Deer Accuracy

[xsn10s]

I am in Georgia and deer season is starting this weekend. So my coworkers all know I am a gun nut, and several have asked me to take them to the range to get their rifles "truly" zeroed. I guess me talking about guns and shooting made them lose confidence in their equipment. That made me feel bad since I do not want to discourage anyone from shooting.

Sorry, for the long rant. I guess, I am asking will this rifle work for georgia deer hunting? I feel like I did him a disservice, because my expectation was at least 1 MOA.

I think you were just trying to help. You got some trigger time with them. Made some improvements to their rigs. I think you can get them up to snuff in time for their hunts. Food for thought. I have a 30-06 Model 70 that has a pitted barrel I got cheap. It shot 1.5" at 100 yards so I deemed it a 2-300 yard rifle. One day I had paper targets up at 300 yards so I shot a group. Well it still 1.5" but now at 300 yards. I hit small bottles at 450 yards and steel gongs out to 800 yards with it. So have them shoot paper or targets out to distance. That'll test their gear and skills.

 

[Buck1970]

In the early 80's here in ne tx, my dad always put a skoal can at 80-100 yards. If I could take my model 88 Winchester lever action 243 topped with a 4x bushnell, and 100 grain Remington core locks, and put two to three holes in it while leaning over the hood of his truck with his coat rolled up under the Forearm, I was doing dang good in his eyes for a 12 year old. We hunted woods and sometimes pasture edges. 150-200 yard was a long way but I shot numerous deer and coyotes with that gun. Still have it and about 1.5 moa is the best it's ever done.
I'd say the 06 is spot on for the area. Hopefully, your friend will one day want a better shooting rifle as I did, and will strive for the elusive one hole group.

 

[geocodyrgia]

I'm in GA as well (Buford area) and have put down my .270('s), 25-06, and 30-06 for a new model 30-30 (aka 300 blk with Barnes black tips) and an old H&R single shot 45-70. Walking the brush and ridges I'm usually in you're lucky to see 100 yards let alone try to shoot that far. I do still enjoy taking the long guns out to Elberton to stretch their legs a bit.

 

[5.56×250]

I'm in GA as well (Buford area) and have put down my .270('s), 25-06, and 30-06 for a new model 30-30 (aka 300 blk with Barnes black tips) and an old H&R single shot 45-70. Walking the brush and ridges I'm usually in you're lucky to see 100 yards let alone try to shoot that far. I do still enjoy taking the long guns out to Elberton to stretch their legs a bit.

300bk is a great ga deer round, especially in a lightweight, quick pointing AR . I choose the same platform, but went with a little bit different round, 6.5 grendel. The factory ammo I shoot, federal Berger OTM 130s, holds up past 300yds with over 1000ft lbs of energy. I dont feel like there is any situation where I hunt that I dont have enough gun for the job. Shoots lights out too, with sub 1/2 moa accuracy on perfect shooting days. My daughter was out of school yesterday , so I took the opportunity to get out our AR grendels ( that's right, I built her a grendel too) and shoot a little bit. Conditions were not the best, with shifty 10mph winds and alot of mirage. My little AR still shot 5 in under 1 MOA ! Hard to beat the combo for fast accurate work in the ga deer woods. Oh, and my 13 yr old daughter shot hers in a little over moa, plenty of accuracy for what we do.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Success. My coworker got this yesterday. Used the Hornady superformance ammo. Said the buck ran about 50 yards and expired. No idea on the shot. If I were to guess, probably within 100 yards with the type of woods he's hunting.

Now he's taking his wife out with the Grendel I helped build/set up for her. Hope she scores big too.

 

[xsn10s]

View attachment 155553 Success. My coworker got this yesterday. Used the Hornady superformance ammo. Said the buck ran about 50 yards and expired. No idea on the shot. If I were to guess, probably within 100 yards with the type of woods he's hunting.

Now he's taking his wife out with the Grendel I helped build/set up for her. Hope she scores big too.

