hunting rifle accuracy

[Louisiana Reloader]

Rule #1 know your weapon and its shooting ranges #2 know your ammo and the effects of weather heat and cold the enviroment will have on it. rule #3 know your range not with just a range finder but with your own judgement train yourself you can get good at this. rule #4 know the area where your going to hunt visit it in off season watch how the heat rises and drops thru the day which can create wind swirls in low gullies that create down drafts that move your sent around. the more you know of where you hunt the better the hunt. rule #5 where there is water there is life know where all water sources are not just for the game but also for you. Rule #6 Always say a prayer for you and your hunting party to be safe to and from a great day of hunting......

Well said my friend!

 

[Rcritch]

See how you're favorite rig shoots when you've gotten a buck to stop 5 yards from stepping into the thicket and you have 3 to 5 seconds to shoot. Most hunters here don't care if the rifle will shoot half inch groups. Can I put a bullet in its chest at 200 yards and in in that time frame. Doesn't matter if you can ring steel at a 1000 yards. Most time of flight is over one second at that distance! How far can a animal move in a second? That being said, yes you should have the best shooting rifle you can afford and practice, practice, practice. Myself and friend shoot little basking turtles that come up for air on Talladega creek in the summer on his property using CZ453 .22s. You learn to be quick but to stop and squeeze the trigger or you miss. Missing causes some small amounts of ridicule among the shooters. today is the last day of Alabama deer season, and I'm grumpy ! Guess it shows by this response. One last hunt this evening until next October.

Well said and have a safe, enjoyable final evening's hunt.

 

[5280Reloader]

I strive for sub 1" at 100 yards

 

[memtb]

1/2 moa for 8+ lb gun
3/4 for 7.5 lb
1" 7 lb
1.25" for under 7 lb

These weights are for a rifle, scope , sling, and fully loaded magazine or clip.

Do ft/lbs for each rifle weight come into the equation? Example : 8 lb rifle "all up" with 30 ft/lbs felt recoil equals "x" size group or less! How about 40 ft/lbs with 9 lb rifle?

I know that we're not supposed to be affected by felt recoil…..but, should it or should it not play into the expected group size!

Give me a break…..attempting to justify my poor shooting! memtb

 

[freefloater59]

3/4" 3 shot group, cold barrel, set 2" high at 100 yds. Doesn't matter if it's my 264 Win Mag, 243, 22-250, 300 Mag, 338, etc..., keep them all the same so I don't have to think twice to take the shot. 95% of the time the shot will be off-hand or maybe a quick lean against a tree. You get only one first shot.

 

[Tech4]

3/4" 3 shot group, cold barrel, set 2" high at 100 yds. Doesn't matter if it's my 264 Win Mag, 243, 22-250, 300 Mag, 338, etc..., keep them all the same so I don't have to think twice to take the shot. 95% of the time the shot will be off-hand or maybe a quick lean against a tree. You get only one first shot.

I agree with that if most of your shots are 100y or longer but if you have close shots say 10y. 2" high will put you about 5" high at 10y. That is what I found testing on targets my range. Now I 0 at 100y and adjust as needed for long shots.

 

[Creedmoorcarl]

What would most of you consider acceptable for accuracy in a real world 6-7 pound 8-9 pound magnum hunting rifle? I am talking from a bench with rest, bipod, sand bags what have you but as steady as you can get it. What would you want your rifle to do to hunt western big game. out to 800 yards or so.

15 shots in a 1" circle at 100 yds
15 shots in a 6" circle at 600 yds
You'll be ok

 

[memtb]

3/4" 3 shot group, cold barrel, set 2" high at 100 yds. Doesn't matter if it's my 264 Win Mag, 243, 22-250, 300 Mag, 338, etc..., keep them all the same so I don't have to think twice to take the shot. 95% of the time the shot will be off-hand or maybe a quick lean against a tree. You get only one first shot.

Very similar for me, only it's a whisper above 3"" @ 100, 300 yard zero ….and only one rifle! Having (hunting with) only one rifle really simplifies things! memtb

 

[memtb]

I agree with that if most of your shots are 100y or longer but if you have close shots say 10y. 2" high will put you about 5" high at 10y. That is what I found testing on targets my range. Now I 0 at 100y and adjust as needed for long shots.

Wow, I need to re evaluate my zero (approx 3 1/4" high at 100 for a 300 yard zero) method again. I've head-shot quite a few grouse at ranges from around 5 o 10 yards or so, holding about 1 1/2" inches below where I want the bullet to go……..have had a few good grouse meals when hunting! memtb

 

[62flint]

well spent my day shooting and load development. I have 2 seating depths that are printing under 2 inches at 600 yards. I think this rifle will be ok,
Now just need to get off the bench and practice.

