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Author Topic: AR Accuracy  (Read 3923 times)

Offline konradcountry

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Re: AR Accuracy
« Reply #30 on: April 03, 2020, 01:43:32 PM »
Don't worry about all the other suggestions on here, buy some Federal GMM and let us know what it does.  It will tell you what your rifle will do, eliminating your reloads as a factor.  If GMM doesn't shoot there is something else going on.  If GMM shoots, its your reloads, it's probably your reloads.

I'm gonna second 300rum again. Get some off the shelf 69 grain and try it out.

Video of a guy trying different loads with that gun
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdzNr5jQoNE#t=3m51s

Offline Yondering

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Re: AR Accuracy
« Reply #31 on: April 03, 2020, 02:59:16 PM »
I seen the pics of your reloading books I guess you are spot on with powder charge.You ever just tried a plain old soft point bullet there better for hunting anyway.
Everybody says barrel ,have you tryed to clean that sucker I mean run your bore brush with solvent like 20 times through it.Ive I've seen accuracy improve greatly in some cheap as barrel with a good clean. Especially if you have ever shot factory ammo some of that stuff is so dirty.
But ya that's my recommendation different
Powder charge
Bullets
Good barrel clean
See what happens I think you have to figure what she likes.

No not 20 times I went all the way back to "BOOT CAMP" and ran bore brush 50 strokes in and 50 strokes out, with new brush, swabbed and brushed 50 more. As afar as soft  point yes have tried 55 grain Spitzter boat tails (SBT), 65 grain SBT with numerous different loads, and different primers CCI 400,  and Fed 205's

OK I gotta ask - are you able to shoot ANY rifle to the accuracy standards you're expecting from this AR? The shooter is a big part of the equation, and a stock AR is a little more difficult to shoot than a well tuned bolt action, especially if you're using the factory trigger.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but from your posts I'm not getting the impression that you know much about precision shooting or about developing precision handloads. That's not intended as an insult, but to point out that those things are a huge part of making any rifle shoot 0.5 moa. You can't just blame it on the manufacturer if your skills and ammo aren't up to the task.

I do agree with the others that trying some good ammo like Federal Gold Metal Match 69gr or 77gr is a good place to start. However I would not expect those to shoot 0.5 moa either; they should be capable of ~1 moa or a little better, but a true consistent 0.5 moa load requires some work in load development for that specific rifle. And by load development I do not mean just randomly trying different components.

Here are some tips on load development:
- Start with a known accuracy bullet. The 69gr Sierra Matchking is probably the best to start with, as it's very easy to find good loads for.
- Figure out the max powder charge for the powder you want to use. I strongly suggest trying Ramshot XTerminator and using their data (Western Powders Load Guide 7.0 is a free download); they list 5.56 data for that 69gr SMK bullet. Start low, and with 3-5 rounds at a time work up to that max load to verify it's safe. Now that you know what works in this rifle, it's time for accuracy testing.
- Start by testing seating depth first, not powder charge weight. Load a series of 4-5 shots each at different seating depths to start with; you're mostly limited to 2.260" max OAL with AR magazines so start there. Try something like 2.260", 2.245", 2.230", and 2.215" OAL, 4-5 rounds of each of those.
- For powder charge with those, you can load ~0.5gr below max, but I recently learned a better way that works well: vary the powder charge at each seating depth, maybe somewhere between max and 1.5gr below max. This helps show better what seating depth is best.
- Now shoot those rounds in a round-robin system, meaning you'll label a separate target for each seating depth, and shoot one shot at a time at each. Then come back around and shoot another shot of each at a time. This makes sure that each group has the same (or similar) impacts of barrel fouling and barrel temp, among other things. When you're done, the targets should show a particular seating depth that is more accurate than the others. That's your seating depth for that bullet. If you want to dial it in better you can repeat the test at finer increments around that best seating depth, or just go with what you found out.
- With that new optimum seating depth, now you can test for optimum powder charge in pretty much the same fashion; load different charge weights about 0.3gr apart up to max. Use that optimum seating depth for all of them.
- When that is done, you can try different primers if you want with another similar test.

Personally, with certain powders that are known to shoot best at max charges (like Ramshot Xterminator, and Leverevolution in my experience) I don't do a powder charge accuracy test with some of my rifles; I just find max, test for optimum seating depth, and go shooting.

YMMV and there are a lot of different methods and opinions about load development and there can be a lot more to it, but the above is a solid way to get started, in my experience.

Offline Alchase

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Re: AR Accuracy
« Reply #32 on: April 03, 2020, 03:17:21 PM »
Don't worry about all the other suggestions on here, buy some Federal GMM and let us know what it does.  It will tell you what your rifle will do, eliminating your reloads as a factor.  If GMM doesn't shoot there is something else going on.  If GMM shoots, its your reloads, it's probably your reloads.

I'm gonna second 300rum again. Get some off the shelf 69 grain and try it out.

Video of a guy trying different loads with that gun
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdzNr5jQoNE#t=3m51s

 :yeah:

Before you blame your rifle, do as 300rum and Konradcountry suggests, buy some good match grade ammo. It is a known quantity, and if it shoots well you know your rifle is fine.
Only 2 defining forces sacrificed themselves for you:
The American Soldier and Jesus Christ. One died for your freedom, the other for your soul.

My rock,
He trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
Psalm 144.1

Offline Goshawk

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Re: AR Accuracy
« Reply #33 on: April 06, 2020, 05:36:08 PM »
Thanks everyone for the responses and suggestions on what needs to be done  to make this get at least get close to my expectations after all a rifle regardless of what kind it is if it isn't accurate it isn't worth being called a rifle.  Maybe I'll never get it to be a 5 shot one hole performer but hopefully at least 5 of 5 in a quarter otherwise it's gonna be gone.

If you're anywhere near Lewis County, I have a range, bench, and reloading gear we can dive into it for you. 
You'll never get a Big'un if you keep shooting Little'un's.

 


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