Group size yall strive for?

[hicap40]

I would say most everyone on this site aims for smaller groups. What group sizes do Yall strive for during load development?
I know we all want one hole groups, but what is an acceptable goal for 1000 yard bench and fclass etc?

I find myself practice shooting at 300 yards and strive for 1/3 moa since 1/2 moa seems to be an easy feat any more. 1" groups at 300 seem to be more of a challenge unless im shooting my 6 dasher

Johnny

 

[338 Mollett]

1 inch here also at 300 for f class. 1/2 for ar 15's at 100 but they have to repeat.

 

[mikeinct]

opph, I want to be cute here. But my goals are totally gun/ammo/ purpose Dependant. That Said: at 1000yds when testing my rigs on paper. If I get 4/5 or even only 4/6 shots in a five inch circle. I'm a happy camper. That is one big ocean of air to shoot thru. mikeinct

 

[ronemus]

I shoot NRA Highpower & Long Range, so a 2 MOA X ring gives me a lot of margin. I generally try for 1/2 MOA because I can get there with moderate effort, and the time to get 0.1 MOA is much better spent practicing offhand. Honestly, 1 MOA performance would be sufficient for my disciplines unless I were at the top of the sport (I wish!).

 

[Mike 243]

When load developing a load for 1000 yard bench rest I want a 5 shot group 1" or under at 300 yards. When i move out to 1000 yards i want a 5 shot group under 5".

 

[INTJ]

When tuning for LR BR at 200 yds, I need an average of 3/8" 5-shot groups for the 6 BRA and 5/8" for the 300 WSM. That should allow sub 2" groups at 600 and sub 5" at 1000, which is usually competitive in average conditions. For reference, "Official Screamer" groups are 5-shots under 1" at 600 yds and under 3" at 1000.

For big game bolt action rifles from .270 to .458 Lott I am happy with 3/4" 3-shot groups at 100 yds. I suppose if I were to build a dedicated long range hunting rifle I would need 1" 3-shot groups at 200.

For open sighted lever guns, 2" at 100 yds is fine.

If I ever get another big double rifle, 2" 4-shot groups at 50 yds would make me happy.

 

[Sniper338]

I shoot for benchrest accuracy in every build. I tinker to push the limits. Hair on a gnats azz is my goal. Some days it works out some days it dont.

 

[Evan]

At first it was 0.25" at 100 yards.
Then it was 1" at 300 yards.
Now I'm pretty happy when my groups at 300yards are consistently at 0.5"
I've had a few drop down around 0.375" so that's the new frontier and benchmark.

 

[JFrank]

I strive /tune more for small groups that repeat and agg over several targets without a bunch of vertical dispersion to ruin my happiness. With that said’ I think a 1.25 @ 600 is good
J

 

[bozo699]

At first it was 0.25" at 100 yards.
Then it was 1" at 300 yards.
Now I'm pretty happy when my groups at 300yards are consistently at 0.5"
I've had a few drop down around 0.375" so that's the new frontier and benchmark.

Evan,
That’s damn fine shooting!.... I can’t say I haven’t shot that well but it would have to be early morning with no wind, I can’t shot through the mirage that well nor the wind either. I haven’t shot br for three or four years but when I was working up loads 1/2to 3/4 at three hundred usually put be around 5 at 1000 and I just can’t shoot any better that that!.... my friend Tom Mousel and the Anderson brothers can but I’m not there yet best I ever did was 5ish 10 shot groups at 1000 but I did work a load up for my mostly factory Tikka T3 7-08 the other day that three 5 shot groups at 300 averaged 1.028” and I was very pleased with that.
Wayne

 

[newbieshooter]

article for reference: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...chris-nicholss-600-yard-light-and-heavy-guns/

 

[PopCharlie]

I only have access to a 100 yard range. So, for all my custom rifles I strive for 5 shot groups of .25 or less. The shape of the group is a factor also. A nice round group is the goal.
I did have one opportunity to shoot my 6.5x47 Lapua at 400 meters. I shot several groups the measured right at 1.75 inches. Kind of big, but that was the first time and without any tuning for that range. So I was happy.

 

[PopCharlie]

Forgot to mention:
I have an M1 Garand and an AR 15. For the M1, under 2 inches at 100 yards, open sights, from a sandbag, is my goal. The AR has a 4x scope with a wide field of view. My goal for it is 1 inch at 100 yards for 10 shot groups. I usually shoot this rifle at 50 yards at clay bird targets placed on the backstop. The game is to break 5 targets as quickly as possible. My shooting buddies and I time each other. Slow man of the day buys the beer.
I also have a Cooper model 57 in .22 LR. It shoots tiny little 5 shot groups of .15 to .2 at 50 yards with Lapua Midas + ammo. That is my goal for it.

 

[PopCharlie]

Evan,
That’s damn fine shooting!.... I can’t say I haven’t shot that well but it would have to be early morning with no wind, I can’t shot through the mirage that well nor the wind either. I haven’t shot br for three or four years but when I was working up loads 1/2to 3/4 at three hundred usually put be around 5 at 1000 and I just can’t shoot any better that that!.... my friend Tom Mousel and the Anderson brothers can but I’m not there yet best I ever did was 5ish 10 shot groups at 1000 but I did work a load up for my mostly factory Tikka T3 7-08 the other day that three 5 shot groups at 300 averaged 1.028” and I was very pleased with that.
Wayne

I'm with you Wayne. I'm just not good enough to shoot through wind or mirage. I do try to dope out the wind though.

 

[Steve Ladino]

At first it was 0.25" at 100 yards.
Then it was 1" at 300 yards.
Now I'm pretty happy when my groups at 300yards are consistently at 0.5"
I've had a few drop down around 0.375" so that's the new frontier and benchmark.

