Varmint hunting accuracy.

[ARW]

It seems like a 1/2 inch group at 100yds. is pretty much the strived for accuracy level for a varmint hunting rig. But what about farther out, say 200-300-400yds. etc. What is considered an acceptable level of accuracy at those distances.

 

[AckleymanII]

How small is the varmint you are shooting at?

Back in the early 80's, we considered 1/2" at 200 yards a goal for Idaho chucks and p. dogs, 243's and 6 Remington factory rifles, tuned.

 

[ARW]

How small is the varmint you are shooting at?

Good point, that will make a difference. My main targets will be groundhogs and crows.

 

[WyleWD]

JME, that anything 1" and under is pretty good. If you can consistently shoot that size group spend more time learning to shoot in the wind. WD

 

[varmintshooter]

I think we have all taken shots well beyond our equip/skill level. I like to have a reasonable expectation of making the shot. If shooting Ghogs, for example, at 500yds I should be able to shoot a Ghog size group at that distance. Shooting small groups in the field isn't as easy as from a bench but an accurate gun sure helps.

 

[ARW]

I think we have all taken shots well beyond our equip/skill level. I like to have a reasonable expectation of making the shot. If shooting Ghogs, for example, at 500yds I should be able to shoot a Ghog size group at that distance. Shooting small groups in the field isn't as easy as from a bench but an accurate gun sure helps.

Agreed, since most of my shooting is at varmints, I do all of my shooting from a bipod only. I do feel I am more accurate from a bench than prone in a field or from the hood of my truck. Especially when the groundhog or crow won't stay still, which they seem to do, especially the crows.

 

[jds holler]

My current squirrel rifle is a solid .5 MOA from my range/bench set-up.

When I set up for squirrels, I'm usually on my tripod, which enlarges that MOA to probably 1.5.

I'm pretty deadly out to 200 yds, but further than that, gets pretty sketchy. These ground squirrels aren't much bigger than a Snickers Bar.

I did nail one the other day at around 400 yards though. He was VERY unlucky. jd

 

[rebel]

Realistically, I want the rifle to be as good as it can be, however tight the groups are. I shoot off a Bog Pod with the double cradle head. Slight shoulder pressure and trigger finger is all that's touching the rifle. I have made called precision hits out to 300. Last year, my hunting pardner set up on a spooky hog whose hole was in a hedgerow. Ranged at 400 yards. He waited all day for that thing to come out and feed. Called me at work elated that he put a smackdown DRT hit on him at that distance. His rifle is a solid 1/4 min. shooting in field conditions. Practice makes perfect.

 

[msinc]

How small is the varmint you are shooting at?

This is a good point...many of the locals in Maine and Alaska consider black bear a "varmint"...in this case I think 1/2 minute will work, but you have to make sure the bullet is big enough!!
Kidding aside, if you are going to routinely shoot at small varmints {crows, squirrels, woodchucks} it's always good to see how the rifle will perform out there at 300-400 yards. I like to take a box of skeet targets out to my gravel pit and set them up random out to 400 meters or so. I use "come-ups" and if I can get good solid hits consistently then the rifle is GTG.
Looking at groups is a matter of angles when you move on out...i.e., if it shoots 1/2 minute at 100 then it should, in theory still shoot 2" at 400. That's plenty good enough for the size animal you are after. There are guys who claim to shoot 1" at 100 with certain bullets, but say they can shoot 2" at 400....not saying I don't believe them, but I didn't know a bullet can swing out and back into center like that.
Keith, you might recognize this barrel...this is one of my longest shots on a woodchuck and it appears I am not practicing what I preach. Don't go for the head when they are way out there, center mass. The head shot was a lucky accident...

 

[johnmyers]

With a good custom rifle you should be able to get .250 to .5 MOA and you should do well with whatever you want to hunt. Have a good ballistic chart if shooting much past your zero range.

 

[1K6BRA]

AMAP.... As much as possible, from your particular rig.

 

[Webster]

With a good custom rifle you should be able to get .250 to .5 MOA and you should do well with whatever you want to hunt. Have a good ballistic chart if shooting much past your zero range.

Don't know if you need a custom rifle. I have 2 Rem 700 both with a Krieger Varmint wt. barrel. One a 6BR and the othe a 6BRX. The 6BR has been glass bedded with a Jewell trigger other than that it's stock. The 6 BRX is a cheap $500 Rem 700 ADL. Both shoot groups under .350" with my limited shooting ability. Bottom line if you want an accurate rifle toss the factory barrel qnd get a Kreiger or Bartlein barrel. Accuracy cost money.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I have to travel for colony shooting, so varmints for me are fox,coyote. I have a couple rifles that are consistent hole cutters at 100 yards, with a 16-20x scope. Not as easy for me if I have a 3-9 or a more "normal" hunting scope. With a scope that is 12x, I can stay in 1" at 300, from a bench. I will go head shot on coyote/red fox inside 250 yards when less than 10 mph full value wind. When wind is greater than 10 I usually try to get to 200 yards. Since going suppressed, doubles on bedded coyote have been pretty routine, with first one being a head shot, 2nd have been only moving a short distance. Prone/bipod for spot and stalk shooting, sighting in shot the same way. Rifles are 8-10.5#, since some walks maybe 1 mile plus.

