AR for distance..Whats your set up?

stralia

stralia

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Talk me off the ledge guys. Im considering an AR build for shoots out to 500m. I want to stay with .223 and would like some input from anyone who has built one an what success you've had grouping rounds consistently. Trigger, barrel length, brand etc. I already have an ATRS lower so that would be my starting point, so I really need info on uppers.

Cheers.
 
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I would call ATRS and have them build you a barrel, 18-20 inches. I had one of their 18 inch stainless heavy barrels on my last build and it was fantastic, very accurate and very nicely done. 1:7 twist with Wylde chamber.
Everything else is personal preference. Lots of good triggers out there.
ATRS also makes a very nice upper/lower combination.
 
20 inch stainless Wilson combat BBL with wylde chamber, and NEA crusader muzzle brake. BBL is custom turned by MILCUN for a medium profile. Diamond head full length float tube attached to RRA upper. RRA lower with Geisselle SSA. Spuhr ideal scope mount with integral level and a Vortex 2.5-10 HST scope. I shoot 69 gr SMKs over Varget.

Won several matches at NSCC, HPS or near. Shoots good back to 600. After two years of fiddling, and two years with this set up I would not change a thing.
 
A heavy barreled target model with a light trigger will be capable of better groupings than what we run for SR. But, it would be terrible for 3 gun...

I would look at something like the Stag 3G
 
kombayotch said:
A heavy barreled target model with a light trigger will be capable of better groupings than what we run for SR. But, it would be terrible for 3 gun...

I would look at something like the Stag 3G
Click to expand...

That's ok , as I would keep my current upper if that that ever became an option.
 
What kind of accuracy expectations are you looking for at 500? Iron sights or optics?

A normal 20" H-bar with an ff tube is capable at 500 with no wind. Wind becomes the biggest factor past 300 with a 5.56
 
I did one last year. It has:

Aero Precision upper and lower
FN BCG
RRA 2 stage match trigger
McGowan 16.25" heavy barrel (can't remember what the profile was called, but it is way heavier than typical)
Mid length gas system
.223 Wylde chamber
1:8 twist​
A2 fixed stock
UTG 13" free float quad rail (go ahead, laugh. It is light, cheap and works fine)

I only got a bit of load development done last year and am now waiting for weather to do more. What I saw so far was consistently under 1 MOA with a number of loads and just over 1/2 MOA with 69gr SMK's over WC735 powder. Once I get more time on it I will be able to confirm if the 1/2 MOA is a regular thing or a fluke occurrence. Under 1 MOA all day is going to be no problem, though.


Mark
 
Centurion MK12 upper.
Crane spec'ed Douglas H Barrel with Ops Inc Brake and collar.
KAC FF Rail, KAC Backup sights.
Leupold 3-9 TMR with Arms 22H rings

Lower is LMT, SSA trigger, Sopmod stock with H3 buffer.

Went with the traditional MK12 setup and proven Douglas barrel.
Hornady 75gr and BH 77gr shoot incredibly well.
 
Here is mine.

No difficulty hitting 2" steel plate at 200 yards. I have to do load development, but with factory ammo it is pretty close to MOA.

My only point to add, invest in a PRI gas buster charging handle if you have a DI setup. You will get a lot less gas back in your face.

 
I'm building a target rifle in 204 ruger right now. I have a 24" stainless heavy profile barrel coming in. Going to mount it to my DPMS high ride competition upper I picked up in December. Should be a great little rig once I'm done.
 
jawsman said:
I'm building a target rifle in 204 ruger right now. I have a 24" stainless heavy profile barrel coming in. Going to mount it to my DPMS high ride competition upper I picked up in December. Should be a great little rig once I'm done.
Click to expand...

Make sure you post up when you get it together. I'm very interested how it works out.
 
Like others have said I would look at something with a 20" stainless match barrel. ATRS would probably be a good start. Gieselle trigger or something similar. Free float rail and get reloading with some heavy grain match bullets, find the recipe that works for your rifle with a nice scope on top.
 
I found a kreiger 20" 1:9 with a rifle length gas hole.

I got a vltor upper from CSTS added a NiB coated bolt from ATRS.

I was trying to source an adjustable gas block but I wound up going with a bolt on unit from the parts bin.

I sourced a RRA ff tube and dropped it all of at the smith as the barrel wasn't chambered.

Topped it off with a Nikon MR-223 4-12x44

I slapped in on one of my lowers, the one with the best trigger (a timney).

Over-all it's still a work in progress, I'd like to build up a dedicated lower, and build up some hand loads......

Norc crap yellow box groups 1.25" 10 shot groups at 100. Hornady steel match 55gr groups 5 shots into .85" @ 100. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say this tube is a good one (IMHO), now just to get a "more better" lower to complete the build.......

As a previous poster has already said, give ATRS a call, they may have what you're looking for....

Cheers!
 
Long range with .223

It really depends on what it is you want to accomplish.

If you shoot out to 500m already, (who here actually does?) you know that a 20" barrel in .223 is a compromise. It makes sense for SR as there are so many other factors to consider in the competition than to just think of the 500m mound (add to that the scoring area at 500m is generous).
Most high power / Fullbore types shooting the .223 at 500+ are single loading 80 and 90gr. + bullets that will compete with .308 at that distance. Even with 26-30" heavy barrels and those single loaded rounds it is a compromise (for their shooting and performance standards).
A 26-30" heavy barrel with single loaded heavies will kick snot out of a 20" shooting 77 smk (all things being equal).

If you want some versatility, a 20" is a good bet (and there are good suggestions to that effect already in this thread), but if you want to actually crush the 500+ with .223, you may want to consider 26" +, heavy barrel in a 7 twist, Wilde chamber shooting bullets 77+grains in weight.
 
kombayotch said:
A heavy barreled target model with a light trigger will be capable of better groupings than what we run for SR. But, it would be terrible for 3 gun...

I would look at something like the Stag 3G
Click to expand...

Do you know, what kind of grouping to expect from this Stag just as from equipment ? I understand, that this depends from ammo, but still. RRA claim 3/4 MOA for R3 Competition rifle, but I didn't find anything at the Stag site.
And what would be opinions about Stag 3G vs RRA R3 in terms of accuracy and as rifle for Service Conditions game ?

--
Thanks !
 
Gotta agree with Hilo71 (thanks for the stock, brother). My go-to would be a MK12. I always try to build a clone of something. If it's good enough for SOCOM, it'll do just fine for me...
 
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