Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Accuracy of a big game rifle

Practicing from a bench does simulate some hunting conditions.

For example: many years ago I was practicing with my 1895 Marlin for an up-coming bear hunt over bait. I had employed an outfitter, but only had a general concept of what distance I might be shooting (assuming a bear showed up),or whether or not I'd have a rest. So I practiced (once my load was settled on)from the bench at both 50 yards and 100. The load was shooting close to MOA. It was a 400gr Speer FP moving out at about 1865 fps. The rifle was sighted dead on at 100.

After verifying matters about the rifle and load from the bench (I shot perhaps 40 to 50 rounds this way), I started to practice from an offhand standing position, at both 50 and 100 yards, with the same load, over a period of three weeks prior to the hunt. I opened up a large cardboard box and with a black marker drew a normal-sized bear silhouette. Standing, I shot at 50 yards until all shots landed within a 3" circle. Satisfied with this, I moved the "bear" out to 100 yards and, again, practiced until all shots landed within a 3-inch circle.

I actually shot my bear from a moose-hunting stand, sitting, using a rail of the stand as a rest, and the distance to bait was 100 yards. When the spring bear (a very good one)presented itself broadside, I plastered the crosshairs of my Bushnell 3 - 9 X40mm (set on 5X)tight behind the right shoulder and the big 400gr Speer landed exactly where it was supposed to, as though I were bench shooting it at 100 yards! One of my best bears ever.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Great story Bob. I like this thread because you get so many opinions and suggestions from many guys that have been there and done that. I have a story too about last years bull I took on public land with a 3% success rate. I was using my 338 win mag and I am pretty proficient with it in any postition. The rifle shoots nice 1/2" groups from the bench and holds pretty steady in the offhand postion. Any way last years bull didn't give me a whole lot of time for the shot: He came busting out of the manzanita and into a small opening about 90 yds away, there was a window of about 10 feet where I had to take the shot and only a second for the opportunity. I shouldered the rifle and to my surprise my new remington backpack strap was in the way. I didn't shoulder the rifle in the normal fassion which I had done hundreds of times in practice. Because of this I shot a little higher than I had anticipated. I was a little pissed and also very happy (put the bull down in its tracks) at the same time. Something you should take into consideration the next time you are going to take the shot. When hunting anything be ready for the shot and keep in mind that it won't always be text book quality (seems murphy gets involved sometimes just to make it interesting).

I require trust in my rifles. For me that comes with sub moa performance. I hunt in tough country with a 9 day season, I want as much in my favor as possible. If my rifle can produce good accuracy at the range, which is often the hood of my rig with my backpack for a rest, then the rest is up to me. it is much easier for me to chuck up a round when I know it will fly true. I hunt with some guys that feel 2" is good enough. I consistently take more game with one shot kills then them too. is it the rifle, confidence or the shooter? I care not what the actual answer is but choose to think of it as a system.....that I will stick with.

use what works for you.

For deer hunting, I want a rifle that will shoot 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards. I can usually get a lot better accuracy than that by trying different factory loads or by handloading.

Deerskinner,
Anyone who uses the rifle a lot wants something that will put the first shot in the same spot everytime. They aren't as worried about group size IMO.
The ability to read wind and judge distance are more important at long range. In other words if you say you shoot your prairie dog rifle and hit them at 700 yds. and you can't judge distance or wind I would not believe it no matter how accurate you say your rifle is. YMMV
whelennut

Let's be a little truthful. Shooting game at normal ranges is not the equivalent of riding a unicycle while spinning pizza dough with one hand tied behind your back when it comes to manual dexterity.

yea, 1 moa is about the size of a clay peigon at 550 yards. if you can honestly say that your rifle is keeping you from hitting that clay peigon from field positions, and if your intended target is that small, maybe there is something to this.

but i've a few 1 moa+ rifles in the starter lineup. for some work, they trump my micro-groupers. but i get confidence in a rifle from shooting it a bunch, not from a few good groups.

i'll aslo give up 'group size' for speed, and i've been known to drop a good shooting match bullet in favor of a somewhat less impressive grouping game bullet.

but in general, it's pretty easy to have it all. good aggs, and good speed with a good bullet.

Right now I only have four bolt action rifles with a fifth on the way. Three out of the four shoot under an inch, one of them just over a half inch, the other rifle which is a Tom Burgess custom shoots a little less than one and a half inchs, and is the rifle I trust the most. Like the guy from Nevada, for some reason I end up shooting most of my game from an offhand position, this gun just fits me so well, it swings like a fine shotgun and shoots right where I point it.

