Factory provided targets as a gauge to potential accuracy

[SS427]

Several companies provide test targets to attest to the accuracy of a rifle. Wby Vanguard used to do this, Savage will do it and Cooper always does it. I doubt they do much, if any, tuning of a load. I would assume Cooper puts more effort into it than Wby or Savage as I know they do test with hand loads.

How much stock should you put into these targets as a gauge for potential accuracy?

 

[Lapua40X]

How much stock should you put into these targets as a gauge for potential accuracy?

If the target was shot at under 100 yards the sample targets don't mean much to me. Some samples are produced at less than 50 yards. You could get a 1/4 MOA group at that distance with a sling shot.

 

[finnaddict]

How much stock should you put into these targets as a gauge for potential accuracy?

If the target was shot at under 100 yards the sample targets don't mean much to me. Some samples are produced at less than 50 yards. You could get a 1/4 MOA group at that distance with a sling shot.

So true,

I see that at ranges often and read about it on forums how tight and all touching the 3 round or 5 round group was at fifty yards. At that short range the bullet doesn't have time to do anything ballistically. That does not mean anything. Can it at 100??? Yeah that is a whole different story and so will the results. Also to consider, many factories clamp their test rifles literally to a vice that has no play what so ever. And there is no wind, the temperature is controlled, there is no cheek weld issues, trigger pull, sight and sight picture alignment and so on. Try not to have those factors not play against you at the range.

 

[DR1586]

Dave,

Not sure why you are opposed to a mechanical rest. I realize that the accuracy level and recoil characteristics are not the same as in a shooter's shoulder. I know that bullseye pistol builders use barrel testers and ransom rests to test their product. Bullet manufacturers use barrel actions on a rail gun type setup to test bullets. The AMU has a gun cradle to test loads at 600 yards. If you use a mechanical rest to take the human error out of the equation you are looking at what the equipment is capable of.

 

[savageshooter86]

+1.

Also I know a shooting buddy sent his Savage barrel back and they replaced it with a "new" one and provided a test target showing great accuracy. Then he could never get the barrel to shoot that way ever. So he finally sold it. He knows how to reload and shoot as all his other barrels shoot tiny dots.

So I would not put too much into the test targets. Who knows they may shoot several groups and pick the one that shows the best possible. Not the other 2-5 groups that shot like a shotgun

 

[Gillie Dog]

From the rifles I have had that came with targets I was able to equal the target or better it from a bench rest.

The Cooper has always shot better at 100 yds than the 47 yard test target they provided was. It now is approaching 8,000 rounds down the tube and is still very much a tack driver. It is a 17HMR which has dispatched thousands of ground squirrels so I expect another 8K with out problems. Funny thing about it was at 2K rounds any sign of copper fouling ceased to exist even after a few hundred rounds.

The two Weatherbys, a Mark V 300 and a Vanguard Sub MOA 22-250 both shoot better than the target I received. I have never gotten the 300 much under 1 MOA but the Vanguard is definatly 1/2 MOA from a bench at 100 yards.

So I guess I believe, Virginia.

GD

 

[artbosco]

Several companies provide test targets to attest to the accuracy of a rifle. Wby Vanguard used to do this, Savage will do it and Cooper always does it. I doubt they do much, if any, tuning of a load. I would assume Cooper puts more effort into it than Wby or Savage as I know they do test with hand loads.

How much stock should you put into these targets as a gauge for potential accuracy?

Indoor ranges and special holding apparatuses are one thing, however, once we humans get involved, all bets are off.

 

[DR1586]

Several companies provide test targets to attest to the accuracy of a rifle. Wby Vanguard used to do this, Savage will do it and Cooper always does it. I doubt they do much, if any, tuning of a load. I would assume Cooper puts more effort into it than Wby or Savage as I know they do test with hand loads.

How much stock should you put into these targets as a gauge for potential accuracy?

Indoor ranges and special holding apparatuses are one thing, however, once we humans get involved, all bets are off.

I agree. When a firearm is tested with as few variables as possible, you see the potential within the equipment. Once a human being is introduced, so is a greater degree of error. Anyone who says they had a gun shoot worse than the test target by a significant amount may want to evaluate their abilities or the ammo, scope, rest, etc. that they are using. My hardball gun shoots under 3" in a ransom rest and the barrel shot under 2" in a barrel tester. I'm not about to throw the gun away when a bullet finds a ring outside the 10 ring.

 

[SS427]

I think shooting the rifle out of a vise is the best way to test the equipment and eliminate human error.

Let's approach this a little differently. Let's say you have found two Cooper rifles; same caliber and same price. Rifle one has a target that shows basically a one hole group. Rifle two has three shots all touching, but at least double the size of the first group. Obviously you would pick rifle one, right?

So now add another variable. Same price, but rifle 1 is a Phoenix with the synthetic stock, and rifle two is a nice walnut stock better figured than average. You value walnut over synthetic, but accuracy is what you value the most. Now which one would you pick, based on the two targets?

 

[DR1586]

I never buy a gun based solely on one characteristic. If it were me, I'd got with the one that fit my needs and I'd get it to shoot. I've owned a lot of center fire rifles over the years and all of them that had barrel life left have been shooters. I've never sold a gun because it wouldn't shoot.

 

[vtmarmot]

I bought a Phoenix. Never even considered walnut. It's a 6 BR 1 in 10 twist. Test target was .118 for three shots. I think they shoot them at 40 yards. Well, at 100 it shoots EVERYTHING under .5 inch for three and several loads in the ones and twos.

 

[madderg]

The only factory targets I look at come with my Sig pistols.