BuzzKillin 21 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) I was on the range today with a buddy, both of us somewhat experienced shooters. Everything was going ok, low wind, shooting at 100 yards, and we were hitting pretty good. About 2-4 MOA and pretty consistently shooting at a reactive, one spotter, one shooter. I changed mags and lined up and fired, and he called out "off target". Shot again, "off target". I tightened up a bit, really paid attention, and fire... "off target". I continued missing the target for the rest of the magazine. Then his turn, "off target" through the whole mag. We took a break, came back, and again two mags when down range and we weren't even hitting the black. Then I realized that my UTG quad-rail had come loose. In fairness, I know I had not tightened it more than finger tight last time I cleaned the weapon, so it wasn't the rail's fault that it came loose (for anyone considering purchasing it). I tightened it down and to my surprise we were back on target again... Now the question.. I have no idea how a loose handguard could affect accuracy, especially that much, but I'd be curious to know if it is just common knowledge that it does, OR if I should be looking at another part of the weapon. I should add that we were shooting from a bench, using silver bear, and that the barrel was definitely getting hot (hot day) even though we weren't shooting rapid fire. As always, your input is much appreciated. Edited August 10, 2009 by BuzzKillin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vbrtrmn 167 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Not really that surprising to me ... if your hand guard was loose, it could effect your shooting considerably, since you wouldn't actually have a good grip on the rifle. I'd recommend using some blue Loctite on the screw, don't use the red, unless you want to never take it off again. Silver Bear ammo shouldn't have any issues aside from being a bit dirty, the AK platform will eat up pretty much anything, of course Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuzzKillin 21 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Not really that surprising to me ... if your hand guard was loose, it could effect your shooting considerably, since you wouldn't actually have a good grip on the rifle. I'd recommend using some blue Loctite on the screw, don't use the red, unless you want to never take it off again. Silver Bear ammo shouldn't have any issues aside from being a bit dirty, the AK platform will eat up pretty much anything, of course Thanks for the reply. If I just tighten the screws properly, I know they won't come loose. You need to take the UTG quad rail off to clean the gas tube, so I can't lock them down permanently. Shouldn't be an issue in the future. I was just mostly curious to know if it could affect accuracy, even though we were shooting from a chair and using a block as a support. It was just strange. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1key 7 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I have never had a problem with red locktite on screws and metal fasteners. When you need to loosen, just hit it for a few seconds with a propane torch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JonTheSavage 0 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Use some locktite, thats what I had to do to mine. Don't use the red, or you will have to drill the screw off. Its not a problem with the gun, but a design flaw with using a certain thread of screw. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vbrtrmn 167 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the reply. If I just tighten the screws properly, I know they won't come loose. You need to take the UTG quad rail off to clean the gas tube, so I can't lock them down permanently. Shouldn't be an issue in the future. I was just mostly curious to know if it could affect accuracy, even though we were shooting from a chair and using a block as a support. It was just strange. Since you essentially didn't have a good grip on the gun, your accuracy is going to be thrown off considerably. When the cartridge goes off, I'm sure the rifle was able to shake front to back if not side by side. Just for an experiment, unscrew the quad rail and shoot it, I'd be surprised if you didn't see the same bad results. Think of it like taking a picture with a camera which is loosely screwed to a tripod, when you press the button down, the picture is going to be askew, because the camera will move around. I recommended loctite, so the screw won't move at all. Edited August 10, 2009 by vbrtrmn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BuzzKillin 21 Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Thanks for the reply. If I just tighten the screws properly, I know they won't come loose. You need to take the UTG quad rail off to clean the gas tube, so I can't lock them down permanently. Shouldn't be an issue in the future. I was just mostly curious to know if it could affect accuracy, even though we were shooting from a chair and using a block as a support. It was just strange. Since you essentially didn't have a good grip on the gun, your accuracy is going to be thrown off considerably. When the cartridge goes off, I'm sure the rifle was able to shake front to back if not side by side. Just for an experiment, unscrew the quad rail and shoot it, I'd be surprised if you didn't see the same bad results. Think of it like taking a picture with a camera which is loosely screwed to a tripod, when you press the button down, the picture is going to be askew, because the camera will move around. I recommended loctite, so the screw won't move at all. Sounds like a good plan. I should be getting my final conversion parts this week and hopefully completing by the weekend, so I was planning on needing to do a little zeroing anyway. I'll report the results. Thanks again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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