[loonybin]

I made it to the range on Wednesday to tune my rifle before deer season, and I am rather disappointed. My plan has been to use the Accubonds for deer season on Dec 3rd. I shot several SSA combat loads and some TAP to compare them. All shooting was done off a front rest with a rear bag for the stock.

The rifle:
Cardinal Armory 18" SPR upper
YHM FF lightweight quad rail
Phantom FH
Bushmaster lower
RRA stock
RRA 2-stage NM trigger
Barska 4-16 x 50AO scope
PRI 10 and 15rd. waffle mags
C-Product 25rd mags


The ammo:
110gr. ProHunter
110gr. TSX
110gr. Accubond
110gr. TAP (V-max)
115gr. OTM (I bought my upper from CA during the chroming issue, so I wanted to test it to be sure my rifle wasn't affected -- it's not)

I started out with 10rds of the PH, zeroing .75" high at 50yds (250yd zero), then moved to 10rds of the Accubonds and OTM. I was surprised to see the Accubonds shoot higher than the PH.

I then tuned it for the Accubonds, and tried the PH and TSX to see where they would land. So far grouping isn't too bad for quick shooting off a rest, but I noticed that the PH still shoot a bit tighter.

I moved to the 100yd berm and here is where I am surprised:

Accubonds getting 4MOA? WTH??? I thought I was just doing a crappy job of shooting, so I switched to the TSX, and with the exception of the 1 called flier, it shot .75" and the PH shot about 2MOA with a called flier. I didn't even remove the rifle from the rest, I just loaded the mags. I had some TAP v-max loaded for home defense until I tested the OTM, and I am surprised that it shot so low, signifiying rather low veolicity, I think (I'm definitely switching to the OTM for hd). I switched targets and tried the PH again (almost out of TSX) and got about the same results.

I don't' have the time to handload some Accubonds before the season starts, so it's factory ammo this year. I'm very surprised and disappointed that the "premium" bullet that should be the best performer on deer is so innacurate in my rifle. I also noticed failures to lock the bolt back and FTF on a few Accubond rounds: 3 were the last one in the mag (both PRI and one C-Product), 1 was in the middle of a shooting string (PRI), and 1 was next to last (PRI). No other ammo had FTF or short stroke issues.

The question now is do I use the TSX or the PH? I could have a deer pop out of the trees at 35yds, or they might get no closer than 300yds. I'm leaning toward the TSX because they appear to be the most accurate and will work the best at long range. My concern is that it might be too much if a deer comes in close.

Any tips on which load I should use, or on how to improve my shooting? I'm fairly certain that the Accubonds just don't like my rifle, but if it's something that I did, then I'm all ears!

 

[Empty Brass]

Have you broke this barrel in yet?

My same barrel didnt shoot that great until I got about 75-100 rds through it and cleaned it real real good every 5-10 rds. Now it shoots great.

PS, I also dumped the standard RRA collapsable stock for a ctr. Lot less movement. I think that was part of my problem.

 

[loonybin]

Have you broke this barrel in yet?

Cardinal Armory barrels are chrome lined, so there was no need to break it in. I also paid for his hand lapping service.

PS, I also dumped the standard RRA collapsable stock for a ctr. Lot less movement. I think that was part of my problem.

I don't have a lot of movement in my stock. I am going to get a CTR for my next lower build, and it will be for this upper.

 

[marinesg1012]

Did you clean it in between different rounds and different ranges?

Besides that i dont really know what to tell you, the acubonds and the pro hunters both shot about the same MOA out of my uppers.

The TSX's should work fine for deer, people have used them on hogs with great success. Since they are all metal they wont over expand if you hit a deer close. I think you would be okay to use either the pro hunters or the TSX's.

 

[loonybin]

Did you clean it in between different rounds and different ranges?

I've never heard of cleaning between different ranges. Do they do that during high power matches? (of course, they're probably pretty anal about cleaning...)

Besides that i dont really know what to tell you, the acubonds and the pro hunters both shot about the same MOA out of my uppers.

That's why I'm so surprised at the difference. I was expecting even better performance with the better BC.

The TSX's should work fine for deer, people have used them on hogs with great success. Since they are all metal they wont over expand if you hit a deer close. I think you would be okay to use either the pro hunters or the TSX's.

Shots on hogs are usually through the shoulder, though, and I want to avoid that in order to preserve the meat.

 

[marinesg1012]

Did you clean it in between different rounds and different ranges?

I've never heard of cleaning between different ranges. Do they do that during high power matches? (of course, they're probably pretty anal about cleaning...)

