I’m not a big AR junkie like some guys are but we have a few and I’d like to make one of them a better shooting rifle. I’m not looking to build one from scratch but upgrade one of my current guns. What’s the best way to achieve this without spending a fortune. A new barrel, trigger? I’m honestly clueless as to semi auto accuracy upgrades needed. Does the BCG make a difference? Would it be cheaper to just buy a new upper? Help a brother out, I’m looking to kill some pigs with this one so if I’m replacing the complete upper would a new round be better?

How accurate is it now? If accuracy is the goal, I’d do the trigger first and test several ammo types(yea I know there’s no ammo). After that you might rebarrel

It’s bad, probably a little over 2”s at 100 yards now but at 200 it’s like a spray pattern. I have a bunch of different hunting rounds I can test with it so that’s not a problem.

I bought an AR a few months back. Didn’t much like the trigger, and accuracy wasn’t so great. I bought a LaRue Trigger off a fellow on the forum, using the logic that everybody has at least one extra trigger. The trigger is nice, but the grouping just wasn’t going under about 1 1/2”. I decided to get a better barrel, and happily there was a fellow on the forum that had a very good extra one. That was what made the difference. It shoots great now.

And I should mention that, being a reloader, I had run many many different loads through that first barrel and hadn’t found an accurate load.

What barrel did you go with?

I have been around 8 different Wilson Combat barrels and have yet to see one that didn’t impress me from an AR perspective. Another one that I’ve seen that is good is ar15performance.com. I think in general if you get a barrel from one of those two you stack the odds in your favor.

You said pigs...if it was me, I’d look at either a 300 Hamr, 6.8 SPC (I reload and I’d want the II chamber because you can load a little hotter) or a 6.5 Grendel. If you already have a .556 bolt then you can do a Hamr without a BCG. Just start buying pieces at a time and replacing until you get the accuracy you require/want...I’m pretty confident you’ll hit it eventually...and you might end up rebuilding the entire upper (do get a trigger) but you can do it a piece at a time and see what helps your accuracy the most. Odds are that is how you’ll have to do it because supplies are not easy to find to assemble one...uppers and lowers from Aero have been almost nonexistent since the riots started.

Good luck and stack up a bunch of pigs!

I agree. The best barrel in the world won't improve the performance of a sloppy trigger or ammo that doesn't match it. You're sure to be happier with a better barrel if the trigger is crisp and the ammo is something the barrel prefers.

The barrel I was lucky to pick up off the forum was a Seekins Precision.

If you are a decent shot and have tried several brands of quality ammo with varying weight and the best you can get a 100 is 2", you likely need a new barrel. What kind of hand guard is on the rifle? Brand/model? A pic would be helpful. A good trigger is very helpful but it is not going to shrink a 2" group to 1".

For hogs I'd suggest the 6.8 or 300 Hamr.

Three things matter if your rifle is already free floated. 1. Barrel 2. Trigger 3. Optics

I have be really impressed with the Wilson barrels I’ve owned. They all shoot sub-moa benched with decent ammo and they are very reasonably priced, especially when on sale. Wilson is my go to barrel. If you have a mil-spec trigger you might try a trigger upgrade, even the $100-$150 triggers make a huge improvement over mil-spec. Optics might actually be the most important thing if your current set up isn’t rock solid and the optic doesn’t hold its zero.

Finally if you are shooting fmj’s or cheap ammo 2” at 100 is pretty good, don’t expect your gun to shoot all ammo through the same hole, you need to try out different stuff or better yet work up reloads. If you reload you can get into calibers like the 300 ham’r cheaply and get a real performance gain over 5.56. My 300 ham’r rifles are all very accurate, I think the cartridge is inherently accurate.

Larue MBT trigger, Faxon 416 5R 16" barrel/bolt in 6.5G or 6.8SPC(if you want a Cadillac get any Wilson Combat barrel/bolt) and quality ammunition(if you can find any these days, best to reload your own)...I've had excellent luck with MOA or better in AR's I've built...my next is going to be a 300 Ham'r upper build.

