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What’s a realistic accuracy expectation from a factory barrel?

McHaggis

I’ve got my 26” barrelled 6.5CM Howa HCR well under 1MOA and typically around .625 but I saw a target on here one day recently where the shooter was concerned about the vertical dispersion he had. My initial thought was that it wasn’t overly bad for a 100yd but could perhaps be reduced a bit with a bit more testing. Then I read the target was shot at 300 yards! This got me thinking. My vertical at 300 would make you guys cry, probably with laughter!
So what is realistic for a factory setup? When does one give up trying to improve results and just accept that without a custom barrel you got what you paid for? I mean is .25moa a completely unrealistic goal and therefore a waste of components and time trying to shrink groups to this size?
 
McHaggis said:
I mean is .25moa a completely unrealistic goal and therefore a waste of components and time trying to shrink groups to this size?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Very few rifles not specifically dedicated for benchrest are capable of shooting 0.250 MOA for aggregate accuracy (5x5-shot groups). Consistently shooting under 0.250 MOA requires that all parts of the shooting system (rifle, ammunition, optics, rests, wind flags, shooter) are in top form. It's possible that some factory rifles could shoot a 0.250 agg -- an old Sako 6PPC is what I would try (if it mattered to me).

If you want to try your hand at shooting small at 100-300 yards, buy a good used 6PPC benchrest rifle (and all the other stuff you need, if you don't have rests, flags, etc. already).
 
P.S. Of course, you may have higher expectations because you've heard some people say that their factory rifle shoots 1/4 MOA "all day long if I do my part". You will note that none of those who say this have EVER posted a 5-target sheet that meets the criterion. They provide either one photo of a single miracle "wallet group" or, more often, no evidence whatsoever.

And just so you know that it can be done, here's a charge weight/seating depth test for my 30BR. These are only 3-shot groups because of the nature of the test, but you get the idea.

30BR charge and seating depth2.JPG
 
"Accuracy" is subjective after reading posts. Some folks are happy if it shoots small here and there, I don't call it a 1/4" gun if it only does it once outta a handful of times.. If I read "if I do my part" that pretty much sums it up. Sub MOA depending on many things, reloading, stock setup (bedding) play into it as well as the rest/bags..

Ray
 
Factory rifles are all over the place. Generally, if I get an honest 1/2 moa factory rifle, I'm pretty ecstatic. More of them won't come close to that than will beat it. I've owned exactly one .250 moa factory rifle in my life and barrel life was short. It was a Winchester m70 HV that came from the factory with a ss Wilson barrel on it....and a lot of luck built into it. Not a premium barrel by most standards but certainly a step above most any factory barrel.

Oops...I may have another that can come close. A Cooper with a Christensen carbon wrapped Wilson barrel. And no, I'm not selling their barrels. They are generally well down my list of custom barrels but they are a top flight barrel on any factory rifle.
 
I have a factory Savage .308 barrel that came on a Savage F/TR that did 5 round groups at .5 MOA or slightly below consistently and have a friend that has a Remington police style in .308 that does the same. From what I have heard Tikka's chambered with the right cartridge can do .5's pretty reliably also. However it's like everyone else has been saying .25 MOA on a stock rifle is a fluke, not the norm and when it comes to .5's it depends on the person pulling the trigger
 
which factory rifle is this ?
Toby Bradshaw said:
P.S. Of course, you may have higher expectations because you've heard some people say that their factory rifle shoots 1/4 MOA "all day long if I do my part". You will note that none of those who say this have EVER posted a 5-target sheet that meets the criterion. They provide either one photo of a single miracle "wallet group" or, more often, no evidence whatsoever.

And just so you know that it can be done, here's a charge weight/seating depth test for my 30BR. These are only 3-shot groups because of the nature of the test, but you get the idea.

View attachment 1149601
Click to expand...
 
really depends on two things:
1) who made the bbl
2) luck of the draw
I doubt a savage axis will shoot with a NOSLER rifle,
but one might, but not very many
( MY BAD on the rifle maker)
 
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If a factory rifle shoots 3/4 regularly I’d say you got a fair deal.

I’ve seen some shoot better, and many shoot worse.

Keep your standards realistic also. A Sako 222 should easily outshoot a Ruger American 270, in my opinion.

Anyone that doesn’t believe in inherent accuracy probably never owned a 6BR.
 
Yes I’m talking consistently .25. I’ve managed several 3 shot groups around .3 but they are mostly between .5 - .8 constantly and very rarely over 1” and that was during the early stages of load development. Most 2 shot group are awesome tho!
I was hoping to get this thing consistently around .5 but it sounds like I’m possibly best to spend the $ on a custom barrel and not components to achieve this.
It is the best shooting factory setup I’ve had to date so I guess that’s some consolation but I haven’t given up hope yet for consistent .5’s with a little more testing and trigger time. If it doesn’t improve with a little more testing I’ll either accept what I get and enjoy it or I’ll re-barrel it.
 
Myself said good bye to factory rifles and sold all mine (but a couple sentimental's). Have little desire to own or use anything but customs. My factory rifles became nothing more then dust collectors, so I sold them and spent the money on more barrels, triggers, actions, etc...

With that said, think I have "custom load developed" for 11 customer Tikka T3 hunting rifles in various calibers, since they came out. All of which were relatively easy to get honest 1/2-MOA or better from. While I have seen 1/2-MOA or better from other mfg's rifles at times, not everyone like I have with the Tikka-T3's. There barrels and chambers being the reason -IMO.
If I were to buy another factory hunting rifle, it would be a Tikka, for these reasons.
Just saying....
 
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If you can get consistent 1/2 MOA 5 shot groups out of a factory rifle, you got a good one. Some are better than others. 1MOA is more typical. Some are worse. Trying to get to 1/4 is a total waste of time and money. It’s not going to happen.

Tikka seems to be the best bet. The ones I’ve witnessed shoot way better than they have any right to.

Edit: lol. Looks like dmoran beat me to it. They’re doing something right with those Tikkas.
 
damoncali said:
If you can get consistent 1/2 MOA 5 shot groups out of a factory rifle, you got a good one. Some are better than others. 1MOA is more typical. Some are worse. Trying to get to 1/4 is a total waste of time and money. It’s not going to happen.

Tikka seems to be the best bet. The ones I’ve witnessed shoot way better than they have any right to.

Edit: lol. Looks like dmoran beat me to it. They’re doing something right with those Tikkas.
Click to expand...
Sakos too but they're in another price bracket. The additional polish that goes into them is not without additional cost so yes for a cheap well built rifle Tikkas box above their weight.
 
I have a couple Tikka's and one in a KRG Chassis ( 308 ) and one a T3X Tac A1.
They both shoot pretty well, in fact in got a 200-9x at 600 with the Tac A1 in 6.5 Creedmoor.
But I dont know of any other factory rifles that I have ever had shoot that well pretty consistently.
 
Dunno about other parts of the world but a relatively new brand here is Sauer and from what I've seen of them here in NZ they shoot pretty well too amd have that bit of polish that you want in a better class of rifle.
A company rep shoots a bit here and with his Creedmoor hitting my 700 yd gong is just repetitively boring after the first few hits ! :rolleyes:
Our NZ agents:
https://www.outdoorsportsnz.com/our-brands-1/sauer/
 
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