Hi guys, I'd like to hear from some of you guys about your RRA varminters, specifically how they shoot and what they like.

I took my new 24" RRA Varminter out earlier this week to begin the barrel break in process, and so for have been less than pleased with the accuracy.  I was shooting 55 gr. Win SP and my groups were averaging just over 1".  Now I realize that the barrel hasn't been broken in and I haven't expirmented with other ammo, but frankly I was less than pleased.  So I have several questions:

*Do RRA stainless varmint barrrel have an unusually long break in period?
*What ammo does your rifle prefer?  I prefer not to have to shoot super-premium ammo and I do not  
  want to reload for this rifle.
*Is there a specific weight I should shoot witht he 1/8 twist?  I would think a heavier bullet would be
 better, but I'm hoping to get to at least 1/2 minute with 55 gr.
*Any other specific things I might want to remember for RRA uppers?

I'm sure these questions have been answered previously, sure wish I could seach posts past 30 days! Thanks for any help.

First, don't be a rock...............that means "shooting Soft Points in a semi and expecting hunting ammo to behave like match grade".  It was only a few years ago that going sub MOA would mean a trip to a smith that knew what he was doing, money and a bolt gun.

Now, go get some match or poly tipped ammo and you should see a big difference.  RodeoFan has a rifle that loves G223A from Georgia Arms.....$15/50 rounds.  How does much does his RRA 24" Varminter like it?

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=171112

www.georgia-arms.com/rifle_ammo.htm

Dave S

BTW, not too shabby shooting with the soft points.  
And cut out that gd break-in shit.  Your barrel doesn't need or want it.

Quoted: *Do RRA stainless varmint barrrel have an unusually long break in period?

Barrel break-in was invented by barrel companies to get you to wear out the barrel faster so that you'll buy anohter one from them.  Don't do it.

*What ammo does your rifle prefer?  I prefer not to have to shoot super-premium ammo and I do not want to reload for this rifle.

Mine has done well with Black-Hills remanufactured ammo.  At $25-$30 for a box of 50 from my local gunshop I don't consider it that expensive.

*Is there a specific weight I should shoot witht he 1/8 twist?  I would think a heavier bullet would be better, but I'm hoping to get to at least 1/2 minute with 55 gr.

Then you're expectactions are unrealistic.  I'd be suprised if you could get much less than 1MOA from that ammo even if you were loading the rounds one at a time directly into the chamber.  By feeding them from the magazine you are deforming the soft point against the feed ramps which harms accuracy.  Furthermore, are -you- capable of shooting 1/2 MOA?  Nothing personal, but most shooters are not good enough to do much better than 1 MOA no matter how good their rifle and ammo might be.

I'm sure these questions have been answered previously, sure wish I could seach posts past 30 days!

Memberships to this sight are not very expensive and allow you to search back 6 months.

+1 on all the above.  My rifle is definitely better than me.  Just compare DaveS's grouping to mine in the thread he mentioned.  That Georgia Arms 55gr ballisitc tip ammo is really good and it comes at a good price.  And check the other guys' groupings.  According to what Patriot328 & 357Sig, they used Ultrmax 50gr, Black Hills red box 40gr NBT, and 69 g Sierra MK and Remington 7 1/2 primers.

Good luck.



BTW, DaveS -

RRA varmint bbls definitely don't have a long break in period. If I had to guess, I'd say it's your ammo. My RRA varmint bbl realy liked Federal GM 69gr MK BTHP. I got a few .5" groups with the stuff. For a 1:8 twist bbl you might find that it will group slightly heavier bullets better, i.e. 60gr+.

Eight twist in a varminter, mabie you are looking for lighter varmint bullets to behave in your rifle. If you are lucky, the Black hills 52gr. will shoot in yours. I have never tried them in that fast a barrel but have seen others get by with it. That would, in my opinion be a good one to try. Hope you find a satasfactory bullet for your purpose. [they are right, loose the sp's]

"Mine has done well with Black-Hills remanufactured ammo. At $25-$30 for a box of 50 from my local gunshop I don't consider it that expensive."

that's too expensive.  BH's ammo is $13-16 per 50rds at my local shop and they tend to rape you on ammo prices.  

