Accuracy How do I get it?

That's the question all shooters ask after they get over the thrill of just spraying rounds down range.

First let's define accuracy!

If you say it is hitting the same spot every time!
That is right but do you mean every day in all weather conditions every time I pull it out of the case.
Are you including different ammo in your equation?

Now it get's a lot more complicated at least until the VIRON BARREL CONTROL SYSTEM!

Here are the factors you must over come in order to get what we all seek.

Harmonics- Vibrations from the bullet traveling down the bore as well as the shock from the blast. Also including moving parts in semi auto and full auto actions which is why Bolt action guns are typically more accurate.

Torque on the barrel - Forces trying to bend the barrel usually from piston driven actions as the piston is trying to extract the brass from the chamber and force the bolt back to cycle the action. Also includes twisting forces from the bullet trying to twist the barrel as it engages the rifling while traveling down the bore. It that every action has an equal and opposite reaction thing. The bullet doesn't want to twist naturally in the bore it is forced to by the lands but exerts force back trying to twist the barrel as well.
This causes the barrel rotate at the muzzle which means to get consistent shot placement you have to time the exit of the bullet to this twist so it comes out in the same spot in this rotation every time to get the same point on impact. Thus the need for tuning your barrel or finding ammo that will give you the most consistency in timing this rotation cycle. This is a major flaw in the free float design. And one reason for the popularity of heavy barrels

Barrel warping- Stresses left from making the steel bar stock, Machining, and rifling, as well as contouring the barrel that are not removed from stress relieving processes. Every barrel has some and the lighter the barrel the more it may warp as it goes from cold to hot bore and back.

Barrel whipping- The moving of the barrel in an up, down, left, and right direction from the Harmonics or from torque especially from a piston as it slams into the OP Rod to force the Bolt and/or carrier back to extract the brass and cycle the action. Also from the inertia from the muzzle moving up during recoil and back again Flexing the barrel in the process.

Expansion and contraction- Differences in the rate of expansion and contraction between the Barrel and receiver (especially in AR platforms)  Between the action, stock, mounting rails, scope rings, scope which change the relationship between where the reticule is pointing and the barrel.

Ammo differences- bullet weights, Powder charges, deformation of the tips as the bullet is Loaded into the chamber, Etc.
These factors also effect the point of impact.

Weather- Temparture, Barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, angle of incline, rotation of the earth, etc.

These are most but not all the factors you must overcome to put that bullet on the bulls eye every time.

So now that we've listed the major factors we must overcome let's talk about how to overcome them.

You can as I mentioned above go to heavy barrels to help reduce some of these factors but it can create other problems besides the obvious MORE WEIGHT!
Especially in the AR platforms which have an Aluminum receiver and a steel barrel. The receiver has to be larger than the barrel extension in order to slide it into the receiver. Usually a few thousands of an inch of play which doesn't sound like much does it; However, if the 1" of barrel extension shifts .001" inside the receiver in any direction it will effect your point of impact by 3.6" @ 100 Yards, 7.2 @ 200, 10.8 @ 300 Etc. Now it sounds like allot, doesn't it? This can happen when the receiver barrel joint changes do to weight of whole barrel being leveraged on the barrel extension alone. This process is worse in tempature change because aluminum and steel are effected differently by expansion and contraction. This is why there is a wave of heavier receivers coming out now.
Also the heavy barrels are not immune to warping or whipping or rotating they just don't move as much generally.

Carbon fiber wrapping while it isn't a bad idea and is a better choice to Heavy barrels it is expensive and still doesn't address the other factors of Expansion and contraction conflicts between the barrel and receiver, receiver and scope mount, Action and stock etc. Aluminum stocks for steel actions like the Sage, JAE, Troy Industries as mentioned before Steel Expands and contracts several times less than Aluminum and like the old fashioned thermostat when one metal moves more than the other and they are connected they both warp! This changes the relationship between where the barrel and scope are pointing . It's just physics 101! This is a lesson I learned the hard way when I first started trying to get accuracy from my scout!

