AAC 77 Grain SMK (Sierra Match King) 5.56mm 

I’ve have plans to revisit this again someday, to check with a bench/sled and with me off a bench not prone, to compare the two. I feel that will also help me determine more about what I need to improve on. A chrono is also on my list to check velocity. Appreciate the advice.

I can vouch for this. I just shot my personal best 5-shot group with this same ammo at 0.406". Calm conditions and an expensive rig, but my point is this round and overall load is very capable.

Know this, both 77 grain FGMM and Blackhills Mk262 can deliver .5 MOA at 100 yards on bench for 5, 10, maybe 20 rounds from a match conditioned AR as shot from someone who has had some marksmanship training. Many US Service Rifle Competitors easily realize sub MOA on the MR-31 target from prone sling supported position. And soldiers having had some long range training can get MOA from Mk262 at 600 meters from prone GripPod supported position using a rack grade M4 fitted with an ACOG.For sure, bigger groupings are the result of shooter errors, usually an inconsistent position, poor trigger control, and inconsistent sight alignment. BTW, single loading and your angular prone position are not at all issues to your good shooting. Whether shooting from mag or single loading just be sure to adjust NPA for each shot. Then pull trigger smoothly and follow through on the shot, maintaining aim until recoil subsides.

I personally fail to see much usefulness in loading one round at a time in a gun designed to feed from the magazine. What real world shooting scenario would a person be training for there?

@panzerabwerkanone thats the way ballistic advantage says to do, for their MOA guarantee. They say with quality ammo, and either firing 3 from a mag or hand loading 5 rounds one at a time, is how they check for that.

@@panzerabwerkanone the slow fire stages in high power rifle competition are single load events, which force the shooter to rebuild the position for every shot. This is a good thing because rapid fire events give the shooter very little time to adjust NPA. At any rate here the single load and mag load scheme is about getting a consistent barrel temperature. Single loading for first 3 rounds is slow enough to keep barrel temp consistent and five rounds shot quickly keeps barrel temp consistent too.

Reloading can be very therapeutic to me. Once you get in the rhythm, it’s satisfying to see the finished product.

Yes sir! I take all the advice I can get

Indeed. I have a good feeling about about what I’m gonna shoot for next weeks video!

Thanks for the advice. I’m still learning with this type shooting. Only thing to do is get more practice in and get better.

@@j_c_hunt and I love your channel because you are a thinker. Does not matter how much you know today, just from your curiosity you will eventually realize everything important to good shooting. My problem is I used to think I knew it all but actually knew nothing about good shooting. I thought it was muscle that made good hits possible. But, attending Small Arms Firing School I got straightened out and my Marksmanship began to develop exponentially. In fact my shooting got good enough that I have now coached Small arms Firing School for about 13 years. At any rate, you might want to attend next year’s Small Arms Firing School. The 3 day event is hosted by the CMP in late July at Camp Perry Ohio and is taught by Champion Military and Civilian Shooters who can coach as well as they shoot. Trying to glean marksmanship knowledge from the internet is at best sketchy because the gurus instructing are not at all qualified to profess on marksmanship but novice viewers do not know that, thus they take the bad advice and try to run with it. Like the guy who alluded to you having a poor prone position. Your position looked solid to me and the shape of your groups did not look like you were inconsistent. In other words, that guy could benefit from some training in shooter/target analysis before telling anyone what corrections are needed. BTW, on another post from me somewhere here I pasted some information on shooter/target analysis and the things that cause groupings to look like thy do.

@charlesludwig9173 thank you for the advice, and kind words. Does the CMP ever offer these classes in the Alabama location? I’ve debated someday shooting one of their service rifle comps, once I get it all figured out. Talladega is about a hour and half from me.

@@j_c_huntThe CMP’s proximity to you will give you all sorts of marksmanship development opportunities. Just give ‘em a call. For sure you can enter an M1 Garrand Clinic there to get the credentials needed to shoot in a Service Rifle Tournament. For the greatest ease into it get a friend to join you. When I got into it I was overwhelmed by its seemingly too complex rules and could have used some support. But, no doubt, getting into it will be a breeze for you.

I’d have to find 1000y to shoot, and I’m not saying it isn’t possible, but I doubt I could do it with M855. That stuff isn’t the most accurate at 100y

I apologize, I thought you would pick up on the humor. I should have said do you think the green tip is inaccurate due to ballistic coefficient or balance composition? Maybe quality control on neck crimp. How do you control crimp tension on your hand loads? What tension setting do you use?

