I enjoyed a nice afternoon at the range today comparing an AR-10 to a Remington 700, both in .308. Shooting was at 300 yards and from the bench. Weather was a very pleasant 80 degrees, clear skies, light breeze with occasional gusts primarily right to left.
The AR-10 is based on an ArmaLite stripped lower with magpul stock and grip. The trigger is a Geissele two-stage set at approximately 3.5 pounds (2 pounds initial pull, 1.5 pounds second stage). The upper is from Noveske with a 21-inch barrel. A PWS FSC30 brake is pinned/welded. The optic is a Leupold 4.5-14x50 LR/T w/illuminated retical in a LaRue SPR mount. Low quality cell phone pics follow.
The Remington 700p has 26-inch barrel. The gun is stock with the exception of a Jewell trigger set at 1.5 pounds. The scope is a Leupold 8.5-25x50 LR/T w/illuminated reticle in Badger Ordnance rings and rail.
My goal today, apart from practicing shooting, was to see how the AR10 compared to the 700 and in particular to measure the velocity drop from the 26-inch barrel of the 700 to the 21-inch AR10 barrel. Here is the chronograph output at 10 feet from the muzzle, with each row of data representing 10 shots fired. I compared ammunition from the same boxes in each case (20 round boxes, split between each rifle) for three types of 168 grain open tip match ammunition. Black Hills is new-manufacture red box ammunition:
The velocity drop from the 700 to the AR10 is pretty small. Federal ammunition showed the most consistency and Black Hills was unimpressive by comparison.
As for accuracy, the usual caveats apply, most importantly being that my shooting skills render just about anything I have to say as highly subjective. Having said that, the accuracy winner is the 700. This isn't too surprising. Here are a couple of my better 5-shot groups for the day. I can live with this at 300 yards and a little irregular cross-wind:
Here is the best of the day from the AR10:
I tried to even things out as much as possible, in particular turning the Rem 700 scope magnification down to 14x to match the max on the AR10. I also shot the AR10 off of a bag instead of the bipod to see if that helped (it did). I just had a little more trouble holding it together with the AR. It grouped just fine, but in a wider pattern than I was able to get from the bolt gun. Loosely speaking, I am fairly confident I could hit a 3-inch target at 300 yards with the 700 most of the time. With the AR10, to get more-likely-than-not hits I think I would need a 4-6 inch target. But that's just my experience on one day, so take it for what it's worth.
I will say this for the AR10: if I had to shoot anything more than once it kicks the 700 all over the place. The AR ran flawlessly all day, recoiled less, and has the ability to pour rounds on target (and 20-round preban mags are available for those in Mass).
The AR-10 is based on an ArmaLite stripped lower with magpul stock and grip. The trigger is a Geissele two-stage set at approximately 3.5 pounds (2 pounds initial pull, 1.5 pounds second stage). The upper is from Noveske with a 21-inch barrel. A PWS FSC30 brake is pinned/welded. The optic is a Leupold 4.5-14x50 LR/T w/illuminated retical in a LaRue SPR mount. Low quality cell phone pics follow.
The Remington 700p has 26-inch barrel. The gun is stock with the exception of a Jewell trigger set at 1.5 pounds. The scope is a Leupold 8.5-25x50 LR/T w/illuminated reticle in Badger Ordnance rings and rail.
My goal today, apart from practicing shooting, was to see how the AR10 compared to the 700 and in particular to measure the velocity drop from the 26-inch barrel of the 700 to the 21-inch AR10 barrel. Here is the chronograph output at 10 feet from the muzzle, with each row of data representing 10 shots fired. I compared ammunition from the same boxes in each case (20 round boxes, split between each rifle) for three types of 168 grain open tip match ammunition. Black Hills is new-manufacture red box ammunition:
Code:
REM 700 AVG STDDEV HI LOW
Federal 2684 8.0 2696 2672
Hornady 2667 15.6 2695 2650
Black Hills 2697 22.0 2741 2670
AR10 AVG STDDEV HI LOW LOSS LOSS%
Federal 2651 9.0 2672 2640 33 -1.2%
Hornady 2655 10.4 2677 2639 12 -0.4%
Black Hills 2630 16.8 2671 2605 67 -2.5%The velocity drop from the 700 to the AR10 is pretty small. Federal ammunition showed the most consistency and Black Hills was unimpressive by comparison.
As for accuracy, the usual caveats apply, most importantly being that my shooting skills render just about anything I have to say as highly subjective. Having said that, the accuracy winner is the 700. This isn't too surprising. Here are a couple of my better 5-shot groups for the day. I can live with this at 300 yards and a little irregular cross-wind:
Here is the best of the day from the AR10:
I tried to even things out as much as possible, in particular turning the Rem 700 scope magnification down to 14x to match the max on the AR10. I also shot the AR10 off of a bag instead of the bipod to see if that helped (it did). I just had a little more trouble holding it together with the AR. It grouped just fine, but in a wider pattern than I was able to get from the bolt gun. Loosely speaking, I am fairly confident I could hit a 3-inch target at 300 yards with the 700 most of the time. With the AR10, to get more-likely-than-not hits I think I would need a 4-6 inch target. But that's just my experience on one day, so take it for what it's worth.
I will say this for the AR10: if I had to shoot anything more than once it kicks the 700 all over the place. The AR ran flawlessly all day, recoiled less, and has the ability to pour rounds on target (and 20-round preban mags are available for those in Mass).
Last edited:
![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
![[cheers]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/018.gif "Cheers [cheers]")
