FNAR Review - Fifth Range Test (100 yards)

It has been a while since my last range test and I want to show the results of some additional range testing at 100 yards. I'm still trying to find some off-the-shelf hunting ammo that I can use for the majority of my hunts (less than a 200 yard shot).  For this test, I selected three hunting rounds, one match round and also brought some plinking ammo just to get the feel before shooting the other stuff.

I selected the following .308 Win. Ammo:

• Federal Match Gold Medal 168 Grain Sierra Matchking BTHP - Target Ammo
• Federal Premium 165 Grain Sierra Gameking BTSP - Hunting Ammo
• Fusion 165 Grain - Hunting Ammo
• Winchester 150 Grain Power-Point - Hunting Ammo

All shots were from 100 yards and you can see my bench setup below.  I was actually swapping out between shooting my FNAR and a borrowed LWRC M6A2 which I was reviewing.

This was one of those days where I was disappointed with my shooting abilities.  I really didn't have a good excuse other than myself and you will see that from the data below.  My first 5 shot group with the Federal Match Gold Medal was a 2.47" group.  My second group with this same ammo was 1.38".  I was really expecting sub MOA based on my previous range tests.

Next I switched over to the Federal Premium and shot a 1.94" and 1.95" group.  Again, I was disappointed.

Since my shooting skills were really sucking at this point, I decided to only shoot two more groups of 5.  This next group is with the Fusion ammo.

Last I shot the Winchester Power-Point. I shot some of this during one of my last range tests and it really looked promising.  I decided to tweak my scope before the shots since I was grouping everything high and left.  The 5 shot group below measured 1.67".

Personally, I think the issue with my shooting is one of two things.  First it is probably me and I'm sure that is a good portion, but I know I have done better.  The second may be that I'm getting some fouling in the groves of my barrel.  With the group above, I'm comfortable taking this to the woods and deer hunting out to 200 yards, but I'm sure I'm more capable and I will shoot it again prior to rifle season.

A buddy of mine has been talking about Butch's Boreshine so I decided to get a bottle.  I thoroughly cleaned the rifle and will head back to the range in a couple of weeks.  For now, I think I'm going to focus on the Winchester Power-Points because you can purchase these at any Walmart and so far they seem to group.

Bottom Line:

I'm still happy with my FNAR.  It has never jammed and still appears to be a solid rifle.  My results for this range test were not as good as the Fourth Range Test, but that's life.

You can see all of my posts on my FNAR rifle by going to my Summary Page.

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© 2010 Gunsumer Reports

FNAR Review - Fourth Range Test (100 yards)

FNAR Review, X7 Bulls Bag Review

During my 3rd range test of my FNAR, I was experiencing technical difficulties with the rest I was using for shooting my rifle.  Since then, I'm now the proud owner of a X7 Bulls Bag system.  You can see the review of this bag at this link, X7 Bulls Bag Review.  Actually during my next range testing I plan on evaluating the accuracy of my FNAR and the performance of the X7 Bulls Bag as a rifle rest.  For me to compare apples to apples from my last range test, I did purchase two boxes of ammo that I used during those tests.  The Hornady and Federal performed the best out of the original range test, but I must say that I don't feel that test was a good measure of the rifle or ammo due to my technical difficulties.  Regardless, I still needed to compare some of the same ammo during this test.

Next, I have seen other reviews that used Buffalo Bore Sniper .308 Win 175 gr. Sierra bullets.  This was a must for my next range test and I can only hope to produce results similar groups to the other reviewers.  I really want to find ammo that I can use for long range shooting and this may be the ticket.  This range test will be only at 100 yards, but if it groups good, I will do a future test at 200 or 300 yards.

Additionally, some more ammo I want to try out will be some "readily available" hunting ammo.  What I mean by "readily available" is something that I could find by walking into any Wal-Mart.  I don't want to be caught off guard during hunting season.  Off guard would be me knocking my scope off zero and shooting up the ammo I took with me.  I know it is a worst case (I hope), but I want to check and make sure the rifle will group this ammo.  I selected one that I have seen at nearly every Wal-Mart in the south (Winchester) and then another popular brand (Federal).

Last, I plan to shoot some PMC 147 gr. FMJ-BT just to get the hang of the rest system prior to the high dollar ammo.

