Realistic & necessary accuracy for hunting rifle

[butchlambert]

My personal limit is 300yds.

 

[swampshooter]

My personal limit is 350 yards with a very flat shooting rifle and I do everything possible to cut that range as much as I can. Too many variables at longer ranges.

 

[XTR]

Getting too mentally wrapped up in accuracy can hurt you hunting.

I missed taking a shot last deer season with my 45-70 for that reason. Shooting in heavy woods a couple of does (doe day) were on the move after some other hunters went in the woods a ways up from us. It was early morning, and we were on a north slope of a hill, very heavy shadows and they were moving through the tree trunks. I had one in the scope with a clear shot for a solid 3 or 4 seconds but the target shooter in me was trying to get off a perfect shot and I never dropped that hammer. At 75 yards it was a no brainier shot. It is the only shot in decades of hunting that I've regretted for taking, or not.

I was in target shooter mode and was trying to take get the perfect hold on a walking deer with a small window. Truth is at that range a 405gr slug hitting anywhere in the ribs was going to roll her.

K22 is right on, getting of a shot from a sitting or kneeling position with an awkward rest is something that if not practiced can cause you to either take too long or miss.

 

[kyreloader]

I load differently for deer hunting than I do for target shooting. I pick powders that give me the highest velocity then ladder them up to the max charge that does not show pressure signs. I then shoot the max charge for groups and make sure that charge is within my minimal groups size of 1 MOA.

For example, I shoot deer in KY with a .25-06. I picked Retumbo and H1000 to shoot 115g Berger bullets and shot ladder tests at 500 yards to find the max charge. The max charge in my rifle with either powder was Retumbo, so I loaded 3 rounds and shot a group at that same distance. It shot within my minimal group size (3.5-4" group) of 1 MOA so I was done with my load development. I then load 3 rounds to shoot at 100, 3 at 200, 3 at 300, 3 at 400, then repeat my 3 shot group at 500 yards. I am able to get my come-ups/dope that way and can also make sure my load stays under my 1 MOA restriction all the way out. Mine did, so I was done with load development and loaded up a full box to begin practicing. I will likely never shoot that rifle from a bench again unless I decide I need to change bullets. My load development took 28 bullets for Retumbo plus the 10 bullets I loaded with H1000. That left me 62 bullets out of the box to practice and hunt with.

To me, a hunting rifle needs max velocity with acceptable accuracy/precision whereas, a target rifle needs max precision/accuracy with whatever velocity max precision/accuracy happens.

 

[gtbc82]

Thanks for all the replies to my post. I was able to work up the load of H4350 to 60.4 grains and am getting velocities right at 2900 fps using the 168 grain Berger Hunting VLD. My accuracy is just as good at this load as just as good if not better than at the lower node I was hitting before. The bullets really went to sleep after 200 yards are are shooting great out to 500.

 

[AP2020]

With the advent of laser rangefinders....distance to target, especially relatively long distances = greater than 500 yards is EASILY accounted for.


However, the WIND at those ranges will be your nemesis.....making shots on dead calm days is FAR EASIER than windy days = more than likely the days you will be hunting!

So, to answer your question, an extra 100 fps will not make a big difference if your wind reading skills suffer...either get closer or pass on a shot you are unsure of...

 

[Roe]

I used to get 0.4 MOA out of my rifle before my injury. Now it is approximately 1 MOA group on a paper target. By testing, this translates to a larger MOA value for accuracy.

The test is simple enough, shoot one shot at your target and measure the deviation from target centre (which is desired POI in this case). Convert this distance to MOA so people can have a reasonable understanding of your group. I reckon it would be better to use MIL to denote accuracy as that is what you'll see through most tactical scopes - if the MIL size of the target is inside your logged MIL accuracy you know you'll have a very good chance of hitting the target.

It seems to me that most shooters need a target sized between 1 and 2 MOA to hit it reliably under most conditions (I'm talking accuracy, not precision).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BZK0wzMW10

 

[gtbc82]

With the advent of laser rangefinders....distance to target, especially relatively long distances = greater than 500 yards is EASILY accounted for.


However, the WIND as those ranges will be your nemesis.....making shots on dead calm days is FAR EASIER than windy days = more than likely the days you will be hunting!

So, to answer your question, an extra 100 fps will not make a big difference if your wind reading skills suffer...either get closer or pass on a shot you are unsure of...

I don't plan on taking any shot over 400 yards while hunting. I just wanted to see what the gun would do at longer ranges. I have been practicing from different field positions (prone off pack, prone off bipod, sitting off bipod, etc.) at 200-400 yards and found that off a bipod from prone my max is around 400 yards to consistently hit a 5" target.

 

[wyoming .260]

With the advent of laser rangefinders....distance to target, especially relatively long distances = greater than 500 yards is EASILY accounted for.


However, the WIND as those ranges will be your nemesis.....making shots on dead calm days is FAR EASIER than windy days = more than likely the days you will be hunting!

So, to answer your question, an extra 100 fps will not make a big difference if your wind reading skills suffer...either get closer or pass on a shot you are unsure of...

I don't plan on taking any shot over 400 yards while hunting. I just wanted to see what the gun would do at longer ranges. I have been practicing from different field positions (prone off pack, prone off bipod, sitting off bipod, etc.) at 200-400 yards and found that off a bipod from prone my max is around 400 yards to consistently hit a 5" target.

You should be more then fine with this type of field shooting. Have a good time and the do not tell anyone about it if your successful. Gets crowded enough here in October!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[people]

The accuracy you need depends on how you hunt. If you are a point and bang “hunter” then anything under 3MOA to 5 MOA is good enough.

If you like your bullets to go where you want them then more is better. Your rifle will tell you how far you can make it go. Practice will tell you if your load will hold up at the distances you want to use as your maximum.

Testing at distance will tell you what you need to know. I had a rifle that honestly would shoot really nice little groups at 100yds. At 500yds a deer would be safe. The deer standing around it well maybe not so much. All those bullets were addresses to “sorry”. So back to the drawing board for me.