I bought an AR

[brimic]

A match/varmint upper really appeals to me, but I would have to do something about the trigger on this thing first.

A RRA match trigger is about $120, well worth it IMHO. Its a 2-stage trigger meant for CMP/NRA games but its still a vast improvement over a stock trigger. Only complaint is that the pins are slightly oversized for a tight fit, so its not a completely 'drop in ' part.

[zahc]

My 6.8 is this.  I thought it was an 18" barrel, but this says 20".  I was getting 1.5" groups with the Hornady ammo with a Timney trigger in the lower. 

1.5" as terrible where I come from (beanfield rifles), unless it's at 300 yards. Is this really considered 'good' in AR-land? If so I may set aside my plans of building a match/varmint AR, figure this one is a good plinker, and figure on getting a bolt gun later.

[bedlamite]

1.5" as terrible where I come from (beanfield rifles), unless it's at 300 yards. Is this really considered 'good' in AR-land? If so I may set aside my plans of building a match/varmint AR, figure this one is a good plinker, and figure on getting a bolt gun later.

No. I've got 3 AR's. Both my 6.8's are just barely sub MOA, one has a 16" A1 profile barrel and a 1-3x scope, the other has a 16" M4 profile with open sights. I've been meaning to try a higher power scope to see what they can actually do, just never got around to it. I also have a 20" 5.56 varmint setup with a Vortex 6-24 that just about every ammo I've tried has been 1/2 MOA.

Also, the Hornady 110gr Vmax in 6.8 is finicky, shoots very well out of some guns, but horrible out of most.

[Fly320s]

I have a LaRue OBR 5.56 that shoots an honest 1 inch at 100 yards.  Their 7.62 OBR reportedly does better than that.

As for AR triggers, I've used the stock trigger, improved stock triggers, Wilson, and Geissele.  The stock trigges work, but can be easily bettered. I used to like the Wilson TTU, but after three different triggers I no longer trust them 100%. I do still run one in my SBR since it has been reliable since Wilson replaced it. I just recently installed the Geissele (guys lee) in my middy. It looks promising and has been shown to be reliable by people I trust.

[zahc]

I guess there's no getting around the fact that the rounds have to be crimped. Also, I suppose they have to be sized to a standard length to feed reliably.

[Fly320s]

I guess there's no getting around the fact that the rounds have to be crimped. Also, I suppose they have to be sized to a standard length to feed reliably.

Well, yeah.

Crimp is a bit more important in a semi-auto than a bolt gun, though. That is true for OAL, too. For the AR, if the OAL fits in the mag, it should feed reliably. Some people load longer, heavier bullets, but those have to be single-loaded into the rifle.

[MechAg94]

I've got an RRA 5.56 match upper.  The best I've done with that is 0.5" at 100 yards with reloads.  Commercial ammo (even match) does 1" or maybe 3/4" at best.  I figured getting 1.5" with the normal Hornady and SSA 6.8 HPBT ammo was doing just fine.  I've only put a couple hundred rounds through the upper so far.  I was getting 1.5" groups the first time out.  When I finally get around to start reloading, I expect to improve on that.  

[brimic]

I guess there's no getting around the fact that the rounds have to be crimped. Also, I suppose they have to be sized to a standard length to feed reliably.

I don't crimp, and haven't seen any adverse effect to not crimping so long as you are using good reloading practices, are getting good neck tension, and aren't shooting full auto.

For my DCM rifle, I use stainless mags which allow me to seat my bullets considerably further out than with a standard GI mag.
I showed up to a match one morning with a niggling feeling that I had forgotten something. I did in fact forget my magazines.
Several guys would lend me a spare mag or two, but my loads wouldn't fit in them.
I attempted to do some emergency bullet seating by placing a round nose down on the concrete and putting weight on it. I soon found this to be futile- putting as much of my 260 lbs on the little rounds as I could, I couldn't get any of the bullets to even budge.

For reloading for the AR-15, I'd worry a lot more about cartridge headspace in resizing than anything else. In a typical NATO chamber, cases stretching .006-.007" isn't outside the norm.

[Monkeyleg]

My 1980's vintage Colt has a Milazzo-Krieger two-stage trigger and 20" heavy barrel. I get sub-MOA groups with factory ammo. I have everything for reloading .223, but just haven't gotten around to it, but I'm sure I could get it to do better than just sub-MOA.