Wow that's much bigger than the deer I've seen while stationed at Ft Stewart. Congrats!

 

[Orange Dust]

View attachment 155553 Success. My coworker got this yesterday. Used the Hornady superformance ammo. Said the buck ran about 50 yards and expired. No idea on the shot. If I were to guess, probably within 100 yards with the type of woods he's hunting.

Now he's taking his wife out with the Grendel I helped build/set up for her. Hope she scores big too.

Fantastic. Who's more proud, you or him???

 

[milo-2]

View attachment 155553 Success. My coworker got this yesterday. Used the Hornady superformance ammo. Said the buck ran about 50 yards and expired. No idea on the shot. If I were to guess, probably within 100 yards with the type of woods he's hunting.

Now he's taking his wife out with the Grendel I helped build/set up for her. Hope she scores big too.

Good job! Both ends. So many people just want to SHOOT a deer, that they never learn or even care that their platforms most likely are more capable than they imagine. Most of the time it is not remotely their doing either, they've just never been around accuracy driven people.
If your co-worker decides to up his game next yr with some practice and refinement, try some different ammo. It made a real difference in a Tikka 243 I bought for my little buddies this spring. I bought and tested 5 boxes of different big rave ammo that wasn't going to shoot better than 3" @ 100. Yet 2 kinds of Nosler ammo shot sub moa @ 300, plenty good enough for what they need the rifle to do.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Wow that's much bigger than the deer I've seen while stationed at Ft Stewart. Congrats!

The closer you move to the water and further south, deer tend to get smaller. I think it has to do with the weather allowing weaker animals to thrive, and the smaller the animals bodies, the easier the heat management is.

"As the volume of an object decreases, the ratio of its surface area to its volume increases. In other words, the smaller an animal is, the higher the surface area-to-volume ratio."

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Fantastic. Who's more proud, you or him???

Im pretty pumped. I wish it was like an 800 yard shot so it can be more in the spirit of the forum. But you take what you can get.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Good job! Both ends. So many people just want to SHOOT a deer, that they never learn or even care that their platforms most likely are more capable than they imagine. Most of the time it is not remotely their doing either, they've just never been around accuracy driven people.
If your co-worker decides to up his game next yr with some practice and refinement, try some different ammo. It made a real difference in a Tikka 243 I bought for my little buddies this spring. I bought and tested 5 boxes of different big rave ammo that wasn't going to shoot better than 3" @ 100. Yet 2 kinds of Nosler ammo shot sub moa @ 300, plenty good enough for what they need the rifle to do.

Im trying to talk him into different ammo, but he wants to do it after deer season. I'm trying to tell him its not a big deal and we just grab 3 or 4 boxes of other stuff. Shoot, take notes, clean, shoot a different box, repeat. It'll take two hours max. I said we need to at least shoot FGMM to establish some kind of baseline. I guess he's all superstitiuous, thinking we will some how mess up his current set ups accuracy.

 

[milo-2]

Im trying to talk him into different ammo, but he wants to do it after deer season. I'm trying to tell him its not a big deal and we just grab 3 or 4 boxes of other stuff. Shoot, take notes, clean, shoot a different box, repeat. It'll take two hours max. I said we need to at least shoot FGMM to establish some kind of baseline. I guess he's all superstitiuous, thinking we will some how mess up his current set ups accuracy.

Good plan on FGMM. I have to say, I quit loading in the late 80's for 6 yrs because Federal Premium ammo was as good as anything I could make. I tried some this yr in the Tikka, absolute worst of all I tried, ease of availability and price here made it the logical first choice, not happening though. First time Federal ever disappointed me, growing up in ND, and Federal being made in MN, every store that sold ammo had Federal, I grew up on it, lol

 

[5.56×250]

Good deal ! Body wise he looks pretty healthy . What county ?

 

[Deleted member 48126]

Good deal ! Body wise he looks pretty healthy . What county ?

Southern Monroe County