Rather than burn further calories troubleshooting, I've decided to contact Larue and see what they say. I don't expect much help considering I bought the barrel over a year ago, but maybe they'll have some advise. Best case, they'll have me send the barrel in for inspection.
Chris
“Bladed” referred to your possible body position behind the gun, as in your shoulders/hips would be at an angle in relation to the target. The opposite would be “squared” behind the gun, your shoulders/hips would be square to the target and perpendicular to the bore. A lot of guys nowadays are advocating a more squared up position, the argument being it allows for more consistent recoil management and also allows for spotting impacts on steel/dirt consistently at distance. That being said, as long as your position is consistent, the gun should behave consistently.
1:27 is an example of being squared up on the bench: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wFL75lPSA
Regarding cheek weld, the scope may be too high, but that depends on the mount. The Nikon mount may be low enough where it’s not an issue. I have two scoped uppers, one with a ~1.4” and one with a ~1.5” high mount. The 1.4” doesn’t require a raised cheek piece, but the 1.5” does. On higher mount, without the cheek piece, I had a tendency to push shots left. It wasn’t until a friend had me “fall asleep” on the stock that I realized I was holding my head up slightly to maintain a sight picture. When my head fully rested on the stock, the cheek pressure pushed the muzzle left.
Anyways, just some things to check if you care to
I think you're on to something. I just set the rifle up on my desk. When I "go to sleep", I'm looking *under* the scope. I think I need a cheekpiece to keep my head up.Originally Posted by Backspin
“Bladed” referred to your possible body position behind the gun, as in your shoulders/hips would be at an angle in relation to the target. The opposite would be “squared” behind the gun, your shoulders/hips would be square to the target and perpendicular to the bore. A lot of guys nowadays are advocating a more squared up position, the argument being it allows for more consistent recoil management and also allows for spotting impacts on steel/dirt consistently at distance. That being said, as long as your position is consistent, the gun should behave consistently.
1:27 is an example of being squared up on the bench: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wFL75lPSA
Regarding cheek weld, the scope may be too high, but that depends on the mount. The Nikon mount may be low enough where it’s not an issue. I have two scoped uppers, one with a ~1.4” and one with a ~1.5” high mount. The 1.4” doesn’t require a raised cheek piece, but the 1.5” does. On higher mount, without the cheek piece, I had a tendency to push shots left. It wasn’t until a friend had me “fall asleep” on the stock that I realized I was holding my head up slightly to maintain a sight picture. When my head fully rested on the stock, the cheek pressure pushed the muzzle left.
Anyways, just some things to check if you care to
As for my position, I strive for being squared up.
Chris
I find AR's to be much harder to shoot well than bolt gun. Judging from the group size jumping all over on the same ammo, I'm inclined to think it is you. You are on the right track by trying to find your natural point of aim. I did a Project Appleseed shoot with an AR and had to duct tape 3/4" foam spacer to my B5 Bravo stock to get a reliable cheek weld (a challenge considering needing clearance for the charging handle). Many consider the Sopmod style stock to be plenty tall and I figure it was too, but I was wrong.
Setting up your "natural point of aim" is important as well.
Last edited by AKDoug; 07-17-2019 at 11:38 PM.
Regarding cheek weld, the scope may be too high, but that depends on the mount. The Nikon mount may be low enough where it’s not an issue. I have two scoped uppers, one with a ~1.4” and one with a ~1.5” high mount. The 1.4” doesn’t require a raised cheek piece, but the 1.5” does. On higher mount, without the cheek piece, I had a tendency to push shots left. It wasn’t until a friend had me “fall asleep” on the stock that I realized I was holding my head up slightly to maintain a sight picture. When my head fully rested on the stock, the cheek pressure pushed the muzzle left.
Anyways, just some things to check if you care to
You guys were spot on. After checking, I realized my natural position on the stock had me too low for the scope. I put some foam on top of the stock, held in place by an ace bandage, to give me a temporary 1/3" cheek riser. That seems to have done the trick. I shot 8 5-shot groups with PMR XTAC 62gr and Hornady Black 75gr BTHP.
Temp was in the low 80s and there was a light breeze. I was not compensating for the breeze. I shot the groups using the front bipod and a sandbag in the rear.
The PMR XTAC was consistently at 1.5", give or take a tenth. That load has generally been a 1.5" load on a good day and upwards of 2+ on a bad day. It does 2" or so in my carbine. Consistently 1.5" is not a bad performance for this load.
The Hornady Black load went 3 5-shot strings at .55" to .7x". The 4th group was on track for a sub .75" group until I pulled the last shot and expanded it to 1.2" (called the flyer as soon as I pulled the trigger, so I take the blame).
I think I'm finally headed in the right direction. Now I either need a stock with adjustable cheek rest or I need to build up my current stock with something better than closed cell phone and an ace bandage.
Thanks!
Chris
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