I just shot with a $200 optic on $2500 rifle and got a .277 inch group. Don’t jump to any conclusions too quickly. This is just a quick entry as more work needs to be done and all is not perfect here. Consider this an in progress report and observation rather than a review of an optic. On the other hand, I am drawing conclusions about ammo and build quality of the AR-15. With that in mind, I was personally pretty impressed with the results of this morning’s initial optic test at Magnum Shooting Center. Here’s what I showed up with today:
- Custom F1 Firearms AR-15 Build with a Wilson Combat barrel and Timney Trigger (build story and video here)
- Barnes Precision Match 5.56x45mm 69 grain OTM BT
- A pile of cheap American Tactical 62 grain 5.56
- TruGlo Tru-Glo Tru-Brite 1-6x24mm Scope
I was shooting a bunch of ammo to see if the optic would wander off zero or disintegrate after running a short stack of mags through. I’d shoot a box test while there as well. Full results will be in a video soon. As you can see in the picture, I shot a pretty nice group. The TruGlo was at 6x, the target at 100 yards (98.5 officially). The group with the Barnes Precision 69 grain here is .277 MOA, while the American Tactical only shot 1.5 MOA.
Ammo matters if accuracy in involved. I’ve toured the Barnes Bullets plant in Utah. These folks are serious about what they do and it shows.
The other takeaway today is that there is no substitute for quality. The optic performed well today and it’s reticle was ideal for the target I was shooting, but it’s not a $1000 optic. The rifle delivered results. The F1 Firearms matched receiver set has tight tolerances. The Wilson Combat barrel is exactly what you’d hope for from Wilson. I’ve documented that trigger selection matters and Timney Triggers have consistently delivered results for me since before I was part of the shooting and hunting industry.
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