I decided to see how accurate of a rifle I could build on the cheap. I bought a Thompson Center Compass (6.5 Creedmoor) at Cabela's the other day for $250, bought an older Bushnell 3200 4x12x40 at a pawn shop for $150, paid $12 for 1" Weaver quad lock rings at Walmart, ordered a M70 trigger spring for $9 and bought a muzzle brake off of amazon for $20. So I am into this rifle for $441. I put it on paper a couple weeks ago without the muzzle brake. I installed the muzzle brake and today I took it to the range with a box of factory Hornady 143gr. Eld-X and fired 10 rounds. The first 5 shot group was .74" (CTC) and my second 5 shot group was .524" (CTC) both at 100 yards. I quit while I was ahead.
So here's my new formula... Total Cost of Rifle (everything attached) x size of group = VPI (value per inch, low number wins). So applying this formula to this rifle it's $441 x .524= 231. The VPI is 231. Had I paid $1000 my VPI would be 524. So a $1000 rifle would have to shoot a .231" group to be of the same value as my $441 rifle, which in a 6.5 Creedmoor would be an impossibility as the diameter of the bullet is .256
EDIT: As No Regerts pointed out below, a 6.5mm bullet is actually .264" not .256" making my second group .516", bringing the VPI down to 228.
Needless to say, I am impressed with this TC Compass! I look forward to stretching it out in the future.
So here's my new formula... Total Cost of Rifle (everything attached) x size of group = VPI (value per inch, low number wins). So applying this formula to this rifle it's $441 x .524= 231. The VPI is 231. Had I paid $1000 my VPI would be 524. So a $1000 rifle would have to shoot a .231" group to be of the same value as my $441 rifle, which in a 6.5 Creedmoor would be an impossibility as the diameter of the bullet is .256
EDIT: As No Regerts pointed out below, a 6.5mm bullet is actually .264" not .256" making my second group .516", bringing the VPI down to 228.
Needless to say, I am impressed with this TC Compass! I look forward to stretching it out in the future.
Last Edited: