So I was doing some shooting with my .30-06 and trying different reloads for 300 yard accuracy. 5 different loads I tried with the best group at 3" and the worst at 4.2". not a perfect rest or target to identify at that range but gave me an idea anyway. Two shots in most groups were 1.5" or better with the third opening to said groups. Not sure if it was the third shot that strayed though. Just curious what sort of results people consider acceptable? Good? ect. I know they would cleanly take game with my results but just curious.
300 yard hunting rifle accuracy?
- Thread starter shorttrac
- Start date
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
4" at 300 yards is perfectly fine for general hunting of big game.
I know guys who cannot shoot 2" groups at 100 yards on the bench because they just personnally can't do it (never mind their rifle), but always bring home their animal, and they're not using 5-6 shots to do it either.
Pinpoint accuracy is way overrated for hunting purposes.
A hunter who knows how to hunt, and stays calm and picks their shots, is way ahead of someone with an expensive rig that shoots bugholes at the range, but gets all freaky-deaky when out in the field.
I know guys who cannot shoot 2" groups at 100 yards on the bench because they just personnally can't do it (never mind their rifle), but always bring home their animal, and they're not using 5-6 shots to do it either.
Pinpoint accuracy is way overrated for hunting purposes.
A hunter who knows how to hunt, and stays calm and picks their shots, is way ahead of someone with an expensive rig that shoots bugholes at the range, but gets all freaky-deaky when out in the field.
for hunting rifle accuracy your groups are plenty good enuf......unless you are shooting really small targets like prairie dogs......which i doubt you are doing since your shooting a 30-06 .......not that there is anything wrong with shooting prairie dogs with a 30-06 [ lol ]
Great accuracy you have going there...Chances are it's your first shot that is out of the group...I have a few rifles that are like that...The main thing is that the first shot always goes where it's supposed to and the follow up shots are very close...Cold bore mystery that can be very annoying!
I shoot about the same with a 300wsm, my best 300 yard groups for 3 shots a hair under 2" but consistently between under 4"
perfectly happy with that to shoot any animal I see, but always trying to shoot the smallest group at the range, I feel like shooting small groups on paper makes me much more confident in the field
I also have the 3rd shot "flier"...my first 2 shots are always close and often touching...but the third shot opens to the right, usually high
perfectly happy with that to shoot any animal I see, but always trying to shoot the smallest group at the range, I feel like shooting small groups on paper makes me much more confident in the field
I also have the 3rd shot "flier"...my first 2 shots are always close and often touching...but the third shot opens to the right, usually high
3-4" groups at 300 are perfectly fine for big game hunting at 300 yards and for a long ways past that.
Three shot groups will usually have a couple that are closer together, and its human nature wants to believe that the close ones are the "group". Unless you can repeatedly prove that the "bad" is always the first one, or always the last one it probably isn't demonstrating anything other than random dispersion. Let the rifle cool off and shoot another three at the same target and you will probably find that group fills in and becomes round. Do it again and it will be round with most of them close to the center. Now that you have 9 piled into a cluster you can look at them and find any pattern that you want to believe in. In that cluster you can find numerous examples of 2 together and one farther away, probably a few of three touching and you could just pick the three farthest shots. The point being, when you are only take three shot groups you will only get a glimpse of what is really going on.
Its not fun, but one of the most reliable indicators you can get from three shot groups is what the worst groups look like. The best is only telling you that random chance has placed three close together. Sort of like shooting a 10 shot group and picking three you like. The worst 3 shot groups are awful close to what the average 5s and 10s look like.
Three shot groups will usually have a couple that are closer together, and its human nature wants to believe that the close ones are the "group". Unless you can repeatedly prove that the "bad" is always the first one, or always the last one it probably isn't demonstrating anything other than random dispersion. Let the rifle cool off and shoot another three at the same target and you will probably find that group fills in and becomes round. Do it again and it will be round with most of them close to the center. Now that you have 9 piled into a cluster you can look at them and find any pattern that you want to believe in. In that cluster you can find numerous examples of 2 together and one farther away, probably a few of three touching and you could just pick the three farthest shots. The point being, when you are only take three shot groups you will only get a glimpse of what is really going on.