The following is the list for this range test and in the order I plan to shoot.  This should be a good day's worth considering the time needed for the barrel to cool down between groups.

1. PMC Bronze FMJ-BT 147 gr. (Plinking Ammo)
2. Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr. (Match Ammo, same as last range test)
3. Buffalo Bore Sinper 175 gr. Sierra (Match Ammo)
4. Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr. (Hunting Ammo, same as last range test)
5. Winchester Super-X 150 gr. Power-Point (Hunting Ammo)
6. Federal Power Shok 150 gr. Soft Point (Hunting Ammo)

After 3 hours at the range, I feel like I had great results. I shot several different three shot groups of each of the ammo.  I started with the PMC just to get the feel of the X7 Bulls Bag, then I quickly moved on.  The photo below shows my basic setup.  The X7 Bulls Bag supported the rifle, but I also used a small bag under the bottom of the pistol grip to help me further stabilize the shots.

My first task was to compare the Hornady A-MAX results with the X7 rest against what I was able to do with the other mechanical rest.  My best groups this time were 1.20", 1.20" and 0.75".  The 0.75" group is shown below.  Clearly the X7 system was more stable when shooting.  My best group with this ammo at my last range test was 0.95" with the next closest being 1.87".  At this point, I was sold on the X7 Bulls Bag.

Hornady A-MAX 168 gr. at 100 yards

Next I switched over to the Buffalo Bore and achieved my best groups.  I shot 1.05", 1.00", 1.00" and 0.35" groups at 100 yards. This was the first time I had used the Buffalo Bore Sniper 175 grain bullets and I was extremely pleased.  Clearly, the FNAR with the right ammo and right marksman can be a sub MOA rifle.

Buffalo Bore Sniper .308 Win at 100 yards, 0.35" group

I also wanted to check out the Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr. that I used in my last range test.  With this mid range price hunting ammo, I was able to shoot groups of 1.25", 1.10" and 1.00" at 100 yards.  Again, my best group last time was 1.54".  Clearly, this is an improvement.  What I do find interesting is that the ammo will group in different points on the target.  I made no scope adjustments to this point.

Federal Premium Vital-Shok 165 gr. at 100 yards

Now I wanted to try out some of the bargain priced "readily available" hunting ammo from Wal-Mart. First I shot groups of the Federal Power Shok 150 gr. Soft Point hunting ammo. The 3 shot groups were 1.75", 1.45" and 0.88" at 100 yards.  I was pleasantly surprised with these results.  I also decided to adjust the windage on these shot, so you will see the fourth shot of my first 0.88" group.

Last was the Winchester Super-X 150 gr. Power-Point hunting ammo.  The 3 shot groups were 1.25" and 0.80" at 100 yards.  You will see another group on the target below, but I'm not going to count that because I knew I pulled the shot when I made it.

During the three hours of shooting, I learned a couple of things.  First, it takes more concentration than I ever imagined to try to consistently group shots.  In the past, I have always gone to the range and sighted in my hunting rifle and then moved on with life.  Those efforts may have been a total of about 30 minutes.  Second, in my mind the greatest amount of variability comes from the average shooter.  I'm sure that for trained marksmen this may not be the case, but I believe that my FNAR is more capable than I am (at the moment) and thus more capable than most of the people who will purchase the rifle.  Third, a shooting rest system is a critical item for shooting groups like this.  Clearly, I shot more 1 MOA or better groups during this round of testing using the X7 Bulls Bag than I did with the mechanical rest.

Bottom Line: 
The FNAR rifle can shoot.  The real question is can you?  I think this range test proves it can group many different types of ammo, and it made the best group with the Buffalo Bore 175 gr. Sniper ammo.  As I continue shooting my rifle, I can see that I'm already biased towards the Buffalo Bore for a target round.  The next thing I have to do is finalize my hunting round, but I'm not worried too much.  Based on the results above, I can always stop by Wal-Mart and get a box of Winchester or Federal and put meat on the ground out to 200 yards.

You can see all of my posts on my FNAR rifle by going to my Summary Page.

