Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles AR10 vs bolt gun accuracy

AR `s are dang accurate i don`t like the feel of them but they do shoot well , i also have a AR-1O bolt precision rifle in a 6.5 Creedmoor that will out shoot probably 95 % or more of regular bolt rifles it will shoot a hole at 100 yards 5 shot group. yes its ugly does not feel right to carry and a little heavy but it sure will preform well on a target. want is really strange to me about a AR is two pins and the barrel comes off for easy cleaning goes right back on and still shoots same point of impact.

digital dan, nice shooting, never owned an AR10 that would shoot that good, what rifle is that?

His posts are becoming more and more ridiculous. I doubt he shot it with an AR10. Nice group, other than the flier though. It would be cool if he would shoot the black rifle challenge here, just to see if his rifle is even MOA or better on a consistent basis. That is a real test for most rifles and shooters. I look forward to hearing his response as well, as some of his short posts don't make much sense these days.

"AR10 vs. Bolt gun accuracy", as the thread title states.

How many guys have really answered that question? Here's a great comparison, for those wanting to follow along. Actually shooting both side by side at different ranges, just to throw that in. 10 shot groups posted for this comparison, to make it as fair as possible. As I know some guys like MikeS will ask, "why did you only shoot 3 in the group". While others like rost will admit, that he only shoots 2 shots anymore. We all know it's the first shot that counts anyway, but that's not what the OP wants to know.

So, here's the best way I can show a comparison. Based off of my own experience.

AR10 at 100 yards:





AR10 shot at 500 yards


Group size 4 9/16" center to center. (.872 MOA)
Score: 100-9X

Picture of AR10:



Bolt action at 100 yards:

Best groups shot to date with that rifle, but have not bothered to shoot many 10 shot groups with it, since that day. The rifle is a known shooter and highly competitive for the shoots I do, when I'm not shooting my Mcmillan A3 edge stocked CTR, loaded with the 147 ELDM.

Here's a pic of this rifle and how it's scoped now:


Same bolt action rifle shot at 500 yards, for group size and score. Target: 1000 yard F-class repair center. Sports same dimensions as the 500 yard NRA target. X ring roughly 5" diameter:


Group size: 3.5" center to center. (.669 MOA for 10 shots)
Score: 100-8X
Rifle: Tikka CTR.
Optic at the time: NF SHV 5-20X56 with MOAR reticle.

Note:
Both the AR10 and Bolt action were shot on the same day, at the 500 yard target. Conditions were crappy for visibility, as we were under a stagnant air advisory. However because of this, the wind was at a bare minimum:


Both rifles were shot from the prone position.

Moral of the story with this comparison:

1. AR10 shoots around .8 moa for 10 shots consistently. Targets also posted in black rifle challenge here.
2. Precision bolt action, shoots around .3-.6 moa consistently for 10 shots

This is not a comparison of a lightweight hunting rifle to a heavy azzed AR10, but a good comparison of a fairly heavy AR10, vs a fairly heavy bolt action rifle. Both shooting in the same conditions and at the same distances, with same/same optics, and ammo.. Others that have similar comparisons, should chime in. Also, as you can see, that a heavy azzed AR10, such as the Performance Center I have posted, would stomp a lightweight Tikka into a mud hole, on a daily basis. Not that there's anything wrong with the superlite or Lite model, but they are not a precision rifle. Their intended purpose is as a nice well balanced lightweight hunting rifle.

There were only 2 Tikka superlites posted in the MOA All Day Long challenge here, and the one I posted shot a little better than Harring's. I believe his hovered right around moa, which is pretty good for these rifles, for that type of shooting.

I doubt the ruger sfar will be anywhere close to .8 MOA with even 5 rounds, I need to look into glass bedding the chamber area of my CTR and getting a higher magnification scope, the NF 2.5 x 10 is OK but not enough for my eyes.

I've never seen an AR10 equal a bolt rifle in accuracy.

That said a good AR15 and a good bolt 223 will shoot close. But a bolt version will generally outshoot a semi.

David tried like heck with the SR25 platform and finally ended up with the T2K. Says a lot IMHO.

OTOH most AR10 shoot well enough for most peoples skills.
I can say I've never seen an AR10 dump em all in a ragged tight hole consistently. I've never owned one. But I do have one stripped lower and now a complete lower waiting on me so the day may still come that I play... Kind of bought the last complete lower to play with some form of 22-250ish... maybe even something like 22/6mm if the thing would fit...

In my limited experience (about eight AR10 through my hands), an AR10's accuracy is all or mostly about the barrel. If you get a barrel made by a competent smith from Kreiger, Bartlein, or Proof Research blank, they usually shoot sub MOA. Other parts can play a role too, but as long as they are from reputable known manufactures they are usually not so different. That said, it is not easy to find an AR10 (308) that consistently shoots 0.5 MOA with handholds tuned to the gun. My best experiences are with Proof barrels and an old Gen 1 Rainier Ultramatch barrel made from Shilen blank by WOA. This rifle shoots consistently 0.5-1 MOA with handload using Hornady 178gr ELD-M.

AR 15's get heavy fast. AR10's start off far too heavy. Way too cumbersome and clumsy for hunting or anything else. Tikka's are great. My CZ550 6.5x55 once shot 5 into an 1 5/8" at 300 yards with handloads and 24x dot. I have two Tikka based target rifles that might do it but never tried. Very slick actions for rapid fire and very good triggers.

Maybe I'm not remembering correctly but wasn't Pat's GAP that won the 20 shot challenge an AR-10 type?

There could have been that anomaly. I think I recall a strange one in that 20 shot challenge.

I just have not seen AR10s that are really good shooters. Doesn't mean they don't shoot good.

Barrels are always the most important part IMHO. Of course they have to be done correctly but even a rough job on a top barrel tends to shoot better than a top job on a sub par tube.

These days on the small end AR15 though, it just simply doesn't take much to make MOA. It has always taken a top tube to make really small groups though.

My ar-10t is very accurate. Doesn't even come close to what my m700 police model will do both 308. One only has to look at what benchresters use for actions to understand they use the best they can.get. When is the last time you heard of a BR comp where a semi or falling block single kicked everyone's ass? Just saying those facts stand on their own merit..mb

Pretty much all I hunt with is an AR10 for the past several years.

It's accurate. And fast. I'm somewhere in the slightly above MOA category with mine.

But that's not why I have one or use one. A bolt in .308 will probably be more accurate, but again, that's not why I shoot and hunt with an AR10.

I have it because I can put many accurate rounds on living, multiple targets without having to work the bolt or reload. It's the nature of the beast, and why I hunt with it.

There are AR10's that come REAL close to bolt gun accuracy, but they are too weighty for what I use them for.