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Posted: 8/30/2007 4:31:31 PM EDT
| Is the AR as accurate as a bolt gun? I have read most of the posts but was recently told by a Bench Rest Competitor that compared to a bolt gun, they are not as good. I think he is trying to get me to have him build me a custom gun. I feel I get one just as good if not better by doing it myself with an AR build, and save money or at least get better parts and performance. Your thoughts? |
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i'll bite... generally, a good, accurized bolt gun is going to be more accurate H/W, an AR can be made to be almost, if not just, as accurate as a comparable bolt gun (one such, supposidly, is Les Baer's accurized ARs) i will definitly say, that of all the auto systems, the AR has got to be the most consistantly (and inheritantly) accurate so i guess, the question is: what is your intended use for the rifle or you expected expectations of said rifle? and how much you are willing to spend as well as caliber and to what distance? FWIW: i've seen competators use both w/ good results; and, there are a LOT of factors, including, conditions, shooter skill, ammo selection, trigger, glass, etc |
| TNX for the reply. It's a real question. I was thinking of a build for hunting and fun. Maybe a 6.8SPC. I already reload for pistols in .45 and 10mm. I hunt with a .270 at this time, a Remmy 700 BDL SS. I thought a 6.8 would be fun and accurate for any hunting I do here in SC. Then I could shoot for fun and switch to .223 also. I do not have an AR at this time, but am interested in building as so many have fun doing it. Besides, if I decided to get out of it I could piece it off. |
You are ready for the 6.8 SPC, then. If you already have hunted with the 270, you will have experience with those bullets. However, be aware that the .277 bullets that 6.8 uses are shorter with lower BC, generally speaking. If you are in SC, you have no excuse for not going to Ko-Tonics to see Tim Hicks and buying one of his uppers / guns. You will be glad you did, especially if your goal is to hunt deer with it. |
| Bolt guns will have the edge,but there is no bolt gun that can dispatch multiple targets rapidly with accuracy as good as a semi auto . so 10 shots in lets say less than 15 seconds on multiple moveing targets would be a good test ,each fot it's intended purpose . |
Or plinking after that wounded ground squirrel running for it's life. 
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Accuracy is a subjective concept unless its quantified in some way. Is an AR as accurate as a bolt gun? Not in absolute terms, but what does this mean as a practical matter. Well, that all depends upon the "practical" application. I have found that my chrome lined 1:9" twist 20" will shoot sub 1 M.O.A. with handloaded Sierra 52gr HPBT Match bullets. This is VERY accurate by ALMOST any standards, but it's not good enough to beat a dedicated bench rest competition bolt gun. My 1:8" twist competition DCM bull barrel is a bit more accurate (hard to tell by exactly how much as it isn't scoped), but it still won't beat a dedicated bench rest match gun. All this is pretty meaningless to me because I'm do not compete in bench rest competitions. Okay, well let's compare the AR to another semiautomatic rifle with "assault rifle" pedigree; the AK. In this case the AR handily beats the AK by a very significant margin. A good AR with good factory ammo will probably give you 1.5 M.O.A. The best I've heard from with an AK is in the vicinity of 3.5 M.O.A. Bottomline, "traditionally" (tradition here being largely a product of the hunting rifle tradition) any rifle (up to around .30 cal.) which will deliver 1 M.O.A. is generally concidered to be an outstanding/exceptional rifle. Rifles (speaking VERY generally here) which fail to deliver at least 2 M.O.A. are starting to slip into the mediocre catagory. And by most standards of western rifle making tradtion, rifles which fail to deliver at least 3 M.O.A. with ANY ammunition are probably unacceptable for most purposes. Just an overview on the topic by one person. 
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| technically a bolt gun will out shoot an ar. a bench rest bolt gun will out shoot an ar due to the fact that they have a big fat 1.25 inch bbl with zero taper and a stock with a 4 inch flat bottom. that being said.... my les baer super varmint will shoot in the 2's 5 shot groups. NO IT ISNT 100% OF THE TIME...BUT it is every time i go to the range if i do my part it willl do it. my les baer will shoot 1/2 or less every time no issue no bs no problems.... it depends what type of gun you want and what you want do with it. |
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You can get a 1/2 inch 5 shot AR if you won't to spend the money. Check out Les Baer. He gurantees it. I have a friend here in SC that just had another builder make him a 6.8 that shoots under 1moa. Most off the rack bolt guns won't shoot a moa with 5 shots unless you get lucky or its a heavy barrel match rifle. JR |
| TNX to all for the replies. I think it would be fun to build and have an advantage over the bolt by being able to change calibers. Just so many advantages to the AR that it makes sense to do it. Not to mention that at the very least you will still get a gun accurate enough to hunt with and just as good as any off the shelf. TNX again. |
| One way to look at it is.....Some ARs shoot 1/4" groups, some Bolt guns do also. How much does it cost to have a 1/4" bolt gun built? How much does it cost to get a 1/4" AR built? Les Baer may charge quite a bit for his ARs, in relation to other ARs, but in relation to bolt guns that guarantee the same accuracy he does, they are very competitive. |
It depends on what ammo your shooting. I reload for my ARs (.223 + .308) and I get way better results than any bolt rifles I've used in past. So with the kind of groups I can get now reloading and the fact I can keep my sight on target with a semi it is far superior than a bolt system. 
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| I don't know much about ARs, haven't even ordered mine YET, but I am getting one for target/benchrest shooting myself. I have been reading a book called Black Magic, which is about very accuracte AR-15s and in one chapter the author was at a benchrest compition with this custom AR and he shot the best group at 200 yards; no other shooter with their dedicated bolt gun could shoot a better 200 yard group that day. The author also stated where the builder of his custom gun regularly shoots in benchrest compitions and does very well. Hope this helps. |
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