Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What is satisfactory accuracy to you in your hunting rifle?

Being a reloader I sometimes wonder if my expectations are too high for my shooters. I have two 7 Magnums I have been working with and have not been happy until they put three (or more) in the same hole. I have a stack of targets from both with many 5/8"-7/8" three shot groups. But, I have not been satisfied with that.

What is acceptable to you?

While I'll take all I can get and have been guilty of spending large sums on new components to get better, you(and I) are way better than needed for game hunting. It's always nice to hit the precise hair we aimed at, but anything in the heart/lung region will get the job done.

Thats excellent shooting. The first thing I record is where the bullet impacts on the target.

1. 2" high, 1" right 100 yds.
2. 1.5" high, .5" right 100 yds.
3. etc.

Acceptability varies for me. I'd like to think that I am an accuracy nut, and would love my guns to shoot nothing over 3/4 MOA. However, I'm not consistent enough, nor do I get enough practice to do so. Most of my guns/loads will shoot MOA or smaller - a better marksmen may find them quite accurate. Some of my guns are just average, with my abilities factored in. I think the confidence you have in the rifle can sometimes be more important than pure accuracy (though accuracy certainly helps build that confidence).


Kaiser Norton

Assuming one is going to limit oneself to 350 yards at the most (under ideal conditions)...

One inch groups are enough, and I'm satisfied with that. Many gun writers will say that 1.5" groups are completely ample.

Getting better than that, I suspect if most of us were to dead honest, has more to do with our egos than anything actually related to hunting.

It's, just like anything else, the challenge of approaching perfection as near as physically possible that is the lure. And like anything else, the closer one wants to get to it, the more time...and, almost inevitably, money...one has to throw at it.

Almost 20 years ago now (yeeeeesh!) I came as close to that perfection as I'd never dreamed possible.

Had traded for my Rem. 700 BDL Varminter 25.06 at a gun swap meet, and got the 4x12 Bushnell Banner Scope set up. My good bud, a gun nut in his own right, handloaded a couple of boxes of 117 gr. Sierra Gameking BTs for me.

Went out to the range to sight it in. My Dad was visiting at the time, and it turned into one of those moments I look back at now in which he was able to share as a "dad".

Said to my highly competitive bud, "Okay, now I'm going for a 3 shot group. Let's see what she'll do."

He had the spotting scope. First shot in the black, which was a one inch circle. Second shot also in the black, he called out. Third shot, yep, good. Can't tell for sure on the group, too hard to make out.

Walked down for a look.

2 shots through one hole and the other 1/8th of an inch off the center of the other 2. Basically, an 1/8 inch group. My hunting bud got pretty quiet for some reason...

Never done that before...or since. Not even close.

But I know my Dad...who beamed from ear to ear...told this story to anyone who would listen more times than I'd ever care to think about.

1" or less from my rifles at the bench and I'm doing backflips. Mostly, I'm good for 1 1/2" consistently. I'm the weak link in the system.

under an inch. Clover leafs and holes stacked on end are nice.

However after that I like to walk around the rimrocks and back country and plink with that gun/load. If I cant hit that lil rock out there or that sun faded stick here I want to then theres a problem.

For the distances that I hunt an inch is more than enough. That wont stop me from playing with a load but Im not goona worry to much about that. Im more goona be concerned about being able to throw that rifle up for a snap shot an be able to hit where I want ASAP

If the CBS hits dead nutz, and the follow-up (in classic "double-tap" mode) is within an inch of it...I'm more than happy to go forth and slay critters....just shy of 4 dozen species to-date.

If I could find a rifle that put all bullets through the same hole whilst shooting offhand, that would be satisfactory

Still lookin'

I seldom shoot groups anymore. More interested in a thing hitter than a group maker.

For me, if it's minute of whitetail, that's good enough.

I spend as little time as possible on the bench. I'm a lot like Bogger in that respect. I try and burn gunpowder every weekend, and sometimes before work. I shoot a lot of gongs, rocks, and varmints for practice.

One to two minutes of angle is "satisfactory" since I won't take a shot on game longer than 250 yards and would much rather have a shorter shot.

However, I'd prefer my rifle's accuracy to be less than a minute of angle (capable of shooting a 3-shot group of less than 1 inch @ 100 yards).


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I want to see consistent 1moa whether Im shooting paper, varmints or rocks. Today I had 110vmax and 110TTSX putting 5 shot groups into 1.5" at 200yards and have no intentions of tweaking the load any further or spending any more time on the bench.

On a varmint rifle I will spend more time on it tuning loads and want to see 2" at 300yards.

I have rifles that will do about MOA and some that will do better.In the past I've owned quite a few that would do that well. But I'm the weak link in the whole system.I know this because,when I go from the bench to field positions,like off-hand,sitting with and without sling,prone,field rest, etc.,my groups from a 1-1/2" rifle don't look much different from my groups with a 1/2" rifle.

Oh they might if I'm able to get as rock solid in the field as I do from the bench;but that is really not often.So, to my way of thinking,once you have a hunting load with a really good bullet,and a practice load with a cheaper bullet,it's time to forget about obsessing over one-hole groups,and start working on yourself.

As Steelhead points out, it's all about hitting things.If you can't do that,all the pure accuracy in the world is worth squat.

Last thought: Never trade a great hunting bullet for an inferior one just because it groups slightly better.That is a lousy trade-off.

Buying my sendero the other month was illustrative to me... I really have not enjoyed the load work-ups, shooting for groups at 100 yards, very much. Just a chore to get out of the way.

Satisfactory accuracy to me is I suppose 1.25 MOA. How's that for precise <g>. In the bigger picture, a rifle needs to show me more than that though if it wants to be in the regular rotation. It needs to show consistancy. I'll take a 1.25 MOA group in the same place, year after year, over a sub-MOA rifle that the group moves around on... My M7 was a crazy rifle that way. It'd shoot decent groups... all over the place!

2 MOA/2" @ 100 yards is plenty good for my hunting. I am talking here about getting consistent 2 MOA groups off the bench on most days, not just the best groups ever. Two minutes of angle from the gun still allows for some off hand wobble in the field.

I would rather spend my precious shooting time practicing shooting from different positions than tinker with load development.

I'm a load fiddler, and my goal is three shots into a 1/2" group at 100 yards using a 20x scope for load developing.
Practically speaking, for Michigan Deer, anything around 2" at 100 yards will get the job done. I have time to spare, so I tweak loads.

There's more to hunt worthy accuracy than just hitting a volley ball sized area on a critter...at least where I hunt. Were we talking about wide open shots, a lot of bad accuracy will still get the job done.

Wonder how many hunter/shooters think about what's between them and the intended kill zone...and NEEDING to MISS that stuff before hitting the animal.

Many of my shots are threaded through trees, limbs and other junk...and were I shooting a crappy shootin' rifle, that little clear line of sight I'm gonna poke that bullet through might not be big enough to miss the little branches and twigs along the way.

So yeah, I pay attention to the "accuracy" of a hunting rifle. To be a thing hitter around here, it needs to be a group maker, and the guy pulling the trigger needs to know how to pull a trigger.....

Exactly,
I agree. I could not count how many times I have threaded a needle on a kill shot. I realize one-hole groups are definitely not necessary for field use but like DMB said, I like to know my gun is shooting at least 1/2" consistently.