I just started loading some match ammo for my 5.56mm. I am new to this caliber and looking for some pointers.
I weighed all my cases to plus or minus 5 grains

I weighed all my tips to plus or minus 2 grains.

Is this too tight or not tight enough?
txs

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Never teach a pig to sing.
It wastes your time and annoys the pig

EL exactly what bullet are you matching to what rifle/barrel/barrel twist ?

Thats a much more important 1st question then what you are asking, especially in 5.56mm. Fill us in on your rig first ?..........good shooting....10

I am shooting a Rock River A2 with a 16"bbl and a 1 in 9 twist. This is one of the Mil Spec versions, not their match version.

I ordered a bunch of IMI 55gr fmjbt from Widners. I recognize that this is not match grade, so I have been weighing each tip, accepting 55gr plus or minus .1grain (54.9-55.1) I have found that only about 15% of the tips pass this spec.

I am going to load 24.1gr of WC844 which worked out to be the best accuracy round for my rifle.

The match I am loading for is a different one than I have ever shot. Range: 100yds, 10 shots in 70 seconds including one mag change.

If you could suggest a better tip, I would appreciate it.
Thank you for your reply.
EV

E.V.
Just about any bullet will shoot better than those FMJs. But, how much are you willing to spend? You should be able to pick up something like Hornady SX or Sierra Blitz for under $10/100 or even better, Sierra BlitzKings, Nosler Ballistic Tips or Hornady or Sierra Match bullets for under $14/100. The match bullets should shoot the best.
I think with some good bullets and the powder you are using, you should be able to get groups half the size you are getting with the FMJs. FMJs are great because they are cheap, thats all.

Thanks for the reply. I don't mind spending some money for match tips, I am not going to go through through a lot of them, just at the club match each month.

What grain weight? I am using 55gr because I bought a bulk back, should I use a heaver bullet?
txs

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Never teach a pig to sing.
It wastes your time and annoys the pig

EV, I wouldn't bother going to anything heavier for 100 yds. Not enough wind at that range to concern yourself with the differences. I'd shoot whatever shot best. At that range, probably a flat-base match bullet. Although you may not be able to tell the difference offhand or prone (especially in rapids)between that and something thats 30% less accurate.
You might even try a 40gr and see if you get noticably less recoil. Probably won't make enough difference to notice. Mainly, have Fun!

Quite possibly, the two most accurate bullets I have ever fired from my AR are the 52 grain MatchKing, and the 60 grain VMAX. I have tried both bullets with Varget, and with Data Powder 2200. Both are tack drivers from my rifle.

For 100 yards, I have used a variety of bullets, including some of the same Widener's bulk bullets. All of them were accurate in my rifle, which I freely admit is a Frankengun. I use an Oly Arms lower, and an Armalite A4 20" upper, 1x9, heavy barrel. Something else that might help you is the Accu-Wedge. Clamp one of those in your lower to eliminate all free play. Also, for match use, I haven't seen a trigger better than the Jewell adjustable. It's sweet!!

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Happiness is a 200 yard bughole.

Well, I shot the club match today and something odd happened. We were shooting at 50 yards because the 100 range was not available. We had a 10 o'clock wind at about 30 knots.

I had carefully weighed out all of my tips (IMI fmjbt) to 54.9-55.1 gr. I also weighed the cases to get matching weights. I used the load that I determined to be the most accurate at an indoor range, 24.0 gr WC844.

Well, the so called accuracy rounds were vertically stringing, and the combat rounds were printing tighter groups. This latter round was 25gr of WC844 but the bullets vary in weight by plus or minus .08 grains and the brass was mixed weight GI pulldown.

Anybody have any ideas?

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Never teach a pig to sing.
It wastes your time and annoys the pig

Sorry, that last post on tip variance should have been: .8 grains.

I think you are experiencing what might be called "statistical variation about the mean". Translated: your sample size is too small to draw any firm conclusions. It's just an aberration. There's more to the accuracy of those bullets than just weight. Jacket concentricity, how well the core was seated, etc. Supposedly the greatest determinate of bullet accuracy is the base. The bases of FMJs are not uniform.