Which ammo gave you better results?

[ms6852]

I recently purchased the predator pursuit rifle from RRA.

(http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=229)

I have fired Federal ball XM193, winchester 55 gr and 62 223, and nato 5.56, ball 855, american eagle 55 gr and 62 grain, PMC 55 gr bronze cartridge and have not been able to duplicate the .75 moa accuracy at 100 yds. that it claims to have.

Any one here that has this particular rifle tell me what they are shooting that works well for them using factory ammo. I do not have a reloading press at this time. The rifle is accurate because I did break 20 clay targets with 20 shots using XM 193 ball ammo by federal which incidentally gave me the best 10 shot group at 200 yards which measured about 3 inches.

 

[Tim the student]

For that level of precision, I think you will have to buy better quality ammo. That ammo just isn't up to it IMO. I know mine (varmint EOP) won't shoot that well with cheaper stuff. It certainly will with my handloads.

If I were you, I'd look at some of the pricey Hornady stuff, or Black Hills (with good bullets, not FMJ). It may be expensive to find out what it likes.

 

[springfield30-06]

For that level of precision, I think you will have to buy better quality ammo.

Yea, try some higher quality ammo. The ones you tried are fine but I'm afraid that they aren't up to the .75 moa that you are looking for.

 

[TonyAngel]

ms6852, if I recall correctly, you rifle has a 1:8 twist barrel. If you really want to wring the utmost in accuracy from it, you can try a couple of things.

First, keep in mind that ammo, such as M193, M855, the PMC ball, etc. is trash in terms of precision accuracy. Although it is accurate from a practical standpoint and it is usually reliable, none of it is match grade.

If you don't reload, try Federal Gold Medal Match ammo. That's some good stuff for factory. You can also try the offerings from Hornady that are built around the V-Max bullets for something geared more toward varminting.

If you do reload, try a 77gr Sierra Match King over 24gr of either Varget or Reloader 15. You could also try a 69gr SMK over 25gr of either Varget or Reloader 15. These are pretty standard accuracy loads, but please work up to them.

 

[ms6852]

It does have the 1:8 twist and I just purchased some Hornady 75 gr...wow on the price. I appreciate everyone helping out. I am purchasing my reloading equipment soon. I figured I would try some different factory stuff first like the remington 223 which it did not like either. Thanks TonyAngel for the headsup on the 77 gr Sierra Match king and the powder. I will try your recommendations.

Has any one shot the steel case stuff on their rifle? I was just wondering because I have shot already over 250 rds of various ammo without a hitch, so far the rifle is a pig and eats every thing I feed it.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I've never done better than 3MOA on a consistent basis with 5 shot groups at 100yds with XM193 or similar ammo, even in match barrels that are sub-MOA with other ammo. In a recent thread we had on this subject, 1stmarine and jackpinesavages claimed it is possible.

Has any one shot the steel case stuff on their rifle?

The Hornady steel case ammo is top notch. Accuracy on par with their match ammo; but great price. The Russian steel case stuff is worse than XM193, etc. for accuracy purposes.

 

[klutchless]

You can sling steel casings for a minimal amount.But it will eventually damage your chamber and throat causing lose of accuracy and malfunctions think moving steel on stationary steel it will wear. however AR's are tinker toys of the of the rifle world so a new barrel is not a rare item. I run two one for steel one for brass.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

You can sling steel casings for a minimal amount.But it will eventually damage your chamber and throat causing lose of accuracy and malfunctions think moving steel on stationary steel it will wear.

When does this damage take place and by what method? The steel in a cartridge case is much, much softer than the steel even in a stainless match barrel. If it was capable of damaging the chamber, you'd think it would be mentioned more often given the amount of steel cased ammo shot through AR15s (for example, see this Bushmaster/Model 1 Sales frankengun with 15,000 rounds of steel cased Wolf through it without any cleaning.

 

[gotigers]

I get good enough results with Fed xm193 for 3 gun out to 200 yards. 1-2MOA. 1:8, 18" rifle gas. My AR shoots XM193 much better than all the bulk stuff, especially wolf. I have been looking at 68, 69, 77 gr heavy match and SMK for Service Rifle matches out to 300yds where accuracy is a bit more important. I've shot some 68gr black hills reloads. My group tightened up about half at 200 yards.

 

[TonyAngel]

You can sling steel casings for a minimal amount.But it will eventually damage your chamber and throat causing lose of accuracy and malfunctions think moving steel on stationary steel it will wear. however AR's are tinker toys of the of the rifle world so a new barrel is not a rare item. I run two one for steel one for brass.

And here we go....

On another note, it's been so long since I bought match ammo that I completely forgot about the Hornady 75gr Training ammo in the steel cases. That stuff does shoot good.

 

[ms6852]

At 200 hundred yards the XM 193 by federal gave me the best 10 shot group of all the other factory ammo I bought but it was still about a 3 inch group. I still have to try the Hornady match 75 grain BTHP and the super performance too. Hopefully it will be this week.

 

[rikman]

IIRC, it's not unusual for factory ammo to vary by 200-300fps which mean at least an inch at 100 yds....Try match ammo or better yet load your own

 

[Davek1977]

you can sling steel casings for a minimal amount.But it will eventually damage your chamber and throat causing lose of accuracy and malfunctions

Really? Any verifiable source for this rumor other than internet legend? Please, share.....

 

[helotaxi]

IIRC, it's not unusual for factory ammo to vary by 200-300fps which mean at least an inch at 100 yds....Try match ammo or better yet load your own

With a 200 yd zero a variance of 300 fps with a M193 bullet is less than 1/2" vertical variance at 100yds and that's with MV on the slow side. The main reasons that mil ammo is not terribly accurate is the wide variance in bullet weight and shape and the effect that has on BC and the bullet balance.

 

[TonyAngel]

ms6852, is this your first precision-ish semi auto? I know that with my AR build, I could eat up lots of expensive ammo pretty quickly.

I would suggest that you get into reloading. If you don't reload at all, don't let it scare you. Although loading for rifle is a bit more involved than loading for handgun, it is easier in a sense because the chance of accidentally over charging a case (unless you just plain use too much powder in your recipe) is less likely to happen.

If most of your shooting is going to be at 300 yards or less, you can get good results using a good flat base bullet, which are relatively inexpensive when compared to the boat tail heavy weights. For that matter, you may even get better than decent results using Hornady's 55gr FMJ projectiles.