Have read this entire post, and despite differing opinions on what "hunting rifle failure" means, here's my list--which does NOT include "operator error":

1) Scope failure. Have mentioned this before, but at this point have had 20 different brands (not just individual scopes) fail to hold zero, or adjust properly, on a wide variety of hunting rifles.

2) Checking screw tightness, whether on scope mounts or stock-screws.


“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck