How Accurate is good enough for you to head into the field to hunt?

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Dearhunter61

New member
As Deer Season approaches and we are all going to the range for some practice as well as making sure our rifles are sighted in good enough I was wondering what you consider to be good enough?

3 shot groups?

5 shot groups?

1/2" at 100 yards?

1" at 100 yards?

2" at 100 yards?

3" at 100 yards?

1/2" at 200 yards?

1" at 200 yards?

2" at 200 yards?

3" at 200 yards?

Thanks,
 
5 rounds of Winchester cheap slugs without lowering my shotgun to rest into paperplate size group at 65 yards is my maximum deviation... I prefer a softball to pie plate size group.
Brent
 
It's good if your rifle will shoot a good group from a bench. But, in the end you are going to either have to be close enough or have a good enough rest that you can keep the crosshairs in the vital area long enough to make the shot. If your crosshairs are wandering about then get closer, get a better rest, or wait for another opportunity.

In normal hunting it would take a really bad shooting rifle to be to blame for a missed shot.

Some of these extreme range shooters might be a different story.
 
one shot...one kill... i go out with 1" at 100yds... hopefully less than 4" at 300yds.... depending on which caliber I actually carry that year.... .06, .270, .308, or 22-250
 
I don't use a shotgun, just a 30-06 or my Bow, but, If I hit my 12" picnic plate with the -06 at 75 yards with the first shot, I don't shoot again.

No need to really because if you miss, it's not going to be in the same place after you work the bolt, and if you hit it where you pointed, it's not going anywhere.

Extreme range shooters are NOT hunters if you ask me. They behave like adrenalin tards, and, if they can't get close enough to shoot their animal without a scope, they ain't worth a darn in my book.
 
From a rest, 1" MINIMUM (1/2" to 3/4" is normal), so I know my loads/rifle/scope are still on time... But offhand, with a .270 Win., if I can put 3 inside of 3" at 100 yds, I'm happy.
 
Hey, KoolMink...

If my Browning came with ironsights, I'd have my scope sittin' on see-thru mounts, cuz woods huntin' doesn't call for a scope... But there are days when some of Our eyes aren't the best, too...
 
Some of you guys need to seperate hunting accuracy from target accuracy.....


There is no need for 1/2 or even 1 inch groups at 100 yards unless you plan to take 400 yard shots. If your shots are limited, as most are, to 200 yards or less then 2, even 3 inches, is enough at 100.

Do I WANT better than 3 inches? Yes. Is it necessary to effectively and humanely kill a deer sized or larger animal? No.

Sure, some guys are hunting where there might actually be 400 yard shots with a good rest. In that case, yes, 1 inch is probably max at 100 yards.....

but for the other 90% of deer hunters who either cannot even SEE 200 yards in the areas where they hunt or are relegated to shotguns which limit shots with even the BEST rounds to under 200 yards.... well, 2, 3 even 4 inches is enough.
 
I agree 110%, PeetzaKilla.

I just view a small group from rest as "removing one more variable" because You, as a Hunter and a Sportsman, are faced with ENOUGH variables and Very-Non-Perfect elements in the field, and the better You can group from rest at the range, the better the odds are to make a one shot, quick, humane kill.

That's just my outlook.
 
CC, I am in the opposite camp... I feel the more accurately you replicate the realistic shooting conditions of your style of hunt than the more realistically you can expect the hunt go as you intended it... I don't care if I can clover leaf 10 rounds into 4 holes at 500 yards from a rest and bench... If you standing up firing off hand without sticks, your chances are low if that is not how you prepare to shoot.
Brent
 
depends how you hunt...for me, no more tree stands or blinds...just still hunting and tracking , i practice shooting 3 shot groups in the standing position... 3 to 5 inch groups at 150 yards is good enough for me(where i hunt i am not sniping deer at 600 yrds:)) just make sure you're barrel is "cold" when you practice your groups, or at least try to mimic the environmental conditions you will be hunting in when sighting in the deer slayer....


cheers
 
I haven't shot a animal over about 40 yards in at least a decade. Only over 50 yard shot I can remember was Louann shooting a hog one afternoon in a fire lane. Woods are to thick most of the time. Besides that I really hate to wound a animal so I want him close.

With that I feel good with the .35 Rem putting them in 3 or 4 inches at 100 yards.

On the other hand if I was stuck with 200-300 yard shots on the prarrie then I'd have to do a lot better! Would not feel properly set up without being sure I could do the 3-4 inches at 200 yards with something other than the old .35!
 
That's also why we DEVELOP loads. Why spend hard earned money on premium components and not strive for full potential?

And that's why we spend our hard earned dollars on premium bullets...similar intended outcome...One Shot, Quick Kill.

I live in Louisiana, where most of our hunting is in the woods, but that's not ALWAYS the case. An occasional shot is longer. 250 in some cases, to 400 yards max, usually where a powerline has a long clearcut underneath. I shoot .270 winchester, that's MY only centerfire rifle these days...Every other rifle I've had has been sold. It's a Browning with a Douglas Air Gauge #4, and I've got a Nikon Monarch 4-16x50mm BDC Reticle.

Alot of folks hunt with fixed 4x scopes, so my lowest setting is just that, plus my scope has a 50mm Objective, so my F.O.V. is wider, and light transmission is excellent. But in many situations, more magnification may not be MANDATORY, but it suuure is nice! My .270 is my Do-It-All. If I went up to visit my Dad in Michigan, I can take long shots across the many acres of cleared land, and kill. I don't need a .300 Mag, Bro.

I have 2 shotguns for other situations, a Double PistolGrip Mossberg 500 8 shot, and a Remington 870 Express SuperMag, for any and all shotgun situations, slugs if I wanna...

Accuracy, even "Target Grade Accuracy", is very beneficial, especially to a Gorgeous WhiteTail. Long Deaths are INhumane.
 
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accuracy

A subject near and dear to my heart. I rarely shoot from a bench - don't even know what my primary hunting rifle will group. I use an O/U .30-06. If I can consistently put both barrels into a palm sized area at 100 yards, then I believe I am good to go.
 
CC, I won't expect to try a shot much beyond 100 yards with my .30-30 firing the cheapest 170 grain Winchester sub $13 per box ammo:o Scope is a 79 dollar 4-12 walmart Bushnell... :o I am super utilitarian aka CHEAP!!! I try to keep my meat under $.10 per pound:D
Brent
 
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