WildRose
Well-Known Member
We should all be responsible and do what we can to be as accurate and precise as possible but we also have reality to deal with.I support the OP's position. For most of my 50 years of hunting I have obsessed with the accuracy and consistency of my hunting and competition rifles....But, consider the stakes to be much higher with my hunting rifles where the clean dispatch of game is at stake. I think Bryan Litz does a nice job when he describes the WEZ(weapon employment zone). This concept is invaluable when assessing you and your rifles capability at a given max distance. I will try to achieve the highest level of basic accuracy/precision possible(<.5MOA) out of any of my rifles. It's probably the easiest aspect to achieve, and the most predictable of the shooting variables. With the current technology and information that's available, why settle for less. At the longer ranges, other factors come into play which are much less predicable, like wind, mirage, shooting position, etc. and the shot may have to be passed on regardless of the rifles precision. At the shorter ranges, like the OP, I'll take the ability to "thread a needle" with the best accuracy possible. IMO.
There are very few sub MOA rifles out there and for those who can only afford factory rifles and ammo that number is infinitesimally small.
The difference between MOA and sub .5MOA is enormous and simply not achievable by more than a very small percentage of shooters and hunters with any equipment.
When you go to full customs, custom ammo, the best optics, etc that many of us are fortunate enough to be able to afford then that sub .5 becomes a lot more possible but in reality you're still talking about a ridiculously small number of rifles/ammo combos that can be found.
Dead is dead, aim small miss small, put it in the vitals and they die. Whether you're six inches or a foot left or right of your aim point, six inches up or down from it, for deer sized game and larger you're still making a killing shot.
For the rest, that's why God made prarie dogs, coyotes, and all the other little varmints and predators we enjoy shooting way the heck out there just because we can.
While we're striving for the best and to represent it well here we need to keep it realistic otherwise all were doing in the end is filling people's heads with expectations they'll never be able to achieve and in the end discouraging them from the sport altogether.