it will do better than that if I were to try prone or from a bench. Recoil was much lower, they reliably cycled the action, and his enjoyment level went up. This is good news as I get him ready for his second deer season, as he will be able to practice more live shooting using the gun that he will hunt with.

Anybody else tried messing with mouse fart loads?

[dpete]

Only in 300 BLK with subsonic bullets and a suppressor. In an AR15 the BCG slamming back and forth next to your ear is louder than the muzzle blast. In my RARR bolt action its truly mouse fart quiet. Clapping hands is louder. Recoil with both is minimal to none.

[myrifle]

I will start out by saying that I am a recovering tinkerer… but I still have occasional setbacks. With that confession made, I also love to help kids and new shooters get into the sports of shooting and hunting. Without going into the details, let’s just say that I have introduced many new shooters and hunters to the sport.

With that as a background, the AR platform gives me an adaptable utilitarian tool to teach with. It is compact, adjustable, and mild recoiling. But even small amounts of recoil can be uncomfortable for new or smaller shooters. For the 5.56, I have used mild charges of Unique to provide recoil slightly more than a 22lr, but these loads will not cycle the action. I have also used mild loads of H4895 to give a little more oomph (including noise and recoil), but they WILL reliably cycle the action.

Yesterday I decided to do some more tinkering on my 6.5G AR with my son. He is 7, and can shoot the “Grendel” accurately for a few shots, but then his accuracy starts to suffer as he tries to anticipate the recoil and begins flinching. The recoil moves his body far more than mine, so I know that he feels the recoil from this mild round far more than I do. So I went to a starting book load of H4895 and Sierra 85gr Varminter, hoping to get lower recoil and still cycle the action.

Eureka! 24gr did the trick. We shot ~1.5” groups at 50yd from a seated position using an attached bipod, which is plenty accurate for busting bottles, cans, and other reactive targets in our backyard shooting range. I’m sure that it will do better than that if I were to try prone or from a bench. Recoil was much lower, they reliably cycled the action, and his enjoyment level went up. This is good news as I get him ready for his second deer season, as he will be able to practice more live shooting using the gun that he will hunt with.

Anybody else tried messing with mouse fart loads?

Nope.

I dont believe in watering down performance.

If your boy can handle 6 or 7 rounds before it's too much then only do 6 or 7 rounds in each session.

Better to train with the real deal then to try with reduced loads.

[Growler]

Since you said tinkerer, some options. Some of this assumes you are hunting from a stand where you might be able to sacrifice quick handling for less recoil.

* longer barrel, rifle length gas (more fixed mass, smoother gas impulse, less blast perceived by shooter)

* low mass carrier + adjustable gas block. (less reciprocating mass - less recoil; ability to reduce excess gas for light BCG a plus)

* suppress + adjustable gas (more fixed mass reduces recoil, obvious advantage with ears and shooting fatigue)

* muzzle brake (for static shooting, I’d prefer 2 more inches of barrel to a brake on the Grendel, but they do help)

[StoneHendge]

I do many of them for positional practice for practical shooting on steel out to 550 yards. Steel doesn't care how hard you hit it and decreasing the size of the "danger zone" keeps me a bit more honest with my elevation holds. But the best part is that it's kind to your barrel and kind to your brass. I've done 90 gr TNTs at 2700 out of a 22" 6.5G with a near starting charge of TAC and don't tell the ARC guys, but I'm currently doing a 105 Barnes Match Burners at 2300 out if an 18" with a near starting charge of 6.5 Staball. The AGB is wide open for that one.