Are AR-15's accurate?

[The_Rifleman]

I think every well working undamaged rifle with the necessary features for accuracy, (correct twist ratio for specific bullet, free floated barrel,) will be consistently accurate. Then you might need the necessary features that allow the shooter to be accurate, (nice scope, better trigger, ergonomic stock, etc...)

This is not to say a rifle like my 30-30 that does not have a free floated barrel and has a 1:12 twist is not accurate. A free floated barrel is so you can keep shooting as your barrel heats; with my rifle the forearm and bands pull/push the barrel off course. But it is still accurate; I just can't shoot shots back to back and keep the group small. If I run a wet then dry patch down the barrel after each shot I can keep the groups small. .64moa was the last 300 yard 3 shot group I got with it, .58moa was the best. Both groups were using my hand-loaded ammo, something I think is a must to be as accurate as the rifle can achieve. Now that rifle is for varmints, I don't need to shoot back to back groups unless I am testing a load.

So it does depend on what you are using it for as to what featured you'll need. Do you want to hunt coyotes or do you want to shoot competitions where you need to shoot 20 or more shots in a row?

[justinmar22]

it depends on the type of rounds you use. but other than that, they are acurate.

[old semperfi]

my olympic arms eliminator can hit golf balls at 100 yards,thats without a scope old semperfi

[new308handloader]

Yes...can be accurate....check this out...was done this past weekend with my DPMS AR-15. It was only at 25 yards on an indoor range using an EOTech (no magnification). It was 30 rounds in 60 seconds, semi-rapid fire. The orange sticker dot is 1 inch.

[cycloneman]

Originally Posted by bluesea112

I have a DPMS Panther chambered in .308. It is extremely accurate when cleaned properly. By accurate, I am talking 7 shots inside of a quarter at 100 yards. You HAVE to use a brush to clean it, not just pressurized powder solvent. Break the rifle down and clean it about every 25 rounds to be safe. Push 40 and you will be lucky if the bolt does not jam closed. If you don't use the brush, your accuracy at 100 yds will fit inside an area the size of a soccer ball.....and that is if you can even get the rifle to fire. Without a brush, you can expect stuck cartridge casings and "no hits" from the firing pin. You can also expect the bolt to start jamming closed. I see it happen to guys at the range all the time. Did I happen to mention that you must use a BRUSH to clean the rifle? Brush the chamber, Brush the bore, and then repeat. Oh, I guess I did mention the brush. BRUSH IT, BRUSH IT, BRUSH IT. Sing a "brush it" song if it helps you to remember. Take the time to learn how to break down the rifle to clean it properly. It takes less time to break down the rifle then it does to screw around trying to get a bolt open that is jammed closed. Oh, buy the way, use a brush.

Strange. I think something is wrong with your rifle. Don't know if its the ammo your shooting, probably not. Here are some suggestions. Check the gas rings. Put the carrier in an up right positions if the bolt head falls the rings are probably worn or damaged. There is something causing this problem and it probably has to do with the gas system. I have had good and bad ar's and the bad one get you really mad. Another idea is to just replace the upper. I have a lr308 and had no problems so far. In fact i used it hunting this past season. Yes very accurate. Also for hunting i find that the Hornady light mag ammo now called superformance ammo is the cleanest out there. Hands down.

[sorral]

My final thought on this topic of "Are AR-15s accurate" is this...they are basically the same as the M4s and M16s issued to our fighting men and woman for combat. If it is good enough for them, it is good enough for me!

[hogger129]

Yes they are accurate. Shooter skill plays a part too.

[bigiron1]

Mine is. I am not.

[JohnBrainard]

Mine is accurate as well.

Don't people use them in military rifle competitions?

[TTUshooter]

My M4gery is a double star lower with a CMMG upper. its accurate. It wont put rounds through the same hole at 200 yards. but its accurate enough for what i ask it to.

[dorramide7]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

Good post Mark

45Nut, let me add one thing here, the mag makes the AR...If you buy a sloppy, cheap mag for your rifle, there is very little chance that it will operate smoothly.

I may be preaching in the wrong direction here, but it is one area that is often over looked by new AR buyers.

Keep us updated!


Crpdeth

Yup, Bushy rather than the Oly.
I've seen 5 shot groups that made a ragged hole.
Wish "I" could do that.

