[ARCHIVED THREAD] - A sub-MOA rifle for less than the price of a HiPoint 40? UPDATE: sub-MOA achieved, pics on p.3 (Page 2 of 12)
"Trigger warning" for the photographers reading this: I really suck at photography and yes - these are IPhone photos! 
Here is the box it comes in: Attached File And here is the 3-lug bolt and the rotary mag made of apparently the same polymer MagPul uses: Attached File The recoil pad is thick rubber, which I have a feeling will come in handy since "oh you just HAD to have the magnum didn't you??!?" 300 Win Mag. Also pictured is the Compass key chain that comes with every rifle: Attached File |
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You can't test the MOA guarantee without a scope. And true to the "budget nature" of this project, I scrounged around the basement for the cheapest 3x9 I could find down there: an old Tasco, which I honestly don't recall how I came to own (I suspect it was in a box of gun stuff I inhereted from an older brother).
Re Tasco: some their products were once made in Japan rather than China, and they sometimes have decent glass - or at least usuable quality glass. Also found in the basement: a set of steel 1" mystery rings - also probably inhereted from my brother (and probably Chinese). A not-expensive set up for a not-expensive rifle. But it should have a fair chance even with me behind the trigger. Attached File Edit: this photo clearly shows Thompson Center's parent company on the receiver ring: Smith & Wesson. However, this is still a T/C product. An old T/C Hawken muzzle loader was the 1st gun I built when I was 15, and I completed it with my dad (who has passed on). I guess I have a soft spot for T/C. |
The same day I ordered the rifle from Kentucky Gun Company , I searched Midway USA's site and found this muzzle brake on sale for $19. It is a very nicely machined brake, and although meant for an AR10, it should work on the Compass (it threaded right on and "timed" correctly with the included crush washer). If it works, it should keep me and the scope from becoming "blood brothers" as suggested above
I also ordered a Caldwell budget bipod for under $30; it attaches to the sling swivel. 
Here is how they look mounted on my rifle: Attached File Attached File And finally the whole rifle ready for the big test! (oops! Here is - hopefully - the photo): Attached File |
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I'm suddenly very tempted to get one in .223 and an SWFA 12x since I have a boatload of .223 brass, a bunch of dies, and still don't reload for my .308 precision rifle. Is this a free-float setup? |
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THE "PREMIUM AMMO"
Once I realized that "premium" 300 Win Mag ammo would run about $30 to $40 a box, I understood there was only one "budget" alternative for me: reload! (This would have been so much easier if I'd only bought a Compass in 308. Or 556. Or even Creedmore! But no . . . I remembered an old bag of 300WM brass I had in the basement which I picked up someplace years ago - knowing it was expensive brass someone had left at the range. So I headed back down to do some more scavenging: GOOD NEWS! I found the brass. BAD NEWS. There are several different head stamps mixed in: Attached File Worse still, all but one lot from the same manufacturer measured too long and needed trimming, but I didn't have a 300 case holder. The 20 or so cases which were in spec have the headstamp "Frontier". (???). They will have to do. Next it was time to scrounge some bullets. I came up with (L-R) some RMR 175 grain SP "pulls", some 125 Grain Speer TNTs, and some pulled M-80s (147 grain bullets often used in M240 ammo). Attached File Well, "pulls" are unpredictable and usually inaccurate. And canalures on bullets do not enhance accuracy. So 125 grn TNTs it will be. I loaded them over a starting-load of H4831SC with a Federal primer. 125 is very light for 300WM. And as short as they are, I really hope they tolerate the really long "jump" they will have to make to reach the rifling. On the up side, recoil should be minimal. Here is how a few of them look ready for tomorrow's test: Attached File |
| I have one of these in 6.5 and it's definitely sub-moa. 3 shot groups went from .9" to a little bit over .5" (.518 if i remember correctly) and then I finished the day with a 7 or 8 shot group that was .97". No break-in or anything cause it's a $200 rifle so I didn't give a shit. I would like to find an aftermarket stock for this thing though. |
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Thompson Center Compass 308 Win Bolt-Action Rifle In Stock and Ready to Ship $274.99 Includes free shipping ? Deal Ends in 59d 8h 2m 17s $199.99 after applicable rebate. THOMPSON CENTER COMPASS 6.5 CREEDMOOR 22" Sale Price : $272.83 No credit card fees on this Item This item qualifies for Free Shipping! |
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Also found in the basement: a set of steel 1" mystery rings - also probably inhereted from my brother (and probably Chinese). A not-expensive set up for a not-expensive rifle. But it should have a fair chance even with me behind the trigger. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/417478/image-351549.JPG |
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Good luck but I don't have very high hopes for that ammo. When I used to reload a lot, I can't remember any single light load that ever shot well. Having said that, I also don't remember ever not being able to come up with at least one sub moa load for any rifle if I really worked at it.
