What level of accuracy (lunacy) are you aiming for with hunting loads?

[SHELL SHUCKER]

I've never shot big game beyond 120 yds. and mostly under 100 yds. I'm happy with a rifle that can stay inside 2" @ 100 yds. For me, there's nothing better than a good stalk to within 25-50 yds. from a critter and dumping it while it's unaware of me. Tree stands and blinds are also methods I've used for deer & bear.

I use cast boolits for all my shooting these days and have a great time workin' up loads for each rifle I own.

 

[Dogleg]

By the time accuracy matters trajectory and wind drift matter a lot more. That's not to say that accuracy doesn't matter at all, but far too much time and money is spent putting bullet holes close together that could be better spent learning to hit things.

 

[BongoBob]

True, sub moa accuracy is not necessary to be an effective hunter. I try to remove the rifle/ammo from the equation. What I mean is, I like having nothing to blame but myself for misses etc.
If I know my rifle/ammo combination is dead on, the rest is all on me. Confidence in my rifle makes me a more confident hunter.

 

[catnthehatt]

I thought you only shot factory's on your guns??!!
I hand load for all my rifles but my match rifle so gets more attention to accuracy than most of my hunting rifles simply because they are lot set up got super prediction shooting .
they are still more than capable of 400 yard shots- done of them,
those that aren't don't get shot at those ranges
Cat

 

[Brian46]

Typically, I am looking for 1" accuracy for a hunting rifle, as my experience is that almost all guns will do that with handloading.

I want to see 1" with factory ammunition, If I have to handload for 1" then it is not for me.

 

[Dogleg]

True, sub moa accuracy is not necessary to be an effective hunter. I try to remove the rifle/ammo from the equation. What I mean is, I like having nothing to blame but myself for misses etc.
If I know my rifle/ammo combination is dead on, the rest is all on me. Confidence in my rifle makes me a more confident hunter.

There is a great deal of confidence to be gained by setting up 200 yard offhand gongs, or kill sized gongs at 5-600 and shooting them on windy days until they beg for mercy. It's a rare thing when the misses can be blamed on a inaccurate load.

I like a combo that will hold MOA, which is usually not that hard to get with handloads.

 

[Gatehouse]

Remember the Great Mysteries thread?

We try for tiny groups then sight in 3" high at 100



I think DOgleg said that?

 

[Joe549]

I only use factory ammo and I do try and find a load that shoots best. My two rifles for deer huntin are a Savage 111 in .270 and a Winchester 100 in .308. The Savage is for areas that are more open and the Winchester for tighter areas where a scope would be more of a hindrrance than an advantage. The Savage shoots Hornady 140gr SST the best of all the ammo I've tried and groups about 1 - 1.5 inches at 100. The Winchester likes Federal blue box 150gr and groups two inches at 50 yards with open sights. The max range I would be using this rifle at for my current needs and location. These combinations are more than adequate for a hunting rifle for me and my location.

 

[45ACPKING]

There is a great deal of confidence to be gained by setting up 200 yard offhand gongs, or kill sized gongs at 5-600 and shooting them on windy days until they beg for mercy. It's a rare thing when the misses can be blamed on a inaccurate load.

I like a combo that will hold MOA, which is usually not that hard to get with handloads.

yup, practice in various formats really improved my shooting skills for hunting.
one of the set ups we used to do was targets at dispersed randomly around 80 to 120 meters/yards, each with a large visible number.
testing for cold bore accuracy and simulating follow up shots on a moving animal by having the spotter call out the targets in a sequence.
these drills alone were ones I really enjoyed and we still do them for fun on hunting trips, often having bets to see who's cooking or washin up hehehe

 

[catnthehatt]

Remember the Great Mysteries thread?

We try for tiny groups then sight in 3" high at 100



I think DOgleg said that?

Yeah, just too danged funny!!
Cat

 

[crazy_davey]

You change your story so often, that even you may not realize when you are lying, and when you are telling the truth. As such, I don't assume anything that you post is true.

Thank you for pointing out he is here under a completely different username than used at AO. I am sure the tall tales will keep coming...

 

[crazy_davey]

Posted May 29 2015 looking for a new rifle.

Does anyone here own a Browning X Bolt Eclipse 300 Win Mag. I would like to hear your thoughts and review of it, if you do? Thanks

(Thread deleted)

Posted on May 26

Hi,

I am a new here, but I have been viewing this forum for awhile, lots of good information!

I am in the process of buying my first rifle for long range shooting and was wondering what some of you think. Thanks!

Ok guys, this guy posted this on AO on FEB 12/2015

Have not used it on Elk yet, put I purchased this for Elk:

Browning Mountain Ti 300 WSM
Nosler Trophy Grade Accubond, 180 Grain

Hopefully this year!

