I just discovered better quality “match ammo”… I used to use 55gr for all of my shooting needs, which is typically 2 gun competition. Now I’m using 55gr for most match stages and 77gr IMI for longer ranges. I use up my steel case stuff on the really short range stages, shoots softer too so better splits… I sighted in with the 77gr stuff.
It’s been just over a year since I last had my rifle to the range, but I wanted to share my recent experience from about a week ago with the same rifle as before with no changes made to it. Between these two range trips I purchased 6 different ammunitions to try out and had the following results:
- AAC 5.56 77 grain Sierra Matchking - 5 rounds, 2 3/8" group
- Federal Gold Medal 73 grain berger - 5 rounds, 4 1/4" group
- Fiocchi .223 77 grain Sierra Matchking boat tail - 5 rounds, 4 1/2" group
- Winchester Match .223 69 grain Matchking HPBT - 5 rounds, 4 1/8" group
- AAC 5.56 NATO 75 grain BTHP Match - 7. Hornady .223 73 grain ELD Match - 5 rounds, 5 3/4" group
- Hornady .223 73 grain ELD Match - 5 rounds, 5 1/4" group
There was no particular reason for choosing this ammo other than it was the best I could fine at the time. I don’t remember what I paid for each, but I think the AAC ammo was the cheapest. The Federal, Fiocchi and AAC 75 grain BTHP each had one round go wide which really hurt the shot group. With my lack of experience I’m not sure if it was me causing those rounds to go wide or if it was the ammo. At the end I also shot 20 rounds of 55 grain Federal NATO and just like before it was all over the place so I didn’t even measure the shot group since it was so bad. I had a good time comparing ammo and learned a few things too.
I recently purchased a Primary Arms PLX 6-30x56 scope which I just mounted to my rifle. I was going back and forth between several different scopes and decided on the PLX mainly because I liked the reticle and because I got it for a very good price. I compared my old Vortex Strike Eagle to the PLX at 6x and was surprised how much better the glass is on the PLX. The Vortex in comparison is like looking through tinted glass on a foggy day, but again it was less than half the price of the PLX. I also purchased a Criterion 16" barrel which I plan to install soon. Once I install the barrel I plan to shoot the same ammo again for comparison sake.
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Cool deal. What distance?
All shooting was done at 200 yards which is the max at my local range.
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https://i.imgur.com/F3msBna.jpg
Wolf 55 gr. ball with 4 MOA red dot on my belly using a 14.5" mid length Hansen profile and a LaRue MBT trigger.
Close enough for .Gov work.
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That’ll work fine!
Unfortunately, I never made it back to the range this year as I intended, but I did install my new barrel and scope. I just need to break in the barrel and sight in the scope, then reshoot the same ammunition and see how it compares.
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I did a 6" 10-shot bench rest group at 300yd. It is an A2 clone with carry handle peep sight. It has a free float sleeve under the polymer handguard. The ammo was handload with 55gr fmjbt bullet.
-TL
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That is excellent. The 55 dumps velocity quickly and the wind can really smack it around. Where we shoot, we have all the distance we want, but rarely perfect wind conditions.
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Holy crap that’s awesome. With irons? Damn…
Yup. Thanks. It doesn’t happen all the time though. Everything has to be just right, plus some luck. I cheated a bit. The target was a 8"x11" printer paper pasted on a brown card board backing, so that I could see it in broad daylight. I cranked the elevation to 450yd and aimed for the lower edge of the paper. 1st 2 shots was off target due to cold bore and wind. I saw it on longshot camera (better than spotting scope). Adjusted windage (1/2moa per click), and fired 8 shots and reloaded (10 rounds limit in CA). 12 rounds were fired, 10 on target. 6" extreme spread give-and-take for the 10 on target.
2moa is not really something people care about. But it was the best I have done. Seeing the target is hard. Wind needs to be consistent.
-TL
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It’s good at 300 with irons, for sure.
I have been trying to meet the challenge of putting 10 consecutive rounds, starting from cold bore, into a designated 1moa target. More than a year later I still can’t do it. The best was 7 rounds and flunked on the last 3 rounds. That was on a AR 15 in 6mm ARC with 6x lpvo. 150yd with light wind, prone.
That, my friend, is hard. There was $1,000 award for anyone who could do it on YouTube. Many tried and failed.
Where are sub-moa-all-day people?
-TL
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When I can take Mk262 77’s and Speer GDSP 75’s and consistently hit an 8 inch gong at 300, I start to not give a darn about how small I can do with it at 100.
My goal is to make it to a gas gun match with Quantified Performance down south at Yuma next year.
The 1 MOA challenge you were talking about is a great challenge*, but you know, we know, and the smack talkers all know, that they are full of it.
*My caveat here is that I am too embarrassed to do it myself because I am without fail, going to cause a flyer to make a sub MOA becoming a 1.5 MOA, a 1 MOA becoming either a 1.5 or a 2 MOA.
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Same, I am not a good enough, consistent enough shooter to prevent those fliers.
Tangolima that is still damn impressive. Especially the fact that you got out of the “bubble”, reloaded, and still put 2 more rounds into that 6" of space.
Yeah, my 12"x20" steel seems damn small at 300 with irons. That 8"x11" would be like a speck. I see why you set the windage high, so you could “dot the I” so to speak, otherwise that front sight would completely cover it.
Good shooting, BZ.
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This is exceedinly difficult. I mean, I load ammo that will some days shoot 3-5 round groups in easy sub MOA fashion. But that same formula will print 1.3 MOA another week.
And anything beyond 5 rounds for groups? I’m shooter fatigued. Both physically and mentally. I can’t sit still that long and start over thinking shit.
To me, that is a shooter challenge more than a barrel or ammo challenge.
Put a load in a mechanical rest, and it’s probably a snap. When I’m shooting long range (off paper), I’m much more relaxed.
Damn it! Now I want to take the 10 round super challenge again. 10 rounds is an eternity on paper.
It is a real-deal test for the whole system; shooter, rifle, and ammo. It is not only group, but to hit a specific target. I need to map my rifle’s cold bore shift, or I will fail the first round fired Of course reading the wind is also imperative. There is no fouling shot allowed.
The challenge doesn’t specify the distance. For calibers that don’t do well in wind, one can choose a closer distance. But I prefer including some cross wind factor. 150yd is my default. 300yd when I feel lucky.
-TL
It’s hard at 100 yards for me. Sometimes shots 4 and 5 are torture if the first 3 are touching.
I’m going to keep it to 5.56 to start because the bigger calibers are expensive.
The A2 front sight post is about 10moa thick. 6 o’clock hold is necessary for seeing the target and its surroundings. I need something distinctive to guide the hold. The edge of paper page works ok. My eyesight is degrading. I need good lighting for this to work. The best is bright sun from behind my back.
Each click on the rear sight drum is 0.5moa, elevation or windage.
-TL
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