AR 15-22 with horrible groups, 9" @ 25yds!

lar45

lar45

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Hi everybody.
A friend of mine has an AR 15-22 rifle. She brought it over yesterday to sight it in before going squirrel hunting...
We were dialing in the scope at 25yds to start. It was getting close, then started throwing shots all over the paper. It was the same with shooting also. It had a Nikon P22 scope on it, so we switched to a brand new Vortex crossfire II 4x16 I think. The problem was still there.
We tried 3 different types of ammo, CCI , PMC zapper and something else... nothing helped.
We put that rifle away and got out a Savage 17HMR, put the Nikon P22 scope on it. Everything was great with it.
So my guess is that there's something wrong with the rifle.
If there's an easy fix, I could probably handle that. Or should I have her send it in for service?
Any thoughts?
 
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Oh, BTW I can shoot fairly well.
Here's a target shot with my old Mauser M420 bolt action.
Sorry about all of the attachments, I didn't see it show up, so I tried it again and again...
 

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Last edited:
Did you check the things like scope base and rings securely tightened? Did you try to determine if the barrel itself was loose? My 15-22 isn’t as accurate as a 10/22, but it shoots around 2.5” at 25 yards. I’d definitely say something is wrong, but I mentioned above the first places I’d look.
 
Yes, that was the first thing I checked was the scope base. It was way loose, so I tightened it and checked the torque on the rings, they were good. No change in groups...
How does the barrel attach to the upper? Is it like a normal AR15?
I've built 80% ARs and have almost every tool Brownells offers.
Maybe I'll scrub the barrel clean and try it again.
 
If I remember previous threads about this problem, there was mention of a barrel nut that can come loose causing these type of wild shots. I remember checking my barrel nut for tightness. A new out of the box shouldn't have this problem.
 
I would guess it's barrel related and the flash hider and barrel tightness should be checked.
A trip to a local gunsmith might be better than sending it to S&W and waiting months to get it back.
 
lar45 said:
Yes, that was the first thing I checked was the scope base. It was way loose, so I tightened it and checked the torque on the rings, they were good. No change in groups...
How does the barrel attach to the upper? Is it like a normal AR15?
I've built 80% ARs and have almost every tool Brownells offers.
Maybe I'll scrub the barrel clean and try it again.
Click to expand...

Of course not. That'd be too simple. "Special" tool required either retail, homemade, etc. S&W M&P15-22 Barrel Nut Wrench | Tacticool22
 
Sure sounds like a loose barrel nut. Some are gorilla tight but others are only finger tight. Those can conceivably shoot loose. I made a barrel nut wench out of a piece of 3/4” steel pipe using a Dremel and file. Use caution to back up the torque with a barrel vise, don’t torque against the upper receiver.
 
Is the scope mounted to a picatinny rail? Do you have picatinny mount scope rings with the squared cross-bars to secure them to the rail properly?

If you are using regular rings with round cross-bars there with be a significant amount of slop, and you will never get the thing to shoot right. I have run into this a few times, making for good deals on "inaccurate" rifles. :D
 
Thanks for the links, just ordered the Tacticool22 wrench. I already have the vise blocks for the upper.
Any idea if the standard AR15 vise blocks will work on the SW 15-22 ? Or do I need a specific one?

Ok, just re read the above post about using a barrel vise. Back to shopping...
Thanks again for all the help.
 
Last edited:
Hi again. The wrench and vise blocks from Tacticool22 came in today.
Is there a torque spec for the 15-22?
Also do you run it in in 3 steps like a regular AR15? Or just tighten it good-n-tight?
 
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