Match grade AR uppers

[deerslayer512]

Howdy all,
Im looking for a new upper for my Bushmaster XM-15. It is currently your standard run of the mill 16" upper. This upper works fine for plinking and social work, if need be. But its far from a tack driver. Im a bolt gun guy, but im wanting to use my AR to remedy my hunting property's coyote infestation, as well as see what it can do on the range. That being said, who has a recommendation for a match grade upper? Looking for a rifle length gas system, 18" or better barrel, 1:7-1:9 twist, with a wylde chamber. Not really looking to save weight, so the thicker the barrel the better. It goes without saying, but sub-MOA is a must. Anyone have any recommendations?

 

[indyjohn]

Howdy all,
Im looking for a new upper for my Bushmaster XM-15. It is currently your standard run of the mill 16" upper. This upper works fine for plinking and social work, if need be. But its far from a tack driver. Im a bolt gun guy, but im wanting to use my AR to remedy my hunting property's coyote infestation, as well as see what it can do on the range. That being said, who has a recommendation for a match grade upper? Looking for a rifle length gas system, 18" or better barrel, 1:7-1:9 twist, with a wylde chamber. Not really looking to save weight, so the thicker the barrel the better. It goes without saying, but sub-MOA is a must. Anyone have any recommendations?

I've had two. The first was an Armalite NM that I added a Krieger 20" Stainless with 1:7.75 twist and Wilde chamber. That one shot better than I ever could and I could hold minute of angle at 100 yds. The second one was a White Oak National Match, same as the Armalite - 20" Stainless, 1:8 twist and Wilde chamber.

Last I looked, Armalite for some reason has gotten away from Highpower National Match rifles. I would recommend the White Oak (if you can find one), not cheap but it does MOA all day. Not sure how hard you are on the sub-MOA checkbox, much of that ability is on you. Doesn't matter if you have a sub-MOA gun if you don't have the skill to hold it (not throwing shade, just stating fact).

My 2 cents for what it's worth.

 

[ISP 5353]

Call Frank White at Compass Lake Engineering.

 

[indyjohn]

Call Frank White at Compass Lake Engineering.

Oh fine, make it easy for him.

 

[deerslayer512]

I've had two. The first was an Armalite NM that I added a Krieger 20" Stainless with 1:7.75 twist and Wilde chamber. That one shot better than I ever could and I could hold minute of angle at 100 yds. The second one was a White Oak National Match, same as the Armalite - 20" Stainless, 1:8 twist and Wilde chamber.

Last I looked, Armalite for some reason has gotten away from Highpower National Match rifles. I would recommend the White Oak (if you can find one), not cheap but it does MOA all day. Not sure how hard you are on the sub-MOA checkbox, much of that ability is on you. Doesn't matter if you have a sub-MOA gun if you don't have the skill to hold it (not throwing shade, just stating fact).

My 2 cents for what it's worth.

No shade taken, im able to achieve sub-moa fairly regularly with my bolt guns. Which is probably why the 2-3 moa i usually get out of my 16" upper seems so annoying, lol. Once you shoot one accurate rifle, you seem to lose interest in inaccurate ones!

 

[indyjohn]

No shade taken, im able to achieve sub-moa fairly regularly with my bolt guns. Which is probably why the 2-3 moa i usually get out of my 16" upper seems so annoying, lol. Once you shoot one accurate rifle, you seem to lose interest in inaccurate ones!

What ISP brings to the conversation is an exceptional upper so long as you have a large budget. I'm not saying White Oak is cheap by any means but Frank's builds are what the Highpower High Masters shoot. So, there you go.

 

[sheepdog697]

JP rifles barrels and headspaced bolts have always produced amazing accuracy for me. That being said, I have seen some crazy results online from Compass Lake Engineering.

 

[indyjohn]

No shade taken, im able to achieve sub-moa fairly regularly with my bolt guns. Which is probably why the 2-3 moa i usually get out of my 16" upper seems so annoying, lol. Once you shoot one accurate rifle, you seem to lose interest in inaccurate ones!

More on chasing sub-moa. You load your own ammo, yes? It's practically a must with a gas gun.

 

[SSE]

Get a really good barrel, thats where you want to spend your money, and almost all the rest is a piece of cake. I like Krieger, just plug one of those on and you are shooting well under moa with good ammo.

 

[deerslayer512]

More on chasing sub-moa. You load your own ammo, yes? It's practically a must with a gas gun.

Yessir, I currently load for 223, 257 weatherby, 308, 270, and various pistol calibers. I havent loaded much 223 as of late, because I rarely shoot my AR. That will definitely change when I can find a new upper though

 

[indyjohn]

Get a really good barrel, thats where you want to spend your money, and almost all the rest is a piece of cake. I like Krieger, just plug one of those on and you are shooting well under moa with good ammo.

