Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Accurizing an AR

I sure appreciate all of the ideas thrown. The trigger is on it's way so that will be a big change. My existing trigger pops off at 7.5 lbs so going down to 3.5 will be a world of difference. Does anyone here feel that shooting 223 in a 556 chamber hurts accuracy? Seems to me that the bigger chamber can't help.

I don't know if a 556 chamber *hurts* accuracy, but I think your chances of wringing the most out of a barrel are better with a Wylde or a 223 match.

The problem with knowing for sure is that most barrels with a 556 chamber aren't set up with maximum accuracy in mind. So, it's very difficult to know for sure if differences are because of the chamber or because of some other feature of the barrel or even the rest of the gun (sights, trigger, etc).

Maybe somebody could baseline 10 Wyldes and then run 556 reamers through them and re-shoot. But my general feeling is that Wyldes work or people wouldn't use them.

The chamber of a 5.56 is the same as a 223 chamber, the difference is in the throat or free bore.

You get a tight 5.56 chamber and it can be accurate. Get a sloppy 223 chamber and it probably won't be.

Hmm.. isn't Bills chamber a 5.56 with a better throat? Always thought it was anyway.

FWIW the trigger wont' make the gun shoot better, but it will be easier to shoot it better. The float tube doesn't make tons of difference until you put bipods or sling pressure on either IMHO, but neither are bad additions.

I've won some stuff at Camp Perry once with an M1A and a horrible 7-8 pound trigger... long story but thats how it happened... never have your triggers set just at the minimum RE rules...LOL.

And your barrel could be a POS. But don't discount until you give it a fair chance.

Same experience here on the heavy triggers, last Friday I bought a complete RRA lower. I shot my R-15 and SW/PSA build gun with their heavy triggered lowers for baseline 10 shot groups. The complete RRA had the same mil spec style heavy trigger but I changed it into the above guns and shot the same size groups with the same ammo. Next I pulled the mil spec trigger out of the RRA lower and replaced it with a single stage RISE (RA-140 SST) it installed loose enough to have no tension on the cross pins to retain them. I tightened down the set screws in the bottom of the trigger cartridge against the frame to tension the cross pins from drifting. My cheapy RCBS trigger pull gauge said a tad more then 3.5# but near perfectly the same every time. I put the RRA and new trigger on my R-15, it cut my group size in half and the same in my SW & PSA barrel sighted build gun. Had a few flyers, getting used to a decent trigger is not instaneous for me but habit forming . Yeah I like the hell out of it, should have done it years a go. Bought another one and installed it in my R-15 lower permanent. The RRA lower will get tried next with my DPMS Oracle it has a laser and a red dot sight. What I learned was simple, don't condemn any component on your rifle until you swap the OEM heavy trigger out for a good one. Unlike me I hope all you can do this testing at a little higher temp than 6 degrees F that I did it at.. Probably could have got all this advice from Rost495 if I'd been smart enough to just ask him. MB

I don't know what 6 degrees feels like! When it gets 20 degrees everything around here gets shut down.

I have that same trigger in one of my rifles. I do like it so much more than a single stage trigger. I like to smooth up my barrels with a plastic brush and Brasso followed by getting all of the Brasso out prior to shooting. Since you have already free floated the barrel the only option would be to replace it. I did not see if it was chrome plated or not. Yes, I think the longer throat has a negative impact on accuracy but not by much.

kwg

free float, barrel, trigger, and good load development.
That's where it's at for AR's.

I also wonder by how much the Wylde chamber helps accuracy? I've had one Wylde, and it didn't even come close to as good of accuracy as my 556 chambered rifles.. That one also had the fastest twist rate as well... My buddies RRA ATH Carbine is not nearly as accurate as any of my AR15's either, and his has a Wylde chamber. To give you an example, his averages about 1 1/4 moa, while mine all shoot around .8-.9 moa...

Chamber is just one variable.

