10 shot group

TaperPin

WKR
Joined
Jul 12, 2023
Messages
1,731
The problem is a half moa gun is very much the exception.

At last weeks 1000 yard championship match at deep creek MT. 37 competitors in heavy gun fired 2 -10 shot groups each, so 74 different 10 shot groups. There were 2 that hit right at .5 moa, all others were larger. These are pure target guns built and tuned solely for 1000 yard group and score shooting. They are heavy and use cartridges based on the 6mm BR, recoil is very minimal. The shooters competing there are some of the best there are at that discipline.
Most rifles are not half moa.
You are right, I agree most rifles aren’t 1/2MOA. And there is a big difference between a 1/2 MOA rifle at 200 yards and group size at 1,000. At 200, or even 100 yards it’s a measure of the rifle’s inherent accuracy. At 1000 yards group size is a measure of the shooters ability to read wind and mirage. You bring up a good point though. These guys are starting out with 1/8 or 1/4 MOA rifles and lucky if the group is 1/2 MOA way out there.

It makes sense to adjust how we refer to rifle accuracy. In the old days 500 yards was a long way, but the shooting community as a whole is more competent and literate about long range.

Personally, its what a rifle can do at 100 or 200 on a calm day, resting on a solid set of bags and only one cup of coffee behind a crisp 2 lb. trigger. No arguments the night before with the spouse about 6.5 vs 270 win, or what proper scope eye relief should be, or hunting vs a beach in Mexico. No big mega 30 cal with muzzle brake next to ya trying to reenact a spagetti western ambush scene. . . . or the goof that just blew up his AR with a new reload.

Even the best smiths won’t gurantee really small groups - they are only guaranteeing it’s put together how they normally do it, but bench quality actions are everywhere, good barrels are coming out of at least three companies, and gunsmithing knowledge seems to have risen a few notches in the past decade.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2019
Messages
2,488
Location
Lowcountry, SC
That target looks like you've got a shooter issue and/or possibly a gear problem. If you are noticing that your groups shift each time you re-address the rifle (i.e. reload a mag and get back on the gun), that's a pretty good hint that it's you as a shooter. For that situation, a 10-shot group won't fix the underlying issue. The center of your group should not change between a 5-shot group and a 10-shot group or a 30-shot group. Center is center.

I'd also give yourself a defined aiming point instead of a huge, oddball shaped, chunk of tape.

Agreed 100%. It's me and a poor target. Rifle in some kind of fitting would probably shoot 0.5 MOA.
 

Flea21

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 12, 2023
Messages
145
Location
NE Illinois
I shoot 5 Shot groups for load development… The chrono data tells a little more to the story along with my groups. That fifth shot can be a doozy sometimes though.

When you can group at 100yds… it’s good to test that at 300, 500, 750 and 1000yds (if the tested caliber can reach that far). If you can shoot .5MOA at 100 and the rifle holds that throughout the spectrum of ranges, I think that’s the true test of a solid rig.
 
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