Have a Vortex Venom 3MOA red dot on a 10/22. Bench resting and using CCI SV I get about 3 to 4 MOA groups at 50 yards. What kind of accuracy is realistic for this set up? I was hoping for 2 MOA groups. Do I just suck or are my expectations too high? What accuracy do others get using pistol-style red dots on their rifles?
What kind of accuracy can I expect out of a pistol-style red dot on a 10/22?
- Thread starter panaan25
- Start date
First off. I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion you suck. Have you shot this firearm with a good quality scope and this ammo to see what it’s capable of? There are a few steps before you can make educated decisions on your setup. You might be shooting great for that ammo out of your gun. If your gun is capable of shooting dimesize groups with this ammo then it’s just a shooting form issue. First see what this gun and ammo are capable of and go from there. I have used red dot sights on rimfire rifles and can shoot some very good groups at 50. The size of your dot can also have something to do with results as well as the target your using
From what I've seen at the range (I don't own one), you're getting close to the Ruger accuracy level unless you've done some good mods. You need a light trigger (which Rugers are NOT known for) so your pull doesn't affect aim. None of my rifles have 'Out of the box' triggers and all except SKS are around 2#. Then, a 3-MOA dot is pretty large too, so hard to get 'fine accuracy'. I have several and I use a 6-o'clock hold on whatever target and adjust so the POI is where I want it. And your adjustments on that are prob 1-MOA per clik so you'll have to 'adjust' your hold to really dial-in.
Longstud makes great points about brand of ammo as well. You may not have found the right one yet.
Longstud makes great points about brand of ammo as well. You may not have found the right one yet.
The receiver is the RDR (red dot ready) Receiver from Grey Birch and can only accept red dot sights so no option to test with a scope. I hear ya about trying different ammo types. I'm also thinking I need to try a real rifle rest rather than just resting it on a flat surface. Thank you for the input!
Everything except the factory trigger is fancied up (Grey Birch upper, SBI chassis) and unless it needs some kind of break in period I feel like I can't blame anything on the gun. When budget allows I plan to get a Kidd trigger and hopefully that'll help. 6-o'clock could help too for small targets. Yup, 1-MOA per click. It could also be the ammo. Thanks for the input!
My thoughts exactly.
At 50 yards it likely has little to do with the red dot. 10/22s are just not the most accurate things ever, might just be that the gun is only capable of 2-3 MOA at the best of times, and the red dot only opens that up slightly. You might be able to get your 2MOA groups with a magnified optic, but you might not. Whooo knows.
A Ruger 22/45 Mk3 with a red dot on it, firing 30 year old Winchester lead hollow point 22lr ammo, is the most accurate handgun I've ever shot in the PPC course of fire. More accurate than my Shadows by FAR. Somewhat more accurate than my gunsmith-modified-for-PPC 38spl 6" revolver firing wadcutters designed for the PPC game.
By accurate I mean functionally accurate, with me firing by hand from both supported and unsupported positions. I haven't tried any of these out of a ransom rest.
By accurate I mean functionally accurate, with me firing by hand from both supported and unsupported positions. I haven't tried any of these out of a ransom rest.
I built a gun for my wife(hope she never sees this) and it was capable of hitting 1.5" steel gongs at 100 yards. I put a Razor 3MOA sight on it and at fifty with the proper target and anyone that knew how to hold was capable of 1/2-5/8" groups easily. Many groups were much smaller than the average. The gun needs to be capable before anything can be determined. You need to test a bunch of different ammo out of this rifle.
Dang, those are some good groups!
Good to know. Sounds like a red dot is not hinderance to good accuracy.
It is realistic to expect accuracy that is in keeping with your abilities.
You can increase your abilities.
When you have reached the limit, on that score, there are things to do that will increase the intrinsic accuracy of the firearm.
Well yeah but isn't the whole idea of using a bench rest to sight in a gun meant to take one's own abilities out of the equation?
I would first find out what the guns capable of and then you have a starting point to go from! If you use proper rests and get consistent groups of a certain size. Then when you shoot off the rest,wether supported or freehhand, youll have a better idea of how your progressing. If your particular setup is only capable of 3" groups at fifty off the bench then you can truly judge wether you suck or not. It will give a baseline to start from. IE 5" at 50 out of a 3" at 50 gun is good shooting and lets you know if your improving. If your guns capable of 1/2" at 50 and your shooting 5" well that lets you know theres room for improvement. Best of luck
Much appreciated!
Perhaps, but it only works well when you have reached a certain level of proficiency.
If all you care about is establishing how accurate the firearm is, with no input from yourself, you need a lead sled.
I’ve never seen the point, as the important thing is how well you can make it perform.
Little late to the party.
I have a full Dlask/Kidd biult 10-22. I swap between a 4.5-14 and a 4moa reflex sight.
With the scope I can print 1/2”- 5/8” groups from a sled. 50m
Same gun and ammo with the 4 moa red dot in a sled, best I can do is 1.5” usually.
I’m a believer in “aim small….miss small”. But 4 moa at 50m is a big dot for trying to shoot tight groups.
My new red dot will be 2moa max.
I have a full Dlask/Kidd biult 10-22. I swap between a 4.5-14 and a 4moa reflex sight.
With the scope I can print 1/2”- 5/8” groups from a sled. 50m
Same gun and ammo with the 4 moa red dot in a sled, best I can do is 1.5” usually.
I’m a believer in “aim small….miss small”. But 4 moa at 50m is a big dot for trying to shoot tight groups.
My new red dot will be 2moa max.
