It was raining today. Good news is that meant range was not crowded. No waiting for a bench. We solved the wet target issue:
I added a 223 target rifle to the mix as a control test of ammo. If a rifle groups 2", maybe the ammo is only capable of 1.5", at best?? The target rifle has a good chamber, barrel and trigger, so indicates how the ammo performs.
The ammo was either factory (IVI ball, MFS 55 FMJ, Norinco 55 FMJ) or handloads. The handloads were all once fired IVI cases and thrown charges of Varget powder, with 3 different powder charges per bullet (24.5gr, 25.0 gr & 25.5gr). The bullets tested were:
55 FMJ
55 Ballistic Tip
62 FMJ
68 Hornady HP Match (1/2 gr less powder)
About 240 rounds were fired in 5-shot groups.
I used my CQB ammo to get each rifle on paper and zero it to shoot about an inch above the black patch used as an aiming mark.
Each rifle was topped with a 20X target scope and rested for maximum accuracy.
The rifles are a brand new Danial Defense V5 (16" brl) with about 200 rounds through it. My Norinco M4 (12.5"brl) is a year old and has about 2,000 rounds. The Norc has a floated barrel (like the DD) and I have added a Rock River trigger.
The test ran smoothly. There was only one misfire. The primer was in backwards. The brass was all sized with a new Lyman sizer and this brass fit the tight chamber in the DD ok, although some were seated all the way only when the bolt slammed closed.
I am posting this within minutes of returning home. It will take a couple of hours to tabulate the results.
My friend Raf was the spotter. he recorded on a note pad where each group was in relation to the aiming mark and noted what rifle/ammo shot the group. He and I both agreed that the 68match bullets shot noticeably better in all the rifles. I think that is important to note. The rifles are good enough to tell the difference between match bullets and military FMJ. He thinks the Norc shot slightly better than the DD. I thought the DD shot a bit better.
I am waiting for the targets to dry out, then I will measure and label them, and then organize them for some comparison pictures. I will add them to this post, later tonight.
I added a 223 target rifle to the mix as a control test of ammo. If a rifle groups 2", maybe the ammo is only capable of 1.5", at best?? The target rifle has a good chamber, barrel and trigger, so indicates how the ammo performs.
The ammo was either factory (IVI ball, MFS 55 FMJ, Norinco 55 FMJ) or handloads. The handloads were all once fired IVI cases and thrown charges of Varget powder, with 3 different powder charges per bullet (24.5gr, 25.0 gr & 25.5gr). The bullets tested were:
55 FMJ
55 Ballistic Tip
62 FMJ
68 Hornady HP Match (1/2 gr less powder)
About 240 rounds were fired in 5-shot groups.
I used my CQB ammo to get each rifle on paper and zero it to shoot about an inch above the black patch used as an aiming mark.
Each rifle was topped with a 20X target scope and rested for maximum accuracy.
The rifles are a brand new Danial Defense V5 (16" brl) with about 200 rounds through it. My Norinco M4 (12.5"brl) is a year old and has about 2,000 rounds. The Norc has a floated barrel (like the DD) and I have added a Rock River trigger.
The test ran smoothly. There was only one misfire. The primer was in backwards. The brass was all sized with a new Lyman sizer and this brass fit the tight chamber in the DD ok, although some were seated all the way only when the bolt slammed closed.
I am posting this within minutes of returning home. It will take a couple of hours to tabulate the results.
My friend Raf was the spotter. he recorded on a note pad where each group was in relation to the aiming mark and noted what rifle/ammo shot the group. He and I both agreed that the 68match bullets shot noticeably better in all the rifles. I think that is important to note. The rifles are good enough to tell the difference between match bullets and military FMJ. He thinks the Norc shot slightly better than the DD. I thought the DD shot a bit better.
I am waiting for the targets to dry out, then I will measure and label them, and then organize them for some comparison pictures. I will add them to this post, later tonight.
