Originally Posted by tnbillyearl
I've been hunting with a Remington 700 for many, many years. I've always found Hornady ammo to shoot less than one inch at 100. A few years back I moved to Federal Fusions, and now to Partitions. ***And just now I have started to reload.*** I have been chasing .5 MOA w/ Partitions and Accubonds - fiddling with powders, powder weight, seating depth... I'm working through it all and I believe I've discovered more than few loads with different weighted bullets that consistently give me under 1 MOA - which is functional accuracy for me. But chasing small groups has brought up a question.

Why am I doing this?

When I take a 1MOA reload to the range, I can hit targets and steel at 300 and 400 all day. My groupings may be 3, 4, or 5 inches in width, but they would only be 1.5, 2, or 2.5 inches from my Point of Aim (the center of the target or plate); as long as my scope is sighted in properly and there is no parallax or cant going on. If a deer has a 10" vital area, could I not have a 20MOA rifle and hit the vitals at 100 yards? Why do writers seem to equate 1MOA with 1 inch of target? It seems to me a sighted in rifle would need MOA to be doubled to equate with target size. I miss equally left and right (vert is quite consistent).

Alas, I know that I don't know much. And I would bet a brick of primers my thinking/reasoning is off. I would love to hear facts/thoughts/opinions...

-B



"20 MOA", that's a little extreme. Don't you think? The simple truth is many guys have been getting by with 1.5 moa rifles all their lives. Killing big game animals every year. Now, keep in mind, no one is going to be shooting 1.5 moa offhand or in most other field positions from that same 1.5 moa rifle. When I say "1.5 moa", I mean that is its full capability off a bench with a rock solid hold. Chances are a lot of guys, especially unpracticed ones, are going to be shooting in the neighborhood of 7 or 8 moa (and likely even more) offhand if they are lucky. That is why you need to know your limitations and capabilities. Now, take a rifle that is a true 1/2 moa rifle and your chances of placing shots into 3 or 4 moa or even better is within reason for that same shooter. This is the reason I chase accuracy. I used to hold twice the accuracy capability of my rifles when I practiced offhand shooting a lot. Meaning if my rifle was a true 3/4 moa rifle, I would hold 1.5 moa in the offhand position. This may not make sense to some, but others will likely agree, if they have done a lot of shooting in field positions.

Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

BSA MAGA