[RunningOnMT]

Is the bear catholic? Does the pope...um...nevermind. They are about as accurate as you can get in a semi auto in that caliber.

[LonglineCharlie]

IF ACCURACY IS YOUR MAJOR CONCERN , BUY THE RIFLE WITH A 20 LOR 24" BBL, HEAVY BARREL. IF HEAVY IS YOUR CONCERN DO NOT BUY THE HEAVY BARREL. GO FOR A 16" LIGHT BARREL. GET A FREE FLOATING BARREL, (FOREARM) MY 24" HEAVY BBL RIFLE SHOTS 1/4" GROUPS WITH JUNK AMMUNITION OR THE BEST RELOADS I CAN MAKE. I WAITED 2 YEARS FOR MINE 20 YEARS AGO

[bigd1590]

i have a colt m-4 and it gets about 1 3/4 inch groups, my new mini 14 gets about 1.87-2.5 ammo but thats not brass thats wolf, i own a few ar's my colt is my fav. with this said i still perfer a ak-74 my arsenal gets sub inch groups and my bushy can only do about 1 inch on a good day 1.5 on a normal day (only own one full size ar and its a rra flat top). and the colt not being mil spec.....who gives a crap mine has between 15 and 17k threw it and it without any probs i did buy back up parts but havent needed any as of yet but still i will always perfer a well built ak over a well built ar because the ak's work better for me.....but the ar is a lighter gun but the ak is alot simpler. just my 0.02

[Bubblehead]

I don't have any pictures of a 100 yard group but Sunday I was at the range with my son. We were shooting steel rams at 500 meters. For fun I put down my Remington, picked up my 15 year old AR and was able to put down some rams with my iron sights. Just moved the elevation up to the 500 yard mark, adjusted slightly, and ping, down they went. That was fun.

[redwing carson]

I have a Colt SP1 and a Colt SP11 Blue Labels. The Colt SP11 has a 1-7 twist shoots great with the .224 70 gr. bullet. An extra pre-ban upper which is 1-9 mounted with a 10x leuopold scope for prairie dog shootin. The SP11 1-7 has a Colt 4x carry handle mount. This one rides along in my Jeep great rifle for Desert Dogs.

RC

[redwing carson]

I am one of those old Colt guys. I also only own Colt 1911 pistols. The Colt like many other firearms were designed by some one other than Colt. The 1911 pistol was by J. Browning. Browning also designed the Winchester line of lever action rifles and pump shotguns. I think it is comforting to just see that rampant Colt on my favorite firearms.

RC

[fritz]

I have a Bushmaster XM-15 Varmiter Special with a 24" heavy barrel, its by far the most accurate gun i own, or have ever owned, the only gun that i have that comes close is my Savage 22-250 BBSS. Shooting my AR with Hornady 40gr. V-max's, it is shooting 3800fps with 1/4" groups at 100 yards common, great for shooting praire dogs!

[GunHugger]

So much of what some of you know...just isn't so.

I'll just leave it at that since I don't feel like fighting with half of the posters in this thread.

[fritz]

Originally Posted by GunHugger

So much of what some of you know...just isn't so.

I'll just leave it at that since I don't feel like fighting with half of the posters in this thread.

Do you even own one? If so explain your comments.

[GunHugger]

Originally Posted by fritz

Do you even own one? If so explain your comments.

No.

I own four , and have been shooting AR's and working on them since 1978. I don't claim to know it all, but I know enough. I currently own a 20" Colt HBAR, 16" LMT Defender, 20" Armalite M15 with stainless match barrel and a 16" DPMS. And about 4 others have passed through here.

Like I said, don't want to fight. There were just too many comments that make me say WTF.

Just one example.

Originally Posted by bdfinst

Avoid Colt. They are not mil-spec.

Bushmaster and Rock River Arms are tops. I have a BM lower with a RRA competition upper and trigger group. It shoots better than I can.

COLT is the most MilSpec, they build them for the Military to military spec.

First of all, "milspec" simply means it is built to the specs set forth by the military and has nothing to do with accuracy. AR's that are not "milspec" can be fine accurate shooters.

What are the Milspecs? Click here: http://www.biggerhammer.net/ar15/milspec/

Many hate "the M4 Chart" but I'll post it here as an example of what are the main differences in the brands on it only.



I'm not going to go post by post, I'll just add this.

