My Micro7 report

[Whole Bunches]

A friend called from a local gunshow and said one of the new Micro7 300 Blackouts was there. The dealer was the same one I am getting my Gemtech Quicksand from. Cash price $800 + tax. I went to the show and got it. Cleaned the bore and mounted a scope. Per the Remington manual, adjusted the trigger pull as light as it would go (nice feeling, no creep trigger pull). Went to the plinking range (34yds) and took the loads specific to my 3 other 300 Whatevers. This was a quick trip to get it on paper and to get an idea of how it liked loads that worked well in other uppers/rifles. No chronographing was done today. I typically do 10 shot groups...I want to see how a load does in the long run, accepting the possibility of shooter fatigue or error.

My first concern is how would the +20 moa rail affect my scope...turns out I had to do a lot of adjusting down to get to point of aim = point of impact at 34yd, but I still had more downward adjustments left in the scope if needed. Never had a rifle with an adjustable cheek piece...that was a nice, useful addition.

Trigger pull with an electronic gage was 3 lb 13 oz to 4 lb 3 oz, averaging 3 lb 15 oz for 5 tries. Folks were surprised the pull was heavier than they thought it felt.

I would shoot a group and then clean, then repeat. Bore seems real smooth; no evidence of copper or frangible bullet fouling; similar in smoothness to my Delta Co barrel from Aaron; and unlike my Model 1 Sales barrel that takes "a while" to get clean. At first, shots were wandering (in particular the 1st 4 shots fired followed by 6 all touching), but then settled down. Whether from breaking in or I got better at holding the light rifle on a rest or combination of both, I don't know. Example: 1st 10 shot group using my hunting load for my 10.3" Delta Co upper (125gr Nosler BT, Wolf .223 primers, 19.0gr H110, 2.2" oal, 2077fps) was 1.42" CTC; next 10 shot group, same load, was .48" CTC. My 10.3" upper's subsonic load (220gr SMK, 11.7gr WC680, Wolf .223 primers, 2.2" oal, 1026fps) gave a 10 shot group of .53" CTC. I'll chronograph that load tomorrow to see what it gives out of the Micro7 (I think my particular lot of WC680 may be slower than A1680).

My plinking load (13.8gr H110, pulled USGI frangible bullets, Wolf .223 primers, 2.2" oal) gave its typical plinking accuracy of about 1" (not measured; only eyeballed) at 34yd. Those bullets are not known for superb accuracy, but are cheap to shoot.

It didn't care for my 300 Whisper bolt gun's hunting load (18.3gr H110, CCI SR primer, Sierra 125gr SPT, 2.05" oal, SIERRA 125GR SPT, 2.05” OAL

I had some failures to feed from the magazine at first (I think there were sharp edges from the marks on some of the cases, but by simply feeding cartridges via the magazine, that appeared to go away.

The rounded forend wanted to roll on my front rest. Tried different positions and found having the front rest right behind the front sling swivel stud and grasping the forend with my hand behind the rest worked the best so far.

Again, this was a quick range trip using existing loads worked up for accuracy in other 300 Whatevers. I look foward to making a variety of subsonic loads; with a bolt gun, I'll be able to use lighter bullets and a wider range of powders without having to worry about functioning a semi-auto. I give the Micro7 a thumbs up. It's soft recoil pad helps subdue the horrendous recoil of the 300 Blackout!

[82nd airborne]

Good review, and welcome!

[Whole Bunches]

Not sure if this add-on to my Micro7 report belongs here or in handloading.

Did some chronographing this morning. Rifle = AAC Micro7. AR Upper = Delta Company 10.3". Both are 300 Blackout.

11.7gr WC680, 220gr SMK, 2.2" oal, Wolf .223 primers, 70 degrees, 10' from the chronograph (this is my upper's subsonic load)
Micro7 1127fps average
Upper 1026fps average

19.0gr H110, 125gr Nosler BT, 2.2" oal, Wolf .223 primers, 70 degrees, 10' from the chronograph (this is my upper's hunting load)
Micro7 2279fps average
Upper 2077fps average

The above "subsonic" load out of the Micro7 is a bit fast, and since I have plenty of H110 on hand, I played with H110 and 220gr SMK's in the Micro7.

9.2gr H110 gave 1086fps
9.1gr H110 gave 1023fps (very consistent; 26fps extreme spread)
9.0gr H110 gave 1031fps (not very consistent; 52fps extreme spread)
8.9 and below were subsonic, but not very consistent)

H110 and 147gr M80 ball bullets gave velocities bouncing around the place, so I stopped that approach. I think I will try a faster powder with more of the M80 ball bullets.

And thank you Aaron...I love my Delta Co upper. You said if I wore out the barrel you would replace it. I am not abusing it, basically 5-10 shots and let it cool. I've now fired it 1544 rounds. My TE gage cannot detect any wear yet.

[morris]

Thanks for the update on the Micro 7, I just ordered mine. Feeling good

[Whole Bunches]

I had mentioned I ordered a single shot adapter from Midway. It's a SCORE HIGH BENCH REST FOLLOWER, Remington Short, part #BRF-212. It was $9.99. Pop open the floor plate, insert the bench rest follower, and close the floor plate. Works perfectly. Just drop the cartridge in and chamber. Tried various bullet weights and over all lengths and all fed slick as can be.