J
jpb
Guest
C'mon Jackie --- I'm not trying to kill anything. I only described an alternative to using a brass catcher. And heck, if a nylon mesh bag velcro'ed to the side a rifle doesn't count as a "cobbled together contraption," I'm not sure what does
I can see how you might well regard removal of the ejector from a "real AR" as a kind of castration, but at least the operation is easily reversible. A fella could remove the ejector in a couple of minutes before breakfast, shoot a match during the day, re-install the ejector after dinner, and then spend the evening defending his homestead against the invading zombie hordes. Still, if you don't like the idea of single-loading, maybe the proposed rule should be changed from "may be shot semi-auto" to "SHALL be shot semi-auto."Even that change, though, wouldn't really address what feels like your main concern --- avoidance of an equipment race. You raise a really good question: what _is_ the intent of the provisional AR class? Is it:
1) In view of concern about low participation in rifle competition, to create a kind of factory class where the average Joe wouldn't be too intimidated to come out and compete; or
2) Seeing the enormous popularity of the AR-15 and its cousins, to encourage participation focused around technical development of the Stoner pattern rifle, just as traditional benchrest has done for the Mauser pattern.
Both strike me as worthy goals, and the IBS flyer seems to be of two minds here, but I don't see how we can really have it both ways. To achieve the first goal, you need to have rules that seriously restrict what can be brought to the line, rules that directly work against the second goal. It's always a problem, right? If you hold a horse race, some people are going to try to breed faster horses, and then the farmer's plow-horse can't compete. Whatcha gonna do?
I can think of one kinda-factory class competition that's pretty popular: the Service Rifle category in NRA Highpower, where the basic rule is that the external appearance of the rifle has to match military issue. Even here though, substantial modifications are common: match-quality barrel, two-stage trigger, free-float tube hidden under the handguard, lead weights in the stock and handguard, and improvements to the rear sight. It's not hard to drop $1000 on this stuff, all in a competition where the main limitations on accuracy lie in the shooter's ability to see the target, judge the wind, and hold the rifle still. It seems to me that any kind of benchrest shooting will inevitably result in pressure toward an equipment race, a race that ends only when all the rifles have become so accurate that they're no longer a significant part of determining who wins. And that isn't gonna be the average black rifle found in the local gun store.
However things shake out, I think this could be a lot of fun. It may be time to invest in a good barrel for my 30 PPC upper....
jpb