Accuracy varies by person and application. But to make it simple...

A quality barrel and chamber shooting quality ammo that are matched to the barrel twist rate is the first and most important factor to achieve the best accuracy. Quality optics sure help also. The most overlooked factor is the man behind the trigger, his setup and experience. Chromed bore barrels in general are not as accurate as non chromed.

The very best match barrel shooting unmatched ammo is not going to be accurate.

Here are some rough guidelines for twist rate and bullets:

1-in-14" 55gr or less
1-in-12" 35gr up to 55-60gr
1-in-9" 45gr-75gr, possibly up to 77 if you're lucky
1-in-8", 1-in-7" 45gr - 80+gr

Technically, it isn't about the WEIGHT, but the LENGTH of the bullet, as well as air density and velocity.

Brand of the AR is not all that important, matching quality components is. Nothing is written in stone, you have to try different ammo to find what your setup likes.

Like I said, I don't want to fight with anyone. I also hope nobody thinks me a smartass or know it all. I am not, I don't know it all and l hope to learn more about shooting everyday.

I have snow to shovel, we got hit hard with the damn stuff and it's not even winter yet!

[redwing carson]

Gun Hugger, like the way you lay it on the line, and then back it up with no BS facts. As we say of good men here west of the great divide "You would do to ride the river with".

RC

[jlloyd73]

I agree with you GunHugger. I spent a lot of time doing research before I built my AR. All because I knew I could build a $800 rifle that had everything (or more) an out of the box $1200 rifle had and could achieve better accuracy that way.

So, are they accurate?.....if you have a good gun and are using the correct ammo. I would say without a doubt.

[fritz]

Originally Posted by GunHugger

No.

I own four , and have been shooting AR's and working on them since 1978. I don't claim to know it all, but I know enough. I currently own a 20" Colt HBAR, 16" LMT Defender, 20" Armalite M15 with stainless match barrel and a 16" DPMS. And about 4 others have passed through here.

Like I said, don't want to fight. There were just too many comments that make me say WTF.

Just one example.



COLT is the most MilSpec, they build them for the Military to military spec.

First of all, "milspec" simply means it is built to the specs set forth by the military and has nothing to do with accuracy. AR's that are not "milspec" can be fine accurate shooters.

What are the Milspecs? Click here: http://www.biggerhammer.net/ar15/milspec/

Many hate "the M4 Chart" but I'll post it here as an example of what are the main differences in the brands on it only.



I'm not going to go post by post, I'll just add this.

Accuracy varies by person and application. But to make it simple...

A quality barrel and chamber shooting quality ammo that are matched to the barrel twist rate is the first and most important factor to achieve the best accuracy. Quality optics sure help also. The most overlooked factor is the man behind the trigger, his setup and experience. Chromed bore barrels in general are not as accurate as non chromed.

The very best match barrel shooting unmatched ammo is not going to be accurate.

Here are some rough guidelines for twist rate and bullets:

1-in-14" 55gr or less
1-in-12" 35gr up to 55-60gr
1-in-9" 45gr-75gr, possibly up to 77 if you're lucky
1-in-8", 1-in-7" 45gr - 80+gr

Technically, it isn't about the WEIGHT, but the LENGTH of the bullet, as well as air density and velocity.

Brand of the AR is not all that important, matching quality components is. Nothing is written in stone, you have to try different ammo to find what your setup likes.

Like I said, I don't want to fight with anyone. I also hope nobody thinks me a smartass or know it all. I am not, I don't know it all and l hope to learn more about shooting everyday.

I have snow to shovel, we got hit hard with the damn stuff and it's not even winter yet!

That is fine for compareing M4's, mine is far from a M4, It has a heavy stainless 24" match grade barrel , a Wilson Combat tactical trigger. I have a 4x12 Leupold on it. A Bushmaster Varmiter Special runs about $1400, the trigger is another $300, scope another $500. = ACCURACY!!!!!!

[GunHugger]

Did you even read my reply to YOU, or are you just going to talk about the chart that was posted for the reason I explained?

A 16" barrel can shoot as well or better than a 20" or 24". But I see I'm wasting my time explaining what makes an AR accurate to you.

I'm out of this thread, I knew it would go like this because everyone thinks what ever they have is the very best...because they own it.

Yes, fritz, your Bushmaster is king.