"Ship of Theseus" beginning build

[shooterrex]

I would leave the handguard off and tighten the barrel nut and shoot it like that. Then see if it made a difference before I went through all that.

I use rails that clamp on so I never messed with having to time stuff.

Are you shooting off of sandbags?

Your soft point ammo sometimes deforms off the feed ramps. That could account for the wider groups.

[dpete]

The guntec barrel nuts I'm familiar with have multiple holes and a torque range that can be used. You should be able to get a set of holes to line up with the holes in the handguards simply by retorquing the barrel nut without shims.

[dpete]

6 minutes ago, shooterrex said:

I would leave the handguard off and tighten the barrel nut and shoot it like that. Then see if it made a difference before I went through all that.

I use rails that clamp on so I never messed with having to time stuff.

Are you shooting off of sandbags?

Your soft point ammo sometimes deforms off the feed ramps. That could account for the wider groups.

Softpoint hunting bullets will deform going up the feedramps of an AR. For me it made no difference with the ranges we get shots on deer.  For the best consistent accuracy stick with OTM or plastic tipped bullets for at the range.

Edited October 24, 2022 by dpete

[98Z5V]

On 10/24/2022 at 10:30 AM, FOGeologist said:

I think the relatively dark range and kooky optics of a pair of $7 shooting glasses they forced me to wear conspired to make the target hella-blurry. Plus the rushed feeling I was getting was not helpful to get me an opportunity to settle down, shoot effectively and take breaks to allow the barrel to cool was not helpful, either.

Barrel has about 160 rounds through it.

Clearly the brass shows much less damage from the feed ramp than the last shooting session, where the rifle was shooting better. No extraction or other issues after I brought the adjustable plug out 6 clicks from its previous location, seemingly a large adjustment, IMO.

I'll develop some loads for the rifle to see if I can wear it in a bit better, but I'm thinking a 1.6 MOA barrel with FGMM may be about as good as it is going to get in the first place.

That Faxon should shoot better than 1.6 MOA - there's gotta be something else.  Shooting glasses matter, so does time.  Those are both things you've listed - it makes a difference.  There's gotta be something else holding it back.  Might simply be ammo, but it's something.