I have a related story about group size from one of our top gunsmiths in the UK. Years ago, this guy comes into his shop and starts asking about putting a stainless match barrel on a run of the mill Parker-Hale 308 deer rifle. The gunsmith listens a while and thinks 'timewaster' and declines the job on the basis that the rifle owner won't get value from an expensive rebarrel of a P-H 1100 or 1200, whatever it was. The owner gets visibly perturbed and says: "I'll have you know this is a half-MOA shooter!" to which the 'smith's reply is twofold - "B*ll*cks and even if it did do that, which I don't believe, why would you want to have it rebarrelled?" Exit disgruntled individual and the 'smith thinks, last I'll see of him, and no great loss either.
Some weeks later, the guy DOES reappear waving something like a PL50 50 metre pistol target and demands to speak to the boss. He plunks the target down on the counter with a flourish "See there!", and waits for approbation from all present. The 'smith looks at it and he said to me there had to be maybe 30 or 40 shots spread all over it - not a group of any sort never mind half-MOA. So he asks what this proves as he's frankly out of his depth here. The proud owner points to four or five shots out of the 30 that happen to have formed a random half-inch pattern or thereabouts and says "See! A half-MOA group!"
I could probably shoot Tony Boyer size groups too if I could choose any 5 out of 50 on the paper. Second thoughts ............ No, Tony Boyer would still beat me.
Some weeks later, the guy DOES reappear waving something like a PL50 50 metre pistol target and demands to speak to the boss. He plunks the target down on the counter with a flourish "See there!", and waits for approbation from all present. The 'smith looks at it and he said to me there had to be maybe 30 or 40 shots spread all over it - not a group of any sort never mind half-MOA. So he asks what this proves as he's frankly out of his depth here. The proud owner points to four or five shots out of the 30 that happen to have formed a random half-inch pattern or thereabouts and says "See! A half-MOA group!"
I could probably shoot Tony Boyer size groups too if I could choose any 5 out of 50 on the paper. Second thoughts ............ No, Tony Boyer would still beat me.
