Is the ammo my problem?

Maggot

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood"
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  • Jul 27, 2007
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    I have a nice Remington 5R in 223 Timmeny trigger. From all Ive read it should be a sub MOA rifle. Ive tried a couple 55 grain load, Winchester and Federal, and the old 62 grain green tips and cant bet much below 1.5 moa. Ive checked the scope and dont think its the problem. It could just be that I cant shoot worth a damn but Im wondering if some match or lighter (40 gr...45gr...50gr?) ammo might make a difference.? I know try some but its not easy to find local. Anyone have any experience with this rifle?
     
    I have a nice Remington 5R in 223 Timmeny trigger. From all Ive read it should be a sub MOA rifle. Ive tried a couple 55 grain load, Winchester and Federal, and the old 62 grain green tips and cant bet much below 1.5 moa. Ive checked the scope and dont think its the problem. It could just be that I cant shoot worth a damn but Im wondering if some match or lighter (40 gr...45gr...50gr?) ammo might make a difference.? I know try some but its not easy to find local. Anyone have any experience with this rifle?
    Shoot BH 77 otm (identical to mk262 mod1) or roll your own. No reason to use fmj blaster ammo in a bolt gun if you want consistent 1moa or better precision.
     
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    You need to shoot quality ammo.

    55 and 62 gr factory trash is just loaded to go bang. Its not loaded to be accurate.

    Buy some match ammo and try it out. Federal Gold Medal Match is the standard for 223 and 308 factory ammo. 69 or 77gr will shoot great.
    You can try with cheaper ammo also advertised as “match” but 55/62gr stuff simply isnt loaded or held to the same standard as match ammo.

    Also, you can order ammo online. Its usually going to be cheaper than in any big box store anyway
     
    If you decide to try some different variations of factory ammo just check ammoseek.com every so often. Factory brands I have had the best results with in my 308's and 6.5's outside of the usual suspects are ADI, Norma, Black Hills, Geco, Swiss P, and some freedom munitions believe it or not. ADI and Norma are especially recommended because they are priced very well for the current environment.
     
    FGMM 69 or 77 is always a great choice. When I was shooting factory out of my RPR .223 besides FGMM, Hornady black 75gr BTHP and even cheaper (back then) frontier 75gr ammo worked great. You could always try finding Berger ammo and save the brass in case you ever decide to reload.
     
    Using an AR that I built from 80%, big fat 20" barrel, other quality parts, I was very disappointed when I was unable to shoot better than about 1.75MOA. I fiddled with all sorts of crap figuring it was my handiwork that had caused this rifle to be so inaccurate. Then I reloaded some of those empty cases and used some Varmageddon bullets. It will stack those in about a .35" hole at 100 yards.
    It's most likely, as others have stated, poor quality control factory or surplus ammo.
     
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    Huh I think this is the first shooting related post I’ve seen from you. I was stating to wonder if you even had a rifle.
    Perhaps youve blinded yourself from not using your shield when you weld?

    I have quite a few rifles, but dont get to the range as often as Id like.

    You should pay more attention,
     
    Thanks to those above who offered valuable suggestions. Just got back from the range and IT WAS THE AMMO. Met with another Hide member who gave me some Hornady 75 grain and ChaChing, this little rifle is a tack driver. Still want to try some 77 and maybe some 69 grain.
     
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    Don’t forget some atlas bipods or better. Harris will turn your groups to absolute dogshit in a hurry
    My experience is that the non wiggly Atlas bipods do indeed result in better groups than Harris stamped metal rickety bipods.

    If you can't afford Atlas, use a cheap sandbag; make sure NOTHING is touching your barrel anytime you shoot

    69 Sierra Match King will be accurate in pretty much any .223; 77 is very good as well, my .223 likes 77 better at the 100

    Federal Gold Medal Match as mentioned before is a great starting point to get an idea of what your rifle can do.

    If you're getting 1.5MOA from bulk 55gr ammo, you must be a pretty good shooter. I usually get 2-2.5 or so with 55gr bulk ammo.

    With the SMK bullets from pretty much any decent factory it's just a bit above 0.5 for me; under 0.5 with 77SMK from DTAC (I'm almost out of my stash I bought a long time ago)
     
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    Thanks to those above who offered valuable suggestions. Just got back from the range and IT WAS THE AMMO. Met with another Hide member who gave me some Hornady 75 grain and ChaChing, this little rifle is a tack driver. Still want to try some 77 and maybe some 69 grain.
    That 69-78 gr range will be where your rifle likes to eat. Stay there and shoot as good of ammo as you can get. Or you could load your own Hornady 75gr bthp and TAC with around 25grains of powder and you can have a one hole shooter...
     
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    My experience is that the non wiggly Atlas bipods do indeed result in better groups than Harris stamped metal rickety bipods.

    If you can't afford Atlas, use a cheap sandbag; make sure NOTHING is touching your barrel anytime you shoot

    69 Sierra Match King will be accurate in pretty much any .223; 77 is very good as well, my .223 likes 77 better at the 100

    Federal Gold Medal Match as mentioned before is a great starting point to get an idea of what your rifle can do.

    If you're getting 1.5MOA from bulk 55gr ammo, you must be a pretty good shooter. I usually get 2-2.5 or so with 55gr bulk ammo.

    With the SMK bullets from pretty much any decent factory it's just a bit above 0.5 for me; under 0.5 with 77SMK from DTAC (I'm almost out of my stash I bought a long time ago)
    That 69-78 gr range will be where your rifle likes to eat. Stay there and shoot as good of ammo as you can get. Or you could load your own Hornady 75gr bthp and TAC with around 25grains of powder and you can have a one hole shooter...
    Thanks, Im looking for some 77 and some 69 as we speak. Its nice to know it was the ammo and not my lousy shooting.

    Makes me ant to try some good stuff in my AR.
     
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    My experience is that the non wiggly Atlas bipods do indeed result in better groups than Harris stamped metal rickety bipods.

    If you can't afford Atlas, use a cheap sandbag; make sure NOTHING is touching your barrel anytime you shoot

    69 Sierra Match King will be accurate in pretty much any .223; 77 is very good as well, my .223 likes 77 better at the 100

    Federal Gold Medal Match as mentioned before is a great starting point to get an idea of what your rifle can do.

    If you're getting 1.5MOA from bulk 55gr ammo, you must be a pretty good shooter. I usually get 2-2.5 or so with 55gr bulk ammo.

    With the SMK bullets from pretty much any decent factory it's just a bit above 0.5 for me; under 0.5 with 77SMK from DTAC (I'm almost out of my stash I bought a long time ago)
    My experience has been it is a lot easier to shoot nice groups off an atlas. If you make sure the legs on harris are set up the same for each shot you can shoot pretty good groups off them. In my experience it usually involves moving the rifle around, picking up the front to even the stress on the legs, until its close to the target, adjusting my aim point to the target, lifting one leg then the other to even out the stress again, then taking the shot.