an accurate arin .223

[lpreddick]

a friend is impressed by the accuracy of my les baer ar in .223. he doesn't want to spend the $ that this rifle cost. i've seen ads about 1 moa but am asking if there is an ar out there a bit more accurate and at what price. which ones to avoid? are they all 7-9 twist? my les baer is a 12 twist and shoots 60 gr nicely. as always, appreciate the advice.

 

[Greg110]

I hate to say this, but any AR that is well put together should be at or under 1 MOA at 100 yds. I had, of all things, a Model 1 Sales AR 24" varmint that shot 1/2 MOA with my loads. Why I sold that, I'll never know!

 

[RJinTexas]

I had a stock RRA 24" ss full bull 9tw that would consistently shoot 1/2" moa out to 300yds. I traded it along with another hunting rifle for a Kelbly built Kodiak. I just don't like the feel or enjoy shooting AR's. But Rock River Arms builds a very nice rifle for a fair price and their 2 stage competition triggers aren't bad.

RJ

 

[Killshot]

White Oak Armament..............

John equips a number of the top Service Rifle and Match Rifle shooters in the country. His Uppers are around $675 and are hammers.

 

[Scott Harris]

White Oak is the best choice: great prices with known good components and gunsmithing.

 

[Dans40X]

My LBC 24" 1:8 twist Super Match shoots well w/ the 69-80 heavies that I've worked up to duplicate the Fed GMM 69 & 77 gr factory loads.

The ArmaLite rifles shoot well.

They are all "mouse guns" & when you get down to the brass tacks they will never keep up w/ a bolt gun!!!

 

[Larryh128]

Take a good look Rock River. Les Baer is pretty much on top of the heap but RRA & also Stag Arms are really good pieces. A 7-8# AR won't beat a bench gun but what I can guarantee you is that a well made one with a good barrel will leave all of the factory bolt guns in the dust. Some of the most fun that can be legally had. Quality parts & FITTING are the key to accuracy & if you really want to make one shoot bug holes, put an aftermarket Lilja on it.

 

[Larryh128]

As a P.S., if someone is stating accuracy with a guarantee, it will do much better. Mine was stated to be 3/4" @100 & it will do 1/4" for 20 rounds if the jerk behind it doesn't wink one. Handloads of course. Look at a 8 twist.

 

[CADDIE5]

Look up the post in this forum for the AR rifle that Don Crigler is selling. You won't be disappointed. I've bought 6 rifles from Don. He was the team armorer for the ISRA service rifle team before he retired to Oregon.

 

[Cimarron2011]

Check out the Larue PredatAR. I have a 5.56 with 18" barrel, and it shoots great. Larue includes a copy of a test firing for each gun the sell. Mine was .62".

I have duplicated that with M855 greenies!

It is light (about 7#), has a Gieselle(sp?) trigger. It does not have a lot of rail real estate, but plenty of spots drilled and tapped to accept additional rail segments.

See link: http://www.laruetactical.com/18%E2%80%9D-larue-tactical-predatar-556

 

[slurpin dog]

Rock River varmint eop. They will give any mass produced bolt gun a run for their money............. Beat alot of em.

 

[hogan]

I cannot imagine a Les Baer with 1:12 twist being an off the shelf item. Maybe a few guys want an AR optimized for light bullet varmint hunting. Maybe some are worried about RPM spin rate using a "fast twist barrel". But, ain't no way a 1:12 is worth a damn for longrange performance. 1:7 or 8 is optimum unless intend to shoot 90gr bullets, then have to go 1:6.5

100yd accuracy is a passe standard, unless you are getting groups of under .2" with a benchrest rifle; really groups under .15" to win. So 1moa? 1moa with a .224 bullet is 4 bullet diameters. Same standard with a .308 would be groups under 1.25". Nobody gets too excited about that kind of performance, of course try doing it offhand w/o a rest or shooting jacket....

Most critical aspect of AR-15 performance is ammunition. 52 or 55gr match will shoot at 100 and out to 200yds, but for 300 and beyond, really must have 75/77gr and most will shoot 80gr (single load) at 600yds. 90gr Jlk and Smk are viable to 1000yds with vertical stringing of about 2" (15 & 20 rd groups). Takes a 6.5 twist....

Holliger at White Oak uses or used to use Wilson blanks contoured for him by Compass Engineering as their standard $220 service rifle barrel. You can pay for better, and will have to for a 6.5 twist, but the Wilson shoots fine. The Colt HBAR is another great barrel.

Want a match-grade mil-spec AR-15? Buy a Colt NM HBAR A4 and replace the heavy service rifle float tube with a round carbon or Badger Ord handguard.

 

[FroggyOne2]

A 6.5 twist eh.. don't think so.. at first that was the general idea, but then only with the Sierra 90 SMK. You will find that in most guns a 7 - 7.5 twist will work..

 

[dan06]

I have had 4 different AR-15 stock factory uppers that would shoot 3/4 moa or better with no modifications just good ammo. 2 of them were bushmasters Heavy barrel and one was a colt H-Bar. I think that they will keep up in accuracy with most stock bolt guns. they are not quite as easy to shoot as a bolt gun set up for the bench. The trigger on them is the biggest draw back. I have a bushmaster preadator .223 now that pretty much always shoots .5" for 5 rounds and another upper in 6.5-243wssm that always puts 5 rounds in at under .75 inches......They are way more accurate than they look like. I have had 2 pistols from Lesbaer and I really loved them to me they were worth the money. I'm not sure that you would gain enough buy buying an Ar-15 from him to justify the difference in price?

 

[cb1229]

Rock River is one of the best for your money best 2stage trigger for the money I have one with 8twist and it shoots 80s very well its in a 20in. heavy Wilson barrel. Next level up is white oak upper with a lower with a giessel trigger then you have the best for the money pay once cry once giessel is the best 2stage AR trigger out there. I thought my Ar had a good trigger till i shot one with a giessel trigger and a white oak upper i was very jealous after that at 200 yd on a Sr200 shot a 290s out of 300 with mine 270 and i had a scope they had open sight i will have one soon i hope before cmp shoots this summer good luck