According to your other post, it's these variables:


So in the case of my buddies ATH carbine, it has a good RRA 2 stage varmint match trigger, barrel is freefloated, good handload or even custom matchgrade ammo, good barrel. According to RRA, it's good for "3/4 moa at 100 yards", but that is only for 3 shots. Am I missing something? My rifles with the 556 chambers are still more accurate... Like I said, his shoots around 1 1/4 moa at best...on a good day..

Don't give up. Was having the same experience as you with a Rock River varmint upper 8 twist- 20". Did not like Winchester 55gr. S.P. at all. Shoot patterns @100yds along with a bunch of other 55's and wouldn't even shoot the 69gr Fed Match factory load. On a whim picked up some Speer law enforcement 55gr G.D.H.P with nickel case for $14.00 box and a nickel will cover 5 shots @ 100 !?!? Just gotta find what she likes. The trigger will help a lot. Good luck.

Bringing a 2.5 moa rifle down to 1 moa, may be a challenge, even if you are only shooting 3 shot groups. Delton is more known as a budget rifle, not really accuracy. Id probably trust a barrel from a known maker, more than the delton barrel. Like others have said, accuracy starts with a good barrel.

Let's add one more variable, BSA. The shooter. Maybe the difference is you!

Let's not forget sights either.

Have a lot of wylde chambers and of course my iron sight submittal how many years ago was wylde. And I pretty much sucked at those groups not having shot in quite a few years at that time. Wylde or Holliger, with even a longer throat for my 90 ilk chambers, are the ones I strive to reach 1.5 inch 10 shot groups at 300 off the bench with test scopes. And I generally have not had any that wouldn't at least do 2 inches... Just FYI.
And yes you could possibly pick an even better chamber for specific needs/set up guns.

The Chamber is cut into the barrel, so when choosing an off the shelf barrel, be default you are also purchasing the chamber at the same time. Of but it's not the only thing that makes a good barrel. Choose a good chamber for an other wise junk barrel, and you still have a junk barrel.

I agree. I think if i were buying a new barrel, id go wylde, just because it probably has more potential to shoot better. My comparison between my buddies rifle and mine probably wasnt a fair comparison.

The Wylde is my preference as well. Most of my AR barrels are chambered for it.

You could try tearing the upper apart. Squaring the receiver face with a lapping tool, the barrel would have a true face to mate to. Then clean the outside of the barrel extension. Clean inside the upper receiver. Grab a caliper, and measure the inside dimension of the upper receiver. Then measure the outside of the barrel extension. Subtract the 2 dimensions, if the difference is less than .0025 inches or less. You are good to go just loctite it in or rocksett the extension into the upper whatever you decide. However if the difference is greater than .0025. Take the difference and subtract .002 inches to compensate for the clearance needed for barrel extension into upper. Then divide your answer by 2. Whatever number you come up with is your required shim thickness. Then make a trip to the local industrial supply house and get a roll of stainless steel shim stock in the correct thickness you need. Cut a strip to wrap around your barrel extension, clearing the feed ramps. Make sure the seam to the shim is horizontal to the barrel indexing pin. Get the seam as small as possible. Put a piece of tape or something to hold it together to get it started into the upper. You could use heat to make it easier hair dryer, heat gun whatever. And fit the barrel extension in. Torque barrel nut to spec.

I'd like to think lapping a receiver made any difference but I cannot see how it could unless it was so far out of spec, that it left a gap between the upper and barrel extension shoulder. And hand turning a bar to lap it won't be any truer than it started out.

Let's see, the bolt locks into the barrel extension and has clearance enough on the tail of it to wobble a bit in the carrier that has enough tolerance in the upper to wobble a lot. Yet by scraping off some of the anodizing, the stars will align? I've never seen an upper that was so far out of square to even dream of cutting it. If you want to do it like a bolt gun then lap the bolt into the barrel extension. There's just too much tolerance built in the upper/carrier fit for me to see it.

Start with a good barrel and things will go easier.