Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Three shot groups.

Clean looking rifle DF. My go to 6.5-06 got rebarreled to 6.5-284 this year. Benchmark #2 in 8 twist. But looks about a twin.

Last 2 3 shot groups with 156 EOL have been centered on zero and stacked. .3" and .2". Will do one more next time I hit range and if 9 shot composite looks good will load up a batch for it.

Weighed mine, comes in at 8 pounds 12 ounces. Quite comfortable with it at that weight.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with three shot groups...never will be, so by all means continue to do so and go kill sh!(t)

It's when three shot groups are used to declare a rifle accurate the sh!(t) show starts....it's a big fk'n lie, three shots are meaningless.

Yes, I chased one hole three shot groups for 20 years and also wasted 20 years of time and components....

30338, that is hunting rig perfection.

RDW, tell it like it is.

yes a very nice hunting rig and a great cartridge choice too. i probably own to many 7mm-08`s but i plan on buying another one in a Browning BLR s.s. 7mm-08.i have always wished i had one in a Savage 99 too,maybe some day ?

give me a rifle that consistently prints a nice 3-shot group from a cold bore and I'm happy.

I shoot three shot groups all the time. Great way to learn a new rifle , or new powder. If a rifle will not shoot a three shot group, it certainly will not shoot a 5, 7, or 10.

I will then go back and verify loads with 5 shot groups that showed acceptable groups and had good chronograph numbers of velocity and deviation.

As far as the bullets/headstamp statement. That is coming from a guy that worships at the BC altar. Any extra BC is a perceived huge advantage to him. If you do not worship at his alter, you a couch %&%#@%!

I will take shot placement every time! After 40 years of hunting and hundreds of big game animals. I do not recall an instance where bullet failure caused a rodeo. But I can think of a handful of times where shot placement caused more than a little consternation.

IMO, shot placement relegates all other discussion to secondary importance.

I am a hunter first and foremost, not a paper/steel punching range junkie. Although I enjoy shooting, and shoot 1000's of bullets/arrows every year. If I could stay proficient without all of that, I would spend that time scouting even more for upcoming seasons.

Me too.Absolutely nothing wrong with a three shot group from a cold bore that is repeatable.I rarely shoot more than once anyway,so a really tight repeatable three shot group is good enough for me.

Amen from the back row.......

I have the luxury (not an ego/bragging thing by any means) of knowing what optics I like, bullets I like, what load development works for me, what bullets big game animals hate, what rifles I like, etc, etc etc, by actually using them. I don't need some paper queen (obviously not ctsmith) telling me that my rifle that consistently shoots very tight 3 shot groups will all of the sudden start sending bullets into oblivion somewhere (short of equipment failure quite obviously). That's a freaking joke. I have literally thousands of inches of mule deer, whitetail, and aoudad sheep that know otherwise.

Johnny, I'm about to subject you to an audit. You know I'm a former CPA, I'm good at audits. Got to make sure you really are the one killing all those critters.

Possible they used a Leupold...

I used a 6-24x40 Bushnell Elite. It tracked pretty well. Notice how I reshaped the pistol grip, checkered and refinished it. It was a crow killing machine.

DF

Whoa there Clint! I never said I was one shot and done on all of them, but one thing's for darn sure.....I've never shot more than 3 at any one deer that I can remember anyway. They've either died, or ran off into the wild blue yonder. Yes, I have missed, whiffed, swung and missed way more than once. I would love to have you come down and audit in the field though. I bet you and Greg make good pack mules.

Truth

Johnny, you know it has nothing to do with the numbers, just looking for a way to get on your hunting land.

Dirt nap, maybe...

DF

I own a .257 Weatherby, MkV Fibermark, that I have had for 35 or so years now, and that I absolutely prize. It has accounted for more big game than all my other rifles combined, over that time span.

Long ago, I worked up a load that shoots sub-MOA, whether I shoot 3 shots or 5, doesn't matter. It is sighted in to hit point of aim at 300 yards.

Nowadays, when it's time to take the .257 hunting, I will usually go to the range, set up on the 300 yard range, and shoot TWO rounds at a gong at 300. If those two shots are near the center of the gong, and within 3 inches of each other as they usually are, I go hunting. This rifle, and its barrel, are going to last me as long as I hunt big game, and I am not at all anxious to use up that barrel to verify something I have proved to myself for many years now.

I guess after it's all said and done,as long as you and your rifle can consistently shoot well and you can hit where you aim,you're going to bring some meat home when the opportunity presents itself .

This whole topic was created by gun scribes looking for something to write about.

They not the only ones ruminating over this topic. Look at how many pages we've expended doing the same...

I think 10 shot groups may be important to target shooters who want to know what their equipment will do shooting strings, not one shot out of a cold bore. Hunters have different needs.

And, those clover leaf three shot groups sure do look good to some of us.

DF

Hunters interested in dialing to long ranges may also be interested in the better estimate of true group center that a larger sampling of shots can provide. Of course, if the rifle/load is taking too many shots to get a decent estimate then maybe it isn't the one for the job anyway.

It depends on the round, IMO.

I'd never shoot my 26 Nosler 10 times, even after letting it cool. It gets pretty hot after just 3..

Target shooters seem to use less intense rounds, guess that's why the Creed is so popular. A ten round string with that one probably not that big a deal.

I've put around 400 rounds thru my 26 Nos, finding out what it likes. It does show some throat changes thru the Hawkeye, but still shoots sub MOA. As long as it shoots that good, I'm not worried about it. I doubt I'll shoot it that much again. I'll hunt with the loads it likes, have other projects that take the pressure off this one.

DF