Generally speaking, AR accuracy is not very hot.

2233 Views 80 Replies 25 Participants Last post by animalspooker, 17 d ago

ambrosejohnson

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

This is generally referring to the rifle and carbine AR's people buy stock out of the box for home security as well as mil-spec AR's. Out of the box bolt action rifles are generally minute-of-woodchuck. Many lever jobs are minute-of-deer. An out of the box or mil-spec AR is generally minute-of-telephone-pole.

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PaleHawkDown

· #2 · 1 mo ago

I'm no fan of the AR, but I've never found them to be inaccurate.

Every AR rifle I've ever shot made quarter-sized groups, or less, at 100 yards. Even most of the carbines shoot minute-of-milk-jug.

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El Cabron

· #3 · 1 mo ago

PaleHawkDown said:
I'm no fan of the AR, but I've never found them to be inaccurate.

Every AR rifle I've ever shot made quarter-sized groups, or less, at 100 yards. Even most of the carbines shoot minute-of-milk-jug.

Any rifle is generally more accurate than the shooter. I've shot M16's that are highly accurate. I shot in a state (National Guard) rifle match out to 600 yards with very good accuracy. The commercial AR15 versions of the M16 are generally well made and accurate. How do you make sure your AR is accurate? Practice, Practice, practice!!!!

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blaster

· #4 · 1 mo ago

I don't know why you would think AR 15s are not accurate! all the ones I own (5) are all budget builds that I put together myself and all are all capable of clover leaf groups at 100 yds. they are among the most accurate long guns in my safe.

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reverendg

· #5 · 1 mo ago

Yep. The AR’s I have owned or shot were typically as accurate as the shooter or sighting system allowed. The weapon itself wasn’t the issue.

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backdoor

· #6 · 1 mo ago

Maybe depend on type. AR-10 very dammed accurate my opinion.

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Wicked109

· #7 · 1 mo ago

I'd say it depends on what you determine accuracy to be...if you are happy with hitting a pie plate at 100 yards or if you want to hit a dime consistently at 100 yards. For me, the latter is better.
And, I don't mind dialing everything in to get very good performance for a reasonable price. Also, my expectations of added accessories is consistent with specification of the accessory. Example, a 3MOA red dot will not guarantee 1 MOA groups however, a good scope significantly improves accuracy and I tend to lean toward 3-12x or 4-16x scopes on my AR rifle platforms, and 2-3 MOA red dots on my AR pistols. I do have a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6X24 on one AR Rifle. In addition, I use the AccuWedge (see photo) on all my AR platforms.

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Txhillbilly

· #8 · 1 mo ago

I'd say that most of the time an AR15 isn't accurate, it has to do with the ammo / bullet type being shot out of it.
Most people buy the cheapest crap ammo to use, and then complain that their gun isn't accurate.

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reverendg

· #9 · 1 mo ago

Txhillbilly said:
I'd say that most of the time an AR15 isn't accurate, it has to do with the ammo / bullet type being shot out of it.
Most people buy the cheapest crap ammo to use, and then complain that their gun isn't accurate.

Good point. I try to use decent ammo, nothing “high end”, but prefer 62 gr green tips when I can. Good middle weight projectile, I can use heavier, or still get good groups at 55gr. If I know things are good with my go-to ammo, I can be reasonably sure I can still hits targets even if I am forced into using ”beggars can’t be choosers” ammo.

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PaleHawkDown

· #10 · 1 mo ago

ARs are fairly picky eaters, I didn't think about that.

My standard for accuracy is Minute-Of-Cow-Pie with almost any type of ammo. If it will hit a cow pie with most garbage ammo, it would get you by in an emergency. If it won't, no reason to keep it.

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40nascar

· #11 · 1 mo ago

reverendg said:
Good point. I try to use decent ammo, nothing “high end”, but prefer 62 gr green tips when I can. Good middle weight projectile, I can use heavier, or still get good groups at 55gr. If I know things are good with my go-to ammo, I can be reasonably sure I can still hits targets even if I am forced into using ”beggars can’t be choosers” ammo.

Interesting, i see alot of gun blog writeups that say the 62 gr. greentips are among the least accurate 5.56 rouinds.

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reverendg

· #12 · 1 mo ago

40nascar said:
Interesting, i see alot of gun blog writeups that say the 62 gr. greentips are among the least accurate 5.56 rouinds.

They aren’t boutique ammo, but I have never been disappointed by them. I figure since I am shooting under real conditions, not from a steady rest, have realistic expectations. MOA is impractical, but under 3 MOA is well within the stacked tolerances of my eyes, my technique, the weapon itself, sighting system, weather, etc. Not shooting 3,4, or 5 round groups either. I will shoot at a single target until it is ragged. So if I can put 100 rounds all into one 5 1/2 inch shoot and see target at 100 yards, shifting positions , changing mags, etc, I am pretty content. You can see the group open up as more rounds go down range, pretty well illustrates how fatigue can affect groups as well. When I start shooting, the zero check groups are well under 3 MOA, usually well under 2.

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40nascar

· #13 · 1 mo ago

reverendg said:
They aren’t boutique ammo, but I have never been disappointed by them. I figure since I am shooting under real conditions, not from a steady rest, have realistic expectations. MOA is impractical, but under 3 MOA is well within the stacked tolerances of my eyes, my technique, the weapon itself, sighting system, weather, etc. Not shooting 3,4, or 5 round groups either. I will shoot at a single target until it is ragged. So if I can put 100 rounds all into one 5 1/2 inch shoot and see target at 100 yards, shifting positions , changing mags, etc, I am pretty content. You can see the group open up as more rounds go down range, pretty well illustrates how fatigue can affect groups as well. When I start shooting, the zero check groups are well under 3 MOA, usually well under 2.

I find 55 gr m193 to be a lot more accurate, closer to 1 MOA from a steady rest. Greentips closer to 2 MOA.

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Jack Flash

· #14 · 1 mo ago

I've got a couple few AR's. The one on the left shoots accurate enough for me at long range. It has a 16" barrel.

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runfiverun

· #15 · 1 mo ago

i only got 3.
an Armalite national match.
a battle rifle upper for my Stag Varmint rig, and another Stag varmint rig which is an exact clone of the first.
varmints as in 2 oz. ground squirrels.

my poodle shooters are actual poodle shooters.
if they weren't accurate they'd be pretty damn useless to me.

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rando

· #16 · 1 mo ago

I have five that I put together myself. Not high dollar uppers, barrels or triggers etc... I also like to scope mine and they are accurate. I would depend on any of them for deer hunting any day. My grandsons have used the AR15 platform the past three years for target and deer hunting. I would never consider them inaccurate at all.

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40nascar

· #17 · 1 mo ago

Jack Flash said:
I've got a couple few AR's. The one on the left shoots accurate enough for me at long range. It has a 16" barrel.

You can do what you want, But i would not be posting photos of any NFA firearms if they were mine.

reverendg

· #18 · 1 mo ago

40nascar said:
I find 55 gr m193 to be a lot more accurate, closer to 1 MOA from a steady rest. Greentips closer to 2 MOA.

I haven’t shot enough of the 193 to notice that difference. When I am in good form the green tips are under 2 MOA, I’d call it 1 1/2. I wouldn’t say no to either one.

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runfiverun

· #19 · 1 mo ago

NFA?
those are regular everyday truck guns.

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40nascar

· #20 · 1 mo ago

runfiverun said:
NFA?
those are regular everyday truck guns.

JackFlash says the one on the left has a 16" barrel. The other 3 are obviously significantly shorter...Therefore SBR's requiring an NFA tax stamp.

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