Molon
29 June 2015, 16:30
Accuracy Evaluation of a Noveske 14.5” Afghan Upper
https://app.box.com/shared/static/mldp3d4mbvfd26jo6ec8jew3auba7aug.jpg
This is a Noveske assembled upper group based on the 14.5” stainless steel Noveske Afghan barrel. This barrel has a medium contour and a 0.750” diameter gas block journal. The gas block journal for this barrel is designed for Noveske’s low profile gas block and the journal is only one inch in length; standard length gas blocks will not work with this barrel.
The chamber found in this barrel is Noveske’s proprietary Noveske Match mod 0 chamber that “was developed to fire MK262 Mod 1 on AUTO in hot environments." The barrel has a 1:7” twist and polygonal rifling. The barrel extension has “M4” feed-ramps.
This upper comes with a Vltor MUR upper receiver with a forward assist. The barrel is free-floated in Noveske’s version of the SWS railed free-float hand-guard. Since the unwashed masses in my state are not allowed to own an SBR, this unit has an S.E. Vortex flash-hider pinned and welded to the muzzle.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/topjiqmuquh4yj2vj8101wen9at371ac.jpg
https://app.box.com/shared/static/m2wxguy1c1b9fsva4a1atq59r98x9cov.jpg
https://app.box.com/shared/static/76wvo1kpkntkqtcpcwawp9p8yhifl6xv.jpg
I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the Noveske 14.5” Afghan barreled upper from my bench-rest set-up following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any group reduction techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).
The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.
All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The free-float hand-guard of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was attached to the objective-bell of the scope. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/xo4duzdgtp.jpg
https://app.box.com/shared/static/lkg47ptc04.jpg
For this evaluation, I used one of my standard match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings. When fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s, this load has produced ˝ MOA 10-shot groups at 100 yards.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/n5uicctmu8ve7kxmht3zboy2inihdvzq.jpg
Three 10-shot groups fired from the Afghan upper at a distance of 100 yards using the match grade hand-loads had extreme spreads of:
0.993”
0.941”
1.004”
for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 0.98”. I over-layed the three 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.33”.
The smallest 10-shot group . . .
https://app.box.com/shared/static/ix3oburcooui75yeudpa3ozhzyib9umo.jpg
The 30-shot composite group . . .
https://app.box.com/shared/static/f1yjegogvfe5angnqxcb3f144368baqi.jpg
....
https://app.box.com/shared/static/mldp3d4mbvfd26jo6ec8jew3auba7aug.jpg
This is a Noveske assembled upper group based on the 14.5” stainless steel Noveske Afghan barrel. This barrel has a medium contour and a 0.750” diameter gas block journal. The gas block journal for this barrel is designed for Noveske’s low profile gas block and the journal is only one inch in length; standard length gas blocks will not work with this barrel.
The chamber found in this barrel is Noveske’s proprietary Noveske Match mod 0 chamber that “was developed to fire MK262 Mod 1 on AUTO in hot environments." The barrel has a 1:7” twist and polygonal rifling. The barrel extension has “M4” feed-ramps.
This upper comes with a Vltor MUR upper receiver with a forward assist. The barrel is free-floated in Noveske’s version of the SWS railed free-float hand-guard. Since the unwashed masses in my state are not allowed to own an SBR, this unit has an S.E. Vortex flash-hider pinned and welded to the muzzle.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/topjiqmuquh4yj2vj8101wen9at371ac.jpg
https://app.box.com/shared/static/m2wxguy1c1b9fsva4a1atq59r98x9cov.jpg
https://app.box.com/shared/static/76wvo1kpkntkqtcpcwawp9p8yhifl6xv.jpg
I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the Noveske 14.5” Afghan barreled upper from my bench-rest set-up following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any group reduction techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).
The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.
All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The free-float hand-guard of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was attached to the objective-bell of the scope. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/xo4duzdgtp.jpg
https://app.box.com/shared/static/lkg47ptc04.jpg
For this evaluation, I used one of my standard match-grade hand-loads topped with Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings. When fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15s, this load has produced ˝ MOA 10-shot groups at 100 yards.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/n5uicctmu8ve7kxmht3zboy2inihdvzq.jpg
Three 10-shot groups fired from the Afghan upper at a distance of 100 yards using the match grade hand-loads had extreme spreads of:
0.993”
0.941”
1.004”
for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 0.98”. I over-layed the three 10-shot groups on each other using RSI Shooting lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.33”.
The smallest 10-shot group . . .
https://app.box.com/shared/static/ix3oburcooui75yeudpa3ozhzyib9umo.jpg
The 30-shot composite group . . .
https://app.box.com/shared/static/f1yjegogvfe5angnqxcb3f144368baqi.jpg
....