@@sisseton69 My passion is iron sight US Service Rifle Division of NRA Long-Range Competition. This is slow fire 1000 yard prone sling supported competition. It's the most difficult shooting there is for shooters bringing their match conditioned AR-15A2's to the firing line, which are more appropriate for mid range and XTC events. At any rate, I shoot a handload which is topped off with an 80 grain Berger VLD bullet and with that concoction I typically shoot 94% scores. It's fun stuff and for sure demands marksmanship knowledge and skill like no other competitions for good results. BTW, I have no interest in putting 62 grain bullets from M855 to the 1000 yard target because the MOA wind constant of that bullet is only about .75 at that range, meaning unobservable 1-3 mph wind changes will displace the bullet about 40 inches.

@@sisseton69I caught it. I pictured the target being a red barn at 1000 yards.

I have acquired a set of bags since this video. I’m currently working on getting a shooting bench built, but I do have the capability to sit at my car trailer and use it as a temporary “bench”. All of this will get revisited later on. Appreciate the conversation!

The one I’m using is a Caldwell, their item number is 122231. I like it. It’s sorta a universal one for ARs, that has a steel reinforced and Velcro strap that can be put around everything from GI handguards to MLok or quad rails. I’ve used it on all my AR15s and the one time I had an AR10 without issues. It’s worked pretty good for the money.

Appreciate the advice. Yes I’m fairly new to this type shooting, and I am learning, and continue to learn. I think I’ve stated that before, with the hopes of not misleading someone into thinking in an expert. I guess to seriously take all human error out and test the true round to rifle consistency, it would need to be in a mechanical rest. But this way I can at least learn about myself with this rifle.

@@j_c_huntwell I am a Military Rifle Instructor and from what I see you look like you know how to shoot so I am not about to critique your marksmanship. You can do that yourself constructively by analysis of the call/strike corollary and from the size, shape, and placement of groupings. For sure, from the bipod and a rear bag support you will be able to transfer the stability of the ground into the position with some work at finessing it. Now, here's a word or two on analysis, what is taught to Soldiers receiving SDM Training. Shooter/Target Analysis is attempting to determine the cause of misplaced shots. Different sizes and shapes of shot groups can occur because of a multitude of problems/errors, making it difficult to discern all the possible causes for misplaced shots; yet, since all shooter errors originate from position/act of firing inconsistency and incorrect external ballistics compensation, not hitting where aimed can be quickly resolved without troubleshooting by simply attending to what’s important to good shooting, (i.e., sight alignment, trigger control, and ballistics compensation). Still, correctly analyzing the cause of shot misplacement can hasten error correction. Without the aid of a coach to observe and question the shooter about how the shot looked, the shooter has two methods of analysis, call/strike corollary, and group assessment. Each of these methods is supported while firing with the aid of a spotting scope. Call/strike corollary which shows shots are on call and where desired indicates proper sight adjustment for distance/conditions and proper execution of the two firing tasks. Shots on call but not where desired indicate proper sight alignment, and sight adjustment but movement of the rifle, possibly from poor trigger control. Shots off call, the bullet striking someplace other than where it was thought to hit, may mean sights are misaligned, inconsistent sight picture, or sights not adjusted correctly to account for distance to target, slope, or wind and weather conditions. Vertical group assessment shows good trigger control and poor elevation. Some of the probable causes of vertical grouping are: 1. Poor follow through 2. Changing sight picture 3. A very low position 4. Changing sight alignment 5. Failure to maintain proper sight alignment 6. Changing distance from eye to sight 7. Varying rifle butt position in shoulder 8. Position of left elbow wrong (rifle fired from right shoulder) 9. Not enough head pressure Horizontal group assessment shows good elevation and poor trigger control. Some of the probable causes of horizontal grouping are: 1. High right shoulder 2. High vertical position 3. Jerking the trigger 4. Varying head pressure 5. Movement of the right elbow 6. No stability of position 7. Change in sight picture 8. Failure to maintain proper sight alignment

sisseton69 From this video you cannot discern the author's marksmanship. I am a Military Rifle Instructor assisting the USAMU deliver SDM instruction and it's my job to analyze shooter/target error but the only means here to understand the source/s of shooter error is to ask the shooter how the shot looked. That clarifies whether the shooter followed through on the shot and the call/strike corollary will usually point to why the shooter did or did not hit where aimed. BTW, single loading is not at all hard on the extractor, gillions of rounds fired in slow fire stages of US Service Rifle Competition prove it. Also, your comment on breath control is strange, since today's Military Marksmanship Training does not use that phrase. The description today about breathing is: natural respiratory pause because when students are told to watch their breathing they do, and it prevents focus on what they should be thinking about which is sight alignment and trigger control. At any rate, there's no indication that the author is not shooting during his natural raspatory pause. Now, here's what we do know, the author hit the target and the size, shape, and placement indicates good elevation adjustment and trigger control. Maybe not the results as might be possible from a trained marksman, but certainly pretty good and if the author had been shooting on the MR-31 Target he might have cleaned it.