Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
A sporter barreled light weight rifle can be made to shoot as well as a heavy barreled rifle. In my experience its more work to find the tune, but when you do they will shoot small just like a heavy barrel.
True, consistent .25 MOA is more of a challenge than given credit for. Too many people take the 1 out 25 groups shot and say I have a .25 MOA rifle. Consistentency is not the one best group that cannot be repeated routinely.Not 1:1000 rifles manufactured today is capable of .25 MOA no matter how much work you put into load development.
Absolutely.... what he said!^^^^^There's a lot more 1/2 MOA rifles in the world than there are 1/2 MOA shooters...that's where the "good enough" statements come from...
You got it rightyou gun must be close to perfect so you can aim for a spot and know if you miss it is you.I have shot at least 100 coyotes between the eyes at night at 200 to 250yds.if the gun was not a .25 or better that would not happen,and you would wonder why did i miss then you would second guess yourself and probably miss more.I don't post on this site very often but I do however read a lot of posts. The one phrase that I just can't seem to get past is, "0.5 MOA is good enough for a hunting rifle." I have to wonder where exactly does this thought process come from? I don't know about you guys but when I shoot an animal I want to hit the left ventricle every time. It doesn't really matter whether it's the buck of a lifetime or just a doe for meat. I have great respect for all of the furry critters in the woods and want them to die quickly and as painlessly as possible. A paper target will never get up and run away wounded. Every rifle I own is a 0.25 MOA or better or it goes down the road. I target shoot with the same exact rifles that I hunt with and I hunt with the same exact loads that I target shoot with. Who wants to take a 1000 yard shot at the animal of a lifetime with a 0.5 MOA rifle? I know I sure wouldn't and maybe in a lot of areas you don't get the chance to take a shot that far away but if I ever do I **** sure want to rifle that can connect. I guess my point is that I spend just as much if not more time developing loads for my hunting rifles as I do for a gun that may only get shot at the range for the most part. I see absolutely no reason why every single rifle of decent quality should not be able to shoot 0.25 MOA if you put the time and effort into it.
I think you are falling into the trap of assuming your situation fits everyone else. What I have experienced is most people who hunt (probably more than 95%) are hunting at ranges of 200 yards or less. Now it is also considered that the kill zone is an 8" paper plate for big game. If you have your 1.5 MOA rifle you mention, then 8" of kill zone mean you can still hit that from about 500 yards, which is 300 yards more than these guys will shoot. You are on a long range forum so we assume long distance and most of us desire the same clean kill you mention so we expect a good shooting rifle and are willing to practice to be able to take advantage of that. So you and I not only desire that kind of accuracy but need it too. The majority of hunters though, do fall into the "thats good enough for a hunting rifle" category.I don't post on this site very often but I do however read a lot of posts. The one phrase that I just can't seem to get past is (that's good enough for a hunting rifle). Al
That simply isn't possible in much of the country especially for guys that have to travel to a hunting destination where they'll only have a few days to fill an out of state tag.Think about this..Is range time really as helpful as "Woods" time?
Learn where you hunt.. Learn what your deer do in different moon phases..Weather conditions..Food sources..Water..Escape routes ..Then those 350 yard shots become
70 yard shots and you pack meat home..Just saying...