What is considered Excellent Varmint Accuracy?

[wildcat284]

Hey guys,

Just a question I've been wondering about. If one was wanting to shoot varmints between 500 & 1000 yards, realistically what should my gun be doing at 100.

I realise that the best way to judge this is to of course shoot at those ranges, as bullets tend to settle down on their way out yonder.

 

[vmthtr]

Really no way to answer that one. I have guns that will shot great at 100 and fall apart further out. I also have guns that shoot so so at 100 and will get the job done as far as I want to shoot. I have no access to longer than 200 yards, but shoot out to as far as I want on the SD prairie.

Mike

 

[Shelley]

Wildcat

At our club's monthly benchrest matches we often have guys come and shoot their live varmint guns. A good varmint gun will agg in the .4 range at 100 yards. In case you're not familiar with what a BR agg.,aggregate score) is, it's the average of five 5 shot groups.

Actually, at full bore benchrest matches you'll usually see the top half of the pack shooting less than .3 aggs and the bottom half of the pack shooting larger than.3 aggs. It's a bitch to get a bench gun tuned well enough to agg a small .2 or a big .1. Remember, the wind is always waiting to screw up even a well tuned gun.

I noticed, yesterday on BR.com that one BR club's shooter of the year agg. for the entire competition season was .251. That's exceptional. In other words that gun,and shooter) can shoot 1/4 inch groups all day long. You can usually depend on the winner of the BR World Championships to shoot only about a 1/4" agg for the entire week of the matches. What I'm trying to say is that true, all the time every time 5 shot 1/4" accuracy is literally word class shooting. We all can shoot an occasional big .0 group but the agg is the real test of the gun, the tune and the shooter.

If your varmint gun will shoot .4 or .5 five shot groups, all the time, be proud of it and of yourself. If you claim that you have a True,with a big T) 1/4 inch gun, go for the World Benchrest title.... you have a good chance.

Shelley Davidson

 

[ReedG]

Shelly sure has nailed it down. There is a big difference between varmint accuracy, which is usually a few shots at a time, vs. benchrest where you have to shoot at least five 5-shot groups in whatever weather conditions come along. A truly good varmint rifle, with preloaded ammo,vs. loaded at the range) should shoot into an inch at 200, 1.5" inch max. I've had several Savage 12 BVSS's and a few Ruger's that will do that with good handloads, a good rest, and good shooting habits. If you're fortunate enough to have a good custom barrel, you can knock a 1/4" off that easily.

Really good long-range,200+ yards) varminting takes into account so many variables -- like wind, elevation, mirage, rest -- that 100-yd. accuracy is secondary. You could have a .030" BR rifle, but if you blow the wind speed, you're resting over a fencepost, and shooting into the sun, it won't make much difference!

 

[mikecr]

-Varminting demands accuracy. COLD BORE ACCURACY. It's also very demanding of a shooting SYSTEM that produces predictable accuracy,under adverse field conditions). It means hitting a mark.
-Benchrest demands precision. Sighters, foulers, barrel warmup, scope, bag, & rest tweaking, & every other precondition allowed.
All in the name of consistancy -precision shooting. It means grouping the best.
That said. I don't see where benchrest shooting or benchrest guns have anything to do with varmint hunting. I suppose you could shoot a woodchuck 5 times. But you got to hit him first
Also, I'll go further; There is no reason in my mind to assume a benchrest gun would make an effective varmint rifle. Until proven so.
You could try it. Hack a few pounds off so it can be carried. Figure out a bipod mounting, and cover the glare. Drop it on the ground one day and shoot a single shot into your bullseye. Due the same, once a day, at five different ranges,same bullseye). How well does it group? Can you predictably take varmints with it in the field? Like any rifle, maybe. Maybe not.