Good eyes, good gun, good loads, good scope , good conditions and very good shooter. 3/8 " is mostly a memory for me at 300, wish it were common. I'm happy with somewhere around .200 + - at 100 yds. but some rifles wont do that and are better off used for fun.

 

[Longtrain]

When load testing I strive for 1/4 MOA, but am ok with 1/3 MOA. I start out at 100 yards and then need repeatability at 300 yards. Once that is done, the proof of the pudding is at 1K and I quantify success by score and X count in a 20 round string, looking for no less then 195-10x, but want better. At 1K, the “group size” is a mix of load and shooter performance.

 

[NorCalMikie]

I don't hunt and don't compete. I build and shoot.
So with that in mind, a 5 shot group, from the bench, from 100 yards, that can be covered with a dime will do the trick very nicely. From there, adjust accordingly.

 

[Evan]

Evan,
That’s damn fine shooting!.... I can’t say I haven’t shot that well but it would have to be early morning with no wind, I can’t shot through the mirage that well nor the wind either. I haven’t shot br for three or four years but when I was working up loads 1/2to 3/4 at three hundred usually put be around 5 at 1000 and I just can’t shoot any better that that!.... my friend Tom Mousel and the Anderson brothers can but I’m not there yet best I ever did was 5ish 10 shot groups at 1000 but I did work a load up for my mostly factory Tikka T3 7-08 the other day that three 5 shot groups at 300 averaged 1.028” and I was very pleased with that.
Wayne

I try to get out onto the grasslands and start sending bullets just before the sun cracks over the horizon. It's calmest then and you don't have mirage to deal with. By 8 in the morning the boil has come up and it's near impossible to shoot like that. The gun that opened up this new world of accuracy was my fast twist 22BR. I've documented my progress with it here, if you've not seen: http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/my-new-22br.3981971/ although I'm also starting to get there with my 20 Vartarg too: http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/my-20-vartarg-custom.3969176/

Good eyes, good gun, good loads, good scope , good conditions and very good shooter. 3/8 " is mostly a memory for me at 300, wish it were common. I'm happy with somewhere around .200 + - at 100 yds. but some rifles wont do that and are better off used for fun.

I only have 2 rifles capable of it (haha, ONLY). It certainly takes everything working perfectly and the smallest of things will make those groups open right up to 1" or more but, for the first time in my life, it's occurring with some regularity so I think I'm getting somewhere!

My wife rolled her eyes at me the other day when I was complaining that my shooting day hadn't gone as well as I would have liked and the groups were all bigger than 1" at 300. I was fretting that the barrel was on the downhill, or the long winter had rusted up my skills and I was going to struggle to shoot like I had in the fall. It is interesting how quickly your perception changes as you achieve better results. Turned out that was just an off day - maybe the wind was tricky or maybe my biorhythm was off - because the next weekend I was shooting small again with the same loads.

 

[kneedtospeed]

I think for long range, most guys would be happy to just be able to repeat their test & tune groups, while in an official match, on the weekend.
Some guns always seem to shoot better on a Wednesday!
There's been a few of us under 1.5" at 1000, in competitions, with Mike @Ga. Dawg going the smallest. 1.068" 50-5X !
Someone will go sub-inch soon, while in a 1000 match, so that is a realistic group to strive for.

If matches were to go postal, I'd suspect a lot of new records being set in a hurry...

 

[INTJ]

For those of you who are driven to find the smallest groups possible with hunting, plinking, or causal target rifles. You REALLY need to start competing in BR, short range (100, 200, 300 yds) or long range (600 & 1000 yds). That obsession with with doing everything possible to shoot the smallest groups is of little benefit in a hunting or plinking rifle but is a needed requirement for BR.

I followed the same path as many. When I became serious about hunting and reloading in 1994 I found that I liked to shoot small groups. As my loading and shooting skills improved I kept striving for smaller groups. That lead me to needlessly heavy hunting rifles and sub optimum bullet choices as I would pick a bullet with mediocre terminal performance if it was even .1 MOA more accurate. Then I had some very poor bullet performance and I started looking for bullets with better terminal performance. I eventually started to build more appropriate weight hunting rifles.

I have found that premium controlled expansion bullets in a sporter weight barrel will reliably average somewhere between .6 and .8 MOA at 100-200 yds. To get there I moderately weight sort brass, cull out any brass with more than about .0015" of neckwall variation, bump the shoulder with FL sizing die, and crimp with a Lee Factory Crimp die. I don't weigh primers, am not fussy about primer crush, don't measure bullets, or seat with a hydro seater. I start testing loads at .020" deep if able and run though a powder charge ladder. I'll mess with seating depth a little to fine tune. Then I go hunting. I would have to tighten things up some for a varmint rig or LR hunting rifle--if I was ever motivated to do that, but even that would not approach what I do for a BR rifle.

For my LR BR rifle I am VERY anal about getting the most consistent accuracy possible. I do many load prep steps that you won't even find out about until you start BR competition. I will indeed pick a bullet that shoots .1 or even .05 MOA tighter. I build a rifle as heavy as the rules allow. I make ZERO compromises in my methods or equipment.

So if you truly do like shooting the smallest groups possible come shoot BR with us!!! If you choose LR BR you will be elated and frustrated, sometimes at the same match. You'll find that you are almost as happy when your new buddy who has been working his butt off beats you--by 1/10th of an inch at 1000 yds--as you would have been had you won yourself. You will figure out how to read the wind at one match, then wonder if you ever really knew how at the next match. You will learn what long range accuracy is--the X ring is 1.2" at 600 yds and 3" at 1000. You will find the difference between being lucky and being consistent. Most importantly, your obsessive quest for the smallest group will be valued and shared by all.