I picked up a new piece on Friday, a DPMS Mod A-15 with chrome lined  16" barrell.

Now I've been wanting something that looks a little more like an M4 than does my Bushy 20" H bar for a long time, but I never expected any kind of accuracy out of such a short Bbl... That is until I got to the range and started punching paper.

I zeroed it in at 50 yards, open sights, and was impressed at the group, so I moved out to 75 yrds thinking it would fall apart here, but was pleased to find that even with the open sights I was able to keep 10 rounds inside, or just outside of a 2" C-more type target .

At 100 yards, it would hit an old military helmet every time (to my glee) and pierce completely through it including the inner liner.

While I know (or have heard) that the standard for the AR-15 was to hit a man sized target at 300 meters... Can I expect this accuracy from my Carbine?

As a novice/non-competitive benchrest shooter, I am already impressed, but would like to hear results from you old salts that have much experience with .223 carbines.

~Crpdeth  

A "standard" A2 can keep 'em in the heart at 500yd all day....on a mild day.   I suspect your 16" will do the same........at a lower velocity.

Dave s

The 16" barrel loses appx 200 fps as compared to the 20".  Any decrease in accuracy is due to the shorter sight radius.  With a scope, there is virtually no difference in accuracy.  At least, this has been my personal experience.

These are my groups from today with a RRA 24" varmint and DPMS 16" HBAR.  The scopes on both rifles are not particularly suitable for precision work.  The Aetec has thick crosshairs and the Russian scope has an open circle in the center of the crosshairs.

The different ammo types I tested are listed here:
ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=12&t=199146

Thanks alot Men, I have always looked at these weapons as CQB/Entry type tools, and expect to dress it out as such after the Sun Goes Down, but just never expected such accuracy...I dont plan to put a scope (ACOG or the like most likely) on it, but sure am injoying finding out about its capabalities.

Omar, looks like if you were to stick with the Win, and invest in some better glass you could pull off some one hole groups no problem, but like you said in the other thread, that UMC has to go.  

Thanks for posting up the target results!

~Crpdeth