Also, can you confirm that your load of 175 SMK/44 Varget/210M was in an LMT gas gun? If so, I'm open to ideas on "known" loads for this rifle and keys to .308 gas gun shooting that differ from the bolt gun. I have spent years behind the bolt gun and am new to the LMT, any constructive tips are welcome. On my McMillan A3-5 my thumb rides the top of the stock on a small patch of fuzzy velcro behind the safety for consistency however, I find that on the AR grip it is looking for a place to rest.
175 smk and 44 varget was bulging the case webbing on me in lapua brass...
My 20" ss loves 44 grains of varget with 168 Amax's in lapua brass at 2.810 oal. Consistantly sub moa, averaging around .5 to .6, with a few .25 groups. Five rounds.
My 18" ss I haven't figured out yet, need to do some load testing as the above load is only moa with it.
My 16" cl was only just moa, and not consitantly, with every load except 155 scenars with 46 grains of varget. That was a solid 1 moa, with a few sub moa groups now and then.
I run a loose grip, with firm pressure on an atlas bipod (spike feet), and make sure to really focus on following through on the trigger. Pin it and then allow it to reset a second or two after the shot breaks. That makes you focus on consistant recoil management.
All basic stuff, but the gasser picks out flaws in the basics much more than my bolt guns.
I used to use a ubr stock on mine with a standard larue m4 scope mount.
I saw a large improvement in groups going to a lower scope mount in the 1.25" range vs the larue's 1.5" height. It didn't really feel a whole lot different, but the cheek weld is more consistant. I put pressure straight down instead of a little sideways and down. Cleaned up a bit of horizontal dispersion.
Also saw a slight improvement with a jp locking rear takedown pin.