Quality Free Floated Barrel
Quality BCG and Bolt
Good Trigger

I like Wilson Barrels and P BCG/Bolts. Most any trigger that is better than a stock parts kit trigger group will help you achieve better accuracy. I currently have JP EZ, Timney, Hyperfire, CMC, Elftmann, Rock River National Match and a "worked" Nickle Boron coated "stock" trigger group. I like all of them except the Elftmann; that was a disappointing venture and I wouldn't recommend them. My favorite is probably the JP but I had someone much more knowledgeable than me set it up and adjust it.


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What BigFitz said about a better trigger not shrinking a big group significantly is what finally pushed me to get a new barrel. Even with the new trigger I shot ladder groups with 4 different powders, or maybe 5, and 1 1/2” was about as good as it got. Shooting got better immediately with the new barrel. It shot so well with the loads I use for the bolt gun that I didn’t even work up a new load with the bullet I use. Logic being that I had one load that worked great for both.

What he said, and IME good barrels, and also good bullets, are what make ARs shoot. Matching your bullet weight/length to the rifling twist helps also. Sometimes just switching from a 55 FMJ to a 55 SP can cut your groups in half...it did for me.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

I appreciate all the help guys, Where is the best place to educate myself on rifling twist verses bullet weight?

What caliber ?

Honestly all of them but in this specific case a 223,

I'd suggest looking here https://shopwilsoncombat.com/Barrels/departments/108/ or https://www.ar15performance.com/6_8_barrels

For 223/556 suggest a 223 Wylde chamber (can safely shoot 223 and 556) and will generally be a bit more accurate than a 556 barrel. 7 or 8 twist will be good for 55 gr up to 80 gr.

For 6.8 you'll want the SPC II chamber (most if not all will be this) and an 11 twist. This will be good for 90 to 120 gr bullets.

I know little about the 300 Hamr but you'll find everything you'll need at Wilson Combat.

300 ham’r twist is 1-15” or 1-13” if you shoot the heavier bullets in temps below 32. I have both and shoot in sub-zero weather the whole winter, both have been really accurate for me but I don’t shoot much over 130gr and the 150’s I use are blunt 150gr 30-30 bullets, they shot fine in the cold but not stellar. I also didn’t put much effort into the loads. I’m sold on the 120-135 grain bullets for this round, if I need more penetration I’ll use a monolithic.

I think you will find after research the answer is 1/8 Wylde

When you get it shooting check out the “36 yard zero”. I think I might go with it if I ever get to shooting my AR again.

If swapping barrels, and going with 223, go with .223 Wylde as others have mentioned. 1/7 or 1/8 twist usually.

I just built a Wilson Combat 300 Ham'r, all you have to do is buy a barrel, for a real .30 cal pig thumper. Check out the 300 Ham'r thread, Bill Wilson himself is there for good advice and help, along with a bunch of very nice Gent's.. I think Wilson has had a run on 300 Ham'r barrels, but they will be back in stock soon..

I'm extremely happy with mine, the most practical punch in .30 cal on a handy small frame AR, you won't be sorry!

Yep, this is a much happier pig round than anything else you can buy for your small frame AR, makes a nice deer rifle or varmint rifle as well, bullets from 95 grains to 150 grains, I'm very happy with mine, and I like the 110 to 135 grain bullets, but the 150's make it a serious hunting rifle for heavier game on the small frame! Mine is very accurate!

On a side note can someone explain to me why everyone’s is on the 300 Ham’r kick? I’m trying to figure out why you don’t just build a AR-10 if you want a 30 cal? I’m not judging or hating simply asking a serous question because I’d like to know.

If I build a Completely new gun from WIlson Combat components would their be any difference in accuracy by me assembling the rifle myself verses them? I guess what I’m asking is can I build a gun myself and still get solid accuracy?