 

[CNY Yote Hunter]

I didn't read through all the comments so this may have been said already but…. For most my hunting rifles I don't really shoot for groups. I do however setup a target at 100, 200, 300 yards etc out to whatever distance I think is reasonable for my ability. I shoot 1 shot at 100, if it's not on the bullseye I screwed up. Let the rifle sit for a bit, shoot 1 round at 200, samething if it's not on the bullseye I screwed up. Let the rifle sit….. idea that I tend to stick with for hunting is the first shot is the only shot that counts so it needs to be right. A rifle that shoots .5, may shoot that .5 left or right on a cold bore shot but knowing that and being able to account for that means more than where the next 4 group. Just the way I look at it and my opinion, if you can take 5 shots at something you are too far away because it didn't get hit the first time lol!!! That being said I still have to take another poke or 2 at coyotes every now and again!

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Would you rather have a 100 shot 1 moa rifle or a 3 shot 1/4 moa rifle?

Hunting zombies or game for the freezer?

A zombie says &@ I've been shot and lays down quietly…an animal says (&);$@ that hurt and runs out the pain…

Personally…f:$& the zombies

 

[horsefor4]

I will bet more of us have 1moa guns then you think every group you shoot isn't half moa

 

[Shane Lindsey]

A lot of the discussion is interesting, but may not be helpful. I would recommend the questioner listen to the recent Hornady podcasts regarding actual, statistically proven, rifle accuracy, versus the accuracy we riflemen claim we have out of our rifles (episodes 50 and 52). The ultimate reloader podcast with Bryan Litz is similar, but less detailed. Getting a 0.5MOA best group in ideal conditions off the bench is possible when the precision of the rifle in fact is in fact significantly greater than that. But is that really the issue? And are you a shooter or a hunter? There are many folks who practice frequently, know their rifle, and are capable of very precise shooting at long distances. If they are hunting, they are also most likely carting around a lot of equipment, including an accurate Kestrel to aid their shooting capabilities.
A much more important question, assuming you have a rifle that is actually capable of shooting true MOA or better groups, is are you capable of shooting those types of groups in actual field conditions at the distance you have listed? I would say, and this is no afront to you, is that you will not be capable of reliably hitting an 8inch target at 800 yds in field conditions. Unless you have access to a shooting range for long distance shooting, will be practicing regularly, and expend hundreds of rounds practicing prone, sitting, shooting off trees, shooting on irregular ground, and regularly shooting in 15-20 mile an hour wind, you are not going to be able to consistently hit an animal, even a large animal like an elk at 800 yards. You can go to the Barbour Shooting School for a few days, shoot in an enclosed room, use a suppressed, smaller caliber rifle, get good instruction, shoot comfortably sitting off of a bench and hit a steel target at 800 yds. That is not western hunting. That would be like saying because I can comfortably drive a nice stable car down the interstate at 100 miles an hour in the open west, therefore I am ready for a Nascar slot.
Are you going to be able to hit an elk at 800 yds when you are lying on rocks in the snow, the wind, as it usually is, blowing 15 MPH or higher, and gusting, your hands are cold, there is a canyon between you and the elk? Do you know how much elapsed time it takes for the bullet to traverse the distance between you and your prey?
I live and ranch in New Mexico, and have shot lots of elk in my lifetime (70 years), here and other areas in the west. My children hunt, and between us we have lots of elk harvested. I have also guided elk hunters. I can't think of an elk we (family) have had to shoot over 300 yards. Could we have attempted shots greater than that distance? Yes. Did we need to shoot farther than that? No. I realize, that at times the hunt is winding down, you have a chance at a long shot, and it is either now or never. For most hunters, the answer should probably be never. I reload out of my garage, walk out to a bench 30 yards from my house, and can practice on targets, reload, and shoot some more. Or walk another 200 yards and begin shooting out to 600 yards or more. I love accurate and precise rifles, but extreme input rifles are not usually what makes for a succesful hunt. A few years ago my brother and I were hunting and got elk with him shooting a pre-64 Winchester lever action 308, and me a pre-64 bolt action Winchester 308 (built in 1953, 1 year after my birth). The shots were not from long range, but not in an easy situation to shoot from, and accomplished because we had acceptable hunting rifles, good hunting skills, and were capable of shooting in actual hunting conditions.
This has been too long, but I hope you can find a decent rifle, get familiar with it, and get an opportunity to come out west to hunt. There is not much more exciting than elk hunting. But I believe you would be a lot more productive if you would spend your time practicing shooting with a rifle you really know, and forget about trying to shoot at what is for most people an unrealistic, or even an unlikely distance. Good luck!

Hornady QC alone eliminates them from even discussing anything accuracy. Check the hippie, man bun response from them in this…Post 103/113.

Problem with new factory 7prc ammo

Unfortunately, never an easy button for precision brother... Precision was going to come by loading my own. Easy button was to get out and shoot then use the brass for load development. Need to get used to the XP before I try finding a load.

www.longrangehunting.com

Grab a few pills and your gauges. See how uniform their pills are from the same box.