Many good posts from several people on this thread. The difference between what is "needed" vs. what is "wanted" in the way of accuracy has been well explained.
Some loonys, like me, enjoy going much farther than necessary in our quest for the perfect bullet or load for a particular rifle. I have a hard time knowing when to quit. I am guilty of shooting more just so I can reload more, instead of the other way around.
I shoot far more ground squirrels than anything else and I like to use various sporter-weight rifles all the way up to 30-06, as an excuse to practice with those rifles.
I enjoy experimenting with "deer rifles", many of them old classics, until I can get good hits on ground squirrels at 200 yards. This requires a higher level of accuracy than I need for deer-size animals.
I have taken a few deer and antelope out to near 400 yards with some of these rifles, which seemed relatively easy after getting good hits on squirrels at 200 yards.
One comment directed at Chamois:
You criticized Fred Willis for deferring shots under 200 yards and therefore preferring shots over 200 yards as being unsportsmanlike. I believe you may have missed the fact that he was talking about chucks. Most of us agree with you if you are talking about game animals.
For varmints most of us will take shots much further than that. If you choose to stalk all of your varmints to less than 200 yards, that is fine. I do that, too, sometimes, if I am using an iron-sighted 30-30 that day, on ground squirrels. In any case, welcome to the fire.
