Tactical shooting has never interested me, I've always been into accuracy. I have an old Remington 788 with a hart bbl,1:14 twist in 223 improved that was nicely bedded (not by me) and it sports a timney trigger. On my best days it would shoot in the .15 range using 52gr Bergers or 53gr Sierra's with a case full of imr 4895. I never liked plastic, but one day I shouldered an AR-15 and it spoke to me. The danged thing just felt right! So, a dpms lite 16 followed me home.
I didn't expect much but I carefully prepped 20 brass (my usual, deburr the flash hole/turn the necks/uniform the pockets, etc.) I selected a mid level load of 4895 under some berger 52gr hps. I know it had a fast enough twist to stabilize heavier bullets, but I went with my tried and true favorite bullet.
Now with a non-floated pencil thin bbl, I sat down at the bench.
Holy Moly! With my first load I was shooting .4 groups! Thus began my love affair with the platform. I had no idea a semi auto rifle could be so accurate. That carbine is long gone, but I set out to see what I could do with ar15s. I learned about thermo-fitting, free floating handguards, etc. and was on my way.
I found the journey quite satisfying. It culminated in a bartlein heavy barrel chambered in 6.5 Grendel thermofitted to a bcm upper and a timney trigger group. That stupid thing almost had no preferences for bullets as long as they were in range of 95 to 120 grains. It shot one ragged hole groups with the Hornady 100gr bullets, which have been replaced by a polymer tipped bullet. Besides the little accurizing steps in putting it together, I'm convinced the case design itself has something to do with it. I know the 220 Russian variants in .22 and 6mm has taken a lot of championships in the bench rest world.
Anyway, I've only competed against myself, but I found it satisfying. It's not applicable to the tactical world but that wasn't my goal. In my mind Townsend Whelen said it best. "Only accurate rifles are interesting."
(This post was last modified: 02-22-2024, 03:56 AM by tommag.)
I didn't expect much but I carefully prepped 20 brass (my usual, deburr the flash hole/turn the necks/uniform the pockets, etc.) I selected a mid level load of 4895 under some berger 52gr hps. I know it had a fast enough twist to stabilize heavier bullets, but I went with my tried and true favorite bullet.
Now with a non-floated pencil thin bbl, I sat down at the bench.
Holy Moly! With my first load I was shooting .4 groups! Thus began my love affair with the platform. I had no idea a semi auto rifle could be so accurate. That carbine is long gone, but I set out to see what I could do with ar15s. I learned about thermo-fitting, free floating handguards, etc. and was on my way.
I found the journey quite satisfying. It culminated in a bartlein heavy barrel chambered in 6.5 Grendel thermofitted to a bcm upper and a timney trigger group. That stupid thing almost had no preferences for bullets as long as they were in range of 95 to 120 grains. It shot one ragged hole groups with the Hornady 100gr bullets, which have been replaced by a polymer tipped bullet. Besides the little accurizing steps in putting it together, I'm convinced the case design itself has something to do with it. I know the 220 Russian variants in .22 and 6mm has taken a lot of championships in the bench rest world.
Anyway, I've only competed against myself, but I found it satisfying. It's not applicable to the tactical world but that wasn't my goal. In my mind Townsend Whelen said it best. "Only accurate rifles are interesting."
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