Hi All.. weird question. Able to shoot 4-5 inch groups at anything from 3-600 yards with my RPR.. despite this, it is impossible for me to hit with the same consistence between 1-200 yards with a 100 yard zero. Had several PRS guys set up my scope, and shoot it as well. so this issue is not marksmanship, totally inconsistent.
RPR in 308, Viper 5-25x FFP, with vortex matched precision scope rings here. Ammo was pmc 147 grain (which I know isn’t great. Muzzle velocity on average is 2725 fps. Any ideas?
Always gotta keep in mind that with factory barrels, it's hit or miss . . . that is, it's a crap shoot whether or not you get a good shooting barrel or not.
You didn't say how many rounds you've fired through your factory barrel, as it might take a couple hundred for it to settle in. The quality of your ammo will also make a difference. Frankly, I feel the 147 PMC ammo isn't one of those.
I've learned to scope the bores to keep an eye on what going on inside. When I got my 6.5 PRC, I scoped it the day I got it and found that the chamber was poorly cut and I was having issues with the bolts performance. I shot a few rounds and couldn't really tell if there was an effect or not. I called Ruger and sent them pictures of the issue in the bore. They had me send them the gun and they decided to replace the gun with another new one. When I got this one, I scoped it and the chamber and bore looked much better as was the function of the bolt.
With my two RPR's (.308, 6.5 PRC) with their factory barrels, I got ~ .75 MOA consistently using factory ammo (like Federal match grade 168's and 175's), and with a Viper 4-16X50 FFP on the .308. Because the reticle on this scope was so thick, I switched to a Diamondback Tactical 6-24X50 which has a much thinner reticle and that helped with a slight improvement getting jut under .75 MOA with said factory ammo. After developing a good hand load for the .308 with 168 and 175 SMK's and setting the trigger to as light as possible, I was a get just over .5 MOA consistently. Note too that I was shooting off a
Caldwell front shooting rest and rear bag. Since then, I've upgraded a few things (e.g. barrel, the RPR rear rest and rear bag, trigger, shoot rest components) and can consistently get under .5 MOA, often well under that. One more thing I'm going to try to see if I get some move improvement is to lap the lugs. Am on my 3rd barrel and now have over 10,000 rounds fired on the bolt and the spring may be or may become an issue.
If you're not hand loading and want to compare how your RPR stacks up to other owners, you might want to use some premium ammo, like Federal Premium 168's, to see how that might compare.
I hope this all gives you some ideas.