My Ballistic Advantage build

[kcb38]

Vertical and horizontal I'm afraid.

[kcb38]

Turns out the rings on my Recon mount were loose. I torqued them but held off on the purple loctite I normally use until I was sure the scope was where I wanted it. I guess I forgot to go back and do it because it was loose enough that the scope had moved quite a bit from it's original position. Once I re-level the scope, torque and loctite the screws I 'll give it another go.

[Kswhitetails]

That’ll do it. It’s nice to see an obvious problem fix an issue, even if it comes at the cost of out dignity. I’m betting you have better results now. And if not, now you KNOW this isn’t your issue next time.

[kcb38]

Well hopefully it's that simple. Obviously a loose mount isn't going to help my grouping but I'm thinking there's a lot of room for improvement with my shooting too. I was shooting 0.5 MOA and better with my bolt guns a couple weeks ago and I tried to shoot this one the same way. That didn't work out so well. I really need to pay attention to my follow through and the other things that differentiate gas guns from bolt guns. The mount is a good start though and I have high hopes for my next range trip. Fingers crossed!

[kcb38]

Well I can say that after a trip to the range tonight that tight scope rings are much better than loose. I forgot the good ammo at home but managed to keep everything under 1.5 MOA with American Gunner. Groups averaged right around 1 MOA. Now I just need to work on my trigger pull and follow through, remember to bring some better ammo and I'll really be able to see what this BA barrel will do.

IMG_20180712_185803040.jpg

[Popeye212]

Can we get a "Budget" update....

[kcb38]

Haha, sure.

Aero assembled upper : free with barrel purchase
BA 20" DMR profile stainless Barrel: $228
Seekins Adjustable gas block: $55
Stainless Gas Tube: $15
VG6 Gamma brake: $40
Toolcraft complete BCG (kept the bolt as a spare): $69
Group Buy Monster Bolt: $55
Radian Raptor LT Charging Handle: $46
Odin Works O2 Lite Hand Guard: $140
ADM Recon QD Mount: $135
Sightron S-Tac 4-20X50: $399


Aero Gen 2 lower 39.99
AR Stoner LPK (no grip or FCG): $22
Geissele Hi Speed Nat'l Match Trigger: $199
Damage Industries Buffer Tube Kit with Chrome Silicon Spring: $30
Ergo Tactical Deluxe Grip: $32
Magpul PRS Gen 2 Stock: $180

So that totals up to approximately $1700 with a few bucks here and there for miscellaneous stuff. Not very "budget" friendly but it would've been a lot more if I hadn't been shopping the sales daily for months.

[Popeye212]

About the same build and about the same I amount I spent on mine.

[kcb38]

So while cleaning this rifle last night I realized the barrel isn't quite centered in the handguard. After inspection it appears that the handguard is angled slightly left and down as compared to the rail on the receiver. And yeah, it's just enough for the gas block to touch. Unfortunately it can't be repositioned, as the screws that secure it to the proprietary adapter just pull it right back out of line when they're tightened. So now I have to disassemble it, which means removing the brake and the gas block, then reverse the adapter nut and see if it cants the other way. If so, that will verify that the adapter is the issue and it'll have to go back to Odin.

[A5BLASTER]

So while cleaning this rifle last night I realized the barrel isn't quite centered in the handguard. After inspection it appears that the handguard is angled slightly left and down as compared to the rail on the receiver. And yeah, it's just enough for the gas block to touch. Unfortunately it can't be repositioned, as the screws that secure it to the proprietary adapter just pull it right back out of line when they're tightened. So now I have to disassemble it, which means removing the brake and the gas block, then reverse the adapter nut and see if it cants the other way. If so, that will verify that the adapter is the issue and it'll have to go back to Odin.

Who's handguard are you useing?

Just would like to know, thinking of trying a different handguard on my 22 inch build, been useing seekins for a good bit never a problem with them, but time for something diffrent

[kcb38]

Odin O2 Lite. I really bought it for its looks. I know Odin makes nice stuff so I wasn't worried about the quality of it. If it turns out to be the adapter I'm pretty sure they'll take care of it. It doesn't seem to be a common issue with them as I have searched the internet and found no such complaints about any of their handguards.

[kcb38]

I thought about my strategy of turning the adapter 180 degrees but realized that the angle of the handguard would've been exactly the same. I decided to disassemble everything anyway and then re-assembled, this time torquing the barrel nut to the max spec. That seemed to pull it into line. The barrel is now centered and there's plenty of clearance for the gas block. Hopefully that's the end of the troubleshooting on this one.

It just dawned on me I never posted any pics of the finished rifle. And now I can't because I loaned out the scope and mount to a buddy so he can get some practice in before a long(er) range shoot next month. Doh!

[kcb38]

Well I think I've put enough ammo through this BA barrel to get a good idea of how it shoots. The following is about what I've been seeing at 100 yds:
Wolf 2.25"+
SST 2"+
Amer. Gunner 1 - 1.25"
Black 1" +/-
American Eagle 1"
Gold Medal Medal Match 0.75 - 1"

Honestly I was hoping for slightly better results but it does meet their "sub moa with premium ammo" guarantee. My shooting can still use some improvement too so I can't put it all on the barrel. I'll keep at it and hopefully I'll get better with this rifle. I hope to be reloading by next season, maybe I'll be able to find a load it likes better than FGMM.

[SDW]

Honestly I was hoping for slightly better results but it does meet their "sub moa with premium ammo" guarantee. My shooting can still use some improvement too so I can't put it all on the barrel. I'll keep at it and hopefully I'll get better with this rifle. I hope to be reloading by next season, maybe I'll be able to find a load it likes better than FGMM.

I think we can obsess about this kind of thing a little too much and feel let down when the holes don't all completely overlap on paper at 100yds. Below a certain group size it's really only important for bragging rights. If you built the rifle for hunting or long-range shooting you'll be fine. But of course there's no reason not to look around for an ammo type that also shoots as well that better stuff you were using.

Here is a video I like to watch every now and again. Larry Vickers and Gunsite staff instructor Walt Wilkinson are discussing and practicing at long range shooting. Jump ahead to about 05:20 to see the part that's relevant to MOA:
.

[kcb38]

I get what he's saying about a one time 1/4" group and I agree with him. That's why I discount 3 shot groups as well. I always shoot 5 or 10 shot groups to get a better idea of what the rifle will do on average. That seems like a much more realistic evaluation of the rifle to me. I guess I'm just spoiled by the groups I've been getting with my bolt guns in .308 and 6.5CM. A 1.25" group by comparison looks huge until you measure it. I get a little carried away when I see guys posting up tight groups here too. I have to remember that no one posts up pics of crappy groups, lol.

I built this rifle with hopes of being able to hit 1 moa steel targets out to 430 yards, and maybe stretching it farther in the future. My initial results made it look like that wasn't going to happen, but with good ammo and good shooting on my part I think I'll get there. If I can't get the kind of consistent performance I'm looking for with premium ammo or handloads, maybe I'll look into putting a different barrel on it. For now I'm going to keep plugging away with it and continue to improve my shooting. Hopefully I can tighten it up a bit, even if it is just for my own personal satisfaction (or bragging rights ).