What kind of accuracy?

[PinnedAndRecessed]

My deer rifle is a Remington 700 BDL in 30-06. At the range today with Winchester SuperX ammo my best 3 shot group, at 100 yards, on a bench rest, was 1 1/2 inches.

What kind of accuracy should I be looking for out of a factory hunting rifle?

 

[cheaptrick]

MOA for me for a hunting rifle.

 

[Shawnee]

Hi P&R...

Not really much wrong with 1.5" groups. If it can do that well it can probably do better too. Other important variables in the equation are the ammo and the shooter.
Speaking just for myself, there have been days when I used a rifle I knew could shoot into MOA but I still didn't git 'er done.

 

[browningguy]

1 1/2" is ok for hunting, if you want it better then try some different brands and different bullet weights, you may find one your gun likes better.

 

[Froggy]

At the range today with Winchester SuperX ammo my best 3 shot group, at 100 yards, on a bench rest, was 1 1/2 inches.

Which is pretty darn good. That was the best.... what was the "average"? 1.5 MOA is nothing to sneeze at. You might find this discussion interesting:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/practical_accuracy.htm

 

[cheaptrick]

You may also try match ammo or reloading to wring the most out of a factory rifle.

My earlier post was what "I'm looking" for in a hunting rifle.
As stated, certainly nothing wrong with a 1.5" group.

Good shooting!

 

[rangerruck]

what you got is fine. when you really get used to it, you will shrink that down to 1 moa , im sure. you may also achieve slightly better results from other ammo, who knows? but what you got now sounds fine to me, all the way out to about 300 yds or so.

 

[dfaugh]

You say "shooting from a bench" but don't specify how. If you're holding the gun, and resting your elbows, etc. (similar to the "steadiest" position you might see in the field") then 1.5" at 100 isn't bad at all. If you're shooting off bags or a good rest, I prefer to see a bit better accuracy out of my rifles than that---because you're not gonna get that solid or steady a rest when in the field. I strive for MOA off bags at the range, because I know I won't get that kinda performance in the field, but there's a small "confidence boost" knowing the gun can shoot that well.

As others mentioned, try a few different types of ammo, you'll probably find one that'll shoot better than others.

 

[Essex County]

I think You're doing fine..........

One of my favorite sporters is one of my least accurate. It's a 1965 vintage Model 70 and groups hover between 11/2 to 2 inches. It just fits me like an old pair of jeans.....Essex

 

[X-Rap]

I strive for sub moa on all my scoped rifles with 1.5 being the max. I'll try to tweak the load or gun till it shoots or get rid of it. Lifes to short to settle for less.

 

[ojibweindian]

For a factory load, that's pretty good. I used Remington 165gr Core-Lokt in a Winchester 30-06 and got around 1.5" at 100 yards.

Handloads, using the same bullet and weight, grouped at 5/8". My guess is your rifle could do better with handloads, but it's doing pretty good now.

 

[Legionnaire]

I consider a 2" average fine for deer hunting, and wouldn't worry about (although I'd try to improve) groups as much as 4" on a woods gun. I have a couple of sub-MOA rifles, but my hunting guns generally do 2" or there abouts. I'm satisfied with that. "Practical" accuracy is what it's all about in the hunting fields.

 

[Nhsport]

Look at it this way---You could spend anything from half again as much money for a more primium type ammo up to hundreds or thousands of dollars for trigger ,barrel , bedding and scope improvements and mmight expect your groups to possibly shrink down to one half of your 1 1/2 " . Then you go out into the field to hunt (without the bench ) and that extra 3/4" doesn't mean squat.
You tested your gun - scope combo and the 1 1/2" group showed you that nothing has been knocked out of wack . If you have some extra time/money stock up on whatever ammo you will be useing to hunt with and practise shooting in the same type of positions you will likely encounter when actually hunting . Offhand , sitting , kneeling . Vary your shooting to match the way you hunt as much as possible.If you hunt from a stand or fixed position get out to that area and pace off some distances so you have an idea of what shots would be possible