John

Monday, I was at the VA waiting for an appointment. On the table was an American Hunter with an article on the Nosler bolt rifle. This rifle cost $1700 at the time the magazine was publiches, which was when, I don't know.

Anyway, this rifle averaged about 1.5 MOA...at $1700 cost, shooting factory ammo. Smallest group was about .75, largest was whatever...do the math.

I was called in before I got the meat of the article, but saw the sidebar on groups. If a $1700 semi-custom (?) rifle shoots that way, what am I to expect from my pedestrian out of the box rifles?

Two MOA is fine for a 200 yard shot, even 300 if there's no wind and if you have a good rest. If there is a strong wind and a poor rest, a .25 MOA rifle isn't going to make up for that.

Don't know if this has been said yet, but Rifle fit and Practice have a lot to do with accuracy. Shooting in various field positions helps too.

Fellas please don't take what I'm saying as bragging, I'm not. I once began a list of the guns (shotguns,pistols,rifles) that I have had and do have. For a number of years my only hobby was guns, loading, shooting & hunting. Somewhere along the way I dropped the ball and now the list is INCOMPLETE. I have had TOO MANY rifles and still have more than a fellow can hunt.

From Rem 788 & Win 670 thru Ruger No 1s and I guess all the major manufactorers. From 223 thru 338WM (Not all inclusive) and loading for a friend's Rem 700 375 HH. I guess I've been LUCKY.

I have had ONLY ONE that I couldn't get to shoot 1" or LESS consistently. With careful handloads some would shoot 1/2" or even "bug holes" at or near full velocity.

From 1972 till 2007 I NEVER hunted w/ factory ammo. From '72-74 a friend loaded my 30-30 ammo for me. I began handloading in '75. In 07 I moved in August and didn't have enough ammo loaded for deer season. Therefore I bought WW ammo for my 270. Even that shot extremely well in my Tikka T3.

The ONLY rifle I've ever owned that would NOT group 4 or more rounds in 1" or less was a BROWNING A Bolt in 300 WM. Out of 4 it would THROW one out. It NEVER threw the same shot no. out of the group. It might be 1,2,3,or 4. You could NOT expect any particular shot to go wild. The dealer sent it back to Utah and when it returned I could see where they had done some polishing on the bolt and dressed the inletting in the barrel channel. All to NO AVAIL. The dealer swapped a Rem 700 300 WM, used but in mint condition, for that Browning.

In less than a week, I returned to the dealer with a 4 shot group 180 gr.bullet, IMR 4350, that a NICKEL (3/4") would COVER. That is less than 3/4" center to center.

So I expect rifles to shoot 1" or less w/handloads and they all have EXCEPT ONE. As has been stated, cold barrel consistency and maintaining zero are equally important.

JWALL
_______________

My Favorite Bumper Sticker

VEGETARIAN..... Indian Word For Poor Hunter.

It's interesting how notions of acceptable accuracy in a big game rifle have changed over the decades. I recently picked up an old (circa 1950) hunting annual that had an article by Jack O'Connor writing about the 7x57. Here is what he had to say about the accuracy of his rifle, with which he hunted in the 1930s:

"The 7 mm. I used was a light Mauser on which I had mounted a 4X Noske scope on Noske mounts. It never gave me quite the accuracy I could get out of various .270�s or the best .30/06�s. Groups ran around 2� in. with the 139-gr. bullet at 100 y. and around 2 in. with the 175-gr., or about like a run-of-the-mine .30/06."

I should note that he did state that he had never shot at anything beyond 200 yards with that specific rifle, but the implication of that paragraph is that degree of accuracy (or inaccuracy) was not out of line with expectations in that time period for the average hunting rifle, e.g "like a run-of-the-mine .30/06."

People in this day and age seem to have forgotten the age-old art of stalking within range, rather than wanting to be a "sniper".
Mark

I take them as they come. Most of the time they are up close and personal. The last 3 elk I came upon could of been dispatched with a nice hunting pistol. To each his own I guess they say, if you like to snipe em I'm not going to think any less of you for it. If you like to sneak up on them indian style then by all means do it. You're the hunter, you take the shot, just make it count.

I'm a big fan of the accuracy obsession. It's provided a great used market for the older perfectly serviceable hunting guns.

I always like when someone posts how crappy their new rifle shoots, not once questioning their own shooting ability. It doesn't even dawn on them there are a lot more MOA rifles then there are MOA shooters.