New reloader, . 223 oal variance

[Chanceterrill]

But you have time to go to the range and waste it without understand why things don't work and whether it's you, the rifle, or both



If I had a buck for every time I've heard that



Yes

LOL so it's both? It's a budget ar n it's shooting close to around the inch mark, it's getting there imo, n isn't making mistakes part of the process? That's y I'm asking questions. Idk l, I enjoy shooting n wanna tighten up is all

 

[Chanceterrill]

.

 

[Chanceterrill]

But you have time to go to the range and waste it without understand why things don't work and whether it's you, the rifle, or both



If I had a buck for every time I've heard that



Yes

But any how thanks for the tips to u n everyone else who took time to help me out..... I'll keep tinkering with the load n see if it gets better or worse, clean the barrel n keep on shooting to see what patterns I find...... Maybe I had an off day yesterday, idk but at least I donr have to worry about oal variance to meplat

 

[SilencedShooter11B]

That's where I'm at now, but most fall between 2.263 and 2.258........occasionally I'll have a 2.269 or a 2.25...... The other load that shot good was 23.7 for what ever reason 23.9 opened up quite a bit then shrunk again at 24.1...... Any reason for this or is that just the way it works, as in you have sweet spots that just work better

Some of the SMK meplats are very jagged. Hornady tends to have a more consistent open tip but measuring to the ogive is the most accurate way (as mentioned).

I load to mag length (2.260”) and use PMags which allow for a slight overage, so I know that if I get a meplat with jagged tip that there shouldn’t be an issue with it catching on the mag but if it’s seriously jagged I’ll bump it with a pass of a file and it’s good to go

 

[Chanceterrill]

Gonna try Sierra 52s and 69s n see what happens as well as tinker more with 77s

 

[Chanceterrill]

Gonna try Sierra 52s and 69s n see what happens as well as tinker more with 77s

Well haven't tried 52s yet but been playing with 69 smk and 77 smk some more, spereated headstamps on lc brass, and somehow my gun and or me are shooting worse...... Went from a 1.2 1.3 moa average, to a 1.5 1. 6 moa average...... There's usually 3 touching or very close and then 2 way out, most the stringing seems to occur up and down..... It could be I suck at reloading, it could be I suck at shooting or maybe it's combo. I have done a bunch of drills where I shoot a hundred rounds pretty damn quickly, maybe that ruined the barrel? No clue..... But around the same time as I started shooting fast paced, I put a sure fire war comp on my gun and it hasn't grouped as tight since

 

[Chanceterrill]

The barrel is the stock ruger chf 5r 4150 5. 556 chamber barrel. It has around 2500 3000 rounds through it.... The other thing that bugs me it how damn close the bottom of the gas block is to contacting rail. If I press barrel down it will click against the rail. Maybe that's part of the problem?

 

[Chanceterrill]

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

 

[Chanceterrill]

But you have time to go to the range and waste it without understand why things don't work and whether it's you, the rifle, or both



If I had a buck for every time I've heard that



Yes

View attachment 7895520
My son have shot 77tmk out to unknown targets set out pass 700 yards. Consistently too. But winds wasn’t too bad that day (10-15mph). You can zoom up to see it on the wind meter.

I just moved off hard bench to prone and my groups shrunk in half, using rear bag and magpul bipod still..... I'm getting sub moa averages now with the 77smk and 52 smk. 77smks are on 24.1 grains of varget
The 52s on orange bulls Are on 27.1 grains of 748, and the 52s on white targets are 26.5 grains of 748.......overall for a thousand dollar stock ar, I'm pretty happy with these results. If do get a criterion or krieger barrel I think I can keep everything around a .65 moa average...... As of now all the groups tallied average around .78 to .8 moa..... So I'd call that "sub moa"..... No way it will get worse with match trigger and barrel right?

