Today on Rifle Roundup we have a Wilson Combat Super Sniper AR-15, chambered in 224 Valkyrie, with a Leupold Mark 5HD Scope and a Luth-AR MBA-1 stock.
If the AR-15 is known for anything, it’s known for being almost infinitely transformable into almost any type of rifle. The lower receiver is legally considered to be the “firearm” part of an AR-15, and because of that, it’s ridiculously easy to change out parts on your AR and turn it into a completely new gun.
Which is certainly true of the AR-15s I own. None of them have the same handguard, sights or trigger they started out with and only a few have their original barrel or stock. In addition to this, I have several upper receivers in my safe of various barrel lengths and calibers, all compatible with the lower receiver of one of my AR-15s, allowing me to change from one activity to another with the push of two buttons.
However, you might want to skip the trial and (plentiful) error of this method and buy something off the rack that has almost all the features you want in your gun, without having to do any kitchen-table gunsmithing to get things just the way you imagined they’d be.
Wilson Combat Super Sniper AR-15: $2,525
This is where Wilson Combat enters the picture. Rather than having to scour the internet for the parts you want in your dream build and then put things together yourself (with varying results), you can buy a rifle that’s made to your specification, built by a company founded by a watchmaker.
The Super Sniper line of AR-15s are meant to be used at distances beyond what a “normal” AR-15 can muster. With heavier, match-grade fluted barrels, billet receivers and Wilson Combat’s TTU (Tactical Trigger Unit) with your choice of a single stage or a two-stage trigger, both with an outstanding break and a 4-pound pull, and you have the last word in AR-15s built for the long-range game.
Which is why this particular rifle is chambered in 224 Valkyrie. When I got this gun, I wanted to see just how far I could push the AR platform and took a long-range precision rifle class with it to see what both the AR-15 and 224 Valkyrie were capable of doing.
With a 22-inch long barrel and a weight (without an optic) exceeding 8 pounds, this probably isn’t the rifle you’re going to use to clear a shoot house. Where the Super Sniper really shines, however, is reaching out to make shots which go beyond what you might think an AR-15 can make. Using match-grade ammunition, I’ve I’ve made hits using this rifle on targets to 1,000 yards, 1,200 yards and even out to beyond 1,400 yards, so it is perfectly capable of answering a long-distance call.
Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x Scope: MSRP $1,999.99
A rifle this sort of capability needs an optic that will let you see the target that can reach out to those kinds of distances, so I chose the Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18x optic when it came time to set up this rifle for the long-range shot. The scope offers all the top-shelf features that we’ve come to expect from Leupold, and the reticle inside this particular version is a plain-Jane MOA crosshair reticle. No descending “Christmas tree” of windage holds. No bullet drop compensator hash marks. Just MOA graduations on the horizontal and vertical stadia that are easy to see when they’re needed. I like this type of reticle because it allows for a clear view of view inside of my optic and gives me the information that I need to make the shot, without obscuring my vision.
In addition to this, like most long-range optics, the Mark 5HD 3.6-18X is a first-focal-plane optic, which makes it extraordinarily useful for estimating the range to an unknown target. However, it also means the reticle shrinks and grows depending on your magnification, and I’ve found that can lead to the reticle becoming hard to use at lower magnifications.
Luth-AR MBA-1 Butttstock MSRP: $139.95
A good cheek weld on the stock is a key element of using an optic on your rifle, and while the Wilson/Rogers Super Stock that comes standard on the Super Sniper is an excellent general purpose stock, I wanted something that offered more customization for better, more consistent results. The Luth-AR MBA-1 is one of the original precision-rifle stocks for the AR platform, and it is adjustable in an almost infinite number of ways, letting you modify your position behind the rifle so you have a stable and repeatable shooting position. The stock pops on to a standard buffer tube with literally the press of a button, letting you make your rifle uniquely yours.
