What ammo is the most accurate in my rifle?

Author: Zhukov

Last Updated :: 7/28/2010 10:51:42 AM EDT

WHAT AMMO IS THE MOST ACCURATE IN MY RIFLE?

Not to be cheeky, but the answer is "it depends". Are you looking for a hyper-accurate round, or just something off the shelf that shoots well? People's definition of "accurate" varies quite a bit. Some people would call a 1.5" round at 100 yards accurate, while others wouldn't be happy with anything larger than 0.5" at the same distance. To obtain the absolute best in accuracy, you'll have to try it in your rifle and experiment. If you're just interested in some loads that others have been happy with, then here's some recommendations. The list is not all-inclusive by any stretch of the imagination, but should give you a starting point:

TWIST RATE	RIFLE	AMMO	RESULTS
1:7	Bushmaster M4A3 (EOTech 511)	Mk262 Mod1	1.25"
	CMMG 20", scoped	XM193	1"
	LMT M4 14.5 1/7 twist Aimpoint ML2	Black Hill Blue box 77gr
	Global Tactical Recon bbl	Mk262, Federal GMM 77gr, BHBB 75gr, TAP 5.56 75gr	All 4 loads will go sub MOA anyday. The Gold Metal Match has the tightest groups at around .7" at 100 yards
	WOA 18" SPR barrel	Mk262	1.65" at 200 yards

1:8	RRA 16in SS mid-length	Hand-loaded 77gr Nosler	< 1/2MOA
	RRA Predator Pursuit	Black Hills Red Box 77 grain HP, CorBon 69 grain HP, and Hornady 5.56mm 75 grain TAP	All shot 1/2" groups at 100 yards
	MSTN Recce Mod1 16" Lilja SS, Mid gas, 3 groove, 1:8 twist	Mk262 Mod1 (Black Hills 5.56 77gr Seconds)	1/2 MOA

1:9	Bushmaster varminter, 24" barrel	Winchester white box 45gr JHP	Several 1/2 or less 3hot groups @ 100 yards
	Stag 16in carbine	Federal 50gr JHP sold @ Wal Mart	Consistently less than 1 MOA
	Bushmaster XM15 16", ACOG TA-33R-8	Federal Gold Medal Match, 69gr SMK	1.15"
	RRA A4 Midlength, chrome lined, non free float on Stag Lower	Black Hills Blue Box 52gr match	1/2" 5 shot group at 100 yards
	RRA A4 Midlength, chrome lined, non free float on Stag Lower	Black Hills Factory Seconds 75 gr Match	0.65" 5 shot group at 100 yards
	Bushmaster 16inch	Federal American Eagle 62gr FMJ	1" @ 100 yards

As you can see, there are a lot of different ammo types that people have good results with. To reiterate: To find the absolute best, you have to experiment to find out what works best for you. If you're a reloader, you should already know that. One additional note: While 1:9 barrels usually can shoot 75gr bullets, they're only marginally stable and you will probably find that they won't shoot very accurately out of these barrels.

Arfcom user Cody47 has done a great job shooting 5-shot groups of a bunch of different ammo and posted the results. This ought to give you some more data to ponder:
.223/5.56 Ammo Test Part1
.223/5.56 Ammo Test Part2

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