200yd results after AR rebuild

vette97 · Jan 25, 2010

I finally got to go to the range after rebuilding my AR last month. I was totally amazed at the results! A 7" group at 200 yards with my EOTECH 1MOA Red Dot is totally surprising to see for me! This was a used gun and after disappointment at the range a rebuild was performed. This test was reassurance that the rebuild was definitely worth it! Thanks to RussD and Apone for the suggestions and write-up on AR builds!

16" M4 Del-ton barrel, YHM Specter length free float, YHM gas block, Stag upper and lower, Springfield 3# trigger.

njbroug · Jan 25, 2010

What shooting position?

Mud Turtle · Jan 25, 2010

Am I missing something ? First, I wouldn't even consider anything less than 5 shot groups. And 7 inches at 200 yds is 3.5 MOA. That doesn't sound too good to me. What was it shooting before the rebuild? Sorry if I sound a little negative.

vette97 · Jan 25, 2010

No prob. Believe me, I was ecstatic compared to how I felt before. Prior to the rebuild, my AR had 6" groups at 25 yards, so this is a drastic improvement for me. At 200 yards under heavy clouds, it wasn't easy to see the target that far away, so I had the Red Dot turned way down which helped see the target better. I'm not using any magnification and could only barely see the silhouette, not the x in the center. I'm 35 with astigmatism, so it takes a lot of blinking to get that little 1MOA dot to show up clearly when I'm using my contacts. I was shooting at Hap Baker with sand bags supporting the front of the rifle at a shooting bench. I'd love to see how this shoots with a scope as that's absolutely necessary for me at that distance.

Jaybeez · Jan 25, 2010

Its capable of better for sure.

Experiment with ammo weights.
Shoot 5 shot groups.
Save the red dot for ranges below 100 yards.
Practice, practice, practice.

Half-cocked · Jan 25, 2010

For naked-eye shooting I think that's respectable. I can't even see the target at 200 yards, even with my glasses on I have mild double-vision in my right eye (I'm 47.) and I can't shoot left-handed.

BenL · Jan 25, 2010

What ammo? Have you tried some match ammo in different weights (FGMM)? Throw a scope on there to get an idea of what it can really do?

Maverick0313 · Jan 25, 2010

IMHO, not too awful for a red dot, no magnification site....iron sights might have worked better. Still I agree a 5 shot group would be better for reference.

BenL · Jan 25, 2010

My preference is one shot groups- you'd be amazed at how small they are.

vette97 · Jan 25, 2010

Ammo was 55gr XM193 Lake City '08. That's all I own. I'm not really trying to shoot quarters at that range, so this is fine for me. I actually shot worse with the iron sights at that range and threw that target away. My front sight was as wide as 2 of these targets! The EOTech Red Dot is 1MOA and with the intensity turned down so I could barely see it, I could still see this target around the dot. Pretty amazing. Will have to try it with a real scope (not the NcStar quality that I currently have).

Apone · Jan 25, 2010

Seriously - 7" group with NO magnification at 200 yards is a pretty good starting point. Can you do better - of course. You could also do a HELL of a lot worse.

vette97 · Jan 25, 2010

True, thanks!

Mud Turtle · Jan 26, 2010

I agree with the suggestion to try different ammo weights and use a scope if you have one. You may be pleasantly surprised. I've posted on this forum before that I was getting 3" inch groups at 100 yds using 55gr Remington UMC. Using 68gr. Hornady HPBT bullets shrank the groups down to 1/2" X 3/4". So, it's always good to experiment.
By the way I also have astigmatism. Wait 5 more years. 40 seems to be the magic age when alot of people need bifocals.

Maverick0313 · Jan 26, 2010

Mud Turtle said:
I agree with the suggestion to try different ammo weights and use a scope if you have one. You may be pleasantly surprised. I've posted on this forum before that I was getting 3" inch groups at 100 yds using 55gr Remington UMC. Using 68gr. Hornady HPBT bullets shrank the groups down to 1/2" X 3/4". So, it's always good to experiment.
By the way I also have astigmatism. Wait 5 more years. 40 seems to be the magic age when alot of people need bifocals.

What barrel length do you have on your AR :innocent0

?

Patrick · Jan 27, 2010

Nice shots. That would get the job done if you were hunting at about 100 yds.

1/9 twist barrel likes lighter rounds, 1/7 likes them heavy. This is all generalities, though it's a good place to start. XM ammo is more prone to "fliers" -- the "X" means they are discarded/rejected rounds. This is usually due to dings and/or weights that are off. I personally prefer commercial ammo at the same price that was not rejected. Fewer issues.

Fiochi and Federal have good ammo to work with at good prices. I'd say try some Federal just to see what happens. You might be a better shot than you think (again...those shots look pretty good).

EDIT: AmmunitionToGo.com has Federal training rounds in 55 and 75 grn for really good prices right now.

Mud Turtle · Jan 29, 2010

Maverick0313 said:
What barrel length do you have on your AR?

It's a Les Baer NRA match rifle. It has a 30" barrel but only 24" of rifling. The last 6" is like a tube - just to give an extended sight radius. It has a 1:8 twist.

Biggfoot44 · Jan 30, 2010

As great as extended range shooting is, is this case 100yd would help to sort out gun vs ammo vs optic variables.
The first five rounds ever fired out of my A2 Sporster went in 1.5 at 100yd, origional irons of course. Radway Green 62gr UK surplus.
Same set up with Varmit Genade / 748 handloads 1.0 in .
My friend actually has a 200yd range, but hadn't yet cut the annual brush grouth between 100 and 200, and it was too hot for that much manual labor.
At nearly 50, visual acquity as good as mid 20s, just gets fatigued a LOT faster.

200yd results after AR rebuild

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