I ussualy clean between every different round I try, I dont know if it makes a difference but I figure then it keeps the variables the same, some rifles shoot better clean then dirty or dirty then clean, if I clean and then shoot a group of ten rounds with one type of round then I figure I can see what it is doing.
[quote:3v7lzwqr]
Shots on hogs are usually through the shoulder, though, and I want to avoid that in order to preserve the meat.

[/quote:3v7lzwqr]

That is true but I think they open just fine just punching through the skin, I dont know for sure though becuase I have yet to use them. Art (the owner of SSA) did suggest using them on Coyotes in another thread so I figure they would expand.

 

[Empty Brass]

Have you broke this barrel in yet?

Cardinal Armory barrels are chrome lined, so there was no need to break it in. I also paid for his hand lapping service.
quote]

Check out this thread by constructor. http://68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4085

 

[loonybin]

[quote="Empty Brass":16cd4ex1]Have you broke this barrel in yet?

Cardinal Armory barrels are chrome lined, so there was no need to break it in. I also paid for his hand lapping service.

Check out this thread by constructor. http://68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4085

[/quote:16cd4ex1]
I already have a couple hundred rounds through it. I definitely clean all the copper out; I use the foam stuff, and it works well. It was clean right before Wednesday's range session, so excess fouling wasn't the issue. I've never had groups as bad as the Accubonds, and with a .75" group of TSX right after, I doubt that fouling is the issue. I followed Tim's care and cleaning tips and other loads shoot just fine. I've also polished with Iosso bore cleaner, which does what the JB Bore Cleaning Compound does. That is why I'm at a loss as to the Accubond's lack of performance. I'll try handloading some after deer season to see if I can get them tweaked just right for my rifle.

 

[Empty Brass]

.
I already have a couple hundred rounds through it. I definitely clean all the copper out; I use the foam stuff, and it works well. It was clean right before Wednesday's range session, so excess fouling wasn't the issue. I've never had groups as bad as the Accubonds, and with a .75" group of TSX right after, I doubt that fouling is the issue. I followed Tim's care and cleaning tips and other loads shoot just fine. I've also polished with Iosso bore cleaner, which does what the JB Bore Cleaning Compound does. That is why I'm at a loss as to the Accubond's lack of performance. I'll try handloading some after deer season to see if I can get them tweaked just right for my rifle.

Ahh, gotcha. Once you get to reloading I bet you can tweak them. I know Paulosantos hooked me up with a great COL for the PH. I've never shot the Accubonds.

 

[marinesg1012]

I am just amazed that your rifle seems to HATE the factory loaded accubonds that much....

if you find a solution to this issue I would love to hear it.

 

[paulosantos]

Unfortunately each barrel is different. I sucks that you really wanted to use the Accubonds. I know the feeling. I couldn't get any of my previus 4 barels to shoot the Hornady 110 Gr. bullets worth a damn. And like a retard, I just ordered some more to try on my LMT barrel.

As far as the POI shift at 100 yards from ammo to ammo, it is not an indicator of velocity differnces. Each ammo will impact different, especially as the range increases.

 

[loonybin]

I am just amazed that your rifle seems to HATE the factory loaded accubonds that much....

That makes two of us! I'll be going out again right before the season starts, and if they still group that poorly, then I'll just re-zero for the TSX.

I'm almost wondering if I got a bad lot of ammo. There were some short stroking issues with a few rounds in 3 different magazines spread out throughout the entire shooting session.

Pro Hunters: 0 problems
TAP: 0 problems
OTMs: 0 problems
TSX: 0 problems
Accubond: 5 short stroking problems

I would actually be happy if that is the case.

 

[kalwasart]

Make sure your mags are feeding the AccuBonds properly. If they are jammed into the feed ramps the tips can be damaged, accuracy suffers. Ballistic tip bullets can or will lose some accuracy and dont take my word for it, name one competitive shooter using a ballistic tipped bullet.

If you have not already done so chamber a few and then eject them without firing, check the tips.


Art - SSA

 

[marinesg1012]

I would call Art and ask if he had any issues. I know they recalled some of the accubonds for not getting crimped correctly but that was when they first made them.

 

[loonybin]

Make sure your mags are feeding the AccuBonds properly. If they are jammed into the feed ramps the tips can be damaged, accuracy suffers. Ballistic tip bullets can or will lose some accuracy and dont take my word for it, name one competitive shooter using a ballistic tipped bullet.

If you have not already done so chamber a few and then eject them without firing, check the tips.


Art - SSA

OK, I just checked them. I used the 3 mags that had problems, and there was no damage to the tips of either the Accubonds or the Hornady TAP. That still doesn't account for the short stroking with the Accubonds.

I wish y'all weren't out of the TSX, as I may need to order more. That loading of yours is the cat's meow!