"Only accurate rifles are interesting"

Rob said:
"Only accurate rifles are interesting" is a famous quote by Col Townsend Whelen, published in The American Rifleman in 1957. However, when it comes to hunting rifles, I fundamentally disagree. There are more important considerations. Some hunting rifles feel almost alive, are perfectly balanced in the hand, and are easy to shoot quickly, while others definitely are not. Some "accurate" rifles can be real unbalanced logs to lug around in the bush. I will take a happy, lively and "accurate enough" (1.5 - 2 in. groups?) rifle any day over a log that shoots tiny groups at the bench. "Only lively rifles are interesting."
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You gotta remember in his time, a 2.5 MOA rifle was pretty darn accurate. Even Jack O'Connor thought a 2MOA rifle was great.

I've always thought the best hunting rifle was one that you could confidently carry and put one in the kill zone from a supported field position.

But that hasn't ever stopped me from looking for sub MOA groups.....which is completely irrelevant in a rifle intended for shooting game in a "regular" 0-400 yard hunting scenario. :)
 
Accurate guns are "satisfying" to the point of being boring.
Its the journey getting them to that "boring" status that is fulfilling!
I have a pre-64 model 70 in 30-06 that I bought at auction with scope affixed. Took it to the rifle range for the first time, along with a mixed bag of miscellaneous factory ammo. Turns out it was basically already sighted 3" high at 100 and everything shot to a "near" one inch group. My favorite handloads shot into a quarter size group. Done before I even got started! Put it away, and as I recall, I havent even taken it out of the safe to blood it yet.
I guess it never hurts to have a sleeper sitting in the wings either!!
 
I have a couple tikka's t3x in 8x57 and they're pretty boring. Most factory ammo and reloads I put through them shoot sub moa.

100 yard groups.

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