Bench technique for consistent grouping with an AR?

[biodsl]

Plus the handguard is not wide and flat enough to prevent the rifling from kicking the gun in the opposite direction (it jerks anti-clockwise with every shot). AR handguards are mostly round tubes which is the worst possible shape to prevent this...with a three-inch wide flat fore-end with a flat bottom to the stock which you set up to track in the recoil parallel to the sight axis.

Just a day or two ago Crosstac announced this product for the Ruger Precision Rifle. The RPR comes with one of those round AR handguards. Perhaps owners are having a difficult time shooting itty-bitty groups.

http://www.crosstac.com/shop-all-products/ruger-precision-rifle-arca-rail/

[Klem]

Bio,

Good spot with the commercial flat rail. I was wondering when something like that would appear.

$150 is a bit steep though. Here's one knocked-up from a slab of 3" wide stock and a couple of bolts. It's on an AI AX Keymod handguard. A few dollars from a scrap metal merchant. Adds 5lbs to the gun and rides a 3" wide front rest. 3" is a standard for F-Class/Bench Rest with lots of rest bags to choose from at places like Sinclair. There's no width and weights specs on the ARCA Rail but it doesn't look as heavy.
[IMG][/IMG]

The difference with F-Class/Bench Rest is that these things are for load development only and can come off for other uses.

[JASmith]

Klem,

That forend is truly impressive!

At 5lb and being stiff and flat, I can see how you get good results.

The price tag is even more impressive.

[kcb38]

Very specifically, what do you focus your attention on when you are shooting a string?

It's hard to say really. I wind up spreading my attention around from breathing to heartbeat to grip to sight alignment. Then there's being patient enough to wait until it all feels right before squeezing off the shot. Staying focused takes more energy than some folks realize.

the handguard is not wide and flat enough to prevent the rifling from kicking the gun in the opposite direction (it jerks anti-clockwise with every shot). AR handguards are mostly round tubes which is the worst possible shape to prevent this. Bipods mitigate this more than a rest I think. Sometimes I put the trigger finger of the offhand over the top of the handguard and grip the gun against the rest with the thumb underneath the rest, to help keep it from moving...

With a light-weight AR you cannot rely on gravity. Recoil overpowers the weight of the gun, which is why I'm all over the gun like a rash.

I'm in the process of making a front bag rider out of 1" thick PTFE with Magpul T-nuts to address this situation. It won't add much weight but I hope it at least makes it more stable.

And thanks for the continuing advice gentlemen. I can't wait to get back out and spend some quality time with this rifle.

[LR1955]

It's hard to say really. I wind up spreading my attention around from breathing to heartbeat to grip to sight alignment. Then there's being patient enough to wait until it all feels right before squeezing off the shot. Staying focused takes more energy than some folks realize.


I'm in the process of making a front bag rider out of 1" thick PTFE with Magpul T-nuts to address this situation. It won't add much weight but I hope it at least makes it more stable.

And thanks for the continuing advice gentlemen. I can't wait to get back out and spend some quality time with this rifle.

k38:

Thought so. Never understood why people get so focused on breathing and heart rate. You don't have to be focused on breathing to breath. And, you can't control your heart rate.

Advice is cheap.

Set up your bench position so you can get a good sight picture without having to crane your head around or otherwise contort your body.

What ever things you are using to support the rifle -- they must be solid.

When you get behind the rifle, exert solid pressure down with your cheek and back with your firing hand. Liken it to a vice that will not move when the shot is fired.

Load a mag of five and get into your position. Get tight and get a sight picture. Breath in and out and watch how the barrel moves with your breathing. Watch how well you control the movement of the barrel up and down with your breathing. When you are satisfied you have the rifle under control, stop your breathing and let the cross hairs stop in the center. Focus your attention totally on your sight picture and shot. Take a shot, breath in and out once or twice while watching how well you control the movement of the cross hair. Stop, focus on sight picture and shot. Repeat. Do not let yourself get distracted by seeing holes in your target through your scope. Focus totally on your sight picture and shot. Nothing else.

You ought to do just fine.

LR55