How accurate should a deer rifle be?

How accurate should a deer rifle be?

  • Sub MOA

    Votes: 12 13.5%

  • 1-2"

    Votes: 42 47.2%

  • 2-3"

    Votes: 21 23.6%

  • 3-4"

    Votes: 5 5.6%

  • 4-6"

    Votes: 7 7.9%

  • 6-8"

    Votes: 2 2.2%

  • more than 8"

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    89
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hoytinak

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What is satisfactory for you when it comes to accuracy out of your deer rifle?

I answered this question on our local forum and I'm catching alot of flak for my answer of "if I can hit a 8" paper plate at 100yds with my deer rifle (Marlin 336 30-30), I know I'll be able to get a deer with it. I know it'll do 1-2 MOA but you don't need that in a hunting rifle".

Granted, I don't shoot my hunting rifle from a bench. When I shoot it, I normally shoot standing or kneeing cause I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna have a bench when mr. buck shows up. I just don't see why you need a 1-2 MOA gun for hunting deer...am I missing something here, what are your thoughts?
 
Really all the more accurate a deer rifle needs to be is what you can accurately hit a 8" target with consistantly. Unless you hunt from a blind or stand and have time to shoot from a rested position really off hand shooting and 8" is all you really need to test your accuracy. This way you know your limitations and know what shots you can and can't take while in the field.

However, I'm happy with anything less than 1.5" at 100 yards when I'm doing load developement for hunting. If I get it to 1.5" or less from a bagged rest then I can't blame the rifle or the ammunition for me missing my target. When I get to this 1.5" goal then I quit shooting it from the bench and start ringing an 8" diameter gong from field positions.

Sub MOA rifles are special and make things a lot of fun.
 
you need to separate the accuracy of the gun (say shot off a sandbag rest) from your ability to properly aim it and hit an intended target.

my deer rifle will do 1MOA, but when i hoist it up to shoot offhand, i'm happy to keep them in the black, knowing that it is sighted in for 200yds, and will shoot 1MOA.
 
I'll take 3 inch groups at 200-250 yards from actual field shooting positions. I'm interested more in practical accuracy than mechanical accuracy, since the rifle is only as accurate as the shooter deploys it. Too much emphasis is placed on a rifle's practical accuracy which leads to excellent bench groups and missed or wounded game in the field.
 
Your point is well made and understandably, you will get differing answers. It's speaks to performance which is a personal measure. I have a friend that is a bench shooter and his measure would be 1"-2". I have a hunting buddy and he doesn't measure at all, nor is it a concern. Both have defined their performance. Given to understand that a kill radius on an average deer, is 18", there is a lot to play with here. Looking beyond what it takes to kill a deer, to my measure of performance on myself and equipment, I better see 3-4 inches. I don't look to take neck, head of rack shots but I better be ready for whatever I'm blessed with.


Be Safe !!!
 
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It depends so much on distance and repeatability in field positions. 3-4" should be fine for the vast majority of hunters, but can you shoot left handed if you are a right handed shooter? How about torquing around a tree and shooting offhand? The rifle often has little to do with the accuracy of the hunter.
 
So many variables. A Montana prairie deer rifle probably needs to be more accurate than a Maine woods rifle.

Mine are all sub moa, but I am anal about these things.
 
From actual field shooting positions if you can CONSISTENTLY hit inside 6 to 8 inches your fine.
Shooting offhand is nothing like a sand bagged rest.
This all goes back to personal limitations.
My grandfather consistently makes shots from 600 to over 1000 yards with an old mod 70 in 30-06 with an old 4x scope.
He is an exceptional shot, knows his equipment and has shot the same load for over 40 years.
I have a couple rifles that will do sub moa from the bench, in the field from improvised rests and contorted positions in a hurry they are more like 3 moa.
Know your equipment, know your load, and most of all know your limits.
 
Deer rifle accuracy

Though an 8" group at 100 yards is sufficient accuracy for a deer rifle I find it comforting that my trusty 06 is capable of sub MOA. I have confidence knowing that if I do my job my rifle will do it's part. Shooting a less accurate rifle would lessen that confidence.
 
