If I can get 1” I’ll be happy. When I was bow hunting the last 10 years or so it was about how close I could get. 10 yards off the ground was my goal. No pop up blinds or anything, usually just backed up into a cedar tree or something. I did the wheelie bow shoot at 50 yard thing and it was very satisfying after a while. With my 8mm and it’s large groups I limited myself to 150 yards. Shot my last buck with it at about 75. My comfort zone would be about 200 yards at the moment, but I’d like a gun that’ll do 300 for hunting once I get the practice in and feel more confident, and farther for bench shooting. Like I said 300 is common, but I can limit myself and get closer by stalking if needed. I want the capability for accuracy at long distance should I work my way in that direction, I’m just a wuss at this point. After I sighted in the 8mm several years ago 4 months before season I shot about a box worth of different ammo. Took my shoulder a good 1-2 weeks to quit hurting and it was definitely joint pain. I’m not doing that again.
You shouldn't have an issue finding an MOA or better rifle/ammo combination to suit your needs. It sounds like you want to do a fair amount of shooting with your new rifle, so in my opinion it makes sense to figure out what that gun likes to maximize your effectiveness. Apparently, others disagree. That's the beauty of forums like this. You get many different perspectives. Some just come a little more prickly than others.