FNAR Review - Posts, Pros, Cons, and Bottom Line

FNAR Review, FNAR Rifle Review, 308 Review, FNH Review, FNAR Accuracy
Since I have written many posts during my review of the FNAR 7.62x51mm (308 Win) Standard Autoloading Rifle, I have listed them all together in this post and placed them in the order that I conducted the FNAR reviews.  You can click on the links below to follow the reviews in the sequence from my initial purchase to my final range testing.  Along the way, I had to add mounts and a scope, and since these are mounted on my FNAR, I have included links to those reviews so you can follow the progression to my final setup.

Posts:

1. FNAR Review - The Purchase
2. FNAR Review - What's In The Box - Gun
3. FNAR Review - What's In The Box - Magazines
4. FNAR Review - What's In The Box - Interchangeable Inserts
5. FNAR Review - What's In The Box - Stock Shims
6. FNAR Review - What's In The Box - The Rest
7. FNAR Review - Pre "Test Fire" Summary
8. Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x50 MC Target Scope Review & Burris XTR Xtreme Tactical Rings Review on a FNAR Rifle
9. Scope Height - FNAR + Zeiss Conquest + Burris XTR Rings
10. What 308 Winchester Ammo to Use During My FNAR Range Test?
11. FNAR Review - First Range Test
12. FNAR Review - Second Range Test (25 Yards Indoors)
13. FNAR Review - Third Range Test (100 Yards) - Issues with rest system.
14. FNAR Review - Fourth Range Test (100 Yards) - Clearly a 1 MOA or better rifle
15. FNAR Review - Fifth Range Test (100 Yards)
16. FNAR Review - Posts, Pros, Cons, and Bottom Line (this post)

Pros:

• An automatic that will shoot 1 MOA out of the box (checkout th fourth range test)
• Descended from Browning BAR for reliability and durability
• Automatic action helps absorb recoil and is fun to shoot
• 5, 10, 20 round magazines available
• Fully adjustable butt stock to a shooters preference
• Nice trigger pull
• An autoloader with character.  The look of a hunting rifle with the extras of a tactical rifle.
• Control and comfort of a pistol grip
• Rail ready for those night time hunts
• Competitive price when compared to other .308 rifles that claim 1 MOA out of the box

Cons:

• Magazine costs - In time, I can see these coming down, especially if someone can make an aftermarket magazine. Current pricing is about $65 to $80 per magazine and there doesn't seem to be a price difference between the 5, 10 and 20 round magazines.
• Small Gun Case - Honestly this has nothing to do with the gun and at least the gun case is not a custom molded one that is not usable with another rifle. Since it can be used for another rifle, maybe this is actually a pro.
• More difficult to strip and clean than a typical AR style rifle

Bottom Line:

This rifle offers a good blend of both the hunting and tactical features and is a platform that can deliver reliability and accuracy.  FNH proved that they stand behind their products when they corrected a manufacturing issue on my rifle in record time.  I am pleased with my FNAR and have no regrets.  I'm also looking forward to shooting the rifle at farther distances.  Just to be clear, I want to answer the following questions:

• Do I have any regrets in purchasing this rifle over another rifle? No
• Would I purchase another FNAR?  Yes and actually I am considering getting one for my son.
• Would I recommend this rifle?  Yes
• Does the FNAR make an attractive shooting platform?  My opinion is yes, but you decide.

In The Photo Above:

• FNH FNAR 7.62x51mm (308 Win) Standard Autoloading Rifle
• FNH FNAR 5 Round Magazine
• Burris XTR Xtreme Tactical Rings - Medium
• Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x50mm with Target Turrets
• Zeiss Sunshade
• Butler Creek Flip-Open Objective Cover
• Harris Bipod Series S Model LM
• Blackhawk Single Point Sling Adapter

FNAR Review - Third Range Test (100 yards)

Before I start giving you the results, I think I need to state the obvious.  Can the rifle shoot?  Yes.  Can I shoot?  Debatable.  Now that I've been honest, I will be able to sleep at night and I can continue with the review.  Also, keep in mind that you will see every shot made while at the range.  I didn't hold anything back in an attempt to bias your opinion one way or another.  This is a complete disclosure reflecting the combination of the rifle, ammo, shooting rest, and my capabilities.

If you don't remember the post on my ammo selection, I decided to get one box of each of the following:

• Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr. (Match Ammo)
• Winchester Ballistic Silvertip® 168 gr. (Hunting Ammo)
• Remington Premier® AccuTip™ 165 gr. (Hunting Ammo)
• Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr. (Hunting Ammo)

I also got several boxes of PMC Bronze FMJ-BT 147 gr. (Plinking Ammo).

