Anderson upper and lower. Heller Enterprises Tactical, 18" Stainless Steel, EV5 (Polygonal) barrel with 5.56/WYLDE chamber and adjustable gas block. HyperFire EDT2 trigger. Nikon Africa 1-4 scope. (I've got a Nikon 4-12x40 on the way)
Right now I'm shooting off the bench with a target benchrest up front with a BumbleBee bag in the rear. This barrel is brand new, only having 70 rounds run down it. I'm shooting American Eagle .223 right now while waiting for bullets I've ordered from Sierra. Greg Lamb has been working with me from afar, but I believe I need some one-on-one help, if even just for one afternoon. While my primary concern is bench, I know I don't have a clue how to shoot this thing off-hand.
Here's the reason I'm disappointed:
That's a 4.25" group at 100 yds off the setup in the first picture. I'm a bench shooter and not used to groups like that! Greg says it looks like any one of four things he can think might be causing me problems, without actually watching me shoot. First the barrel probably hasn't settled in yet. Second, American Eagles aren't as accurate as my reloads. (I was shooting under 2" groups with my OEM 16" barrel after just 200 rounds through it.) Third, a 4X scope isn't the best for 100 yd work. Forth, my trigger isn't really all that good for target shooting.
So should I just quit fretting and keep shooting to let everything settle in or does something stand out as glaringly incorrect?