Tips
From Bryce Accuracy |
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What is accuracy? It’s a term that is thrown around rather carelessly
by shooters, with little defined information about what exactly we are
talking about. Is an accurate rifle one that will shoot a minute of angle?
(About one inch at 100 yards.) If so, how many shots in the group? Three,
five, ten? How many groups should be fired to determine the “average”
group size and establish the accuracy standard for that rifle? Should
the rifle be able to do that from a cold barrel and place the first shot
clustered tightly with all those that follow? Or should this rifle be
“accurate” only after a fouling shot or two has warmed the
barrel? If you are a long-range hunter the first shot is the most important, so accuracy here might be defined as exact predictability for the first shot. You may measure that by shooting a ten-shot group while firing one shot each day for ten days. If you are a varmint hunter you will likely define the accuracy of your rifle by how consistently it shoots with a fouled and heated barrel. If it’s accurate for the first shot, or even the first five shots, but starts scattering bullets after that, it’s useless to you. Lots of rifles will group three shots in less than an inch, fewer can do five or ten and it’s a special rifle indeed that will put every shot inside that magic circle. But is one MOA acceptable accuracy for a varmint rifle? Isn’t a serious varmint gun that can at best keep its bullets in one inch a bit on the “inaccurate” side? What of a benchrest competition gun? Would you be competitive at the top level with a gun only capable of one MOA accuracy? Conversely, I have seen very few lever action deer rifles that will come close to shooting to one MOA. But does that make them “inaccurate” rifles? Compared to what? What standard of accuracy is needed for hunting whitetail deer in the thick brush? What actually defines an “accurate” Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 Winchester? Or any other rifle, for that matter? In the end we must accept that “accuracy” is a relative term with no single correct answer. What is considered “accurate” for one type of rifle would be unacceptable for another. I have a lever action rifle that can consistently group three shots in less than an inch and a half at 100 yards. Not just a lucky group now and then, but every time I try. That’s an exceptional rifle. I also have a heavy barrel varmint rifle that shoots about the same. In this case, it’s a poor shooter and should be rebarreled or replaced. In my world, accuracy is when any rifle is shooting the best it can with ammo best suited for the use that rifle is intended for. If your handloads are designed and constructed so that your rifle is running at peak performance, then you can claim you have an accurate rifle and I won’t argue. How you determine that is up to you, but I’ll give you my “protocol.” Big game hunting guns are fired with three shot groups and I allow the barrel to fully cool between groups. Varmint guns are fired with five shot groups and I do not let the barrel cool between groups. But I don’t let it get any hotter than I would allow in the field. Usually, when it’s too hot to touch, it’s time to let it cool off. I use a minimum of five groups, but usually ten groups, and take an average. When I can no longer achieve a smaller group average with anything I am doing with my handloads or with new factory loads, I figure I have the most accurate load for that gun. Now, to be truthful, I don’t always take this to its final conclusion. At some point you need to end the search or accept that you can wear out your rifle trying to achieve perfection. So it’s best to have a “target goal” to strive for. For example, if I have a big game bolt-action rifle that is consistently shooting to less than one MOA I usually quit experimenting. Perhaps I can shave another eighth or quarter inch off the group average, but why? It will gain nothing in the hunting fields. The same with a varmint gun, if I have it shooting consistently under a half-inch I save the barrel for varmint hunting. No point in shooting it out just to shrink the group average a few tenths of an inch. Better those hundreds of rounds are spent on prairie dogs, which is why I have the gun. The point is, I usually set an arbitrary but fairly tough goal for the rifle and when I have achieved that I consider that my handloads are “accurate.” Remember that you must fire your rifle from a solid bench rest to judge accuracy. You are not proving your shooting skills here, but are testing a precision machine. A human body is constantly in motion. If it wasn’t you would be dead. Blood must pump through your body and that can cause a rifle to move slightly. For the best accuracy you should minimize that movement all you can. That means that the gun should be supported by sandbags in a solid manner. In actuality, you are only there to insure that the gun is properly aimed and to squeeze the trigger. Beyond that the less influence you have on the rifle, the better. |
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