Since I already got the scope zero close at a 25 yard indoor range, I went directly to the 100 yard range.  I borrowed a friend's Caldwell Lead Sled for this range test.  Actually, I wish I hand not put all my eggs in this "rest" basket.  I became frustrated with the slop in the Lead Sled and you will be able to see that later below.

This is the 100 yard range and my setup for the test.  I also brought along my AR-15 to plink a little while I was waiting for the barrel to cool down on my FNAR.

  

My first 6 shots are shown below and I was using the PMC 147 grain FMJ-BT.  I used these shots to verify I was on the paper and to dial in my scope for the remainder of the tests.  The 3 shots in the upper left corner were my first three and they grouped 1.44".  After making a scope adjustment, my next three were closer and grouped 1.54".  I was pretty excited with these results for this cheap ammo, but was a little surprised to see the first three this far off from my initial zero.  Clearly this is the difference from shooting from the Bulls Bag to shooting from the Lead Sled.

Next I decided to see what it can really do with match ammo, so I switched to the Hornady A-MAX.  Really this was a big mistake because I only had one box and I didn't realize that the Lead Sled had freeplay at the back foot area where you fine tune the elevation.  It took me shooting three differen five shot groups to realize how I needed to hold this rest to keep it from having a side to side wiggle.  I don't think this wiggle was as noticeable with the PMC due to the lighter round (less recoil).  It wasn't until the fourth 5 shot group that I really was able to show what the rifle can do.  What you should also notice is that vertically, 19 out of 20 shots are within about a 1.5" vertical spread.  That says something.

Hornady A-MAX 168 grain, 100 yards, 2.79" group

Hornady A-MAX 168 grain, 100 yards, 2.14" group

Hornady A-MAX 168 grain, 100 yards, 1.87" group

Hornady A-MAX 168 grain, 100 yards, 0.94" group.  Finally, this is what I was wanting to see.  FNH said it could do it and I proved it could.  Also keep in mind that this is a 5 shot group.  What are the odds that I got all 5 to stack up like this from just luck?  I think I finally figured out how to shoot the rest.  The trick with the Lead Sled was that I had to hold all the slop in a single direction while shooting.  In my mind, you should not have to pay $200ish and get something with loosness.

Now I was out of the match ammo and I had just gotten the feel for how to shoot the rifle in the rest.  The more I thought about it, starting out with the best ammo first was a dufus move on my part.  I started with the best ammo and with a rest system I had never used before.  On top of that, why did I purchase only one box of match ammo?  All I can say is that in the future, you will not see this mistake again.

After I tweaked the scope for windage, I switched to the Winchester Ballistic Silvertip.  That is when things went  to crap.  I was thinking that if the match ammo (cheapest I could get) was doing good, then the more expensive hunting ammo should come close.  What is close?  I would have thought close would have been better than I got.  Honestly, I don't know if it was me, the ammo, or the Lead Sled, but you will see that the Winchester didn't do very well.  I shot my first three groups in a row and the held back a fourth group until the very end.  I thought that if I held it to the end it would make a difference once I figured out all the issues with my shooting style and the rest.  The four groups are below.

Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168 grains, 100 yards, 3.30" group

Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168 grains, 100 yards, 3.45" group

Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168 grains, 100 yards, 2.85" group

Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168 grains, 100 yards, 2.38" group

The best I could get out of the Winchester was a 2.38" five shot group.  This was a little disappointing, but I had more ammo to checkout.

Now I decided I would try the Remington Accutip.  Keep in mind that I did not make any changes to the windage or elevation on my scope for the first two groups with this ammo.  I was looking for how the ammo grouped and how it compared to each other.

Remington Premier Accutip 165 grains, 100 yards, 2.55" group

Remington Premier Accutip 165 grains, 100 yards, 1.75" group

Remington Premier Accutip 165 grains, 100 yards, 2.13" group.  Note that I tweaked the windage.

Remington Premier Accutip 165 grains, 100 yards, 3.28" group.  I also tweaked the zero on the scope again.

The last ammo that I planned to checkout was the Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 grains.  Actually this was the best grouping hunting round out of the three and will probably be what I head to the field with in the fall.  Although, I can see that many more range evaluations are going to occur between now and hunting season.

Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 grains, 100 yards, 1.54" group

Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 grains, 100 yards, 1.65" group

Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 grains, 100 yards, 2.17" group

Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 grains, 100 yards, 4.75" group.  This was the last of all my 5 shot groups and I believe that concentration fatigue was setting in since I had been at the range for 3 hours at this point and I must have let the rest start the side to side rattle again.  On the bright side, those three (yes three) shots in the center do look good.

I shot these next two groups with two different full 20 round magazines and tried to shoot a round about every 3 seconds (as fast as the range allowed).  I also let the barrel cool down between each 20 round group.  I was pleased so see how well the cheap plinking ammo grouped.  I'm sure I will purchase more of the PMC in the future.

PMC 147 gr. FMJ-BT, 100 yards, 20 shots, 3.58" group

PMC 147 gr. FMJ-BT, 100 yards, 20 shots, 3.05" group

This table below summarizes all the shots for this test and their group size.  Just for kicks, I decided to recalculate the group size by throwing out the worst shot for any group.  Is this fair?  Possibly, because it may be the best way to take a little of mine and the rest's inaccuracies out of the groups.

Ammunition	Number of Shots in Group	Group Size	Group Size Minus Worst Shot
PMC 147gr FMJ-BT	3	1.44	0.43
PMC 147gr FMJ-BT	3	1.54	0.55
Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr.	5	2.79	1.88
Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr.	4	2.14	1.15
Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr.	5	1.87	1.55
Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr.	5	0.94	0.65
Winchester Ballistic Silvertip® 168 gr.	5	3.30	2.20
Winchester Ballistic Silvertip® 168 gr.	5	3.45	2.55
Winchester Ballistic Silvertip® 168 gr.	5	2.85	2.25
Winchester Ballistic Silvertip® 168 gr.	5	2.38	1.72
Remington Premier® AccuTip™ 165 gr.	5	2.55	2.15
Remington Premier® AccuTip™ 165 gr.	5	1.75	1.17
Remington Premier® AccuTip™ 165 gr.	5	2.13	1.70
Remington Premier® AccuTip™ 165 gr.	5	3.28	2.05
Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr.	5	1.54	1.52
Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr.	5	1.65	1.55
Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr.	5	2.17	1.03
Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr.	5	4.75	2.28
PMC 147gr FMJ-BT	20	3.05	NA
PMC 147gr FMJ-BT	20	3.58	NA

While I was shooting, I did notice something about the way the cases ejected out of the rifle.  The PMC ejected completely different from the others.  Actually the PMC would eject very close to the side of the rifle.  Sometimes, it would actually hit the side of the receiver as shown in the photo below.  Since the brass is softer than the receiver material, a few good rubs with a cleaning cloth removed the marks and it did not damage the receiver.  If you are big into plinking, you will probably end up with the finish on the receiver wearing down in this area.  I'm curious to see what will happen with a different brand of plinking ammo.

 

 

Bottom Line: 

• Did I prove that the rifle is capable of 1 MOA?  I believe so based on my 5 shot group of 0.94 inches at 100 yards. 
• Was I frustrated with the Lead Sled?  Extremely. 
• Am I still happy with the FNAR?  Yes. 
• Would I recommend it to someone else?  Yes. 
• While at the range, did the FNAR peak the interest of the people around me?  Most definitely. 
• Am I really a bad shot?  You have the data and should come to your own conclusion.  Personally I didn't feel too bad because out of the other 8 people at the range during my 3.5 hours, I hands down had some of the best 100 yard groups.
• Is my FNAR a good looking rifle? You decide.

What did I learn or should have done differently? 

• First, I should have taken more match ammo.
• Second, I should have spent some time at home messing with the Lead Sled to see where I would run into problems using it.
• Third, I should have taken some shot bags to weight down the Sled to assist with stabilizing it.
• Fourth, maybe I should have purchased a higher grade of ammo instead of trying to stick with the middle of the road quality ammo.

If you read this post and can give me some other pointers or comments, PLEASE use the comment feature below.

Update 4/4/10:  After reflecting on this day and looking back at the 25 yard indoor range results from a few days earlier, I think I would have been better off using the Bulls Bag with it sitting on my gun case.  I really believe I would have had better results.

