hunting rifle accuracy

[lancetkenyon]

A rifle that shoots 1 MOA…. will keep all bullets within 4" of POA at 800. That's not enough to miss antelope vitals… let alone "miss the antelope entirely"

If your hunting rifle shoots better from the bench, than it does in the field….. then you need to spend less time at a bench, and more time in the fifield.

Your math is way off.

 

[Damage Inc.]

Draw an 8" circle….. now find the center…. Everything inside the circle is within 4" of the center.

I can send some crayons if needed….

 

[BlazerBeam]

Draw an 8" circle….. now find the center…. Everything inside the circle is within 4" of the center.

I can send some crayons if needed….

I was confused at first too then I notice "POA"

 

[Maol]

Maol, a great plan, but haven't you heard…..there's a component shortage! And for some of us…..a "liquid cash" shortage! memtb

At a dollar per and at a projo per day it is only $365.00. Cheaper than greens fees and golf balls.

If you don't have range out back the gas prices might be way more brother...

 

[Joe-boy]

Your math is way off.

Please elaborate?

1 MOA at 100 yards is roughly 1 inch. 1 MOA at 800 yards is 8 inches. If a rifle/shooter/ammo is consistently 1 MOA and properly zeroed, it remains within 8 inch circle, meaning the hit is within 4 inches from the center.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Draw an 8" circle….. now find the center…. Everything inside the circle is within 4" of the center.

I can send some crayons if needed….

You are correct. My fault. I missed "POA". Please send Crayons.

 

[Damage Inc.]

That was kind of my point Lance.

Funny how " 8" groups at 800"…. sounds so different from "all shots missing POA by 4" or less at 800". Even though they're the same thing.

Crayons Sent.

 

[Mike Matteson]

Groups can change at different yardages. Just because you have 1/2 MOA doesn't mean you are going have a 4" at 800yds. Some bullets don't fly the same at greater distances. So you really need to shoot those distances to be sure of what you got.

 

[archeratlrg]

I think most rifles are more accurate than the human attached. I have only seen a couple of rifles ever that would not shoot less than 1" at 100. I personally will not keep a rifle that does not shoot sub 1/2" at 100 yards. Quite honestly, 1/2" groups look pretty ugly when you have a couple really good shooting rifles.

I fully agree.like I mentioned earlier, if I see a good bull peeking around a tree at me a couple hundred yards away I want to be able to poke his eye out. Can't do that with a 1 moa rifle.

 

[JASmith]

First depends on what you mean by accuracy. Is it the best 3 shot group, or on average 5 shot group, or the diameter of the target you know you hit with first shot at 99% probability when you take the gun out of safe and go shoot it?

The Internet is full of guns that shoot 0.3 MOA all day but those are rare on the range and when hunting, accuracy is more important than precision. If you've got a rifle you know reliably hits a 1 MOA target with the first shot you're in good position and improving the rifle's mechanical accuracy is not bringing much benefit in hitting the target at long distances where the majority of the error is caused by the muzzle velocity variance, error in range and wind estimation and other external factors.

Not saying I'd be happy with a 1 MOA 3 shot grouping rifle neither, but instead of trying to achieve super tight groups try to minimize the distance of the worst shot from the aiming point. And remember, a 1 MOA rifle can reliably hit a 8 inch target at 800 yards. That is a lot harder than shooting tight groups. Humane kill at long ranges is more dependent on the location of the group than the group size as long as the rifle is adequately accurate which I'd say anything that reliably has a hit rate of >95% at a 1 MOA target is.

edit: corrected the accuracy <=> precision; not the first time I use them incorrectly but hopefully the last. Thank you for correction @Lionel Boyd Johnson

You're on the mark!

All you need is that 99% of hitting the vital zone.

But one will need to take multiple trips to the range in a variety of weather conditions to be sure the zero really centers on the vital zone.

 

[hankle]

I do most of my load development at 200yds, and 3/4 MOA is my cut off for an interesting rifle. I really want cold bore shots in 1" at 200yds. That is my wish list and that isn't so easy in the real world.

My son has a 7mm-08 Ruger American that is 1.25 moa with an 18" barrel. I don't hesitate on 300yds shots with that gun. When you get pas 400yds, you better have your ducks in a row.

You should definitely train well past your max hunting distance and vet your skills and equipment. Focus on those cold bore shots!