DA Socom 18 Accuracy Test

Buckshot70

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Bone stock rifle out of the box. No failures of any kind through 400 rounds. Did this test today from sandbags. -15C light wind.

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Cool. I haven't had time to take mine out and really test it yet, only just some quick shoots behind the barn. Now that I have a bunch of the bugs worked out I can't wait to see what it can do.
 
I could hardly see the squares of duct tape with the fat front sight. Would be better with an optic but for sure upgrading some parts may improve the accuracy as well as working on marksmanship. The balance of the rifle may be off as I have removed the toolkit from the buttstock to lighten it. Thanx for the link, it is an article that I have not seen.

I also started with a clean barrel and fired 5 initial warm up shots. All 15 money shots were taken at once pretty much rapid fire with the fmj first, 180 next and 168 hornady match last. The barrel may have been a bit warm.
 
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Buckshot no appreciable windage in your groups, you seem to be doing your part on the trigger. I'm curious as to how it would have grouped with the F/H reversed. I'm wondering about the bullet's flight disturbed on exit from that F/H when put to Socom look. Any thought's?
 
The box of 180gr was gifted to me and it didn't group well in my hunting rifle either so I'm just using it up. No noticeable recoil increase. Also the match ammo I only shot once so far as an experiment. The Federal was on sale in bulk and I bought 2 cases (480 rds) so I'm stuck with it as well. I'm going to test some MFS, hopefully that will give me results. I just want to find something factory that shoots well but this gun is just for play on the farm.
 
180 grain is really heavy, I have read its not really recommended to go past 175, how much kick did the 180 have?

I heard the same thing so i only use 150 remington. Don't have the money to shoot 168 match ammo.

but i'd like to have some 7.62x51 , which i think is 140grains, to have fun.
 
Unless I'm missing something, would it be better to fire 180 gr as a single shot? My understanding is that the heavier bullet weights create more recoil, and tend to beat up the bolt/receiver...
 
Didn't you read the instructions it says to only use military spec ammo

Just joking im planning to use my da socom 18 for hunting and it would be pretty in humane to use hard ball 7.62x51
 
Didn't you read the instructions it says to only use military spec ammo

Just joking im planning to use my da socom 18 for hunting and it would be pretty in humane to use hard ball 7.62x51

I DID read the instructions, and I must say I'm a little disappointed in the lack of engrish... But yeah, I plan to use mine for hunting as well. Can't wait for my CASM and BlackArrow Oprod spring guide to show up. Gonna see what this baby can really do. (Read that: "I suck with irons")

Edit: isn't it a little ironic that it's in humane to hunt deer and moose with FMJ, but yet somehow MORE humane to shoot humans with it? *puts down scotch* don't mind me, I just...
 
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No to dumb dums

Yes, the Geneva Connvention prohibits the shooting of dum-dums (that's hollow-headed bullets, not hollow-headed soldiers--spelled "Dumb-dumbs").
Apparently they want us poking holes in one another, but not blowing off one another's limbs and so forth. IDK how some of the current techno-
nasties developed during the Vietnam/Iraq wars got past the censors. And the short 12 ga was banned from the trenches of WWI, but was seen again
in the jungles of SE Asia 50 years later....

"WARNING-WARNING! Topic drift detected. Recalculating... Please return to original course heading now."

Daaaaagh! OK. I just this week picked up a new "SOCOM 18" from DA, yet it has the classic 22" barrel. It looks good, and it checked out fine,
but I've not had time to get out to the range yet. Planning for next week.
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I've also had a Norc "M-14S" since last year. It's got the 18.7 inch barrel. I've mostly been shooting (300+ rnds)the Chicom 'NATO' :0) ammo which seems dirty, but I've had no trouble hitting centre of mass of a human torso (cardboard) at 100 yd. The best I've done there has been a three round group of 1.5 MOA. ( I don't count two round groups!) It's never failed to cycle with the Chinese ammo. No problems (except I replaced the rear sight with one from an M-1, the spring guide & spring.
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But these new, improved 'SOCOM's promise to be better. Well, we'll see, won't we? :eek: ]
 
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Holy crap. So I ordered my CASM and BlackArrow oprod spring guide last night just before my last post, and Canada post just put it in my mailbox... At my door in under 15 hours?! A round of applause for M14.ca. I'm literally shocked.
 
Unless I'm missing something, would it be better to fire 180 gr as a single shot? My understanding is that the heavier bullet weights create more recoil, and tend to beat up the bolt/receiver...

The bolt and receiver should handle 180 if the gas system is turned off, but again for hundreds or thousands of rounds I'm not sure if it is designed for the slightly higher bolt thrust.

The OP fired those 180 Cor-Lokts in an 18.5 inch barrel and you have to remember that your barrel has a 1/12" twist, which is a little slow in a shorter barrel to properly stabilize long projectiles. The slower velocity may not impart enough RPM on the bullet at the shorter barrel Muzzle Velocity to put it to sleep quickly. The longer it yaws going down range, the wider it's group dispersion normally.


My P-H 1200 would shoot 0.75" MOA with my 168 gr handloads, but would this would widen to 2.5-3" with 180 BTHP because it only had a 1-14" twist which was deadly to shoot 762NATO 144-147gr(most of what it fired) as accurately as possible. Throw in the longer 180's at much lower velocity, and now not nearly enough RPM when leaving muzzle to stabilize quickly.

Bullet RPM = Muzzle Velocity X 720
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twist rate (inches)


It's not just the twist rate in a given caliber itself you look at,... it's that a twist rate must be faster to stabilize the same bullet that is moving slower, to impart enough rotational spin.

Using the formula, you can determine what twist rates should be ordered in custom barrels if you are going much shorter or longer than a known performing bullet/velocity/twist combination.
 
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