 

[Chanceterrill]

How do these groups look to you pros? Keep in mind I've only been seriously shooting for about a year.... First ar15 and I've only reloaded for about a month now..... I can drum up more excuses too if need be lol. I came to this forum to learn from the best so any help or advice is greatly appreciated

 

[308pirate]

How do these groups look to you pros?

We're all amateurs here just like you.

 

[Chanceterrill]

We're all amateurs here just like you.

Yeah right, you guys all shoot out to 600 yards and 1000 yards and talk about shit I've never even heard of..... Taping dope charts to scope lids etc...... I'm no where near that level of shooting...... 300 and in is where I live lol. But the groups above are about like what I used to shoot with my 3006 with handloads my dad tuned..... Savage 110 and a remington 710..... The Savage was more accurate...... But this ruger ar15 is way less forgiving to shoot..... It's seems to be super sensitive to cheek pressure, grip pressure, basically any pressure. I don't remember having to work this hard lol

 

[Chanceterrill]

This is an expensive little endeavor friend.... it's a lot of fun though! Yeah, 1moa ( or 1" group at 100yds) is thought to be pretty decent consistent groups with an AR unless it's a "precision ar".

I have a CLE AR 223 that will do 1/2" no problem, but again that's a very good barrel and an AR built for precision.

Since u were a part of this endeavor n gave me a bunch of tips I thought I'd reply to show u the improvements some of ur suggestions made...... There is pics of groups a fewposts up...... Went from 1.5 to .75....... I appreciate your help my friend

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

Since u were a part of this endeavor n gave me a bunch of tips I thought I'd reply to show u the improvements some of ur suggestions made...... There is pics of groups a fewposts up...... Went from 1.5 to .75....... I appreciate your help my friend

That's awesome man, im so glad it was helpful to you. That's consistent groups too. Nice!

 

[308pirate]

Yeah right, you guys all shoot out to 600 yards and 1000 yards and talk about shit I've never even heard of..... Taping dope charts to scope lids etc...... I'm no where near that level of shooting...... 300 and in is where I live lol.

The level of knowledge or skill isn't what determines who a professional is and who isn't. The difference lies in who gets paid to do this and who has to pay to play.

Almost none of us get paid to shoot and even the few who have legitimate sponsorships can't make a living out of shooting alone. So whether you agree or not, hardly anyone in this game is a professional. And those who are make it by teaching others or some other industry-related job.

The difference between most of us here and most shooters in the country is that we decided that we were going to become as good as our finances and time allows and we were going to delve into the art and science of long range shooting to master as much of it as we can.

The difference between those who you think are pros and the rest is that we decided that we were going to learn how to do this shit well and not sit on excuses.

Almost all of us started as you have. How far you go is entirely up to you.

 

[Chanceterrill]

The level of knowledge or skill isn't what determines who a professional is and who isn't. The difference lies in who gets paid to do this and who has to pay to play.

Almost none of us get paid to shoot and even the few who have legitimate sponsorships can't make a living out of shooting alone. So whether you agree or not, hardly anyone in this game is a professional. And those who are make it by teaching others or some other industry-related job.

The difference between most of us here and most shooters in the country is that we decided that we were going to become as good as our finances and time allows and we were going to delve into the art and science of long range shooting to master as much of it as we can.

The difference between those who you think are pros and the rest is that we decided that we were going to learn how to do this shit well and not sit on excuses.

Almost all of us started as you have. How far you go is entirely up to you.

I'd love to go further, I admit I've been bit by the bug..... Trouble is I don't know anywhere I can go shoot past 300 yards.....my ranges are all 100 in...... I have a couple fields I hunt that are about 500 to 600 yards across but it's so hilly I can only get about 300 yards, also I have to wait for a ground hog or rabbit to shoot at..... Hard to shoot groups on a groundhog lol..... It's addicting though. It certainly feels alot better to hear the thud of a dead critter with even the little bit of delay 250 yards makes, then to shoot em at 100.