Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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sturner wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:56 pm I really like that a rifle that is only 6 years older than I am can produce 1 to 1.5 MOA groups. When I am the only factor, it expands up to 3 MOA. But for Kar98k, 1903A3 or Mosin Nagant M39 to be still that good inspires me.
the passage of time doesn't hurt guns. abuse and neglect, and yes, wear and tear of normal use hurt guns
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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Marlene wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:19 pm Ruger has one, as does Savage, as does Winchester, as does Thompson Center. I think Howa too. There may be others I’m not thinking of. They really do mostly tip the scales on the ugly side compared to the things I like, but a moa guarantee at that price is one of the great wonders of modern manufacturing.
Tikka also has one. And lots of folks are taking up the 6.5 Creedmoor and enjoying precision long range shooting..

Marlene, great post. I have some good rifles that also taught me to shoot. As long as I know the trigger I can shoot to the rifle's capabilities. Some of my milsurps have mushy triggers and are not as fun to shoot now.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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After last weekend's outing and seeing how inaccurate my Mini-14 was I decided to do something about it. I bought an Accu-Strut to help stabilize the front end of the barrel.

http://accu-strut.com/

Today I went back to the range to see how well it works, and it seems to have improved the rifle quite well. After spending a little time sighting in the scope to make sure it was as good as I could get it, I then fully bench rested the rifle (using it's bipod and sandbags) and did a ten shot string.

9 shots hit in the upper right (I assume I don't have the scope quite on target yet. C'est la vie.) One shot went stray off the lower left. (It looks like 2 shots, but one of them is actually from the previous sighting in of the scope - the repair paster I put over the hole tore out when I hit it.) For reference, the 10 ring on the target is seven inches across. So all in all I'd say the Accu Strut did a good job in helping to make the rifle more accurate.

Now, at least, I've got a good idea of how inherently accurate the rifle is and I can begin to work on being able to shoot to that level without the aid of bipods and sandbags.

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Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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Marlene and your other expert peers -

What sort of accuracy should a good rifle(tm) or a really good rifle(tm) be capable of for maybe 100-300 yard targets? I get that folks shooting 1000 yard matches need something really accurate(tm) but it would be cool to have some idea of how some of the rough labels might translate into MOA and how many zeroes there might be on the price tag. Thanks!

Signed: A maintainers worst nightmare (an operator with tools). ;)

Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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There are now several inexpensive bolt rifles on the market that guarantee 1 MOA (That's an inch at 100 yards, 2 inch at 200, etc) with good ammo. Pretty sure the Ruger American Rifle is one of them? The Thompson Center Compass (I think?) is one. Winchester has one. Howa might too.

You can spend a LOT of money getting in to a half inch or quarter inch or 1/10th inch gun, but an inch gun at 100 is plenty accurate to figure out what is you and what is the gun.

There are several premium accuracy ammo brands out there, but I honestly only know one: Federal Gold Medal Match. Don't mistake expensive hunting ammo for expensive accuracy ammo. It might be accurate, but it might not be; usually you're paying for fancy engineered projectiles that are designed to expand exactly a certain way.
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Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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Marlene wrote::thumbup:

Keep going!

I'll also add that bipods are not always the accuracy aids people think they are. All rested shooting requires technique, but bipod shooting is much fussier in this regard. If you're doing it wrong, it can really mess with groups.
I strongly agree with this, speaking as one who sent a lot of dollars downrange before learning by trial and error. Bipods are convenient - you don’t have to haul a heavy rest to the range, fiddle with three degrees of freedom, etc. - but it is just that convenience that leads to one’s entraining stress in the bipod. Don’t muscle the rifle and bipod onto the point of aim. Make sure that if you take your hands off the rifle that it doesn’t move off the point of aim.
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Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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My accuracy quest started with a Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk I that was box-stock (well, as much as any of those are...) It was a rifle, and it shot - but that was about all I'll give it. Having shot very accurate 22s on the small-bore team at school, I was ready for full-bore, but that rifle nearly killed it. Frank (the coach) looked at us little guys after that shoot and said "OK - you four there, swap your rifles for these ones" and pointed to an MOD-green (This is the UK, we have an MOD, not a DOD) box full of padding and shiny things.

"These ones" were the team rifles - worked over by Parker-Hale, with P-H peep sights and super-slick bolts. What a joy to use, and SO much more accurate than the others. But he wanted to see who would do what with the service rifles as they stood.

"Mine" was no. 9, and at her best she would shoot 1.5 MOA (9" at 600 yards) using a sling-and-elbow hold. No baby rests or sandbags. :)

At college in the States, I was lent a Winchester 52B, which UI still have. If she WON'T shoot sub-MOA with a sling I know I'm out of shape. I do love bipods now that I'm "older", but the 52 stays with a sling.
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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lurker wrote: Mon Mar 26, 2018 12:16 pm this is how you justify buying those 20 acres in the sticks you've always wanted. cities and towns are for chumps.
I used to have 100 acres to play with (including my 100-yard range and somewhere to shoot clays), but the island is so f'ing crowded these days that even that isn't enough because someone can always hear you - we've been declared a shooting-free zone. There WERE some loonies who felt they could just go into the woods and shoot, regardless of who owned the woods or what was down-range. As usual, idiots killed it for the rest of us. :)
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo.
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Re: A better rifle made me a better shot

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Marlene wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 9:22 pm There are now several inexpensive bolt rifles on the market that guarantee 1 MOA (That's an inch at 100 yards, 2 inch at 200, etc) with good ammo. Pretty sure the Ruger American Rifle is one of them? The Thompson Center Compass (I think?) is one. Winchester has one. Howa might too.

You can spend a LOT of money getting in to a half inch or quarter inch or 1/10th inch gun, but an inch gun at 100 is plenty accurate to figure out what is you and what is the gun.

There are several premium accuracy ammo brands out there, but I honestly only know one: Federal Gold Medal Match. Don't mistake expensive hunting ammo for expensive accuracy ammo. It might be accurate, but it might not be; usually you're paying for fancy engineered projectiles that are designed to expand exactly a certain way.
Thanks Ma'am. That helps me calibrate my equipment and expectations. And makes me hide the checkbook on days I think I want a ragged hole at 300 yards. :lol:

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