My factory hunting rifle shoots between .5"-.75" all day! Really? Prove it!

Tried again today. Not yet. -18c and the last group got to me.

.428"
.336" smallest group
.597"
.410"
1.232"

.600" average

I have a Nikon 4.5-14X scope I might just have to put on and get some more power over the 2.5-8X I have been using.

What cartridge are you shooting again? BTW, those are great groups regardless of cartridge!
 
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Those don't look like 06 empties
 
I will try again with the Savage 16 in 308. I hust worked up a load for it and had a group with three bullets touching. Now if I can only repeat that five times on the same piece of paper....
 
My .270 Parker hale will do .75 with handloads. The only way I can get those results is off of sand bags or in a vise. I don't care because I can only shoot minute of deer in the field.
 
Am I missing something?
Shooting 5 consecutive 3 round groups is the same as shooting a 15 round group isn't it?

Sort of. However, since most people are going to do this in one sitting, the barrel is going to be quite a bit warmer on the last group than the first. So, kind of like a 15 round group corrected for barrel heating?
 
Ok dragged this one out of mothballs and loaded up some rounds for a go at this. After shooting a number of targets with 107 gr SMK's and getting frustrated with throwing one or two shots out of the groups, I switched over to 142 SMK's. Made the difference. Here ya go. I'm not a bench rest shooter so be kind.

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Group #1 .566
Group #2 .651
Group #3 .421
Group #4 .446
Group #5 .346 Tightest group
Group Avg .466

Rifle is a Standard Winchester M70 Sporter Varmint. Originally in .223. I had it rebored to .260 Rem. Original barrel, stock, action, trigger etc...
Sightron S111 5.5-20*50. In one of the pics it is a different scope that I switched out to the Sightron.
I was originally shooting SMK 107's and getting good groups that were out of the scoring rings ( which I wanted), I only had
15 of the 142 SMK's loaded and knew they would be different Point of impact. Unfortunately somme fell in the black centre and are hard to see the edges. Oh well

I have a couple rifles that may be able to do this as well. What with warmer temps on the way, I will get them geared up. Its been fun.
 
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If that barrel is varmint contour you have to shoot this rifle in the varmint/heavy barrel challenge and shoot 5 shot groups instead of 3. And not to be a party pooper, but since you have had it rebored it won't qualify for that challenge either. You will have to shoot it in the .5" challenge. Sorry for the bad news, but nice try.
 
It is what they called "Sporter Varmint", not a heavy varmint barrel profile. Here's a cpl pics of it.
Doesn't really matter to me what "class" you want it to be in. It's done shooting for now.
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Sorry about that. But I want to keep this thread as close to a factory hunting rifle as possible. And since the barrel is rebored and I assume more "varmint" than "sporter" profile I have to say it doesn't qualify. But nice rifle and good shooting though.
 
I have got a couple PM's from people concerned about the way some people are measuring their groups. Even though it is the way most people measure their groups I figured I would post this pic of the proper way to measure the group. I usually start by turning the target over and folding the holes back into position so that there is I nice defined bullet outline to measure. This is also easier to see when your group is all in the "white". Your calipers should be right on the edge of the black "skid mark" that was left by the bullet. After you measure this extreme spread you then subtract the bullet diameter to get your center to center measurement

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I am posting this in all three "challenge" threads to hopefully resolve any group measurement disputes. Thanks Rod
 
Is .75" asking to much? I don't want it to be so easy that it isn't a challenge. That is why I figured that 3 shots under .75" would be a possible but challenging goal.

In my opinion, you've set the requirement a bit too tight here. I would think that five three-shot groups under 1" might be a better yardstick, and more in line with the level of difficulty you set on your other two threads - which is to say, pretty darn hard, a lot harder than it sounds, but possible nonetheless, and you can feel pretty darn good about achieving it.

For what it's worth most of my hunting rifles would not be able pass this challenge. I'm a target shooter and I have shot many, many, many groups under 1", and while I have also shot groups smaller than 0.5" I also have a pretty good idea of how difficult that actually is. I am always very pleased when I get a sub-half-MOA group.

I have a plain Jane .30-06 Savage 110 in a wood stock, with a stiff/rough spot in the barrel about 5" from the muzzle. It's my "by default" big game rifle. It shoots 5-shots groups typically around 2.5 MOA; three shot groups would be smaller than this, probably about 1.7 MOA typically. This is nowhere near good enough to even bother shooting in your challenge, yet it is a perfectly good hunting rifle for many purposes.

Of all the rifles I have on my gunrack, I'm not sure if I have a single one that fits the spirit of your challenge, which would have a reasonably decent chance of accomplishing the task. It is a very demanding challenge, that's for sure. For me, it would be much easier to accomplish his 0.75" Varmint or 0.5" Precision challenge (and those are turning out to be no "gimmes" either!)

Am I missing something?
Shooting 5 consecutive 3 round groups is the same as shooting a 15 round group isn't it?

No, that would be even harder; a 15-round group would be bigger than the biggest of your five 3-round groups. A great shooter once told me, "nobody ever made a group smaller by shooting another round at it", and while humourous there is also a lot of deep truth in his statement.

The real killer in UTG's challenge is that *all* the groups have to be smaller than the specified size. That makes it _way_ harder than asking for an _average_ group size smaller than "X".

I am pretty darn impressed to see that several people have in fact succeeded in UTG's challenge of shooting five three groups all smaller than 0.75" - wow, and well done.

And I absolutely *love* that .416 Rigby - what a wonderful rifle and what fantastic shooting!
 
Is .75" asking to much? I don't want it to be so easy that it isn't a challenge. That is why I figured that 3 shots under .75" would be a possible but challenging goal.

Is it 3 shots at 100 yards within 1" to get 1 MOA? If so, I think that would be a better goal... I've tried this 3 times now and failed every time.
 
What would people think if I changed it to 1" at 100 yards, BUT! changed the rule so that the rifle had to be 100% stock. No bedding, no aftermarket triggers. Absolutely 100% factory (except maybe a paint job because mine is painted). If the factory trigger allows the trigger to be adjusted that would be fine but otherwise no trigger jobs. I am only thinking now. Let me know what you think.
 
What would people think if I changed it to 1" at 100 yards, BUT! changed the rule so that the rifle had to be 100% stock. No bedding, no aftermarket triggers. Absolutely 100% factory (except maybe a paint job because mine is painted). If the factory trigger allows the trigger to be adjusted that would be fine but otherwise no trigger jobs. I am only thinking now. Let me know what you think.

For what it's worth, I like that idea. I think that will be a more obtainable goal for more people and give more people a little satisfaction knowing that they can complete a challenge with their bone stock rifle.
 
...
And I absolutely *love* that .416 Rigby - what a wonderful rifle and what fantastic shooting!

Thanks rnbra-shooter. It was quite exciting for me to see the improvement a bedding job made on that rifle. The best 3 shot group I could manage with it before was about 1.75 - 2 MOA. I'll be giving the challenge a go in the (hopefully) near future.

I 'used to be' a TR shooter too. Sailing has since taken over my summers. Haven't competed since '91 or '92...
 
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