Shooting Accuracy

[DamnRinella]

Fairly new to shooting and hunting. Please help with shooting expectations. I am shooting around 1.5 to 2 inch groupings at 100 on average.

I am shooting a
rem 700 sps tactical 308 16.5inch barrel
Hornady eld-x
Vortex viper 3-10 Scope
Indoor range 100yards

Should I expect or strive for consistent sub inch/ 1 MOA groups? Or do people just brag it’s a 1 MOA gun if they do that group once a session? Should I expect to do less because my scope isn’t higher powered and hunting ammo chosen? Or do I just need more practice and time to get better? Thanks all

 

[Trr15]

New shooter, factory rifle and factory ammo, those aren't terrible groups. I'd experiment with hand loading (if that's an option) and keep practicing at the range if you want to tighten them up.

 

[DamnRinella]

New shooter, factory rifle and factory ammo, those aren't terrible groups. I'd experiment with hand loading (if that's an option) and keep practicing at the range if you want to tighten them up.

Thanks! Will keep practicing for sure. Today was off a Harris bipod and butt was supported under my fist.

 

[bitbckt]

That’s not bad at all for a new shooter. As you practice and improve your form, you’ll learn to notice when a flyer is you or the rifle. Dry fire practice before every shooting session will help.

I’ve personally never seen a factory .308 that didn’t shoot Federal Gold Medal Match well. If you’re shooting groups with factory ammo, you might look into having some GMM around for comparison with other options.

 

[DamnRinella]

I am considering a timney elite hunter trigger to replace the stock trigger. Was going to set at 3 lbs for hunting. Should i expect an increase of accuracy with a trigger? Or just a gimmick?

 

[sram9102]

I have this same rifle. Is it still in the hogue stock that came with it? I would look into a new stock or having the one on it bedded before you drop in a new trigger. I put a timney on mine and ended up selling it. Ordered the flat shoe and didn't like the feel of it. Mine was shot right at 1 MOA with FGMM after I dropped in in a new stock. It sure is a handy little rifle. Mine has killed 8 deer over the past three years.

 

[Formidilosus]

I am considering a timney elite hunter trigger to replace the stock trigger. Was going to set at 3 lbs for hunting. Should i expect an increase of accuracy with a trigger? Or just a gimmick?

A trigger will not increase “precision” by itself, but it helps hide failure in trigger control.

You need a rear bag, not your fist. How many rounds per group are you shooting?

When you hear or read someone talking about groups, it is almost always a 3 shot group which is meaningless, almost always a one time or “sometime” thing, and almost always “if I do my part”. Which really means when the “groups” suck they didn’t do thier part, but when it’s “good” they did. It’s an excuse matrix. It’s not a “MOA rifle” unless it will hit MOA targets on demand with no excuses.

That rifle you have mechanically should be consistently producing 10 round groups between 1.2-1.4 MOA. So less than 1.5 inches for ten round groups. Your scope will likely be a limiting factor as well.

 

[DamnRinella]

I have this same rifle. Is it still in the hogue stock that came with it? I would look into a new stock or having the one on it bedded before you drop in a new trigger. I put a timney on mine and ended up selling it. Ordered the flat shoe and didn't like the feel of it. Mine was shot right at 1 MOA with FGMM after I dropped in in a new stock. It sure is a handy little rifle. Mine has killed 8 deer over the past three years.

I did change the stock with a more expensive rem700 stock my buddy had. Good question

 

[DamnRinella]

A trigger will not increase “precision” by itself, but it helps hide failure in trigger control.

You need a rear bag, not your fist. How many rounds per group are you shooting?

When you hear or read someone talking about groups, it is almost always a 3 shot group which is meaningless, almost always a one time or “sometime” thing, and almost always “if I do my part”. Which really means when the “groups” suck they didn’t do thier part, but when it’s “good” they did. It’s an excuse matrix. It’s not a “MOA rifle” unless it will hit MOA targets on demand with no excuses.

That rifle you have mechanically should be consistently producing 10 round groups between 1.2-1.4 MOA. So less than 1.5 inches for ten round groups. Your scope will likely be a limiting factor as well.

I was shooting 3 round groups and used my first trying to do more with less for hunting season. Figured it would be better practice than bags.

 

[Northwinds308]

I am considering a timney elite hunter trigger to replace the stock trigger. Was going to set at 3 lbs for hunting. Should i expect an increase of accuracy with a trigger? Or just a gimmick?

Better trigger is probably the number one quick fix to improve shooting. Remington's triggers the last 10 years are nothing but a straight dumpster fire.