I got the idea that I would install a 20" Aluminum picatinny rail bolted to the Stripper clip guide block and between the piston rings clamped to the barrel.
I thought as long as the rail followed the barrel it would keep the scope pointed at the same place every time! Sounded good!
I fired 20 rounds and I had a column 12" High where the bullets struck starting a few inches bellow the bulls eye to several inches above going up as the barrel got warmer. 12" at 100 yards. in 20 rounds straight up in a column. Some how I saw that going differently in my mind!

So I decided I would create a slot and let the barrel stretch forward and let the rail follow it. Better but was to finicky if you didn't have just the right pressure it wouldn't move and here comes the column again, to loose and it just got sloppy. Not to mention forget about combat durability. I had applied some blue dye to see how much it moved and the markings showed it stretched 3/16" between the stripper clip guide block and the piston and snapped back every shot.
I had know Idea the barrel was being stretched by the bullet as it traveled down the bore 3/16" and if you restrict this it warps instead.
So We came up with our (Patent Pending) Barrel Control Bearing System which allows the Barrel to Stretch but doesn't allow it to move left, right,
Up, Down. This eliminated the barrel Whipping, warping, rotation, in the Scout, SOCOM but still was hard getting the bearing pressure just right for consistent results on full length barrels. and still there was enough barrel hanging out there to get a little sloppy.

Also we had learned that if you want the barrel to point in the same direction as the scope every time and your using the Stock to Aim the barrel then use the stock to aim the scope as well. This allowed us to design a scope mounting rail out of the same thermally stable materials as the stock eliminating any conflicts from Expansion and Contraction.

Next we Opened up the area around the receiver to allow it to stretch backward, Designed a new Piston locking ring, and Muzzle Break to lock the Action down to the stock at the piston for (SOCOM, Scout Models) or at the Muzzle for full length barrels. And wallah Consistent Accuracy from good Ammo. And consistency in the area of the groups from all ammo. With cheap ammo the grouping got a little better but still not marksmanship grade but it did group in the same area as the good ammo. Unlike before where different ammo would group the same but shifted 3" down and left or up and right etc.
We have eliminated the Barrel, whipping, Warping, Rotation, Harmonics and Expansion and contraction conflicts from the equation!
Now the problem of Hitting the bulls eye every time is a whole lot easier even with a light cheap barrel!!!!!

We didn't stop there we have changed resins and now our stocks can take 600*F working temp so if the stock get's that Hot the barrel is ON Fire!
We added Ballistic Zylon for added strength and Side impact resistance.
We also learned that by moving the point at which the action transfer the recoil to the stock to the front of the stock. Most of the shock from the recoil is absorbed by the stock before it gets to you.
Plus there is a delay in the recoil you get so your not being pushed off target while the bullet is traveling down the bore! Making it easier to shoot accurately and get back on target quicker!

If you want consistent shot placement from your weapon system you can try to find the right combo of ammo, Heavy Barrel, Heavy receiver, Heavy scope mount, High Dollar Scope etc. Keep resighting it as weather conditions change from day to day. Or Switch from the free float barrel to our free float receiver design and save a hell of allot of weight and money!

I didn't have any intention on building stocks when I started this I just wanted more from my scout and couldn't get what I wanted from the others.
The more I tried there Ideas Cry-O treating, Carbon fiber wrapping, Heavy Barrels, SAGE stock, Etc, The more I learned about what not to do!
But all these failures were not in vain. As all inventions they were necessary to process and eliminate all the ways not to build a stock. Or any other weapon platform!

We are building Molds to incorporate this same technology into AR Hand guards for DPMS, ARMALITE, BUSHMASTER, ROCKRIVER receiver for AR15 and AR10 Platforms, as well as Mini 14, and other stocks. We will be adapting our Barrel Control System to nearly every possible platform.
Including Keltech SU16 series ultralights!

Kenneth Hall
VIRON TACTICAL