Rifle accuracy

[Sika]

.5 MOA
I like the confidence I gain from knowing the rifle will shoot 1.5" groups at 300 yards.

[BarW]

When I was younger 3 shots in a skoal can at 100 was good.
Now I tend to "tune" my guns to the max same as my bow.
I mostly blame my OCD friend who decided to start re-loading.
I rarely shoot any animal further than 120 yards. no more than 6 animals killed past 250 in my life and none past 300.

[Drycreek3189]

The buffalo must have all died from diseases, Lord knows them old Sharps 50s wouldn't shoot .5 MOA

[txhunter90]

.5" or better

Usually not going to be that sturdy hunting. So having the most accurate rifle is key so even if you are off you will sti

[txlongshot]

Between .75 and .50 MOA or I sell the gun

[JasonS]

Ive been to the gun range a fair bit, and many many people are not 1" consistently or even 1.5" consistently (at 100yrds), especially with factory ammo. Im not saying <1" @ 100 cannot be done, but its not common a, high standard. Ive got two rifles that will repeatedly 5 shot under an 1", a few that 3 shot 1" repeatedly, these are factory ammo, and it took a few diff boxes to get it. Simply saying 0.5-0.75 is hard, requires skill and way more than needed to shoot/kill most deer.

Kill zone on a deer is 8-10" easy, 2"groups At 100 are fine, from a killing point. there are many write ups on targeting a gun for 3" max rise/fall for optimum killing range. Not everyone needs MOA or less to be an efficient deer killer. The distance of the shot seems an important variable to be considered when looking at group sizes. Shooting skill would also seem to be most important, repeatedly being able to controlling breathing, and aim, and shooting 2" groups would be fine.
Nothing wrong with striving for greatness, aim small/miss small. But have we come to a point in technology, where so many off shelf guns are accurate that we set the bar higer?
Im 34, but remember when 1" @ 100 was great, and aftermarket builds, reloads where were you shot under.

[JasonS]

if any of yall want to give away those worthless <1" at 100yrd guns let me know.

I do hunt East Texas, so everything under 100yrds.

[Pstraw]

Sighting in I want 1" or less @ 100 yds. off of a rest. In a hunting situation if I happen to have a bad shot it will be on me, not my rifle.

[cva34]

Most people I know can,t shoot a 1"with a gun thats capable of 5 in same hole..

[Artos]

“Only accurate rifles are interesting,” Col. Townsend Whelen


I won't keep a gun I plan to use / hunt with unless it meets accuracy requirements I expect for the particular firearm. When I first started reloading & then got into the short benchrest game some 25+ years ago, I used to chase that lest tenth of an inch in all my long guns but don't sweat it that much anymore. I'll be making that decision on a late 40's pre-64 swift over the next few weeks. If it was 100% all original, it would be considered one for the collection & accuracy concerns don't mean much for safe queen / investment guns to me.

So much goes into sub moa guns & many good guns people own will likely do better simply getting a better scope that will remove the parallax...the critters won't be able to tell the difference but fixed parallax'd scopes can have quite a bit of movement on paper & bragging rights.

[Shane]

if any of yall want to give away those worthless <1" at 100yrd guns let me know.

I do hunt East Texas, so everything under 100yrds.

It really isn't an issue when you can't see much farther than the end of your gun barrel. But if you hunt West Texas or other areas where long shots aren't just possible but sometimes are all you get, accuracy matters.

I shot this mule deer at 400 yards up in the Panhandle. I was sitting on top of the canyon rim you can see between the buck's antlers in the picture when I shot. Being off by 1 MOA at that distance could have easily meant a miss or, worse, a gut shot.

[xman59]

depends on the person, the gun and the ammo,,, factory ammo in anything that's under 1" at 100 yards is good....

but i hand load and have been doing so for over 36 years,,, my hand loads for .30 an larger must do less than 1/2" at 100 all the time, or i keep looming for the load that will.

went on my first prairie dog hunt last year,,, a 1/2 " group with them is not acceptable ( 223 and 204), it must be better, much better, i did not have time to load for the 204 but found the hornady factory load 32 gr bullet capable of .25" at 100,,, real good for factory ammo

the .223 hand loads were doing slightly better,, not bad for a light barreled Mossburg mpv with factory trigger and untouched stock.....

best group i ever got was from a stock ruger mk2 in 308,, .038,,, i like to have never got that group measured,,, my sgt was at the range with me that day doing the spotting,,, after it was done he told me i had just put 3 bullets in the exact same hole,, i thought he was pulling my leg until he shot it and turned in a snug little clover leaf himself with it

[DuramaxDude]

What do you consider acceptable to hunt with? I see people saying that they used "x" brand of bullet and it shot 1.5" group but they are not happy. Just wondering what y'alls opinions are.

Thanks

In the past few years I have gotten more and more into the long range hunting deal with my rifles. I find the most accurate loads and do full bedding jobs on my rifles etc.... I want mine at 1/2 MOA or under. That is a little much for the average Joe who hunts out of a box blind and his only shots are 100yds to a deer feeder. I would think this "avg Joe" would be ok with anything under 2" at 100 yds.

[JasonS]

Where is pic?

I added where I hunt, because I know that it makes me biased since I have no hunting experience with shots >100yrd, actually probable 80ish. Gotta love the deep woods.

[JasonS]

Shane, the country look beautiful. Seems crazy glassing for deer, compared to what Im used to. My brother and I went to Lake Merideth hunting before. He is way better at glassing than I am. I was nervous about 300yrds.
I can see the importance of good groupings at longer ranges, I hope to acquire the skill to do it one day;