I have an older 700 PSS that I had cut to 16” and an AAC brake/mount installed/timed. I really like the concept of this short suppressed bolt gun and have had success hunting with it.
Beyond an initial zero and shooting that one deer with it, though, I haven’t really messed with it much. I needed to confirm/zero a couple new builds so I took the .308 along to see what it would do on paper at 100. I was very pleased with the first 5 shot group at 100 using Lake City 175:
Then I screwed the can on and fired another 5 shot group, same setup, same ammo:
I was horrified. 1/2moa to 5moa just by mounting a suppressor (AAC SDN6). Just to double check I fired another 5 and the group was the same or worse. I then decided to try different ammo and fired the last 4 rounds of 168 FGM I had in a box and the group greatly improved, but it was still way low and right from point of aim.
Now, I understand POI shift is typical for suppressors, but I’ve never seen this much. The same can on my 300 Blackout Handi gives about 1.5 MOA straight down and my M4-2000 on both my AR’s is within MOA.
I suppose I could play with some different loads and try to find one that will shoot accurately both suppressed and not with minimal POI shift. Honestly though, I have a decent amount of the 175 on hand and it upsets me for the gun to be having these issues period.
1. Anyone ever seen something like this and/or have a remedy for it?
2. Would you keep messing with it or just move on?
P.s. when I built this gun, the goal was to have something with which to provide precision fire at distance, suppressed and not, that was also handy and maneuverable enough in the North Georgia Appalachian foothills, and with enough punch to take deer. My last week’s experience taking a 180lb 8pt Whitetail at 100 yds with a suppressed 14.5” AR, an ACOG, and a 62gr Gold Dot (15 yard recovery) has me questioning the need for a .308. Besides that, if it’s just about hunting, I have a 30/06 and a 300 Blackout and a 30/30 that can do the job. So now I am honestly considering going back towards a precision AR setup since I know my shift with a can is minimal, and just keeping a Nightforce 2.5-10 zeroed in a Larue Mount to swap onto the gun when I need/want to.