AR Expectations?

Clark

Clark

Active Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2020
Messages
80
Location
Jamestown
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
What kind of accuracy can I expect from an AR-15 in 5.56 or 223 Wylde? Any makers offer a sub-MOA guarantee? Will having the muzzle threaded for a suppressor affect accuracy or performance?
TIA
 
Accuracy and ARs will be a long conversation. Bottom line is that the right AR build can be just as accurate as the best bolt gun. At the same time, a budget AR might barely hold 6 MOA.

Done properly, threading a barrel will not degrade accuracy at all.

Plenty of sub-MOA options are out there, and you can easily build out your own with minimal effort.
 
Last edited:
Well that narrows it down! lol
At one MOA the gun will shoot as well as I can see. At 6, my eyes are not that bad - yet...
 
My DMR rifle holds ~.65” at 100yds. I don’t shoot paper much past 100, but have no trouble hitting the 6x6” at 700yards.

To get there I have…
- quality barrel (Odin works)
- quality trigger (Geisselle )
- quality ammo (Defender 77gr SMK)

Those are the 3 key components. Then, get them assembled buy someone that knows what they’re doing, or do it yourself with care. It’s not difficult, it just requires a bit of reading and basic wrenching skills.

Add a decent stock, scope, mount and handguard and you’re all set.
 
Last edited:
Ammo factors into it also. Bulk stuff out of my home build is good for maybe 2 MOA but my handloads will drop it to 1 MOA. Cheap ammo will likely have a larger deviation in velocity which is one of the major factors i tightening up groups.

As to suppressor usage … barrel harmonics can play into accuracy. I have seen groups open up with a suppressor using the same load but a few tweaks in load development and they go back to the same and in one case actually better. Chasing smaller groups is fun but the investment of money and time is exponentiall related to the decrease in size.
 
Guys have been shooting competitions with 223/556 ARs well before many of us were born (and I am old), and being very successful. 20" WOA barrels come to mind.

The keys to an accurate precision-ish AR: the right ammo, a good barrel (now there are a metric crap-ton: Krieger, Douglas, Lilja, WOA, Odin, Ranier, Criterion, Faxon, Noveske), and a good trigger. The rest is window dressing.
 
I am by no means a rifle building guru and I’ve managed to build several ARs in several calibers that ended up shooting sub MOA with the right ammo, I’ve seen $39 no name barrels end up shooting 1/2” groups at 100 and I’ve seen new $700 barrels that couldn’t under 3 MOA, but the difference is you would probably have to go through dozens of $39 barrels to find one that shoots under 1 MOA, and in 99.9% of the cases where a $700 barrel is shooting like crap, the manufacturer will jump through hoops to make it right with you and they will repair or replace it without question.
 
As some have said or alluded to, reloading is a massive part of it all. Being able to work up a load that works so well with your rifle is an amazing feeling. Of course, if you have a crap barrel and trigger, you'll have a really hard time making any round work well in it. As far as a threaded barrel goes, every barrel I buy is threaded. My main choices have been Rainier and Wilson Combat, but there are plenty of good ones out there.
 
Clark said:
What kind of accuracy can I expect from an AR-15 in 5.56 or 223 Wylde? Any makers offer a sub-MOA guarantee? Will having the muzzle threaded for a suppressor affect accuracy or performance?
TIA
Click to expand...

Anybody that offers a sub-moa guarantee is asking for trouble. You can get everything perfect in a rifle but the nut behind the stock. Some people think they're Matt Quigley but in reality, they can barely hit a barn from inside the hayloft with a shotgun.
 
clay_fv said:
As some have said or alluded to, reloading is a massive part of it all. Being able to work up a load that works so well with your rifle is an amazing feeling. Of course, if you have a crap barrel and trigger, you'll have a really hard time making any round work well in it. As far as a threaded barrel goes, every barrel I buy is threaded. My main choices have been Rainier and Wilson Combat, but there are plenty of good ones out there.
Click to expand...
Definitely “quality ammo” is key. But, you don’t need to reload yourself to get sub-MOA results. There are a TON of quality companies out there kicking out match grade ammo at reasonable prices.

I really like Defender for example.
 
Last edited:
Tim said:
Definitely “quality ammo” is key. But, you don’t need to reload yourself to get sub-MOA results. There are a TON of quality companies out there kicking out match grade ammo at reasonable prices.

I really like Defender for example.
Click to expand...
Agreed, to an extent. The difference, for me anyways, between sub MOA, and MOA, is .1 grain of powder. I think quality ammo is luck of the draw. The cost of that ammo is super expensive and trying them "all" is akin to building up your own load. The choices in bullets are a lot greater as well. Granted, the cost of building a quality reloading rig, learning, and getting all the components, is well up there. I believe, maybe 1 out of 10 times, can a high quality ammo compare with what you can make on your own. I also know that this is kind of daunting for someone that's new and wants to build an accurate AR.

Backfire is a youtube channel I enjoy watching. He's not sponsored by anyone, buys all his own stuff, and posts honest reviews. He had a Sig Cross review a week or so ago, (well, an updated review after a year of use), and had "ok" results with all the high end ammo he tried. Then he had some quality reloads and turned those "ok" results into "amazing" results. Every rifle is different. One round that works "amazing" in one rifle, becomes "ok" in another.

I also don't want to derail the conversation, so I apologize to the OP. As has been said, the most important parts of building a sub MOA AR has already been covered. The barrel is at least half the equation, trigger another 30%, and everything else after. IMHO anyways. Also, for 223/556, definitely a Wylde 223 barrel.
 
Plenty of off-the-shelf, commercial ammo that is quality. More people shoot well with off-the-shelf ammo than reloads. I would also say that while 223 Wylde is a great barrel, it is only fractionally so with the right ammo and right shooter.
 
Fred said:
What accuracy do people expect with bulk ammo? Federal M855? M193? Or Wolf steel case trash? I've shot 1-1.5 MOA with match ammo out of my Barnes, but cheap stuff tends to be 3 or 4 moa. Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Yup. That’s normal.
 
As the saying goes, "Speed is a matter of MONEY, how fast do you want to go?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom