What's acceptable accuracy....

[sboudreaux]

I’ve got a Larue upper in 223 that literally shoots 1/2” groups

Mine is pretty close to that with the right ammo. I have a sig that shoots pretty good as well but the Larue is definitely more accurate as it should be in my opinion. I thought years ago that AR's could never shoot anywhere near as good as bolt guns, Larue has changed my mind a little but my APR .260 is the most accurate gun I own, but I do not own that many. To the OP's question I would want to be in the 1.5 MOA range personally.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Mine is pretty close to that with the right ammo. I have a sig that shoots pretty good as well but the Larue is definitely more accurate as it should be in my opinion. I thought years ago that AR's could never shoot anywhere near as good as bolt guns, Larue has changed my mind a little but my APR .260 is the most accurate gun I own, but I do not own that many. To the OP's question I would want to be in the 1.5 MOA range personally.

I'd never owned a "black gun" before about 2010... Like someone posted above, bought one because it pizzes DemoKrauts off, then bought 1000 rounds of ammo for it... Would have never thought a thrown together semi-automatic rifle would be very accurate... Started to plink with it. It had an ACOG on it and sucker was a tack driver much to my shock! I got serious then and put a good hunting scope on it (Trijicon with Mil-dot reticle) and bought some premium .223 ammo... was amazed how well it shot... Had to have another one since I was so pleasantly surprised with the accuracy... Bought me an ARPerformance 6.8 SPC all trimmed out with an adjustable gas block, some super-duper recoil spring and metal do-dad that fits in the tube, ambidextrous safety (I'm a lefty), and a nice drop in Timney trigger... topped it with the same Trijicon scope and took her to the rifle range... WOW!!! first 5 shot group after zero was 0.375"!! I was flabbergasted! Let's just say, that wasn't my last black gun...
All my other ones are safe queens now.

[sboudreaux]

Dang Slick, .375 that’s super impressive!

[Killer]

I was surprised how accurate my 6.5 Gren is that I bought three years ago. It’s just as accurate as my Ruger 77 bolt in 7mm mag.
but a lot more fun to shot.
it’s amazing the accuracy it can give when you look at how they are put together.

A custom dialed in bolt is always going to give you the most accuracy with all things being equal but a good barrel AR is quite surprising to me.

[Coyote Canyon]

I bought mine strictly for hog hunting. I wanted something that would rapid fire and something that I didn’t have to reload after a few shots. It’s accurate enough for what I purchased it for. I can hit just about anything out to 150 yds. so that they won’t see the sun come up.

[J-5]

Never put a tape to em, but mine are all around the 1” mark or less. I put together a 7.62x39 for my son and it’s less than an inch with a red dot. I’d like to see what it is with some magnification, but it’s great for now.

[Chase4556]

I’ve got a budget $550ish dollar 300blk build that will shoot sub MOA and my Rock River 223 will shoot sub MOA. Buddy has one he built that will do about 1.25” on a good day. Another buddy has a PSA AR-10 that will shoot 1-1.25” at 100. They vary. People put fancy gizmos on them but then go and buy a cheap barrel and wonder why it won’t shoot a decent group. I have never had a scope on my nicer build, but with the red dot(3moa dot) I can keep all my shots inside about 2-2.5” at 100yds, if I had to guess with a good scope it will be closer to that .5-.75MOA group at 100 with my ammo.

For what most ARs are used for, 1.5” at 100 is plenty accurate. If you want it to be a tack driver you need quality components, a little tuning(adjustable gas block for sure) and good ammo that the rifle likes.

[D u s t y]

Depends on the gun. Would I expect a 5-7 dollar gun to shoot 3/4 moa no. But I have a couple nice builds 15/2500 range that will all day. If I can’t get 1-1.25 moa at 100 normally I sell it

[duckhunter175]

I'd venture to say that most folks aren't putting optics on their rifles that allow a true test of accuracy for that platform so it might be a bit of a apples to oranges comparison if you are putting a 10.5" with a eotech up against a heavy bolt action .223 with a variable power optics. If you are holding 1.5" with a red dot and factory trigger at 100y thats well done.

That said; I've had 3 different daniel defense ARs and I moved the exact same optic (Aimpoint T2 on scalarworks) between all 3... the unsuppressed 16" version shot noticeably tighter than the 10.5" (suppressed)-- still plenty of variables to account for. I have a 16" noveske that is an absolute tack driver but even with a NF 1-8 FFP the center dot is still 1.25MOA which is a constraint. I also know with that rifle I can ring headshots on ipsc steel to 400 yards with no issues with that optic.

One of the most accurate rifles I've ever shot was a PSA AR10 6.5cm-- my buddy and I each bought them on a sale, slapped a Primary Arms 3-18x on it-- it ran under .5" 3 shot groups at 100y with 130gr ELDMs... and for $1000 invested we could hammer MOA steel out to 800 (which really was limited by the glass and not the gun).

For a magnified optic on a quality AR10 I would want to be under 1" at 100 with factory ammo and tighten that up more with reloads and fine tuning the rifle.

[SaltwaterSlick]

I'd venture to say that most folks aren't putting optics on their rifles that allow a true test of accuracy for that platform so it might be a bit of a apples to oranges comparison if you are putting a 10.5" with a eotech up against a heavy bolt action .223 with a variable power optics. If you are holding 1.5" with a red dot and factory trigger at 100y thats well done.

That said; I've had 3 different daniel defense ARs and I moved the exact same optic (Aimpoint T2 on scalarworks) between all 3... the unsuppressed 16" version shot noticeably tighter than the 10.5" (suppressed)-- still plenty of variables to account for. I have a 16" noveske that is an absolute tack driver but even with a NF 1-8 FFP the center dot is still 1.25MOA which is a constraint. I also know with that rifle I can ring headshots on ipsc steel to 400 yards with no issues with that optic.

One of the most accurate rifles I've ever shot was a PSA AR10 6.5cm-- my buddy and I each bought them on a sale, slapped a Primary Arms 3-18x on it-- it ran under .5" 3 shot groups at 100y with 130gr ELDMs... and for $1000 invested we could hammer MOA steel out to 800 (which really was limited by the glass and not the gun).

For a magnified optic on a quality AR10 I would want to be under 1" at 100 with factory ammo and tighten that up more with reloads and fine tuning the rifle.

I think you're spot on with that analysis! If you can't see your bullet holes in your reticle, how the heck are you going to put 'em all in the same place?!

[splitbeam145]

I’ve got a 12.5” 6.5 Grendel built by Sgt of Arms and topped with 1-7 scope and shooting factory Hornady 123gr SST right at 1-1 1/4” at 100yd. No complaints here.

[jdg13]

My 16" DB10 will shoot just over 1" with the factory ammo it likes. Everything else about 1.5". Plenty good for hunting and being a budget AR10. If accuracy for the money is the only factor, a decent bolt gun will be cheaper and more accurate than an AR. But man AR's are fun.

[Outback]

My AR was minute of pig until I bought a match barrel then 1/2-3/4" all day with handloads. Never tried factory.

[BrianL]

Depends on what I'm hunting but in general 1" or less on everything. The better AR platforms have got to where they will shoot sub 1" My CMMG 7.62 will shoot sub 1". I have a thermal on it now so it is my dedicated pig gun.