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Posted: 12/18/2006 3:03:17 PM EDT
| I purchesed a new Bushmaster 16" Heavy barreled Carbine back in Oct. and I have not been able to get it to group like I had hoped it would. I didnt expect to be able to make the holes touch at 200 yards but I was hopeing for 2 or 3 inch groups but its more like 6 to 8 in. groups. Is this normal and does anyone know of anything I can do to increase accuracy? It seems to do best with Remingtom .223 55 grn HP but there may be a better combination for it. |
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Not really sure on how to answer your question, but can give you a few hints, If the barrel is chrome lined, it may take a few thousand rounds before the barrel settles in. Granted that you can stress relieve the barrel is a few section via getting it hot, then letting it cool off naturally, it's the normal plating production burs that will take a while to smooth out during live fire (throat leade, muzzle crown, even the rifling unifying). If you are limited to factory loads, give M-193 and Q-3131 a try. The ammo is loaded on the hotter side, and may just be the ticket to get the correct barrel harmonics. In regards to the 2"-3" groups @200 meters, the barrel would need to be close to a MOA unit, and although one does slip through the cracks every blue moon, a 3 MOA barrel is more of the norm in regards to production runs/general factory ammo. To conclude, get a few thousand rounds down the tube, then go back to retesting factory loads to see what you can ring out of the unit. If that is a bust for what you are looking for, then time at the reloading bench/range would be best served. P.S. Welcome to the site!!!!!!! |
| Thanks for the advise. The barrel is chrome lined and has only had about a thousand or so rounds through it and since I have been useing the gun for hunting application for the past month or so I really havent had time to do much plinking with it. I will give the handloads a try I have had great success with them in my .300 win. mag Just been to lazy to take the time to load up a hundred or two .223 rounds:( |
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You will hear of a lot of people saying that their rifle shoots moa out of the box. Unless they have a FF match-grade barrel on it and are shooting match ammo, I usually assume they are really saying "if I shoot 10 3-rnd groups at a target at 100 yds, at least one of those groups will be pretty close to 1 moa, the rest will be around 3 moa", or "my rifle shoots 5-rnd moa groups consistently, I just usually have 1 to 2 called flyers in each group". In otherwords, don't believe the hype about how accurate a rifle should be out of the box. A stock ar-15 out of the box, shooting common commercial/mil-spec fodder, 10 rnd groups should shoot in the 3 to 4 moa range at 100 yds. If you get lucky, you may find some off the shelf ammo that will produce 2 moa groups. The best way to improve accuracy is to first reload, using a good load development regime (the OCW method is good), followed by FF the barrel, replacing the barrel, etc. |
| I am shooting a bushmaster XM15 E2S Carbine. It has a Bushnell 4-12X40 scope and I put it in a vise to sight it in. A friend of mine who is a dealer told me to switch from remingtom ammo to Federal. I did and with the 55grn balistic tips I can keep my groups under 2". After sighting it in I shot 10 rounds and the furthest off was 1 3/4 ins. My vise isnt a real good one so the is still a little wable I am sure if I had a better one I could keep the groups close to 1" from what I have seen so far. This has sure made me a believer in Federal ammo. Its just to expensive to plink with $25 to $30 a box. But I am researching reloaders now where I can load my own and still be economical. |
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I should have been more awake before i replied. A GOOD barrel using MATCH grade ammo will shoot 1.5 moa with all the extra i mentioned. Most companis test with 3 round groups and thats where that figure comes from. I can shoot 2 moa with acog, standard trigger, no benchrest and BH 75 grain more than half the time but that is also with rock creek barrel and i shoot 5 round groups. |
+1 |
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