Thanks for all the responses, first, I was unaware that ther was a membership that allowed me to search, etc., I will definitely go with that.

I know the ammo I was shooting isn't the best, I guess I was just hoping it would do a bit better, I'll try some of the better stuff a try and give it a shot.  Yes, from the bench I can shoot better than 1MOA, I have several rifles that I can easily sub-1/4" @ 100 yds., so it wasn't the "nut behind the butt" in this case.  I'll get back out with it and shoot several differnt varieties of ammo and see what happens.  Some of the poly tipped stuff is what I want to shoot as this will be a prarie dog rifle, so I want to stay away from the match HP stuff.  Thanks again!

My rifle mentioned in the linked thread is a 1/12 twist, so it's a light bullet rifle.  In fact, the heaviest bullet I've put through it is 52grain HP canned heat from Georgia Arms.

I've shot (off the top of my head):

UltraMax 40 and 50gr ballistic tip

Hornaday 40gr Vmax

Black Hill Red and Blue 40 and 50gr Ballistic tip

Winchester 40gr silvertip

Georgia Arms 52gr HP canned heat

Wally World Winchester value pack 45gr varmint stuff

Remmington something another (it sucked)


Everything shot under an inch at 100yrds EXCEPT the Remmington.. it was horrible.  It was also a pretty old batch that my friend had laying around.

The Ultramax, hornaday, and blackhill red/blue ALL shot well under an inch, with quite a few .5-.75  5 shot groups.  The ultramax is the best bang for the buck, but it's velocity is the slowest by several hundred feet per second.

The hornaday did pretty well, but it's just damn expensive.  I'll probably be shooting the BH blue box with 40gr bullets.


I broke it in by doing 5 shots, clean, 5 shots, clean etc.. for a couple dozen shots, then cleaned about every ten shots or so.  I was also trying to check some different ammo brands, so I cleaned it probably more than I "should".

All in all, I am *VERY* pleased with my rifle.  It shoots almost anything well and several loads exceptionally well.

Okay, I just went out and shot this today, 29 Aug.  All groups were five shots and this was all complete in about two hours.

Rifles:
- RRA 24 Varmint upper on RRA lower with 2-stage Bushmaster trigger and 2.8x10 Simmons Aetec
- DPMS 16" HBAR barrel mated to an otherwise all RRA upper and lower with a 6x Russian scope.  The trigger is very heavy because I haven't tinkered with it yet.

Ammo tested

UMC 223 55 gr FMJ
Winchester CXP1 223  45 gr JHP varmint
Winchester 223R1VP 55 gr FMJ
Israeli M855 62 gr FMJ
Santa Barbara 62 gr SS109

There wasn't much difference between the ammo, except that the UMC performed poorly in both rifles.  

All shots were from 50 yards.

Groups probably would've tightened a little had I used a 24x scope and the same two-stage lower on both rifles, but all in all, it wasn't bad for cheap ammo.

There were no failures or malfunctions.

I have a RRA's DCM and in breaking it in and the cleaning it required, I would say the break in is needed as justified on dirt removed from the barrel.  First shot about 30 rods thru the barrel (maybe more) filthy, last 10 rounds maybe 5 rods thru the barrel till clean.  So the cleaning smoothed out the barrel, removed all the divots which gummed up and held the dirt.  Clean helps accuracy.  Then till about 2-300 rounds thru it, it settled down the groupings.

The ammo used and which ammo it prefers is important too.  My RRA DCM handloading at 100 yds can go under .5"... other ammo (used for break in) 1-2".

Am just thinking out loud here, but I think you need to "build a relationship" with your AR and get to know it real well... hope this helps.

P.S. Other opinions may vary and they too may be correct.