Semi Auto vs. Bolt Action for precision long range shooting

Gas guns are limited to caliber, which will limit its range. .308, 260, 6.5 Creed, etc are all great, accurate calibers, but their range tops out around 1000 yards (which may be as far as you want to shoot?).
Bolt guns have no limit on caliber. Even at ranges under 1000 yards, there are better, more accurate cartridges than are available in semi-autos: 6BR, BRX, 6 Dasher, 6XC, etc.

That being said, it takes a top shooter to shoot better than a good semi in 223 or 308.
 
The recoil impulses and moving parts alone put the gasser at a disadvantage from the start.

OP I’d seriously look at a Bighorn Origin and proof prefit and building it yourself versus the MPA. For the same price you can customize a lot more and have the option of interchangeable bolt heads in case you decide to make drastic changes.
 
Another contributing factor to precision is barrel harmonics. Barrels move during firing. If a barrel touches the stock or any other part, its harmonic gets interrupted and precision goes down. Thinner barrels have larger amplitude movement and thus lower precision. Barrels with anything attached to it or dangling from it will also have diminished precision. AR's gas block is one of the detractors to rifle's precision.

Another consideration is the lockup. On bolt guns, the bolt locks up on the action, and the barrel just screws into action. Actions are very stiff(and heavy). AR bolt locks up on the barrel which messes with barrel harmonics as well.

P.S. AR is an ingenious engineering feat to create a lightweight rifle. In 60+ years since its creation, there haven't been many lightweight alternatives created. That said, rifle's light weight came at the cost of precision, even on the AR-10 platform.
 
I think the people who notice the difference are already accomplished shooters. In other words, if you keep at it you will notice a slight difference between semi and bolt accuracy in like 5 years :)

I have no doubt that there are guys here that can take an off the rack AR, dial the sights in and get insanely better groups than I can with my precision bolt gun.
 
Best precision tends to result from an optimized rifle/ammo combination obviously. In my case, my handholds are often loaded longer than will fit in a magazine. I optimize loads for charge weight, and seating depth to find the "best" jump for that particular load/bullet/rifle. As my precision rifles are all being loaded long, they are being used single-shot. My best results have come from bolt guns. The question was asked about "how precise" for benchrest group sizes. In true benchrest, you're not even competitive if your groups (5 round) at 200 yds are larger than 0.2 inches, and winning groups are often in the "1s" or "zeros" (0.1" diameter or smaller). So, smaller than 1/4 MOA. For F-Class, matches are often won by the number of rounds in the X ring when the total scores are equivalent. So, the goal is grouping as many of 60 rounds in a match into a 1/2 MOA group at 500 to 1,000 yds. Not intending to patronize, I presume many on this list already know all of this.

It is not uncommon to see custom built service rifle (AR-pattern) shooters beat less skilled bolt gun shooters. But, this is usually the result of the service rifle shooter simply being MUCH better at reading mirage and making better wind calls. So, Service Rifle (custom) can be VERY precise at range, and can easily be competitive with bolt guns. For benchrest, nope. Additionally, my observations have been that for the really talented and skilled shooters, at the top of the game, only bolt guns are fielded and those are all Totally customized to the shooter/discipline, as is the ammo they are shooting.
 
I think the people who notice the difference are already accomplished shooters. In other words, if you keep at it you will notice a slight difference between semi and bolt accuracy in like 5 years :)

I have no doubt that there are guys here that can take an off the rack AR, dial the sights in and get insanely better groups than I can with my precision bolt gun.
Depends upon which AR. Your typical carbine AR? Probably not. A competition service rifle with a White Oak or Compass Lake upper? As you indicate, depends on the shooter but ~1/2 MOA is possible with one of those, sub-MOA for sure.
 
Depends upon which AR. Your typical carbine AR? Probably not. A competition service rifle with a White Oak or Compass Lake upper? As you indicate, depends on the shooter but ~1/2 MOA is possible with one of those, sub-MOA for sure.

I think you are overestimating my abilities behind the trigger of a bolt gun :)

rifl.jpgBeing good takes a LOT of practice, and I didn't practice a lot.. Motorcycles turned out to be more fun(and a lot less frustrating) than practicing squeezing the trigger between heartbeats and compensating for wind. Oh, and don't forget the coriolis effect at 100 yards!
 
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My LaRue OBR in 308 can shoot 5 shot, <0.5" at 100 yards with Federal Gold Medal Match in 168gr. I have seen bolt guns that can punch a single ragged hole at 100 yards. How much do you need?
 
I think you are overestimating my abilities behind the trigger of a bolt gun :)

View attachment 672951Being good takes a LOT of practice, and I didn't practice a lot.. Motorcycles turned out to be more fun(and a lot less frustrating) then practicing squeezing the trigger between heartbeats and compensating for wind. Oh, and don't forget the coriolis effect at 100 yards!
Well, the optic don't suck... 😎
 
Best reason to spend lots of money on gear? The confidence it inspires knowing that the only thing between you and great success is... you.
True that. If you have great gear and still can't shoot, it is pretty clear where the weak link lies (grin). Gentlemen at my new club are BRUTAL with wannabes who flash all the best gear but make it look second rate with their performance. Usual club competition is challenging enough, but one of our members is Speedy Gonzalez, so... Basically, be humble, shut up and shoot [bow]
 
There’s something I haven’t seen mentioned yet and that’s that if you’re in to reloading, semi-autos may be harsher on brass than a bolt gun. There are ways to mitigate some of the potential damage (padding the brass deflector, polishing feed ramps, adjustable gas block, etc.) but the ejection and loading process with a semi-auto is still just going to be an overall more violent process than that of a bolt action.

Mine luckily only has a tendency to scratch the rims and not bend the necks. I’ve thought about messing with the ejector, but I’d rather have a reliable gun than one that’s gentle on brass. It’s why I’m in the market for a bolt action to compliment it. The semi-auto is more accurate than I’ll ever be, it just tends to eat lots of ammo. Bolt action should slow the consumption rate down, maybe.

So of course that means that the correct answer actually is, both.
 
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