 

[WyleWD]

With a good custom rifle you should be able to get .250 to .5 MOA and you should do well with whatever you want to hunt. Have a good ballistic chart if shooting much past your zero range.

+1^^^ Finding an off the shelf "Factory" rifle with a good enough barrel and clean breaking trigger is not a walk in the park (easy). You'll definitely increase your accuracy potential by improving barrel quality and a really good trigger. Using good glass is important too. JME. WD

 

[DogBuster]

Actual field shooting varmints...as mentioned your groups will open up

Any table or shooting technique changes.....wind of course is a game changer

Don't over think it....develope the best load for your rifle(s) and go for it....

More important get to know your scope adjustments & know how to use 'em

I shoot p/dogs.......hopefully more this summer than summer of '19

target pic......prob the best Savage factory barrel I ever had........

 

[Barossa_222]

All of my varmint rifles will shoot under 1" at 100 yards. My good ones will shoot under 1/2 minute. My exceptional ones will nudge 1/4 minute. I have shot screamer groups in the .2's, but generally I can shoot 1/2 all day off a good set up on the bench/bags. In the field groups will and do open up. If you are shooting rabbit sized game and smaller, your gun will need to shoot at least a 1/2 minute if you want to consistently hit them out past 250 yards. For crows at long range, this is a minimum.
I'm a lazy reloader, I don't spend much time developing hunting/varmint guns. If they yield 1/2 minute or under at 100 yards, I pack up and get to shooting them. I won't push for finite accuracy, but then most of my shots are under 300 yards. You are going to miss, you are going to have bad days, you are going to have good and exceptional days. Good luck with it.

 

[Barossa_222]

I'll also say that most of my rifles are set up with fixed 7x and 8x scopes. I can shoot them 1/2 and under with them off the bench. More magnification certainly helps with group shooting, not necessarily in the field. Most of my shooting is done from a vehicle at night which is why they are set up like that. From that scenario 8 out of 10 times I'm shooting 2 inches or under at 200 yards which equals dead fox. Reality is more practice = more hits in any scenario.

 

[drover]

A rifle that will shoot 5 shot one-inch groups from the bench will provides sufficient field accuracy for varmint shooting in my experience.

My primary varmint shooting is at gophers (ground squirrels), the ones we have here a bit smaller than I have seen in other places - an adult will be about 5 inches tall and about an inch and one-half wide. When varmint shooting I usually shoot from a soft bag on the hood of the truck which is pretty stable but certainly not as stable as a bench-rest.

A group of us usually take a 2-week PD trip to a target rich environment so I generally take 3 rifles to alternate so that I do not burn out the barrels.
The rifles I was taking were a Cooper Varminter which groups a consistent 1/2", a Remington 700 Varminter which shoots a fairly consistent 3/4" and a Remington 700 sporter which shoots a fairly consistent 1" group - all are in 223. I was curious about hit percentages using the different rifles, As an experiment I ran a test on hit percentage differences between the 1/2", 3/4", and 1" grouping rifles, this was done on gophers, not PD's.

Note: I shoot a 40 gr Nosler BT at 3750 using the same load in all of my 223's.
Knowing the hold-over/wind deflection of a load, using the same load for everything minimizes the variable created by using different bullet weights at different velocities.

Criteria -
all shots were on windless or very light wind days

I would shoot 10 shots from the rifle I was using and then use a different rifle, and so on

I took the shots as they were presented regardless of which rifle I was using at the time

all shots were taken at 50 to 250 yds since that is my high percentage hit zone on gophers and kept things equal for the experiment

Shots were taken from the hood of my truck using a soft bag for a front rest and my shoulder for the rear

I kept track of hits and misses by placing the case down in the ammo box for a hit and up for a miss, I kept track until I had done 500 shots through each rifle.

It took a few days to complete but it was enlightening to me. At the end of the test all three rifles averaged within a couple of percent of 75% hits. This may not have been a conclusive scientific test but I did learn that a rifle that shoots one-inch groups is sufficient for my needs, but given the choice about a 1/2" or 1" rifle I will always take the 1/2" rifle even if it is not necessary for varmint hunting - it's a confidence thing I suppose.

drover

 

[dgeesaman]

Speaking as someone who has spent the last two years shooting varmint style rifles at paper (not BR "varmint", I mean actual field-capable varmint rifles), getting from 0.5 moa to 0.25 moa or smaller is a very difficult thing to do.

The slightest bit of wind, parallax, mirage, etc will push .25moa out of the question. Things like cold bore accuracy and temperature stability mean a lot too.

 

[Gary in MD]

This young whistle pig had the top of his head up out of the grass at about 230 yards. Probably couldn’t make that shot every time but sometimes you get lucky.
Gary