 

[DamnRinella]

Will get that done! Thx all for the responses and help.

 

[Mr Drysdale]

Try different ammunition and different weight bullets. My 308 loves the Barnes 168 grain TTSX factory ammunition.

 

[DamnRinella]

Try different ammunition and different weight bullets. My 308 loves the Barnes 168 grain TTSX factory ammunition.

I keep hearing to practice with the same ammo as you plan on hunting with. I plan on using the 178 grain elD x for elk. But have heard the Barnes is a great bullet too

 

[menhaden_man]

Try different ammunition and different weight bullets. My 308 loves the Barnes 168 grain TTSX factory ammunition.

Good advice here - I struggled with a 7 mm for years until making the simple change in bullets. Hornady SST are sweet rounds in at least three of my rifles.

 

[Fatcamp]

Good enough. Kneeling, sitting, bipod, off pack should be the focus now.

 

[Northwinds308]

I keep hearing to practice with the same ammo as you plan on hunting with. I plan on using the 178 grain elD x for elk. But have heard the Barnes is a great bullet too

You absolutely want to zero and practice with the bullet you are hunting with, but part of picking a bullet is seeing what your rifle shoots. Don't buy into the marketing hype too much as there's a huge number of bullets on the market and a very large majority of them work very well.

Especially if you're new, you probably won't/shouldn't take shots at longer ranges. Therefore any tough big game bullet will perform very well. I'd recommend Federal Trophy Bonded Tip, Barnes TTSX, or Nosler Accubonds if you want to try some alternatives. Most people's rifles will shoot at least one of these very well.

Avoid Nosler Ballistic Tips, SMK's, and Bergers. They can kill very well but they kill differently and require specific shot placement. With a bonded or controlled expansion bullet just imagine a little red ball in the center of the chest cavity 1/3 of the way up and hit the little red ball. Rib/leg/shoulder won't matter as you'll simply shatter the bone and keep going.

ELD-X's are basically a redesigned SST and are designed to shed 30-60% weight. The jacket is mechanically locked in but not chemically bonded. They're a good compromise of a bullet but be cautious around steep quartering shots if you do stick with them as I have heard some reports of pretty severe core-jacket seperation. Nothing wrong with using them just understand the strengths and weaknesses and if another bullet is shooting groups 25-50% smaller, don't be afraid to switch especially at conventional ranges (400 and in).

 

[DamnRinella]

Do people shoot tight groupings with hunting rounds vs match type rounds?

It’s not easy in FL to try different positions etc because of the limited ranges and their rules.

 

[Newtosavage]

I have shot great groups with ammo that is designed for hunting. Forget about hunting vs. match ammo and think of it as just finding what your particular rifle likes best. You might be surprised if you try 3-4 different types of ammo, how much better some are than others.

My 1st .308 was a Savage model 10 and it shot inexpensive 150 grain Hornady Am Whitetail (Interlock bullets) consistently from 1/2-3/4" at 100. It hated Remington green box 180's (like 2-3") and would shoot 165 Fusion no better than 1.5" so I just stuck with the 150's.

Now that I hand load, I have much more control over what I feed my rifles. Often just switching bullets does the trick. But that's a rabbit hole that can really suck you in. There is some great factory ammo out there that your gun will love. You just have to figure out what it is. The good part is that means you have to shoot more, which is what you need to do right now anyway.

 

[manitou1]

You shouldn't be picking the ammo, your rifle should. It will tell you what it likes to shoot. Try several hunting bullets and weights, find one it likes, then settle on that for hunting.
My hunting rigs shoot .5" groups and less with hunting ammo (handloads), but there are many rifles that shoot sub-moa with factory hunting ammo. Personally, I won't keep a rifle if it won't shoot under 3/4"... but I like stretching the legs on my shots.
Watch some shooting videos on long range shooting, make everything you do consistent... breathing, grip, trigger squeeze, the way you set your rifle forarm on the rest, etc. If you squeeze good accuracy at the bench, your good habits will reflect in the field.

 

[Northwinds308]

Do people shoot tight groupings with hunting rounds vs match type rounds?

It’s not easy in FL to try different positions etc because of the limited ranges and their rules.

My last hunting rifle was consistently 0.65 MOA 3 shot groups sandbagged in from the bench with 165 TTSX. That's not a "best" number that was the average of 5, 3 shot groups.

I will say I disagree with the guy who said only 5 shot groups count. 5 shot groups are a better indicator for target rifles with heavier barrels but for anything thinner than a #4 contour the heat tends to cause some POI shifting after 2-3 rounds. I don't like taking ten minutes in between shots either.