“My rifle shoots .2s and .3s” ... huh?

[User4302021]

Be careful judging others based on your own experiences and abilities. As a 40 year BR shooter, I have shot and witnessed way too many of those in 5 and even 10 shot aggregates, so there are several people who would take your $100.

If you wish to improve at any sport, go compete with the champions and listen, watch, question and learn. However like any sport, one may or may not be able to someday achieve what others have. As a youth, I played basketball and football, but there was no way I was ever going to make pro. Same with golf.

I have competed in varied shooting competitions for 4 decades National Match, BR, Palma, 1,000BR, etc, and regardless of years spent, very few make it into the top ranks.

Really? Did you really think that benchrest was the context of these statements?

 

[stx]

This is spot on imo, a hunting rifle does not need to shot .2's but merely 1 moa or under. We all strive to get the lowest possible numbers but we are not shooting benchrest here.

What is more important to me is once I have a sub moa group & it is zero's is to make sure I know how to set the scope settings for different ranges, read the wind correctly & make sure my shooting position is the best it can be along with learning to control my breathing & use a snap caps to practice all this with pulling the trigger.

@new2mud you forgot the tag 'all day long'

So many people say my rifle shoots .2 or .3 all day long & then when they show you a picture its 3 shots, most of the time this is the 1st 3 shots & they don't want to spoil the picture by actually shooting a 5 shot group which is what it should be imo!

I have to disagree with the last part of your post.....my rifles are mostly hunting rifles and it's very seldom that I shoot anything other than 3 shot groups. When developing a load and I get the accuracy I'm looking for and can duplicate that 3 shot group to verify, that's good enough for me.....then I'm done!

 

[JDBraddy]

But I

The top 46 competors we're in the .2 in heavy gun at 5 shot 100 yard.

was citing two-gun grand aggs.

 

[Greasegun]

Statistics say that even a bad load or rifle will shoot a great group once in a great while.

 

[5.56×250]

Accidents do happen

 

[Capt RB]

https://internationalbenchrest.com/results/group#2020-group-match-results
Obviously the if I do my part shows up in every discipline of shooting.
As has been mentioned by many and I invite anyone that makes the claims to come shoot with me. I had a builder make all the claims we see in this thread about his prowess with a rifle. Never saw it done by him and I never saw him shoot other than bagged up like at a bench rest match. If you think your capable join a club league and shoot. I shoot on occasion with a gentleman that has Parkinsons. He is a bench rest shooter trying to see if he can make the cheapest rifle he can purchase shoot competitively. He has a 7tw 223 he shoots 1" groups with at 300yds. He does have issues at times because of the disease but he has figured out a way to still shoot that well. I shot his 243 yesterday when I shot the paper plate back toward the beginning. Stock 12 savage 87 bthp Hornady with varget. He has a slow load that will make them touch at 300 yds. I shot it and it will shoot what we are talking about. Like has been said most rifles will shoot something well. Usually well above what the driver is capable of. The problem arises when we try to shoot that combo at the velocity we want to shoot it at not what it wants.

 

[esshup]

When you report your barrel's accuracy on this forum, which method did you use to get that group—solid rest or bipod/bag?

Bipod/rear bag.

 

[5.56×250]

I think it takes a very special combination of shooter, rifle, load, and rest to shoot .2-.3 " all day long". The only centerfire rig i ever put together soley to shoot groups at paper never got shot once the crosshairs started moving . Early morning , till the thermals started rising was the only time i fired groups. It was an honest 1/4 moa gun under idea conditions and that was the only time it got fired for groups .you guys and gals that can shoot under 1/2 moa consistently during daylight hour with variable wind are exceptional.
I also built a 22lr that was EXTREMELY accurate , but it only got fired for grouping during ideal conditions too. Best group with that rifle was .005 for 5 shots at 50 yards ( sako finfire, lilja barrel, jewel 2oz trigger ). Back then i practiced so hard i could feel the creep in that jewel trigger !

 

[GLTaylor]

I'm with 25wsm and del2les. I also shot benchrest for many years. The equipment available today and shooter skills are incredible. At most big shoots today (absent crazy wind) you better agg in the high 1's or go home!
Hunting guns? Absolutely not. You'd be pretty silly to try and hunt with a BR rifle
They're too tight and won't tolerate grit, seeds, dirt, etc. Hunting rifles would have a tough time keeping up. Having said that. Several of my hunting rifles easily shoot to .5 to
.7 5 shot groups

 

[ilc]

Statistics say that even a bad load or rifle will shoot a great group once in a great while.

This is the truth of it all. In essence guns are just random number generators.

 

[J E Custom]

The majority of my shooting is prone off a bipod. For using a chronograph and load development. I am moving over to a front rest and rear bag to see if I can eliminate as many variables as I can and see how it works out. I am having fun learning about all of this.

I will explain why I use a lead sled for the non believers. There are other systems that do the same thing as long as they have this feature. Over the years I discovered that if the front rest was not placed in the exact spot on the forearm it could shift the POI .

Every time you fire a rifle it moves and it is very hard to return it to the same exact spot. The lead sled has a fixed but stock placement and an adjustable front rest. Once it is set the distance between the front support of the rifle and the back remain the same. I also adjust the front rest fore and aft to find the sweet spot for supporting the rifle.

This has a major effect on consistence so I use the lead sled for this reason . I am not very proficient with a bi pod because I cant seem to pre load the by pod the same so I have trouble using it to it's full potential. I prefer the sand bags for use when setting up test loads for longer distance because i can center the front bag over the front action screw so I don't preload the forend.

Like everything in this sport what works for some it doesn't work for others so I like the results I get and use the best rest I have for hunting.

J E CUSTOM

 

[James L Holzhauer]

I sight in with a mechanical rest to eliminate my error as much as I can from the accuracy of the rifle I know **** well a good rifle can shoot better than me but sighting in is about the rifle and not about me.

 

[5.56×250]

I will explain why I use a lead sled for the non believers. There are other systems that do the same thing as long as they have this feature. Over the years I discovered that if the front rest was not placed in the exact spot on the forearm it could shift the POI .

Every time you fire a rifle it moves and it is very hard to return it to the same exact spot. The lead sled has a fixed but stock placement and an adjustable front rest. Once it is set the distance between the front support of the rifle and the back remain the same. I also adjust the front rest fore and aft to find the sweet spot for supporting the rifle.

This has a major effect on consistence so I use the lead sled for this reason . I am not very proficient with a bi pod because I cant seem to pre load the by pod the same so I have trouble using it to it's full potential. I prefer the sand bags for use when setting up test loads for longer distance because i can center the front bag over the front action screw so I don't preload the forend.

Like everything in this sport what works for some it doesn't work for others so I like the results I get and use the best rest I have for hunting.

J E CUSTOM

I use to use a strip of electrical tape on my forend that i would set on the stock at the back of the front bag. It would do a good job at keeping me consistent with forarm placement and was easy enough to move to another spot to tune forearm/bag placement

 

[aushunter1]

I have to disagree with the last part of your post.....my rifles are mostly hunting rifles and it's very seldom that I shoot anything other than 3 shot groups. When developing a load and I get the accuracy I'm looking for and can duplicate that 3 shot group to verify, that's good enough for me.....then I'm done!

I am talking about load development as well!
3 shots tells you very minimal about what a load is doing.

Its one of the foremost reasons I go to the range apart from just resighting before a trip.

Still Ill stand by my statement, anyone can shoot a good 2 or 3 shot group, try to get then to shoot a good 5 shot group!!