Hi.
I have a bushmaster that I've put about 1500-2000 rnds through. It's a standard bushmaster 20" HBAR with A1 rear sights. From what I've read, It seems I could resonably expect to see 1.5-2" groups at 100 yards with irons.

First, what I would like to know, is under what conditions are you guys achieving these groups? Clearly you are shooting from a bench rest, but are you using a rifle or a stock rest as well? My accuracy doesn't seem to be as good when I hold it only with my arms, or when shooting prone. (And clearly not offhand). Even when I use a rifle or a stock rest I can't seem to get that good groups.

Now, I am shooting wolf, and I understand that ammo is known for being less then accurate. But I shoud still be able to shoot 4-5" groups with that at 100 yards, shouldn't I? I can put all of my shots into a standard NRA 100 yard rifle target (that is, all the shots are on the black), but I can't seem to do much better then that no matter how hard I try.

In terms of technique, here's how I shoot:
I touch my nose to the charging handle for each shot (stretching the neck on that A2 stcok), and I use the middle of the first pad of my trigger finger (I used to use the joint of the finger, but a dude clued me in and it tightened up my group.) I watch my breathing, and work extensively on my trigger action to make sure I don't have a flinch.
Should I be touching my nose to the charging handle? The RO was trying to convince me that a natural cheekweld would give me better accuracy.
I taught my GF to shoot in this way, and she has shot several overlapping 3-shot groups at 50 yards with wolf. But again, this seems nigh impossible to repeat consistantly.

So do I need to get better ammo, or is this lack of accuracy due to my own skill? What sort of accuracy behavior does wolf tend to display at 50 to 100 yards?

Thanks.

PS - I love wolf. It functions perfectly, reliably, and cheaply. And it's great for plinking.

I would try different ammo. If you have crummy ammo and you start missing, you start to double guessig yourself. You should get some good ammo and then bench the rifle, If you cant get a group let somebody else try. IF several people cant get a good group, it is most likely something to do with your rifle. My M4gery has trouble keeping wolf all on a paper plate at 100yds.

"Now, I am shooting wolf, and I understand that ammo is known for being less then accurate. But I shoud still be able to shoot 4-5" groups with that at 100 yards, shouldn't I? I can put all of my shots into a standard NRA 100 yard rifle target (that is, all the shots are on the black), but I can't seem to do much better then that no matter how hard I try."

Get that with Wolf and a $300 AK47. May be a bad batch or something up with the gun, but my Armalite and 2 friend's ARs get 2moa with Wolf. Best start is to meet one of the local hotshots at the range, have him shoot your gun, see results, then decide equip or shooter.

If you are NE Oh, we can meet and sort.

For the true "accuracy" of your rifle, I suggest ya try (from the bench, w/ rifle rest front and rear or sandbags) one box of Black Hills or Fed GM ammo in 69grn. SMK if your rifle is 1/9 twist or 77grn. SMK if your rifle is 1/7 twist and you should be pleasently surprised at the new found accuracy of your Bushmaster. Might not hurt to clean all the crap deposited in your rifle and bore prior to testing.

Perhaps enough so that you'll lay off using second rate ammo in it.

Mike

For accuracy I bench rest using match reload ammo and a Lupy 3x9x40mm scope.  That's where I can get the smallest groups.  

But that type of shooting gets old fast.

Shoot really, really, really fast... it makes up for mediocre ammo and poor technique while maintaining your hit probability. $$$ cost will be the same if you stick with Wolf.  

1) I concur with the suggestion to have a "known good" shooter test the rifle. Try to find someone who compeats with a service rifle in NRA Highpower or similar, preferably someone who shoots Master level scores or higher.

2) Wolf probably isn't the best choice for accuracy testing. If you do have a "good" shooter test your rifle, you probably should have him fire ten rounds of the Wolf, and ten rounds of of a "known accurate" load, say Black Hills with 68 gr HPBTs. Make sure the Black Hills ammo isn't Moly coated--switching to Moly will initially provide very erratic results.

3) Bench rest shooting requires proper bench technique. For example, the barrel shouldn't be touching anything.

4) Prone requires proper technique. For example, you need to find your natural point of aim (NPA), get proper sight alignment and sight picture (they are not the same), focus on the front sight, surprise trigger break, proper follow through, etc.

5) I highly suggest NRA Highpower competition for those who want to learn to shoot really, really well.