****This isn't a commentary or rant about anyone here, just a general observation about something that I think most shooters could improve on****
I suppose my irritation with the entire idea of "MOA" shooting is that people shoot to accomplish the goal of "MOA" rather than what they need to actually do. Which is why I think we have gravitated toward 3 shot groups, to chase the elusive "MOA" that we might not even need.
I've never shot a deer that a 2.5MOA gun wouldn't have worked for. And never fired more than four shots while hunting (the only time I fired four was once when I shot two deer).
So every year I fire one magazine full (4 shots) at one of those targets with the 2"ish orange diamonds. And all four shots, for as long as I've owned the gun, have landed in that orange diamond. Sometimes clustered tightly, sometimes spread out a bit more. But always well within what I need for my hunting. I fire four because I don't think I'll ever reload to shoot at deer, and I just want to be accurate enough for my hunting, and life is good.
It really doesn't matter to me what 10 shots will do because honestly, by the second group of our challenge my neck was so cricked up I had a headache and I had eye fatigue from trying to squint into the eyebox of the too-low scope. There was a ton of shooter error involved, that I'll never experience in the field (because I don't ever carry that janky setup), so I don't sweat it.
My complaint isn't necessarily with ten shot groups, but with shooters who chase goals that are pretty arbitrary to what they actually do with their guns.
For example, for the shooting I do being able to hit 10-12" plates offhand, quickly, at 100 yards is much more important than shooting off of a bench. So that's what I practice and what I've gotten pretty good at. And a lot of the people I shoot with need that same skill, but it's a difficult skill to develop so instead they shoot groups off of a bench and brag about "MOA".
If ten shot groups are useful to people, great. If ten shot groups are fun for people, great. I shot them too so I could play along in the challenge.
But I wish that the shooting community would gravitate more towards shooters developing skills that are applicable to what they do, rather than just using the litmus test of MOA group shooting.
I have shot more than a few deer where a 2.5 moa gun would not have done it at all. And other animals also.
Just depends on what you are trying to do.
We shot 22 shot groups generally so 10 really doesn't say a damn thing for us when we were shooting. The smallest groups were 10 shots. Most were at least 12.
To me though, once you have verified that you have a gun capable of a lung hit at 1000, a head shot at 500 or whatever you need it to do, and its capable of htat consistently, then 2 things are MORE important than anything.
Verifying zero to the max distance and keeping up with those verifications and what changes in pressure, temp etc... may do to those zero's.(including wind dope)
AND the ability to put the first shot dead nuts every time, day in and out, of your "moa" requirement.
The more shots you put into a group, after you know the combo is proven, simply proves whether you are a good shooter or a lucky shooter.
A good shooter can put one shot a day into the middle or 100 in a row.... A lucky shooter can often put the first shot fairly close and actually in there fairly often, but gets to edgy to follow it up with more. The subconsciuos mind takes over and not only laughs, but kicks the shooters azz.
And if you think this only matters to targets you are wrong.... by shooting a LOT of targets and being somewhat good at it, there was a streak of years that dumping a deer at 500 or so yards was gravy, nothing to think about, roll the dials and pull the trigger and go get the deer. If you think thats not what you need to do thats fine, but realize if you are good enough at 500, how gravy a split second shot at 100 give or take then becomes. Auto pilot. Easy. Peasy. you know the rest.
I'm still most impressed with folks that can put one arrow or one bullet a day, smack on, day after day...
