10-04-2020, 12:52 PM
0311B Wrote:This is exactly the question that I've been wanting to ask as well. I put together a decent upper, but I'm getting very poor accuracy so far with Hornady Black and Hornady Custom. The Black ELD-Ms average 2.75" at 100 yards, the Custom SSTs much worse, so much so that I didn't bother measuring them.
I would try different ammo, but I can't find other ammo. I built this upper in the middle of a "pandemic" and an election cycle, so.. I'm saving brass and will be developing loads as soon as I can pick up some small rifle primers and powder.
I'm blaming it on the barrel, a Sanders Armory 24" Stainless 5R 1/8. I wonder if it's a whippy barrel? Did they send me a lemon? If I have it chopped down would it stiffen up? Like Klem said, is a long heavy barrel on an AR15 upper a mismatched pair? The receiver is 7075 Aero.
I didn't bed the barrel into the receiver, but if the barrel I bought is a lemon, I'm glad that I didn't. When I get one that shoots well I'll bed that.
0311B
Bedding a barrel won't be the miracle you think. Installing it well makes the difference. Bedding can improve but if you used a good barrel and installed it well, there is no reason why the rifle won't shoot well with any reasonably good load and bullet.
I probably wouldn't trust this Sanders barrel to shoot everything well but it will probably shoot some loads well. I doubt it will give real match grade performance but holding around a minute with the right loads ought to be reasonable.
You assembled it from parts. Should be OK but you ought to check your work again to be sure it wasn't something you did.
Then you can check your sighting system that it works and is secured properly.
Then you can check yourself by having someone who you know to be a better marksman than you to test out the rifle and some loads.
There are volumes on the Forum about guys troubleshooting poor accuracy. Very few times has it been a rifle or carbine not made well. Most often it is equally spread between poor quality ammunition, poor marksmanship, and lousy barrels. Shooters who lack experience also tend to have exaggerated expectations of performance.
Klem's averages are pretty much in line with most guys who shoot competitively and thus shoot thousands of rounds a year with an eye on raw accuracy.
LR55