For practical purposes, I'll accept 1-2 MOA in a deer rifle, but I would prefer sub-MOA. The reason for this is, like others have mentioned, that having a really accurate rifle removes one of the possible variables from the equation. When I make that off-hand or field-rest (fence, tree, backpack) shot, I know it won't be sub-MOA. But I want to know that I don't have to worry about the rifle itself. Having a deer rifle that accurate would simply make one less thing to think about, especially if having to analyze a missed shot later.
 
i do spend time bench shooting. I want to know the gun is right and shoots tight but and am not worried about group size for hunting. I do want to know that any time i pull the trigger that cold barrel shot will be good enough to take a deer out to 400 yards IF i have time to check out the deer an support to get the shot off. Hot barrel groups are nice for bragging but its that cold winter day where one shot will do the job that matters. So if my 2'' 400 yard gun will shoot inside 6" on that cold morning in a tree thats great. Just stay with in your guns and your ableity.
 
My dads test was hitting a milk jug at about 100 yards. If you can do every shot free hand no rest you were good to go. Now 98% of all our shots were around 25 to 50 yards due to the deer stand placement and trees. This had a lot more to do with the shooter than the gun.

A lot is due to shot placement a milk jug shot placement in the heart/lung area is better then a 2" group in the belly.


Doug
 
Under 2 moa at 100yds. and I'm OK with it. I'm not real happy but it doesn't worry me. As long as I can make a head shot on a doe at <50yds, I'll use it. my 3 main deer rifles are sub MOA.
 
I will agree all day with those who say an 2-4 moa rifle is good enough for deer out to 400 yds. If you can hold 4 moa groups and are sighted in properly, you'll always hit within 2 MOA of your aiming point. However, I personally won't hunt with a big game rifle that isn't consistently sub moa.

I must have confidence in my rifle and load. When I get those consistent 3/4" groups at 100 yds with reasonably low extreme spreads, then all I have to do is know the range and get steady enough to condifently make a shot. Out to 100 yds offhand is steady enough, past that I need a field rest (tree, branch, log, stump, even a sitting position) to get steady enough.

Yes, I sometimes mess up shots just like the rest of us (these Oregon Blacktails just WILL NOT stand still for me). However, with a rifle/load/scope I am confident in I have eliminated one variable and have one less distraction.
 
1-2" is where I need it to be

1-2" is accurate enough for me. I hunt with a Savage 110, 30-06 with a muzzle break. It easily shoots sub 2" groups.

1st is to make a clean kill. I can't live with an injured animal out there because my shot was sloppy.
2nd is to eliminate or reduce the chase or search for it, when it drops. The ideal is to drop it where it's shot, slightly uphill from the road where my truck is.
3rd, no lost meat by hitting the gut in error. Clean shots mean cleaner meat.
4th, Less adrenelin from running injured. My goal is for a 1st or 2nd day of season kill, before the deer are so full of adrenelin from running scared. I try to reduce the gaminess in the taste of my venison as much as possible.
 
Two parts to the deal. First is what the rifle can be made to do from the bench as an indicator. Generally, anything of two MOA or better is plenty good. Why? Because the great majority of shots on Bambi are within 200 yards. The kill zone on Bambi, depending on how picky you are about the heart/lung shot, is easily a six-inch sorta-circle.

Second is what YOU can do with any rifle, regardless of tack-drivers or two-MOA critters. If you, yourself, can hold in field positions to within two to three MOA, you'll most likely eat venison.
 
the question is how accurate the shooter needs to be

Hi,

I voted 1-2 MOA.

my rifle shoots sub MOA (off the bench), but with a slow load load that has a
considerable bullet drop at rages from 300 Yards and further.

If I am shooting targets or metal Silouhette at the range that is what I load, the same applies if I am hunting in areas with thick vegetation where shots are always anywhere from 100 to 200 yards.

Now, when I go to Namibia, the place where I hunt is mostly huge open grasslands, so shots of 300 to 400 yards are the norm (Springbuck) I then use a load that does just over 1 (less than 1.5) MOA but gives me half the bullet drop than my "sweet load".

IMO, as long as the rifle can hit 1-2 MOA (closer to 1 preferably) in the hands of a hunter who practices regularly and can stick to the prindiples of propper shooting and not succumb to "buck fever" when he has the cross hairs on his buck, the bullet will hit its intended target.

in other words, a sub MOA rifle in the hands of a 10 MOA shooter is not much good, but often the tendency is to blame misses on the rifle, wind, scope, fog, bright sun, (hangover?) etc.

Brgds,


Danny
 
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For mechanical accuracy - 1" or better at 100 yds [1MOA] .Remember that shooting position, range ,lighting etc add to this.
 
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