24 " BEAST AR

[JeffsSig]

Ill call it a beast because of the 20 pound upper

I ordered a 24in Wilson Combat bull barrel in stainless steel. Yes its heavy!!! Not sure how heavy. But I built this as a bench gun to mess around with my 223 loads.

After a 50 shot fire lapping of the barrel I went shooting yesterday.

At 200 yds I held very nice 1.6 inch groups of 10 shots each. This was with 77gr Privi Match ammo. 68 grain federal gold match did almost as good. 55 grain PMC, Remington, and American Eagle did 3 inch groups.

Ive not shot any of my loads yet but I think they will do a bit better.

Due to its weight, follow up shots was almost as good as a 22lr from the bench. Ill not try and shoot this off the branch unless I'm prone I think.

I did have a 3 shot group that touched each other. But after that my old eyes just cant do well after looking down the scope. Even with a 14X one.

So in better hands I feel this gun can do under 1 inch groups at 200 yds

Edited April 8, 2012 by JeffsSig

[Mr. Brooks]

You ain't kidding, that is a beast of a barrel!

I'm sure that will shoot awesome with some handloads.

[Rightwinger]

You already own the beast of barrels Jeff.

[RWF]

conrads! nice

[Magiccarpetrides]

Great looking stick! What's the twist rate on that one?....specs on rest of gun?

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That's real nice. Where's the bipod?

[mikegideon]

Nice stick! It's screaming for a PRS stock. The adjustable cheek rest will help with scope wink, especially if you go up in power. I have an 8-32 on mine.

[JeffsSig]

Mike how did you know I had "scope wink" problems? So you really think the PRS will help. I have one I can try on it.

6.8 I shoot much better with bags than I do a Bi Pod.

Magic It has a Todd Jarret free float tube , A Kies lower I built with RRA lower parts and add a 3lbTmney drop in trigger and a Rock River Operator stock. I used a Wilson Combat 24 in bull barrel with a 1:8 twist thats a Wylde 223 chamber. Yankee hill low profile gas-block.

RW your correct the 458 is a beast also but still lighter.

[mikegideon]

Mike how did you know I had "scope wink" problems? So you really think the PRS will help. I have one I can try on it.

From experience. Yes, It will help.

[mikegideon]

Also note that my scope is at standard AR height. It's medium Burris tactical rings sitting on a Weaver 20 MOA riser. About the same height as a PEPR. Yours looks quite a bit lower. A PRS may not help, especially if it's too low.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Bipods can have a negative impact on accuracy. I didn't belive it the first time I was told that but it has proven true for me as well as almost every person I have told that to. I was told it has to do with it causing harmonics in the firearm, specifically the barrel. Now I make sure to shoot off of something other than a bipod.

Nice looking rig. When you built it did you square the front of the upper receiver? I generally do because the "flat" surface that the barrel mounts to is generally off by several thousandths. And think about it, being off by .001 equates to .1 off at 100 yards and is only compounded by the additional harmonics when the surface isn't flat.

Almost every custom bolt action builder squares the front of the receiver as well as the recoil lug. The same should be done to accurize a AR because they are rarely square.

Here are pictures of a recent one I did for myself:

First I start out with a round tube that is cut to allow for a very tight fit into the receiver where the barrel goes. And I clearance it to allow my cutter to get a full width cut. I make sure to cut a new tube each time to make sure it is true.

Next I start to surface the front portion:

You can see where it starts to cut at the 12 o'clock position. And because this is the high spot it tilts the barrel down and you loose up on your scope. This is normal for the high area to be here first.

This is about 1/2 way there and now the high spot is on the left of the receiver, pushing the barrel to the right:

And finally all cleaned up:

And the reason I do this is because when the gun fires the barrel shifts back against the receiver against what is supposed to be a flat area. And the first void is everything except at 12 o'clock. This creates additional harmonics. Then is settles into the right side of the receiver because the left sight has a high spot and again more harmonics. And it is all these varying harmonic frequencies that can cause a gun to seemingly never be accurate.

After doing this the barrel doesn't shift or squirm around upon firing or at least not as much, it comes straight back squarely on the receiver. This reduces the harmonics to only what is inherently in the barrel.

And the 20 minutes to do this put me in bed for the rest of the day. Damn I hate my back.

Questions are welcome.

Dolomite

Edited April 8, 2012 by Dolomite_supafly

[JeffsSig]

Good write and thoughts Gordon.

I only go as far as a level and square and a small hand file and stone to hit the high spots. Your way would be much better.

I seen one guy go as far as to use small in house made brass shims to allow it to to dig in and level out.

[mikegideon]

There are different schools of thought on bipods. I've never liked shooting with one. They use them exclusively in the Magpul Precision Rifle video. Those guys aren't having accuracy problems. One of the first things Hodnett covers is "loading" your bipod. As you're setting up for a shot, lean into the bipod a little and put some forward tension on it. I've never done that, but will try it next time I strap one on a rifle. I certainly can't argue with the results on the video. They are making some serious shots.

[mk19]

That is some barrel, varments would not have any place to hide from it. I agree that a heavier stock like the PRS would be much better, also it would help with balance. A nice bench gun indeed.

[mikegideon]

Yep. Mine does a real decent job at 600 yards with magazine lenght stuff, and Jeff has a better barrel. I'm trying to push mine out to 1000, but am having trouble finding the time to work up my loads. You have to run the gun in single shot mode past 600.

[Magiccarpetrides]

There are different schools of thought on bipods. I've never liked shooting with one. They use them exclusively in the Magpul Precision Rifle video. Those guys aren't having accuracy problems. One of the first things Hodnett covers is "loading" your bipod. As you're setting up for a shot, lean into the bipod a little and put some forward tension on it. I've never done that, but will try it next time I strap one on a rifle. I certainly can't argue with the results on the video. They are making some serious shots.

Bipod's are definitely the way to go...im a crappy shot, but have found leaning into mine helps immensely to diminish my crappiness

[mikegideon]

I like a good rest better, but a bipod sure beats nothing on a rifle you're going to carry around. Those 24" bulls are a little too heavy for my tastes when it comes to packing something through the woods.

Edited April 9, 2012 by mikegideon

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I just mentioned if you carried it out and "had" to use it, not bench stuff. I use bags, too.

Just kidding

[Guest HCRoadie]

This thing is heavy as well, but very accurate. It has a 24" E.R. Shaw on it

Edited April 16, 2012 by HCRoadie