That's a heck of a deal on that rifle. I'm a big fan of TC and have a 30-30 carbine barrell for my Contender that shoots handloaded 150 gr. SP CoreLokts over 30 grains of IMR 3031 with bullet holes touching at 100 yards. I also have a TC 3X9 scope that would go great on that rifle. I just wish I could afford one right now. 
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Quoted:
Good luck but I don't have very high hopes for that ammo. When I used to reload a lot, I can't remember any single light load that ever shot well. Having said that, I also don't remember ever not being able to come up with at least one sub moa load for any rifle if I really worked at it. That's a heck of a deal on that rifle. I'm a big fan of TC and have a 30-30 carbine barrell for my Contender that shoots handloaded 150 gr. SP CoreLokts over 30 grains of IMR 3031 with bullet holes touching at 100 yards. I also have a TC 3X9 scope that would go great on that rifle. I just wish I could afford one right now. http://usarmorment.com/pdf/300WM_load%20data.pdf The bullet I'm trying to use is close to half the weight! There's also a chance that these little TNT bullets will "disintegrate" before reaching the target . Speer's manual does not recommend velocity over 3000 fps - which is likely with this load.
I am also jumping these bullets a loooong way to the rifling. Not exactly the "premium" ammo specified, is it? We will all soon find out! |
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I bought on in .223 about six weeks ago on sale from a local chain. $274 then get $75 rebate. I have found that at a measured 100 yards, it is grouping factory ammo like American eagle, as well as my handloads, under 1" at a measured 100 yards, this is from the bench and using a bipod. I found that cheap WPA is grouping around 2" which is sorta good for cheap russian blasting ammo.
As for the trigger, it is factory set but adjustable. It's breaking around 3 1/2 lbs crisp and clean. It looks like the adjustment requires some common tools and of course removing the rifle from the stock. I see no reason to change anything that came with the rifle. I've also found the rotary magazine to be smooth and reliable in function. Overall, I like this rifle and at this price point, with or without the rebate, I would buy another. Prior to this I was most certainly a Savage guy as bolt guns go. Now I could go either way with an edge towards the TC. It is certainly way way ahead of the Axis I previously had and dumped. |
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No they weren’t. Quoted:
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Should've got a Ruger American from the walmart thread. All three of mine are sub moa right out of the box with junk factory ammo. |
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the Savage 93R17GV has been available for years. Easier to make a rifle with a great reputation for accuracy with only a few factory loads though I would imagine, especially when they are all known to be high quality. |
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Any chance of finding a $200 bolt rifle in .338 Lapua that won't kill me by blowing up, or with recoil?
But seriously... I wouldn't mind one of these in .223. I've been jonesing for a .223 bolt gun ever since I gave my compact Ruger M77 back to my dad (who was missing it), who then gave it to my BIL, who then pawned it off. Loved that sweet little, fun-to-shoot rifle. |
| IIRC a WalMart in my area had some Savage 111(not sure of the exact model, think it was fpx-111, the x designating a walmart gun) with the accu-trigger for around 300 bucks, a few years ago. Not sure how the prices have fluctuated. Sub 200 would sure be impressive. |
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I wonder if you could foam or bed in a beef up light metal reenforcing member into the forearm? The review mentioned it was sloppy also. In for results. A 6.5CM would be interesting. |
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This is the last pre-test update:
Trying to fall asleep last night, I got to thinking (which is always a dangerous proposition for me) about my "premium" test ammo; - are my reloads good enough? - will the little TNT bullets disappear into a cloud of metallic dust just beyond the muzzle?? (a target with no holes at all - that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it). I need a box of "backup" test ammo I realized (but it's a bit late for that, now isn't it?). My angst/ neurosis/ sleep-deprivation got to me, until I remembered: - hasn't GD gone on and on about a Walmart ammo clearance sale? YES! I thought - and I drifted off to sleep with dreams of $6 boxes of factory Win Mag in my head. I headed out early for the local 24 hour Walmart, ready to plunk down my $6. Well, 26 dollars later, I left WalMart with this: Attached File 
No close out sale at my Walmart - at least not on 300WM, 556, 308, 9mm, 22lr. At least the Remington isn't $50 a box. And it's sorta-kinda-not really "premium ammunition." Actually - I have to say: this is kinda crappy ammo. Don't get me wrong - the 30 caliber Remington Core-Lokt bullet is a proven, consistent performer on large game; you can search and find zillions of photos of perfectly mushroomed Core Lokts recovered from actual game. The problem (as I see it) is how Remington crimpt the living daylights out of these cases, smashing the case mouth deeply into a very deep cannalure. Not only does this combo not make for the best accuracy, it also screws up the case mouth for future reloading. However, for the sake of GD, I took the $26 hit ( ) and there WILL be a test, come heck, high water, or even mediocre test ammo! Stay tuned for later today.
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Quoted:
I love the OP's logic... Highpont - "MSRP is this, I don't care if you can get it cheaper, etc etc" SubMOA rifle - "It's less than the highpoint because it's on sale here for the best price and you can take rebates off" 
Apples to oranges. |