Yep, I'm a Krieger fanboy. Their stainless heavy match barrel is just what deerslayer is looking for.

Yessir, I currently load for 223, 257 weatherby, 308, 270, and various pistol calibers. I havent loaded much 223 as of late, because I rarely shoot my AR. That will definitely change when I can find a new upper though

So, I don't know what type of pill is best for yotes and such varmits. My experience is limited to hollowpoints on paper at long distances, so I'm talking about heavy projectiles. I have recipes for 77 to 80 gr exiting the barrel at around 2700 fps, I know hunters run lighter weights at 3000 and above. The loads for bolt guns is sort of different from gas guns but not that much? Probably not so much Varget but something faster?

 

[DadSmith]

I'm with getting a good barrel. The new 5R rifling seems to be out shooting my other rifles same caliber same length Barrels. I'll be replacing my other barrels with them as they wear out.

 

[ibwaltb]

This might be an option for you:

https://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=1895



3/4 MOA Accuracy guarantee, same as with their X series rifle.

 

[gmcttr]

I have a Compass Lake Engineering service rifle upper that i got back in the late 90's. To say it has a heavy barrel is an understatement. Back when I was handloading with it I tested at 200 yards and with good loads with 69gr SMK's it would hold 1/4 MOA.

More recently I built an upper with a White Oak barrel and using quality factory ammo with 69gr SMK's it easily shoots under 1 MOA.

Ballistic Advantage Hanson series barrels have a 1 MOA guarantee (as do several others) and I've had good luck with them as well.

One of today's accuracy problems is most barrels are 1:7 twist but the owners shoot 55 gr ammo in them. Fine for plinking but not a good combination for accuracy.

 

[drm-hp]

Interesting thread, I will tell you what has worked for me while striving/ struggling to make Master shooting xtc matches.
1) Buy quality barrels (I have primarily shot Krieger, now am shooting Bartlein barrels; they are better than I can hold.)
2) Choose a chamber and stick with it (CLE or Wylde)
3) Load 77 gr. bullets to magazine length, w/24 +/- .5 gr. of Varget. (For 0 to 300 yards)
4) Load 80 gr. (ish) bullets to maximize accuracy for 600 to 1000 yards
5) Practice, practice, and then practice some more! (I have gone through 4 barrels in 5 years, the 5th barrel arrived last week.)

Note: You can build a match grade upper. (If you need help please ask)
John Hollinger @ White Oak can build you what you want, and will be better than you can hold.
Frank White @ CLE can build you what you want, and will be better than you can hold.

 

[DadSmith]

Interesting thread, I will tell you what has worked for me while striving/ struggling to make Master shooting xtc matches.
1) Buy quality barrels (I have primarily shot Krieger, now am shooting Bartlein barrels; they are better than I can hold.)
2) Choose a chamber and stick with it (CLE or Wylde)
3) Load 77 gr. bullets to magazine length, w/24 +/- .5 gr. of Varget. (For 0 to 300 yards)
4) Load 80 gr. (ish) bullets to maximize accuracy for 600 to 1000 yards
5) Practice, practice, and then practice some more! (I have gone through 4 barrels in 5 years, the 5th barrel arrived last week.)

Note: You can build a match grade upper. (If you need help please ask)
John Hollinger @ White Oak can build you what you want, and will be better than you can hold.
Frank White @ CLE can build you what you want, and will be better than you can hold.

How many rds are you getting out of your barrels before accuracy starts to degrade?

 

[drm-hp]

There is no magic number!
My log book says 3720 for the last barrel but I should have changed it sooner. The rifle would not hold a hard zero towards the end. During the rapid fire stages and at long range the zero would move vertically. You need to be able to hold the 10 ring in elevation consistently! Everyone looses points too wind, some are better than others, but to make Master you had better be on your game. Some will tell you 2250 +/- 100, some say 4000 +. I am not made of $ so I shoot until I find something is not right.

 

[Hohn]

The HP guys I’ve asked about barrel life have suggested that powder choice really matters. Some of the high nitroglycerin powders (N540) can erode a throat pretty fast. Single base or low nitro powders like N135 can help a barrel last longer.

I’m hoping to settle on AR Comp once I can find it in quantity.

 

[Hillbilly]

As said before, talk to Frank at Compass Lake. He does really nice work. I've got one of his barrels in a MK12 Mod 1 that I regularly shoot at 700 yards. It nails it all day long.

Also, the guys at Krieger will put together an upper for you as well. I've got one of those that is almost boring to shoot. It has a 24" .920" diameter Varmatch contour barrel. It weighs as much as a small car, but is just stupidly accurate.

For both rifles, 77g SMK over 23.9g of 8208XBR is my goto load.

 

[Hohn]

23.9. Only the brave need apply! To date, 8208 is the most accurate powder I’ve tested in 5.56. I run 23.6 under a long 80eld.