Going to the range in a couple of hours to shoot my AR.

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BIGDADDYLONGSTROKE

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Hi, guys Im going to the range in a couple of hours and I am still haveing trouble shooting my AR-15 accuratley. I do all right at 25 and 50 yards but one hundred and two hundred pretty much suck. The rifle is the A3 with detachable carry handle and has been cleaned. Im shooting a 55 grain fmj.

Any body got any sugjestions again that would help, please. Thanks in advance for any help.:)

P.S. My range only goes to 200 yards.
 
I had a similar problem sighting in my AR with detachable rear sight. It took time reading some manuals on the net that will describe the process helped greatly.
 
Decide on your hold. Center hold (aka Navy hold) or 6 o'clock hold are the two most common.

After you pick your hold, obtain proper sight alignment. Then obtain consistent cheekweld for consistent sight alignment.

Once that is acquired, line up on target using the predetermined hold. Focus on the front sight. Time your breathing and pulse. Squeeze the trigger past the first stage. Focus on the front sight. Once hold is good and eyes are focused on the front sight, squeeze through the second stage to fire.

If you don't have a two-stage trigger. Just learn how to practice your trigger squeeze to get a feel of when the trigger will break.
 
are you on paper at 100+ ?
are bummed because you've got 2" groups when you want .5" groups?
are you shooting from the bench or offhand?
what sight are you using? (front-post and a rear sight integrated into the carry handle? or have you put some sort of optic on it?)
 
I am on paper at 100 yards yes, there is no optics on the gun, and I am using the front (smaller) apeture on the rear sight. I shoot from sitting on a bench.
 
Are you using a rest or no rest? And what kind of groups are you expecting from whatever ammo it is you are using?

The Georgia Arms stuff I use for general practice, 55gr, seems to group about 2.5-3" from both my ARs when rested at 100 yards, 10 shot groups. Match grade stuff from Federal or Black Hills does much better.

If you are new to shooting rifles, then you'll just have to practice a lot more!
 
Navy Hold? 6 o'clock Hold?

Can you elaborate on these a bit. I am unfamiliar with shooting an AR and do not know the various styles of holding the rifle. Do you have links to how these holds are performed?
 
this may sound counter-intuitive

I am on paper at 100 yards yes, there is no optics on the gun, and I am using the front (smaller) apeture on the rear sight. I shoot from sitting on a bench.

But at thoes ranges you should still be using the larger rear apeture. I might be wrong, but check your owners manual.
 
Can you elaborate on these a bit. I am unfamiliar with shooting an AR and do not know the various styles of holding the rifle. Do you have links to how these holds are performed?
Click to expand...

Center hold and 6 o'clock hold are two different sight picture methods used for rifles that use a rear aperture and front sight post like the M1 Garand, M14 variants, and M16 variants.

Center hold basically means point of aim equals point of impact. This means that your sight is set so that the bullet will impact where the top of the front sight post is on target. Thus, on a standard Service Rifle target, you will hold sugh that the top of the front sight post is at the center of the black (hence, center hold).

6 o'clock hold means that you hold such that the front of the sight post is at the bottom of the black on a standard Service Rifle target, yet the bullet will impact in the X-ring (center).

Most people use 6 o'clock hold. It is easier to learn to shoot with. There are issues with light conditions and the image of the black that make center hold a better option. Expert shooters will use a mix of both, depending on conditions (overcast day, bright day, etc).

But at thoes ranges you should still be using the larger rear apeture. I might be wrong, but check your owners manual.
Click to expand...
You shouldn't ever use the large aperture for target shooting. It's generally referred to as the night aperture because they expected the rifleman to use it at night or in low light conditions.
 
I would suggest that you get a gun rest or sand bags at least. After getting your rifle as steady as possible start by shooting 3-5 shot groups. Adjust rifle sights(windage/elevation) untill your hit where your aiming. Just try and be patient(my problem when I tackled this issue:banghead: ) and track your shots, good luck.
 
ocabj...

I know that I read in my DPMS manual that the larger is used from 0-X yards, and the smaller is used from X-whatever. I'm on a business trip right now, so I can dig out the book and confirm. But If anyone has one handy, it would be interisting. As I said, I could be wrong about the propper use, but I do remember seeing the two marked for specific yardage.
 
