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Posted: 3/29/2026 8:14:54 PM EDT
| Those of you with an AUG and multiple barrels, how much does the zero shift with barrel swaps? |
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UT, USA
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When they were on sale at Steyr, I bought 2 16" 1:9 barrels just to have spares. I went out to function check and group them just out of curiosity. One barrel was almost dead on, maybe 1-2 MOA away from the OEM 16" barrel zero. The other barrel was maybe 6MOA low and right. This is naturally all with the same ammo, same distance, same type of target. I was actually amazed I could swap barrels in 2-3 seconds and hit a notebook-paper sized target at 100 yards unzeroed. |
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Cool. I was hoping they’d be close. I wasn’t expecting dead on from one to another. I was just wanting close with a quick re-zero on paper at 100 with my spotting scope. Originally Posted By ITCHY-FINGER: When they were on sale at Steyr, I bought 2 16" 1:9 barrels just to have spares. I went out to function check and group them just out of curiosity. One barrel was almost dead on, maybe 1-2 MOA away from the OEM 16" barrel zero. The other barrel was maybe 6MOA low and right. This is naturally all with the same ammo, same distance, same type of target. I was actually amazed I could swap barrels in 2-3 seconds and hit a notebook-paper sized target at 100 yards unzeroed. |
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Originally Posted By swOHmatt: Cool. I was hoping they’d be close. I wasn’t expecting dead on from one to another. I was just wanting close with a quick re-zero on paper at 100 with my spotting scope. I posted about in in another thread in this forum and posted a picture. Maybe the cracked stock thread? Anyway I found it remarkable to be within a few MOA with a new barrel. |
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Mine was way off. Like 10” high and left with the new 24” barrel at about 50 yards. The old chrome lined FN barrel shoots much tighter so I decided to bend or perhaps straighten the 24. Put it in a hydraulic press carefully with a bit of angle iron to spread the center more evenly. Double checked my eyeballing and put some pressure on it. Just enough that I could see it bend then a bit more. I padded everything with rags prior and it left no marks. I was worried about the next part because I figure it needs to be relaxed into the “proper” shape. Probably with heat but I don’t know about that so I tapped it gently with a ball peen hammer instead. A few times a day whenever I was close, all around. Finally got to try it off hand Sunday and it’s almost perfect. Hopefully a few heat cycles won’t pull it off target. I’d be interested to see how my barrels shoot in other AUGs. |
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Originally Posted By Karankawa: Mine was way off. Like 10" high and left with the new 24" barrel at about 50 yards. The old chrome lined FN barrel shoots much tighter so I decided to bend or perhaps straighten the 24. Put it in a hydraulic press carefully with a bit of angle iron to spread the center more evenly. Double checked my eyeballing and put some pressure on it. Just enough that I could see it bend then a bit more. I padded everything with rags prior and it left no marks. I was worried about the next part because I figure it needs to be relaxed into the "proper" shape. Probably with heat but I don't know about that so I tapped it gently with a ball peen hammer instead. A few times a day whenever I was close, all around. Finally got to try it off hand Sunday and it's almost perfect. Hopefully a few heat cycles won't pull it off target. I'd be interested to see how my barrels shoot in other AUGs. You put a CHF barrel in a hydraulic press to put a bend in it?  Were you trying to move the POI or get smaller groups? |
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Originally Posted By mcantu: You put a CHF barrel in a hydraulic press to put a bend in it? Were you trying to move the POI or get smaller groups? Im guessing but it sounds like he was trying to get the same POA=POI with the new 24" barrel as his original 16" without zeroing his optic to each barrel. I think a 24" SHOULD have a different POI from a 16" with the weight, balance, and especially velocity difference. It sounds insane but Im always open to learning something new. |
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Originally Posted By swOHmatt: Those of you with an AUG and multiple barrels, how much does the zero shift with barrel swaps? See my old thread here: https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/AUG-Barrel-Comparison---1-9-Austrian-20-vs-1-7-FN-16/43-522944/? |
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