How accurately can you shoot your AR15? How many MOA?
Some AR15s can shoot maybe 1 MOA, but I think few shooters can actually achieve this level of accuracy, especially with iron sights. I’m curious what the consensus is about how accurately a good shooter can shoot an AR15.
Jimmy
At the end of the day, it’s all about “minute of soccer ball.” Anything tighter is usually slower, and doesn’t really meet the incident of encounter – unless we’re just punching paper…
this is way too broad a topic to just pop numbers up in each of those
Yeah here I’m talking mostly about just punching paper, not killing things.
It’s like deja vu for those of us whomake the rounds to other forums, including TOS.
+1. People who think “1 MOA” is a degree of accuracy obviously have either never shot competitively, or are simply regurgitating tacticool terms. Shooting 1" @ 100yds is relatively easy.
And just to point out the technical aspects of this thread.
1 MOA on its own is not a measurement of accuracy. It is a measurement of precision.
Accuracy is defined by the results of a weapon system against a target’s scoring system.
Precision is defined by the weapon system’s reproducibility.
With 55gr ball ammo, many of my AR’s are not capable of 1 MOA groups. With match ammo, some of them are.
I’m only pointing this out to mention that topic is a difficult one to answer in a well defined way.
I can shoot quarter inch groups every time.
Alright, I only shoot one-shot groups, but still.
The topic is extremely subjective as far as the "type"of shooting (Traditional slow fire marksmanship vs Tactical) you are conducting and practicing for. Firearms (Stock vs Match Grade) and individual marksmanship skills, also are a huge factor. Most weapons, even stock, are far more accurate than most peoples ability to take advantage of.
from a rest, on irons sights, i used to manage 2-3" generally at 100 yards.
offhand i can hit a paper plate more or less every time at 100. 
i’ve got pretty limited AR experience actually… been really focused on the pistol the past year or so.
1moa needs match barrel AND match ammo
our club pres, an NRA high master, can shoot 1.5-2moa standing, iron sights
Accurate enough to hit man or zombie-sized targets out to 300 yards…anything beyond that is a crapshoot.
I can shoot one hole groups with anything you mentioned I just keep the holes spreed out:D
I tend to agree but will also add that very few people can really shoot 1" at 100 yards with their AR. Between the weapons, ammo, sights or scopes, triggers and the nut bewhind the trigger I’d say 1 in 10 can consistently accomplish this.
When it comes to my AR15s, I do quarter-sized groupings out to 50m - sure, easy feat and I’m certainly not boasting, but for zombie and home defense, I don’t feel the need to shoot further out.
I call BS. 1" @ 100 yards is easy maybe if you have your rifle clamped in a bench rest, there’s no wind, you’re using a match barrel, good ammo, and using a scope.
In real-world scenarios I haven’t seen a whole lot of people who can really shoot 1" @ 100 yards. Let’s see pics of your 1", 100 yard groups.
You seriously think that 1" @ 100yds is “brag-worthy?” Ummm… lol.
You don’t need to clamp a rifle to a benchrest - it’s all about breathing and your trigger pull, along with a quality rifle.
What’s funny is that you’re taking two separate arguments, one for accuracy and one for combat-efficiency… and you’re making no sense whatsoever, as others have alluded to.
If you care about combat-accuracy, all you have to do is hit an 8" circle, which is VERY easy out to… 600yds (and even that greater than 1" per 100yds), which is something any decent shooter can do. Moreso, you’d have an M68 or RCO for making the kill (since this is a question of combat efficiency). If you want to brag about precision offhand, then you’d have a National Match AR15/M16, a professional shooting jacket, etc. - a completely different setup. It’s like you want to brag about being “the most accurate guy using the most inaccurate shooting techniques.” Really, who cares? Either you can make a kill-shot when it matters, or you can’t - how small of a group you shot doesn’t matter.
1 MOA is widely accepted as the good vs. average line for a barrel / rifle setup and ANYONE can make the shot with a top-tier Noveske, BCM, Centurion, etc. You DON’T need a clamped down rifle, you DON’T need a scope, and you sure as heck don’t need a match barrel. Again, most here know that. You apparently don’t.
Actually making that 1" isn’t brag-worthy, it just means you have a good rifle that can perform what countless others have done. Shoot 3/4" or 1/2", then you might actually be a “good shot.”
ETA: And yes, I’ve shot sub-MOA before using my Noveske Recon with 75gr Prvi-Partizan BTJHP, both offhand and off a sandbag @ 150yds. No, it’s NOT hard if you know what you’re doing. Next time I go to the range, I’ll be sure to take photos.
I appreciate your input but you’re making this way more complicated than it needs to be. One guy is talking “accuracy” vs. “precision”, you’re talking accuracy vs. “combat-efficiency” and so on. All I asked is what kind of groups do y’all typically shoot.
If someone wants to get into the standard deviation of their strikes or argue the validity of shooting holes in paper vs. doing combat drills that’s cool, go for it. All I was asking is if you set up in the field and start pulling the trigger and smoking that motherf*cker, in general what kind of groups do you get, simple as that.
Don’t get your knickers in a knot, it’s cool man. Honestly I still don’t buy that you easily shoot 1" at 100 yards without a bench or a scope, but if you want to post some pictorial proof I look forward to seeing it.
JH
Yes, I am, because you said, quote:
If I’m aiming to kill something or someone, I neither care nor try to make small groups, and neither will anyone who’s telling the truth here. Your post is echoing exactly what I said. Making small groups has NOTHING to do with making a shot off-hand. Why ANYONE would casually pick a target then shoot offhand, then measure their group size makes no sense.
Measuring groups is for precision. If I want to make small groups, I’ll take my time and place my shots. If I want to shoot offhand, I don’t care what my precision is because my goal is to HIT the target - if I wanted to make small groups, I’d have made sure I had every advantage for precision, including a rest, scope, etc. The shooting you’re describing is measured by accuracy, yet you’re asking for precision measurements - NO serious shooter is going to even bother based on your pretenses.
When I actually aim to shoot small groups, I shoot < 1", both with and without irons; and yes, it’s very easy with the right ammo. I also have over $4,500 invested in my main AR, so feel free to call me on the B.S. factor again.
1 MOA at 100m requires the ability to SEE 1 inch at 100m, and aim at the dead center of it.
I guess i’ll be the first to admit there’s no way in HADES i can shoot 1 MOA groups at 100m… i can barely see my 1" dot stickers at 50m, and I have “perfect” vision. i wouldn’t call bullshit on anyone who claims to be able to, but i’d definitely say “put your money where your mouth is,” and pull out the wallet.
1 MOA at 100m with a magnified optic, and a weapon capable of 1 minute- sure thing. that’s really not that difficult, and these days, even a lot of chrome-lined barrels can achieve that with relative ease.
furthermore… the group number is critically important here, as well. a correct 10-shot group is significantly harder to group than a 5. and most people are usually talking about 3.