Saint Victor AR10

[DocHolladay]

I purchased this rifle and have had issues with accuracy from the start. I mounted a scope(Nikon Buckmaster) off of a .300Wby rifle that has been accurate from the start on the Weatherby. Once on the Springfield, the groups were terrible. I shot 150gr, 165gr, 168gr, 175gr, 180gr, and finally 185gr ammunition. I tried with the suppressor attached(7-9” group) and without a suppressor and had slightly smaller groups without the can attached(5-7” groups). I finally bought a Vortex Razor LHT and mounted it on the rifle. The groups shrank a little more without the suppressor(1” or less) and opened back up with it. I settled on the 185gr Berger Juggernaught Factory Berger loads, since I got them to produce a 1” group at 100yds.

I let the barrel cool thinking it was heat related after getting good groups with the Berger ammo and placed the can on the rifle. It shot exactly 8” low dead center with the first round, another 1-1½” low on the second shot, and 5-6” lower than the first two on the third shot. I got excited with the 1- 1½” two shot group, for a hunting rifle that will most likely be used under 100yds with an occasional 200yd shot. Then the third shot burst my bubble. All ammo was Federal GMM or Federal Fusion(150 & 180gr), besides the Berger 185gr Ammunition.

The question that all this babbling has brought on is, has anyone else had issues with accuracy out of their Springfield Saint Victor AR10 when using a suppressor?

I have a Rugged Razor 7.62, if that helps.

ETA: The Nikon was mounted in a Warne 20MOA 1” cantilever mount and the Vortex was mounted in a 0MOA Leupold cantilever mount. Everything was torqued to spec according to the scope and mount manufacturer.

 

[xdman]

First thoughts, yes guns can shoot differently with and without a suppressor mounted. My Surefire suppressors come to mind specifically bragging about no to very little shift back and forth.

Second, by changing the scope the groups closed. If I was eliminating things it seems to me something was up with the first scope.

 

[DocHolladay]

First thoughts, yes guns can shoot differently with and without a suppressor mounted. My Surefire suppressors come to mind specifically bragging about no to very little shift back and forth.

Second, by changing the scope the groups closed. If I was eliminating things it seems to me something was up with the first scope.

I haven’t mounted it back on the Weatherby to see if it was the mount or the scope. On all the rifles I have mounted the can to, they all had a different POI, which is usually low, but I knew that going in. The big problem I have is group size. This is the only rifle that doesn’t keep the same size groups or improve on group size. The groups actually opens up when the suppressor is used. I have been shooting the can on a 5.56/.223 AR and a .300Blk SBR with no accuracy issues. I still have to get a couple bolt rifle threaded for the can.

 

[10mmLife]

@KillerFord1977 shoots a suppressed Saint Victor .308 frequently maybe he can provide some input.

 

[KillerFord1977]

I’ve had zero issues with accuracy with my Victor .308.
Getting 1” groups on avg, but I’m just not the best rifle precision shooter either.
I’ve had a thermal on it for 2 yrs and thermals are not precision scopes

As for suppressed, I was able to dial it back in on bullseye once the POI changed with suppressor on.


Sounds like you may have a scope problem.

As for Weatherby .300, I have one also.
Just use that !!! except it recoils a little harder

 

[DocHolladay]

Sounds like you may have a scope

The Berger factory 185gr produced 1” groups with the new scope and no suppressor.

All the Federal ammo produced 4-7” groups with the new scope and the lighter I went in weight(150-165gr), the more the groups opened up.

My issue is wanting to shoot the rifle with a suppressor and having large groups. I can correct the POI shift of the suppressor, but I cannot correct the large groups with factory ammo. Especially when they open up so drastically. If they went from 1” to 3”, I could live with that in a rifle that I will hunt with and 99% of the shots would be 100yds or less; leaning to the less side. It’s not doing that. After the first 2 rounds, it is opening up to 6” or so when it is a 1” gun without the can attached.

Research through the web is very weak on this particular firearm and this forum even has minimal info on this particular firearm from my searches here. I have searched the web(this forum, YouTube, other forums, and articles) and have yet to see anyone else mention accuracy issues with a silencer, other than POI shift.

I would hate to send it back to Springfield and them tell me it is within spec and the issue not be corrected. Everything I have seen, read, and watched on this gun, has been exceptional with or without a silencer attached. I may just contact them and see what they say, after Christmas. If it gets resolved, great. If not, I’ll swap to an after market barrel.

As mentioned above, my other rifles have shot great using the suppressor with only a POI shift. One is a minimal shift due to the stiff 8” barrel, the other is about 3”…ish.

 

[Mzaenger]

I do not have any experience using a can but I know they create a lot more back pressure in the system.
Have you been adjusting the gas block?

 

[DocHolladay]

I do not have any experience using a can but I know they create a lot more back pressure in the system.
Have you been adjusting the gas block?

I tried various “settings” from under gassed, over gassed, to a 3-4 o’clock ejection. I sent it back and Springfield replaced the barrel. It’s been back about 2 weeks. I traveled for work and haven’t had time to shoot it.

 

[Mzaenger]

I tried various “settings” from under gassed, over gassed, to a 3-4 o’clock ejection. I sent it back and Springfield replaced the barrel. It’s been back about 2 weeks. I traveled for work and haven’t had time to shoot it.

Post a report after you test it

 

[ColWade]

I’ve had zero issues with accuracy with my Victor .308.
Getting 1” groups on avg, but I’m just not the best rifle precision shooter either.
I’ve had a thermal on it for 2 yrs and thermals are not precision scopes

As for suppressed, I was able to dial it back in on bullseye once the POI changed with suppressor on.


Sounds like you may have a scope problem.

As for Weatherby .300, I have one also.
Just use that !!! except it recoils a little harder

Do you shoot regularly with the Victor 308? Looking for my next rifle and I can only afford one. Always used a 30-30 Lever action. Do you consider your Victor to be your go-to gun for hunting? At 73, this may be my last hunting rifle. Thanks!

 

[KillerFord1977]

Do you shoot regularly with the Victor 308? Looking for my next rifle and I can only afford one. Always used a 30-30 Lever action. Do you consider your Victor to be your go-to gun for hunting? At 73, this may be my last hunting rifle. Thanks!

For an AR in .308, the Victor is a great rifle.
I’ve taken deer and hogs with it on a regular basis. For deer, i use the super nice dedicated deer polymer tipped rounds from Hornady and have no issues with cycling or dropping the animal.

I either use my Weatherby .270 or my Victor.
I like my Victor, as where I hunt deer, lots of times a pack of hogs step out and I have 10 rounds of .308 on tap. I quit using the 20 rd mags to save weight as on the hogs, by round 5 or 6, the rest of them usually made an escape to the woods.

Put a nice scope on it and you’ll have nonissues. I run a Vortex 1x8 strike eagle on mine

On hogs, I use the Victor hard about 6-10x a month avg. prob about 1200+ rounds thru it. Zero issues, and its been to hell and back