Rifle accuracy.

[Poe]

Just curious what everyone considers acceptable accuracy for a rifle you plan on pushing out to say 1000 yards. I just started load development today for a savage 12 lrp in 260 Rem. So far with seating depth tests I have got it down to around 3/4 MOA at 100 yards and I’m hoping playing with powder charge will tighten it up some more. Doing this just got me thinking at what point do most people say that’s good enough and just stick with a load.

 

[Rick Richard]

If it doesn’t shoot at least 1/2 MOA, then it goes down the road.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I go for 1/2 moa .

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

 

[RidgeTop]

Weatherby MkV .300Wby. sight in for bear hunt (two sittings) to adj scope - I wanted 3/4" high) Guide said my stand would be 250yds from target bears.
Rem 700 7mmMag my reloads 175gr Rem CoreLokts
Rem 700 22-250 my reloads 52gr Sierra HPBT Match
Rem 700 30-06 180gr my reloads 100yds off hand. CoreLokt

How accurate do you need? Depends on what you are after.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Better than the last bullet, powder, case, primer load work up

 

[jrock]

Poe, have you shot at that distance before? I suggest shooting some groups at 600+ yards and see how accurate you and your gun are. You may or may not be happy with 3/4 MOA. 3/4 MOA at 1000 yards is less than 8 inches. That doesn't leave much margin for error on a big game sized target.
Personally, I don't care for guns that shoot more than 1/2 MOA and I try to get reloads to shoot 1/4 MOA or better.

 

[Willys]

Yea 1/2 moa all the way to max range for shooting game - 3 shot group good conditions.

 

[khmplus]

1/2 moa is a good goal for a good rifle and good marksman.

 

[skipglo]

Weatherby MkV .300Wby. sight in for bear hunt (two sittings) to adj scope - I wanted 3/4" high) Guide said my stand would be 250yds from target bears.
Rem 700 7mmMag my reloads 175gr Rem CoreLokts
Rem 700 22-250 my reloads 52gr Sierra HPBT Match
Rem 700 30-06 180gr my reloads 100yds off hand. CoreLokt

How accurate do you need? Depends on what you are after.

Where do you buy Remington corelokts to reload?

 

[orkan]

If a rifle won't consistently run 1/4MOA or better, it has no place with me.

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[del2les]

Just curious what everyone considers acceptable accuracy for a rifle you plan on pushing out to say 1000 yards. I just started load development today for a savage 12 lrp in 260 Rem. So far with seating depth tests I have got it down to around 3/4 MOA at 100 yards and I’m hoping playing with powder charge will tighten it up some more. Doing this just got me thinking at what point do most people say that’s good enough and just stick with a load.

Since you did not say what you are planning to shoot at 1,000, I will have to speculate. If I am shooting a BR target, it is the smallest MOA I can achieve, and if it is P-dogs or Marmots, basically the same as BR. Coyotes allow slightly more tolerance, but not much. Deer and similar, I never settle unless in the 1/3-1/2MOA range, and larger game must be in the 1/2 MOA and below.

ALL of this is based on the shooter's ability and experience at LR/ELR to make routine hits, good wind calls, mirage, follow through, etc, etc. Even the most accurate and precise rifle and load in the hands of a poorly trained and unskilled shooter can be less productive than a lesser combo in the hands of a highly experienced and skilled shooter.

 

[BrentM]

This is a awkward one for me. I don’t really consider 100 yards groups to mean a lot. It’s a starting point but I’ve seen really tight groups with really crappy sd and es. In general I want under .5 and really happy with .25 in absolutely optimal conditions. If I can get a rifle to shoot consistently .5 or better day to day, with my errors, I’m happy. I’ve killed a pile of wolves and yotes 400 to 1300 and those dang small kill zones with a .5 rifle system

 

[med358-boise]

3/4 MOA is a little on the high side. Better to be closer to 1/2 MOA. But let's suppose for a moment you have a 2/3 MOA rifle, before you "throw it away", consider the following in your analysis of your "1000 yard rifle".

The difference between a .66 MOA and a .5 MOA rifle is .84 inches of dispersion from POA.

Now consider the following for your 260 Remington with say a 143 ELDx at 2775 fps:

A 5 yard error in range estimation equals 3.8 inches of "drop error"

A 15% aggrgegate wind error even at 2 mph is 1.4 inches of "windage error". Note you estimate wind across the flight path is 2 mph of full value but it is really 2.3 mph of full value wind.

A 6 fps variance (12 fps of ES) in velocity is 1.2 inches of "drop error".

Assuming your scope has 1/4 MOA adjustments, on average you will be 1/8th of an MOA off which equals 1.3 inches of "inherent error".