Posted on March 23rd on AO:

Here is mine.

300 Browning Mountain Ti with a Huskemaw 5-20X50 Blue Diamond Scope.

Although I can shoot it up to 1000 yards, I would not exceed 850 yards on an animal.

Posted on May 26th:

First long range rifle. I have been hunting all my life, and I am a pretty good shot, but I have never had a rifle that was designed to shoot at longer distances. I am looking at a Huskemaw 5-20x50 to go with it.

I like the look of the Weatherby, thanks Kelly.

Posted on May 26th:

Understood Kelly, personally I have no issues with the glass on my friend's Huskemaw. My budget for a scope is maximum $2,500.00. The lighter in weight the better, which is why I have decided not to purchase a Night Force, I find them way to heavy.

My total budget for this rifle with scope is $6.000.00, and for that I want a killer rig!

Posted on February 7th:

I have the Huskemaw Blue Diamond 5-20x50 scope on my Browning Mountain Ti 300 WSM and I love it!

I chose my Huskemaw over the NightForce because its way lighter and smaller dimention wise then NF. You CAN get multiple custome turrets made for the Huskemaw and the optics and reticle design are very good IMO. I am extremly happy with mine and would reccomend a Huskemaw to anyone.

I am posting this to show that this member is not truthful and I think members should know it before wasting anymore time responding to him. Have a look at the dates and the responses from two different websites. If you cant see what I am saying, have a look at the dates I posted.

 

[Kevin M.]

In my opinion, 1-2 MOA should be your goal for hunting, but depending on how the shot presents itself and is taken, I'd worry more about how well you can shoot from various positions rather than trying to get your load accurate enough to hit the 4th hair back from the shoulder.

Moa can get you on small targets far away, providing you do your part.

 

[rat-7]

Using a 30-06 handi-rifle, a 4x Bushnell sportview, and Remington 220gr Corelock rounds I can put 5 rounds into 4". Can I do better with my target guns? Sure I can..... But that handi put a moose in my freezer with two shots and that works for me.

 

[Northman999]

Using a 30-06 handi-rifle, a 4x Bushnell sportview, and Remington 220gr Corelock rounds I can put 5 rounds into 4". Can I do better with my target guns? Sure I can..... But that handi put a moose in my freezer with two shots and that works for me.

This is the kind of practical hunting accuracy that I have seen guys keep their family fed with for decades. It's nice to see guys keeping things real.

Noting wrong with hyper accurate rifles, of course, but I've so often seen guys insist on getting rid of a hunting rifle that won't shoot sub MOA, and that's pure silliness IMO.

 

[Walleyewhiz]

I know that some of the more established CGN guys think this fellow is being ganged up on, but it's scary when a guy openly admits that he misleads and misrepresents things on a firearms forum. It's not just experienced gun people that come on here for knowledge and camaraderie, but people new to the sport often take things as gospel that they read here, wrong as that is, but it's a byproduct of the internet age.

I would not have posted this had not a moderator chimed in on this thread I started, but what's to stop a fellow like this from posting, or maybe worse yet, sending a pm with erroneous information that may result in an explosion four inches away from a guy's face. I'm not given to melodrama, but this potentiality should not be allowed. Clearly, at least one moderator, has seen the dishonesty. I hope the end result is the same as on the forum he left. If this was a fishing forum, no big deal, it's comic relief, but that is not the case with this fellow's interest. Unfortunately, I think we have just started to see the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Dogleg]

The most important thing about a hunting rifle in a suitable caliber is that its sighted in and stays there. It doesn't matter how well you can shoot if your rifle isn't looking at the same place you are. Which brings us to the second, the shooters ability to hold. Out to the mpbr of the cartridge its close to the only thing that matters since its hard to screw up a bolt action so bad that you can't kill big game animals out to 300 or so. That range already takes care of most the hunting situations and most of the shooters too when field positions are considered. To get past that stage the shooter has to start knowing something more than how to breathe and squeeze, starting with trajectory and followed closely by wind drift. After that he can start thinking about accuracy.

'Course that's not what a lot of people do. They do naturally sight-in their rifles, (perhaps with a screaming hot barrel) but then start to obsess about how close the bullets hit at 100. That cheats them out of the opportunity to learn how to shoot without the bench so stage 2 is compromised.(bipods and improvised rests will still drag him ahead somewhat) Depending on the ranges available, he may never be able to confirm his trajectory (scratch stage 3) and if he's not shooting at least that far then wind isn't something that he's going to begin to learn. So much for stage 4. Don't worry though, the mechanical accuracy of a rifle sand-bagged front and back will save the day somehow.