At the range, Bolt vs Semi

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87jeep

Member
Joined
May 28, 2018
Messages
194
Location
Pinal co.
Just asking if you have had the fun??? Mostly shoot pistol on a 25 yard range in CG, but do partake AR.s on the 300 yard range. Now we try to get the right side of the range(get there 45 min's before shooting time), so we do not throw cases @ the other shooters & behave ourselves as much as a bunch of old folks can. We have noticed that some Bolt shooters just do not like to be with in a mile of semi shooters. Talk about racist! Now I will omit that @ coffee after a shoot we will have a laugh about how you can pick up a round, hold it in your hand, looking at it for 20 minutes as is the crown prince of rounds.
So I asked our spotter @ our last shoot to give me my next 3 round hits @ 200 yds.( in all my time I have never checked how close a group this gun could shoot). lying on my belly with a tripod shooting my reloads off a lee loadmaster, shooting a Bushmaster carbine 16 inch with a Aimpoint M3 2moa sight & auto loading the chamber. Held 5/8 of an inch@200yds. shooting @ a 4inch circle. Now I wonder what I could do with a Bolt?? And wonder if this 70 year old can hold that tight of a group again. :lol:
Still thinking how good was the bolt guy @ the far left side? :think:
 
I shoot both AR and Bolts at 200-300 and can't say one is any more accurate than the other- it's mainly the ammo and me that cause the big groups.
 
I have found that AR's with good bullets are almost always more accurate than hunting rifles with hunting bullets. Tactical bolt actions & match bullets maybe not so much.

if you can shoot that well at 200yds, interested in trying NRA/CMP style High Power rifle? 200-300-600 yds, standing, sitting, prone, slow fire & rapid fire?
http://arizona-rifleshooting.com/Service-HP-Rifle.html

The two state teams just got back from the National Matches at Camp Perry, OH. We'll be recruiting new shooters this fall with clinics, beginner-friendly shoots and coaching sessions!

Poole
 
Mr. Poole,

I built a long distance shooter on the AR platform. It has a 24 inch bull barrel with a combination, side charger and regular charging handle, receiver/action. Sometimes I like to shoot single shot, and sometimes subsonic, I put an adjustable gas port on so I can shut it down, preventing gas cycling, allowing hand charging the rounds more easily from a prone position, with the side charging handle.

My question,... could this type of set up, basically being both semi-auto and bolt action, qualify for both, in any type of competition you are aware of?

thanks
 
Bill Have friends that do the big matches around the Southwest. No interest for me, just having fun. I just wanted to see how good the gun was & the "old guy" pointing it!
 
That's some pretty damn good shooting. I really doubt you'll do much better with a precision bolt gun as your AR combination appears to working out pretty exceptional for you. On a good day, with the right ammo, I can get some groups close to your groups at 100 yards with a couple of my bolt guns but not that tight at 200.

For myself, I can always do better with my bolt action rifles than I can with any of my 308 battle rifles or my AR's. But then the bolt guns have crisp, light triggers that break clean while my semi-autos just have military style 2 stage triggers and most have chrome lined barrels. I did have one heavy barrel AR that I used as a prairie dog gun when I lived in Colorado. It had an aftermarket trigger that rivaled my bolt actions but that was the only one I've had that could. Even with that rifle I doubt I could consistently duplicate your groups.
 
Bill Poole said:
I have found that AR's with good bullets are almost always more accurate than hunting rifles with hunting bullets. Tactical bolt actions & match bullets maybe not so much.
Poole

This has been my experience also.
 
I have tried to squeeze accuracy out of both, bolt and AR, for many years.

When I decided to build a long (for me) shooter, I went with the AR format.

First off,... I COULD BUILD IT!

No way, at my pay scale, would I even think about attempting a custom build bolt rifle. I probably put the AR format together for less than one third I would have had to put into a custom bolt gun. And, most definitely FAR less than a some pros would invest!!!

It just made more sense to me,...very satisfied with the results,.... and I believe I got a better piece, in the end!
 
shooter444 said:
Mr. Poole,

I built a long distance shooter on the AR platform. It has a 24 inch bull barrel with a combination, side charger and regular charging handle,... could this type of set up, basically being both semi-auto and bolt action, qualify for both, in any type of competition you are aware of?

sorry for the late reply, I didn't notice the "notification" and didn't check the thread.

you can shoot our club shoots. our 3-position, 3-distance service rifle shoots in semi mode. its not ideal, but you're welcome to come out. it might be perfect for our 500yd "F-class" shoots, in either semi or bolt mode. We load one shot at a time in slow fire so if your bolt locks open in bolt mode can you close it? if the spring is still there and you press the ping-pong paddle and it closes, then it will work, if you must have a round in the magazine it will be more tedious. Tactical LR Precision should be fine in either mode. F-class and Tac precision you really want a bipod.

if you check my website for schedules, 3-position high power is monthly at both PRGC and Rio Salado (that was today). F-class 500yd monthly at both clubs. Tac Precision is called 4-peaks at Rio Salado and AZLRPS at cowtown both monthly I think.

for the C&R guy, C&R monthly shoot at PRGC is tomorrow 19-Aug!

Poole
 
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