Moa vs hunting?

[Deeker]

This is an uncomfortable truth. WEZ analysis and field experience agree, the gun is rarely the weak link in the system. Even if a true 0.5 MOA gun is real, it doesn't really improve hit rates over a 1.0-1.5 MOA gun. My 2 MOA (30 shots) SPR-ish AR-15 frequently put 3 into a 0.5 group, but the true cone of fire that I can count on every shot landing in is much bigger. It's still pretty damn effective

Nice shooting. I'm curious, why would that group make you mad? Even with the "flier", your group is a reflection of you as a shooter & your rifle. Removing ego, there is nothing to be ashamed of (or emotional) in that group at 200. Stick another dot, shoot another group. Do that XX times. Staple another target on that one, line up a dot over the previous and shoot again. You're a good enough shooter that validation isn't needed from RS, an aggregate group on the rearmost target will tell you what you are capable of in that position at that distance.

Start changing things up and see what happens. Find the limits of yourself as a shooter and the rifle on your own, and go from there. I would caution listening to anyone that claims a .5MOA rifle without caveats, let alone a hunting rifle.

The internet is a hard way to convey emotions, im not mad, ashamed , or emotional. I’m not even saying that I don’t believe that I shoot “ good”. I look at shooting a rifle as a never ending learning experience, and I am relatively new to it. And I am not looking for validation from RS, although it is nice haha. I was looking for correlation between moa and real world hunting. Quite possibly I did not articulate that well enough, just working off a high school education.

 

[Frozenlead]

Here’s couple of good in depth talks breaking down hit rates vs multiple factors.

 

[displacedtexan]

The law of diminishing returns always applies.

Returns are still returns.

 

[displacedtexan]

Nice shooting. I'm curious, why would that group make you mad? Even with the "flier", your group is a reflection of you as a shooter & your rifle. Removing ego, there is nothing to be ashamed of (or emotional) in that group at 200. Stick another dot, shoot another group. Do that XX times. Staple another target on that one, line up a dot over the previous and shoot again. You're a good enough shooter that validation isn't needed from RS, an aggregate group on the rearmost target will tell you what you are capable of in that position at that distance.

Start changing things up and see what happens. Find the limits of yourself as a shooter and the rifle on your own, and go from there. I would caution listening to anyone that claims a .5MOA rifle without caveats, let alone a hunting rifle.

It's not uncommon to be mad at results others would be very pleased with.

If you know you're capable of better.

 

[Smokinyotes]

For years I chased tiny groups burning out barrels. Finally come to the conclusion if I can shoot under a 2” group at 200 yards off my pack it should be plenty good for hunting. I know the drop in moa out to 600 yards on most my guns and if I can hit my steel coyote target at 500 yards I should be pretty good in most hunting scenarios.

 

[nm.otter]

Collect a statistically valid sample of the rifle's cone of fire -- and then apply some basic statistics to it.

Hint: ES is not the most important number.

 

[Dan Carey]

The vast of winning match shooters are using the same powder and bullet (6PPC). That's because they don't waste their time trying to work up some off the wall load that will be the next flop. There is a big advantage went using a real match grade barrel compared to a factory hammer forged barrel. Fine tuning a barrel that wants to shoot is a heck of a lot easier than a factory barrel that may never shoot. Talking about real accuracy not MOA.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Why are we talking about winning long range matches in a thread about hunting accuracy?

For most people, hunting is something that should be done at well under 500 yards and is going to be done with a 7 to 10 pound rifle, counting optic and all accessories.

Practice dropping down on your ass and shooting 6” groups at 300 yards in a hasty seated position and you will improve your odds of success far more than chasing another 10% decrease in bench rested group size.

And yet, all the little things and marginal returns that matter for the 10% of shooters trying to eke out the last 10% of performance at ranges and conditions far outside the norm become advice that Average Joe “should do.”