Gun goes new for $1600-$2200 CAD hardly a "cheap gun"
I've been meaning to buy some decent factory ammo for my MR1 to see what it is capable of.... but so far all I shoot is UMC and Tula 62gr HP's thru it. Groups like 2-4 MOA with that ammo lol
Cheap is relative, I have a semi auto black rifle that cost $6000, and a couple others in the $3000+ range. To me cheap is something in the sub $2000 category, If I only had $1800-$2000 to spend on a rifle I'd be looking at used XCR-L's and Tavor's not brand new "cheap" rifles.
A rifle that dont group tight aint worth keeping, i never show a picture of a bad group. If a rifle cant be tamed why show it.
If you buy rifles for shooting groups and your only concern is accuracy then it's very hard to argue with your post.
But having realistic expectations is something that many on this site miss the boat on. Showing a single 1/2 moa group that you fluked off one afternoon when the rifle actually shoots 2-3 moa most of the time is not helping people get a sense of the rifles real potential. The rifles potential is what it does on average with it's favorite ammunition, not the one great group it made when the stars aligned and all the inconsistencies lined up for one nice picture.
Hey I already have a sub moa bolt rifle. It's not like I'm trying to reinvent the whéel here. I'm just trying to shoot a few decent groups to find some load that'll be good enough to kill a few coyotes on the run. When I think about barrel harmonics and lightweight barrels it almost makes more sense to cut the barrel as short as legally possible. In my case that would be a last resort but it would reduce the barrel whip.
Plus, part of the whole gun nutz hobby is the challenge of making a gun shoot to its potential. Anybody can just buy an accurate gun off the shelf. Making one work takes skill, thought and patience to find its secrets.
If all you want to do is shoot a coyote in a field this rifle is more than accurate enough for that. Either handload (try the combo I mentioned) or just buy a box of Hornady 55gr V-max factory loads and get out there. You don't need sub moa accuracy to shoot coyotes unless you're shooting at them at 500 yards, in which case you should be using your bolt action and something that shoots a cartridge that has a little more power.
Don't cut your barrel, it won't help. An inch and a half off the end is not going to reduce barrel harmonics enough to see any change in accuracy. If this rifle doesn't perform to your requirements just sell it and buy something better. If you can't find ammo it likes nothing short of a barrel transplant with a $400+ barrel is going to make enough difference to be worth while.
I have to agree with this gent, 2K is entry level in the precision world, buy a 3K rifle mount at 4K S&B or else plus the work, 7K is easily reached.
Exactly, I have scopes that cost more than this rifle.
Shooting sub moa is hard even with my Modern Hunter with handloads tailored to the rifle and a Proof Research carbon wrapped barrel and a Nightforce sitting on top of it.
That's another thing a lot of guys don't understand. Even if the rifle is capable of 1 moa or better and even if you find the ammo it likes making it possible to shoot those tiny groups it is not easy to consistently shoot 1 moa or better. It takes a lot of skill to do it right every time to make that pretty group you want to post on here. I've been shooting a long time and I've owned more quality AR's than I can remember, a few of them were capable of shooting very tiny groups but some days I just couldn't do it. Same ammo, same rifle, same scope, same bench, same rest, and different results, that's operator error and even with sandbags or a lead sled there is still an element of human error.
I like to ask the guys I think have unrealistic expectations, how many sub moa groups have you ever shot in your life? I'm talking 5 shot groups at 100 or more yards counting fliers, no excuses just results.
No one has answered me and I know why.