Accuracy Expectations?

[Hondo64d]

I put my first AR together a while back with the following components:

Stiller Lower
VLTOR MUR upper
Black Hole 18" barrel with mid length gas system
Geissele SSA-E trigger
A2 buffer tube, buffer, spring and stock.
13" Troy Tactical VTAC Alpha handguard.

Loaded a bunch of ammo with range brass which I prepped and sorted, with a random load of TAC (24gr, IIRC) behind 68gr Hornady BTHPs.

Shot a 10 shot group at 100m and this is what I got. The grid is 1cm increments. I was pleased, but am wondering if I should do some methodical load development in the pursuit of better. Can I expect much better out of an AR?

John

 

[Oryx]

What does random load of TAC mean? you also stated a specific charge.... Did that vary randomly? The group is good and the chase of a better one is never ending.

 

[I Am Hero]

Certainly not a bad grouping, but I am sure you can get better grouping if you work around that load a bit. I have a 20" FN barrel 1/7 (not even a heavy barrel) 5.56 and with 69 gr SMKs and varget I was getting a solid .75 MOA at 100 yards day in and out.

 

[Hondo64d]

What does random load of TAC mean? you also stated a specific charge.... Did that vary randomly? The group is good and the chase of a better one is never ending.

I meant that it is one I looked in a manual and thought "that's as good a place to start as any." The charges were thrown via MVA powder measure.

John

 

[Oryx]

My fault, I get it now.
Still, a nice group.

 

[bAss Man]

Work up some other loads of TAC (great powder btw) in batches of 5 or so. I did the same and it brought my groupings way down. Best of luck

 

[Tangodown911]

Looks good. Never give up looking for something better or fine tuning a load. I'd take that with all things considered.

 

[997/2man]

You could work up a pet load, not only powder weight, but bullet for your barrels twist.

Slow down your shooting (time between rounds, can affect group size as barrel heats).

Get your shooting/breathing/pulse/focus down.


You could make those groups shrink by 1/3.


Not a bad effort, have fun with it. Get really good with ONE rifle… And, you put it together.

 

[Hondo64d]

I appreciate the responses. Consensus seems to be it might do a little better, so I'll work with it a little more. Gonna stay with TAC though. It just meters too nice to ignore for high volume shooting.

John

 

[deersniper]

Is this the first precision semi rifle you have shot? They are a lot harder to be consistent with v a bolt.

My 223 and 308 POFs shoot around .6-.7 but they fall apart if I don't do everything perfect.

 

[LRRPF52]

Guys, that's a 10-shot group at 100m with an AR15. It's under 1 MOA. How many of us shoot 10-shot groups that can beat that? His horizontal is .764", vertical is .895" for 10rds at 109 yds.

 

[Tangodown911]

Well that bum Compass Lake barrel I paid $600+ for surely wasn't doing that.

 

[ctsmith]

Guys, that's a 10-shot group at 100m with an AR15. It's under 1 MOA. How many of us shoot 10-shot groups that can beat that? His horizontal is .764", vertical is .895" for 10rds at 109 yds.

+1

No way i would screw around chasing a more accurate load. Load a bunch of 'em and rock on.

 

[Deej]

I think I would just stick with it. Going to be hard to beat that load. And if do going to be hard to prove it unless you are the protocol son of AR shooting. And really how much better do you need unless fly hunting?
Awesome group btw. If I was you I would just puff up my chest and be proud.

 

[Sterling Shooter]

OP,

Pursuit of perfection will get you to the highest plateaus of good shooting. Pursuits however require knowledge, skill, and attitude. You can get off to a good start with some basic marksmanship training and perhaps some handloading instruction. There's a good book out there called Black Magic written by John Feamster that covers it all from the AR perspective.

 

[02Overlander]

Shot this 5 string yesterday, Black Hills MK262 MOD1 (Seconds)

 

[Hondo64d]

Looks great. How many shots?

John

 

[02Overlander]

5

 

[Sterling Shooter]

5

What does the horizontal grouping suggest about the consistency of your position from shot to shot?

 

[02Overlander]

Group was shot prone, off bipod. Pasture grass is getting a little taller and had to max out the bipod length. Rear squeeze bag wasn't long enough to span the distance and stabilize the stock (LMT SOPMOD). I'm thinking that was the contributing factor for the horizontal stringing.

 

[Sterling Shooter]

I put my first AR together a while back with the following components:

Stiller Lower
VLTOR MUR upper
Black Hole 18" barrel with mid length gas system
Geissele SSA-E trigger
A2 buffer tube, buffer, spring and stock.
13" Troy Tactical VTAC Alpha handguard.

Loaded a bunch of ammo with range brass which I prepped and sorted, with a random load of TAC (24gr, IIRC) behind 68gr Hornady BTHPs.

Shot a 10 shot group at 100m and this is what I got. The grid is 1cm increments. I was pleased, but am wondering if I should do some methodical load development in the pursuit of better. Can I expect much better out of an AR?

John

I expect all of my bullets to impact where aimed, period. My results usually fall short of my high expectations; nevertheless, I pursue perfection. Looking at the groupings from all here so far I see room for improvement. Also, shooting at 100 yards with scope using artificial support effectively masks shooter error. At such distance the scope and whatever rest will serve as a substitute for marksmanship. It is therefore difficult for the shooter or even a highly qualified coach to understand shooter/target errors. Take it out to about 300 to unmask shooter error and work on developing consistency in all aspects important.