Shooting up to 500 yards.. Can an AR hold up to a bolt gun?

[Jimi Jah]

A cheap AR can do 600 yards, but not much further. My $160 Del-ton barrel hits the 600 yard gongs easily with 69 grain Hornady match bullets and Varget powder.

I haven't had much success beyond that, but .223's have some limitations.

[Standard]

To echo and expand on what everyone else is saying, an AR is definitely capable of making 500 yard hits. Optics and ammo depend on your goals. If you want to shoot small groups, you need a higher power scope and heavier match ammo.
If you just want to ding steel, anything from irons to acogs to traditional scopes can get you there, depending on your skill level. Better ammo will also help, but regular milspec ammo will get you there too.

[Fjold]

The question is: Given good match grade ammo, can a AR upper be built to perform as good as a bolt gun up to 500 yards?

Reading is fundamental.

[k1dude]

There are some space guns that are capable of incredible long range accuracy and precision. I doubt you'd ever be able to outshoot the rifle unless you were world class. So if you want to shoot a semi-auto, it will not hold you back.

[Josh3239]

Depends on the bolt action. Off the rack savage axis or remington 700 ADL? Sure. Especially in the same caliber. If we are talking about a custom or semi-custom bolt rig, then no.

[Guns and guitars]

Shooting up to 500 yards.. Can an AR hold up to a bolt gun?

No.
My remington 700s will outshoot my ARs.
But my varmint AR, 24 inch barrel, 1/8 twist with hand loads can come close.
Ive brought down 3 coyotes last year, all over 300yrds but the bolt gun would have hit em harder, at farther...

[Jaybird]

Check out the GAP-10 (Georgia Precision). Chambered in .308 but that is one custom built semi-auto that I think can keep up with most bolt guns. The .308 is a whole other beast though when compared to .223.

[Fjold]

No.
My remington 700s will outshoot my ARs.
But my varmint AR, 24 inch barrel, 1/8 twist with hand loads can come close.
Ive brought down 3 coyotes last year, all over 300yrds but the bolt gun would have hit em harder, at farther...

732 yards

[highpower790]

Having come from a match in Sacramento I can say an AR can keep up with a bolt gun to at least 800yds,the difference being x's.

[ar15barrels]

The question is: Given good match grade ammo, can a AR upper be built to perform as good as a bolt gun up to 500 yards?

Given similar money spent on each type of rifle, the bolt gun is the clear winner.
If you were to spend twice as much on the semi-auto, it will approach the bolt gun.
If you were spending three times as much on the semi-auto, it will likely match or maybe even better the bolt gun.

[Drivedabizness]

I know the USMC trains out to 500 meters. It is part of their qualification fire. They are using rack grade rifles with who-knows how many rounds through the barrels.

Could your pristine AR with a match grade barrel shoot as well as a bolt gun at 500 meters? I would think so . . . but you need to compare like condition and quality weapons. The biggest difference I can see is the sights. The AR is a total package, designed to be effective on a man size target at 500 meters WITH OPEN SIGHTS! Will your compared bolt gun have the same requirement?

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Can/should you be able to shoot better groups with a scoped bolt gun at 500 yards? Yes

I'm one of those guys who could consistently put my shots "in the chest" of the target at 500 yards with an M16 - at 29 Palms - with the range flags sometimes blowing in different directions at various yard lines.

It all comes down to the basics. I've never taken a 500-yard shot with any of my bolt guns - but of course, I've never put as many rounds through any of my bolt guns as I might in any given day back in the Corps.

[PSLguy]

Bolt guns have the advantage of being able to use fire formed brass sized to their chamber. Semi autos don't get quite the same benefit.

The AR is a very accurate platform, but bolt guns are still easier to make into a precision rifle.

[Shovel]

If you are going to stick with the AR platform, then save yourself some money and build a nice upper. That will run about the same as a decent bolt gun, with optics being the same cost given either option. It sounds like you need to either start investing in some match grade 223(69 -77 gr) or add a new caliber to the mix like 6.5 or 6.8 to get you out to 500.

If you want to move up further then you could get a bolt or build an AR-10 style rifle in a bigger caliber: 243, 6.5 Creedmore, 7mm-08, 308, etc. Those will easily get you out to 500 yards.

[k1dude]

6.5 Grendel will easily take you out to 800. 6.5 Creedmore will easily take you out to 1,000.

[NorCalFocus]

Theres no need for an AR10 for target shooting at 500 yards. If you really want a bigger caliber, then go for a bolt gun, just for the ease of it.