COMPASS LAKE ENGINEERING
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SHOOTING, CLEANING, & MAINTAINING
A new barrel will shoot best if careful attention is given to proper break-in. Differing opinions exist, however, we recommend that no more than 20 rounds are fired at the time before cleaning the barrel for the first 60 rounds. Each time the barrel is cleaned for the first 120 rounds, it must be thoroughly cleaned.
Procedure for thorough cleaning: in all cases, it is vital that cleaning tools (brushes, patches, etc.) be pushed from the breech to the muzzle and then removed from the end of the rod at the muzzle end. DO NOT drag anything back through the muzzle.
Clean the bore with a good bore cleaner such as Shooter’s Choice. De-copper the bore with Shooter’s Choice Copper remover or an equivalent.
Clean the bore with JB Bore Cleaner after 100 rounds as follows:
1. Work the JB into the patch
2. Wrap the patch around a worn bore brush
3. Push through the barrel for about 10 strokes, or when it feels clean – replace the patch after the first 5 strokes
After the barrel is broken in, clean the bore immediately each time after the rifle is fired. De-copper the bore and use JB bore cleaner every 300-400 rounds. Field strip and clean the bolt carrier assembly. Use a patch soaked with bore cleaner to clean the bolt carrier bore and the bolt face and stem. Dry all parts and lubricate bolt locking lugs, gas rings, and bolt stem with CLP and reassemble the bolt carrier, lubricating the cam pin and firing pin with CLP during the process. Clean out the inside of the upper receiver with a paper towel or patch; lubricate the charging handle, support rails of the bolt carrier, and the inside of the bolt carrier key. Reassemble.
Note: The entire cleaning process is much easier by bringing a rod, patches, and bore cleaner to the range with you. As soon as you are finished firing the rifle, break the rifle open, remove the bolt carrier assembly, run a little bore cleaner into the two gas vent holes in the dish on the right side of the bolt carrier. Pump the bolt back and forth a few times to distribute the bore cleaner. This will soften the carbon in the bolt carrier and make it very easy to clean once you get home. I also suggest that you run two patches soaked with bore cleaner through the barrel and allow it to soak until you get home and then do a thorough cleaning job.
The trigger assembly requires little attention. Occasionally lubricate the trigger and hammer pins with a drop of CLP. The trigger engagement notch in the hammer should be lubricated with Neco Moly Slide every 6 months. Trigger adjustment is seldom required. If it becomes necessary to increase the weight of the pull, use this procedure:
Increase sear engagement by screwing long spring plunger in the safety in approximately 1/20 of a turn using a pair of needle-nosed pliers. It should not be necessary to loosen the lock screw. If the trigger is still light, increase the weight of the second stage pull by turning the small set screw in top of the spring plunger. Use a .035” allen wrench.
The other set screw in the safety is the over-travel stop.
The rifle is equipped with a 1-8 or 1-7.7 twist barrel. We do not recommend that you shoot Federal Match or White Box Winchester loads if you are using a match chamber. At 600 yards, best results will be obtained with the Sierra 80 grain bullet. The best single powder to load with this bullet is probably Vihta-Vuori N135. Start with 22 grains of powder and work up to no more than 23.2 grains. Use only Lake City or quality commercial brass. DO NOT use Federal brass because it is too soft and its volume is too small. It may be necessary to experiment with other loads in order to obtain the rifles’ best accuracy.
Seat lighter bullets to 2.260 inches max OAL. Seat 80 grain bullets to within .025” of contacting the origin of the rifling. This dimension will increase as the throat wears and should be checked periodically. Some rifles shoot best with the bullet loaded practically against the rifling. In a new barrel, the OAL with Sierra 80 grain bullets will run about 2.435”.
If you need to use factory ammo, we recommend Sellier & Bellot (ball ammo), Lake City (ball ammo), Black Hills (match ammo), remanufactured is fine, and Hornady (match ammo). I am sure there are others that can be used, but we know for sure these work great.
Front sight posts are .052”, .062”, or .072 with .052” being the most commonly used. The front sight may be adjusted up or down by turning it one complete turn after loosening the setscrew at the bottom of the front sight post. The front sight base is also windage adjustable. There are four setscrews in the base and four flats milled on the barrel. To adjust, please refer to the Adjusting Your Sights Page.
Rear sights have ½ moa clicks on windage and elevation, unless ¼ moa is specifically requested. The sight aperture is interchangeable by unscrewing the insert and replacing it with another one. Standard aperture size is .040”. Other sizes are available upon request. Common sizes are .036”, .042", .046”, and .052”.
Setting Procedure: Do not count clicks from mechanical zero when adjusting the rear sights on this rifle. Recommended procedure is to obtain a good 100 yard zero and set the elevation drum to the 3-8 setting. Click up from there to get zeros at 200, 300, and 600 yards. Two hundred yard zero is approximately four clicks up, 300 yard zero is about 7 clicks up, and 600 yard zero is 31 clicks up. One entire turn of the elevation drum is equal to 25 clicks.
The heavier barrel contour and addition of the handguard tube results in a rifle that is slightly muzzle heavy. Adding weight to the butt trap of the rifle can compensate this for. Lead shot, bullets, or heavy objects can be placed into the buttstock. These can be held in place by stuffing an old sock in with them. This will result in a rifle that is still a little on the light side for most shooters. Additional weight can be added by obtaining stick-on wheel weights from your local tire store. The strips should be cut to allow for each strip to wrap around the tube and not touch the gas tube. Begin the strip about one inch behind the handguard cap and add as many as you desire. Weight in the buttstock should be adequate to balance the weight on the tube. Typical total rifle weight is approximately 13 to 16 pounds.
It is important when shooting this rifle to have consistent close eye relief. The best way to accomplish this is to place your nose firmly on the charging handle, even in the off-hand position. By using this technique, the shortcomings of the short sight radius are eliminated. The short sight radius does require, especially with “older” eyes, a correction that places your focus on the front sight.
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