You can see all of my posts on my FNAR rifle by going to my Summary Page.

FNAR Review - Second Range Test (25 Yards Indoors)

On Saturday, the winds were 13 mph with gusts up to 25ish mph.  On Sunday, there was rain. So I decided to head down to an indoors rifle range and at least shoot 25 yards to verify the scope zero.  Also, shooting at this distance should allow me to go directly to the 100 yard range next weekend.

My first three shots were those to the left of the bulls eye.  After I adjusted the scope, my next four shots were those on the orange.  I really did not like my shooting rest setup because all I had was my Bulls Bag and the table was too short for me to get comfortable.  The pistiol grip had to hang off the back of the table and you can see I was having too much scatter in elevation.  I put my gun case on the top of the table and then the Bulls Bag and was happier with this setup.  My next three shots were the lower group on the target.  After that I shot two 5 round groups (top and right groups).  Since I feel better with my shooting position for the last three groups, I'm only going to talk about them.  Below is the data based on the 25 yard and extrapolated to 100 yards (center to center group size x 4).

• 3 shots 0.21" at 25 yards would be 0.82" at 100 yards with cheap plinking ammo
• 5 shots 0.39" at 25 yards would be 1.56" at 100 yards with cheap plinking ammo
• 5 shots 0.49" at 25 yards would be 1.96" at 100 yards with cheap plinking ammo

FNAR 25 yds, PMC 147gr FMJ-BT

FNAR 25 yds, PMC 147gr FMJ-BT

FNAR 25 yds, PMC 147gr FMJ-BT, 0.52" edge to edge which gives 0.21" center to center

FNAR 25 yds, PMC 147gr FMJ-BT, 0.70 edge to edge which gives 0.39" center to center

FNAR 25 yds, PMC 147gr FMJ-BT, 0.80" edge to edge which gives 0.49" center to center

Final Thoughs: 
If cheap ammo will do this, I think match ammo will do great.  I didn't want to waste any match ammo on this 25 yard test.  When I shoot at 100 yards, I will also have a much better rest setup.  I plan on using a Caldwell Lead Sled.  I'm looking for the accuracy of the rifle, not the accuracy of me (that's a different review).

You can see all of my posts on my FNAR rifle by going to my Summary Page.

Blackhawk Single Point Sling Adapter Review

Blackhawk Single Point Sling Adapter Review, Blackhawk Review, Sling Adapter Review
Although the FNAR comes with forearm and butt stock sling mounts, I really wanted to use a single point sling on this rifle.  Also, I have an AR-15 with an A2 stock and wanted to use a single point sling on that rifle also.  For my AR, I could go out and purchase an adapter plate that installs between the stock and receiver.  They are a little pricey, but it is probably the best technical solution.  But for my FNAR, there is no adapter plate (at least not at this time).  While I was searching for a solution, I stumbled across the Blackhawk Single Point Sling Adapter.  I ended up getting one from Opticsplanet.com for $5.59.

Notice the buckle on the right.  It keeps the webbing from slipping once installed on your rifle.  Also, it is a royal pain to get the webbing back through this buckle while on your rifle.  Especially if you install the adapter tight to your stock like I did.

Below you can see what the webbing looked like after I installed the adapter.  I had to use a screw driver to start the webbing through the second side of the buckle and a pair of pliers to pull it the rest of the way.

Since the pliers frayed the end of the webbing, I trimmed it back and re-melted the webbing to prevent if from fraying.  Now it looked good as new again.

The next two photos are with my FNAR hanging from the Blackhawk Single Point Sling Adapter.  FYI, that is a CAA One Point Sling supporting my rifle and it will be my next review item.  With the adapter installed tight against my stock, it holds the rifle well and keeps a good shape (doesn’t roll over and look sloppy).

Bottom Line: 
The Blackhawk Single Point Sling Adapter is a real pain to install correctly due to the plastic buckle not having much room to thread the webbing through.  I believe this is because the webbing is tubular, it is like having 4 layers of webbing through the buckle.  The good side is that once you get it in place, this adapter is rock solid.  I have no fear that this attachment would ever fail.  Was it worth $5.59?  Most definitely.  Will I ever buy another?  The next time I place an order from some other gadgets, I will get at least one more of these for my AR-15 and even possibly another to have on hand.