FNAR Review - Fourth Range Test (100 yards)

FNAR Review, X7 Bulls Bag Review

During my 3rd range test of my FNAR, I was experiencing technical difficulties with the rest I was using for shooting my rifle.  Since then, I'm now the proud owner of a X7 Bulls Bag system.  You can see the review of this bag at this link, X7 Bulls Bag Review.  Actually during my next range testing I plan on evaluating the accuracy of my FNAR and the performance of the X7 Bulls Bag as a rifle rest.  For me to compare apples to apples from my last range test, I did purchase two boxes of ammo that I used during those tests.  The Hornady and Federal performed the best out of the original range test, but I must say that I don't feel that test was a good measure of the rifle or ammo due to my technical difficulties.  Regardless, I still needed to compare some of the same ammo during this test.

Next, I have seen other reviews that used Buffalo Bore Sniper .308 Win 175 gr. Sierra bullets.  This was a must for my next range test and I can only hope to produce results similar groups to the other reviewers.  I really want to find ammo that I can use for long range shooting and this may be the ticket.  This range test will be only at 100 yards, but if it groups good, I will do a future test at 200 or 300 yards.

Additionally, some more ammo I want to try out will be some "readily available" hunting ammo.  What I mean by "readily available" is something that I could find by walking into any Wal-Mart.  I don't want to be caught off guard during hunting season.  Off guard would be me knocking my scope off zero and shooting up the ammo I took with me.  I know it is a worst case (I hope), but I want to check and make sure the rifle will group this ammo.  I selected one that I have seen at nearly every Wal-Mart in the south (Winchester) and then another popular brand (Federal).

Last, I plan to shoot some PMC 147 gr. FMJ-BT just to get the hang of the rest system prior to the high dollar ammo.

The following is the list for this range test and in the order I plan to shoot.  This should be a good day's worth considering the time needed for the barrel to cool down between groups.

1. PMC Bronze FMJ-BT 147 gr. (Plinking Ammo)
2. Hornady A-MAX® 168 gr. (Match Ammo, same as last range test)
3. Buffalo Bore Sinper 175 gr. Sierra (Match Ammo)
4. Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr. (Hunting Ammo, same as last range test)
5. Winchester Super-X 150 gr. Power-Point (Hunting Ammo)
6. Federal Power Shok 150 gr. Soft Point (Hunting Ammo)

After 3 hours at the range, I feel like I had great results. I shot several different three shot groups of each of the ammo.  I started with the PMC just to get the feel of the X7 Bulls Bag, then I quickly moved on.  The photo below shows my basic setup.  The X7 Bulls Bag supported the rifle, but I also used a small bag under the bottom of the pistol grip to help me further stabilize the shots.

My first task was to compare the Hornady A-MAX results with the X7 rest against what I was able to do with the other mechanical rest.  My best groups this time were 1.20", 1.20" and 0.75".  The 0.75" group is shown below.  Clearly the X7 system was more stable when shooting.  My best group with this ammo at my last range test was 0.95" with the next closest being 1.87".  At this point, I was sold on the X7 Bulls Bag.

Hornady A-MAX 168 gr. at 100 yards

Next I switched over to the Buffalo Bore and achieved my best groups.  I shot 1.05", 1.00", 1.00" and 0.35" groups at 100 yards. This was the first time I had used the Buffalo Bore Sniper 175 grain bullets and I was extremely pleased.  Clearly, the FNAR with the right ammo and right marksman can be a sub MOA rifle.

Buffalo Bore Sniper .308 Win at 100 yards, 0.35" group

I also wanted to check out the Federal Premium Vital-Shok® Sierra® GameKing® BTSP 165 gr. that I used in my last range test.  With this mid range price hunting ammo, I was able to shoot groups of 1.25", 1.10" and 1.00" at 100 yards.  Again, my best group last time was 1.54".  Clearly, this is an improvement.  What I do find interesting is that the ammo will group in different points on the target.  I made no scope adjustments to this point.

Federal Premium Vital-Shok 165 gr. at 100 yards

Now I wanted to try out some of the bargain priced "readily available" hunting ammo from Wal-Mart. First I shot groups of the Federal Power Shok 150 gr. Soft Point hunting ammo. The 3 shot groups were 1.75", 1.45" and 0.88" at 100 yards.  I was pleasantly surprised with these results.  I also decided to adjust the windage on these shot, so you will see the fourth shot of my first 0.88" group.

Last was the Winchester Super-X 150 gr. Power-Point hunting ammo.  The 3 shot groups were 1.25" and 0.80" at 100 yards.  You will see another group on the target below, but I'm not going to count that because I knew I pulled the shot when I made it.

During the three hours of shooting, I learned a couple of things.  First, it takes more concentration than I ever imagined to try to consistently group shots.  In the past, I have always gone to the range and sighted in my hunting rifle and then moved on with life.  Those efforts may have been a total of about 30 minutes.  Second, in my mind the greatest amount of variability comes from the average shooter.  I'm sure that for trained marksmen this may not be the case, but I believe that my FNAR is more capable than I am (at the moment) and thus more capable than most of the people who will purchase the rifle.  Third, a shooting rest system is a critical item for shooting groups like this.  Clearly, I shot more 1 MOA or better groups during this round of testing using the X7 Bulls Bag than I did with the mechanical rest.

Bottom Line: 
The FNAR rifle can shoot.  The real question is can you?  I think this range test proves it can group many different types of ammo, and it made the best group with the Buffalo Bore 175 gr. Sniper ammo.  As I continue shooting my rifle, I can see that I'm already biased towards the Buffalo Bore for a target round.  The next thing I have to do is finalize my hunting round, but I'm not worried too much.  Based on the results above, I can always stop by Wal-Mart and get a box of Winchester or Federal and put meat on the ground out to 200 yards.

You can see all of my posts on my FNAR rifle by going to my Summary Page.