Found it

If you look at page 18 of the Bushmaster manual (I cant find the DPMS manual), it states that the large aperture is for 0-200 yards, and the smaller one is for 300-800 yards. It has pic' and everything. You can find it online as a PDF.
 
The large aperture is marked for 0-200M; but in reality the large aperture is more useful when you need quick acqusition of a target or you are in a lowlight situation where the small aperture cuts down too much light. The small aperture is generally more accurate at any range.
 
If you look at page 18 of the Bushmaster manual (I cant find the DPMS manual), it states that the large aperture is for 0-200 yards, and the smaller one is for 300-800 yards.
Click to expand...
I'd have to disagree with the manual on that one. Sure that's what it's marked, but it's not the best way to use the sight. Heck, I couldn't hit anything with iron sights at 300 yards anyway. I'd never get to use the small arperture.

I use the small arperture for almost everything. The only time I use the larger arperture (a ghost ring actually) is for low light or snap shots under 50 yards.

I do all right at 25 and 50 yards but one hundred and two hundred pretty much suck.
Click to expand...
What's different between 50 and 100 yards?

I know for my bad eyesight, I have trouble with front sight focus at longer ranges. The sight is supposed to be focused and the target is supposed to be blurry. But for me, it's so blurry I can't pick it out against the background. I have to shift my focus back and forth and sort of hold the sight to where I remember the target was. I just get a feel for it more than see it. I probably won't win any HP competitions with iron sights, but after a lot of practice, I can do 2" groups at 100 with my A2 rifle from a bench or prone.
 
The previous posts have given great suggestions, but what size groups are you getting at 25, 50 and 100 yards using the iron sights?
 
are you taking in consideraition trajectory? what range do you have it zeroed to? you really shouldn't have to adjust anything just change your sight picture, aim lower or higher depending on where your sights are set. You really need to gather your "dope" about the rifle! i personally have my BUIS set up to zero at 25meters, which is the way we do it in the army, so that is the way i am used to. I have my red dot zeroed to 50yds, which puts me +/- 2" from 8 to 220 meters. You can also do the ironsights that way as well. there are many different ways to do it. Just chech out various ways and go with what is best for you, the 25meter zero is easy, well easy enough for a bounch of fobits to understand the concept, i am sure that some smart civilians will be just fine! if you need more info on the 25meter zero process let me know. I can even send you some army zero targets, if you need to know about point of aim out to 300 meters with that zero let me know. I shoot no less than 39 out of 40 on the qual range, and that is with kansas wind!
 
This is what I do-it may be simplistic but...

I have my AR zeroed for 25M
50M is pretty much dead on , but at 100M I aim so that the bottom of the target black is sitting on top of my front site(I usually hit pretty close to X and adjust visually from there.
At 200M I aim so that the bottom of the whole target sits on top of front site.
It works for me . And I always use small aperture
 
Practice, practice, practice....
I have been shooting rifles all my life, but I didn't really shoot pistols much until I was in my 20's and had my own guns. I sucked at first, but with more and more practice, I got better and now feel I am at least competent. It might take a couple years depending on your skill. You might have the same issue with your rifle. Just be patient, keep practicing, and avoid the lure of blasting away. Get your accurate shooting down and then later you can try to shoot accurately faster or do competitions. Also, throw some free hand shooting in their as well. If you ever need your rifle for serious business, it won't be off sand bags.

Good luck with it.
 
Do you have the stock trigger 8-10 lbs!
I switched out to the Improved RRA two stage(White Oak) from adcofirearms.com
and noticed a considerable difference in 100 yard+ shooting.
 
Thanks for all the help guys, I just got back from the range and these are the results at 200 yards (iron sights) I got 1 bulls eye 4 in the orange and 3 in the outer circles, on the 100 yard range the left target no bulls most shots went down to the left just a little, the target on the right 4 bulls and the rest are in the outer rings on top and bottom of the bullseye none to left and right, ok at the 50 yard range 3 bulls the rest are up and to the left but I was shooting standing. my windage is set pretty far to the left and the wind wasnt really blowing elevation set to Z and front sight base is sitting flush with the sight base. What am I doing wrong? any ideas.


Sorry for the bad discription I will put the targets on here as soon as I get the darn scanner to work, and I hope that is before I go to work.:(
 
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