Its not fun, but one of the most reliable indicators you can get from three shot groups is what the worst groups look like. The best is only telling you that random chance has placed three close together. Sort of like shooting a 10 shot group and picking three you like. The worst 3 shot groups are awful close to what the average 5s and 10s look like.
For hunting, my personal standard for the rifle is a magazine-full into less than five inches at 300 meters, shooting from a rest on the bench. That is 328 yards, the distance to the pig rail on our silhouette course. Most guys when looking at the pigs or the target out there for the first time guess it to be 5-600 yards.
Then, for myself, the standard is how many paper plates can I hit with the same rifle sitting and standing, at random unknown distances up to that distance? That is brutal reckoning, and will make one think twice about how far I should be shooting game. Hence, most of my shots in the field are well under half that distance.
If I can arrange a prone setup in ideal conditions, rifle rested on pack or rolled-up parka, no wind, no nearby escape cover, etc, I may try a shot out to 300. Often this is not possible because of intervening grass, brush, or terrain.
Ted
Then, for myself, the standard is how many paper plates can I hit with the same rifle sitting and standing, at random unknown distances up to that distance? That is brutal reckoning, and will make one think twice about how far I should be shooting game. Hence, most of my shots in the field are well under half that distance.
If I can arrange a prone setup in ideal conditions, rifle rested on pack or rolled-up parka, no wind, no nearby escape cover, etc, I may try a shot out to 300. Often this is not possible because of intervening grass, brush, or terrain.
Ted
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
How do you ever kill anything when the bar isn't even MOA? Goodness man!
That's true. People agonize over a fraction of an inch (because apparently fractions are important) then sight in 3 inches high at 100 because 3 inches (or 4 at 200) doesn't mean anything. Then they happily shoot at distances where drop and drift are measured in feet.
It would all be harmless if you never gave up anything to get it.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The accuracy you've observed from your rifle and it's ammunition is certainly sufficient to inspire confidence in both. The question then is, whether you're confident in yourself to make a decisive hit on a big game animal, under real world conditions. This means shooting at a target of approximate size with no well defined aiming point at an estimated range, unless you have time to use that laser range finder, under conditions of variable light and contrasting background. It means knowing how to compensate for wind, maybe steep upward or downward target angles, or perhaps having to shoot when you're out of breath. It always means shooting against the clock, because a live target, even when undisturbed, seldom stays motionless for very long.
You'll need to work on shooting from supported and unsupported field positions. You might find that you can't shoot from a steady low position due to intervening vegetation or terrain, and are forced to shoot from a higher position. Once you're in the higher position, the wind might buffer you so much you can't hold, and you're to recognize the shot has to be passed up. Fire pairs, cycling the action as quickly as you can while the rifle is at your shoulder, the point is less how closely the two rounds hit, although closer is better, and more how closely they come to your intended point of impact. Two rounds that hit the same hole aren't worth much if they land a foot from your intended point of impact because you failed to take into account the effects of range, wind, and target angle. This isn't meant to diminish the accomplishments you've made with your rifle, just to let you know that there's more to shooting than those pleasing groups, made on a warm sunny day, at a stationary target, across a manicured range.
You'll need to work on shooting from supported and unsupported field positions. You might find that you can't shoot from a steady low position due to intervening vegetation or terrain, and are forced to shoot from a higher position. Once you're in the higher position, the wind might buffer you so much you can't hold, and you're to recognize the shot has to be passed up. Fire pairs, cycling the action as quickly as you can while the rifle is at your shoulder, the point is less how closely the two rounds hit, although closer is better, and more how closely they come to your intended point of impact. Two rounds that hit the same hole aren't worth much if they land a foot from your intended point of impact because you failed to take into account the effects of range, wind, and target angle. This isn't meant to diminish the accomplishments you've made with your rifle, just to let you know that there's more to shooting than those pleasing groups, made on a warm sunny day, at a stationary target, across a manicured range.
