Upgrade 1.1

several years ago I sold the upper off a S&W M&P. It was a 16' Bushmaster ultra lite. Much as I liked it, I also was looking at upgrades for my collection, switching everything to A-3 flat tops for scopes. Sure, you can drop an adapter into the carry handle, but it gives you a high cheekweld, and makes accurate shooting a pain.  I like to be comfortable when I shoot, what can I say?

I purchased an upper last week intending to modify my original Essential Arms action. The more I thought about it though, the less I liked that idea. There is something very powerful about the idea of scrapping your first build, even if its just upgrading it. Heck, I'm even thinking about tearing off the new rails and going back to the original triangle front grips. Then I remembered I had this Smith lower stuffed in a box. It was time to put it back together.
Sorry, but collapsable stocks and 20" barrels don't go together. I picked up a Magpul PRS stock for this baby and set about making a great varmit gun.
I took an immediate liking to the Magpul stock. Sure, the A-1 stock has been good enough for twenty years, but after ten rounds, I am really loving this.

The Bushmaster upper is looking to be a finicky bastard. I took fifteen rounds out with me, and six of them wouldn't chamber. Not a good sign in a battle rifle, and not too good for praire dog hunting either. After I was done shooting, I grabbed the old EA off the rack and tried those rounds in it. All six fired, no problems, and as you can see, a nice tight group. BTW, my aim point for that set was the six oclock position on the black. Just a tad high, and I had a stiff wind blowing left to right, so I'm not adjusting the zero. In case you are wondering, I zeroed that rifle in 1989, and have not touched it since. That five shot group BTW is .75 inches at 50 yards.

UPDATE: Took the rifle to a local gunsmith. We stripped it down completely then ran a reamer in the chamber. Two hours later, it chambering a lot better. Its tight though, darn tight.