What really matters for superb rifle accuracy?

[Dave_S]

Let's talk about this "long range" thing for a minute.

The photo below is of Luna Mountain in the San Bernardino National Forest in California's D-14 zone and is found on the Butler Peak, CA USGS topo map. D-14 is a zone which I hunted from age 11 in 1976 to 2004. Do you see many trees in this photo? Does the terrain you see here below make you think "dense Eastern woods"? Would you hunt mule deer on ground like this with a Marlin 336 in .30-30, fitted with a Lyman 66 aperture sight instead of a scope?

I filled 7 deer tags in a row, from 1976 to 1982, on the ground you can see in this photo, and I did it as an 11 to 17 year old kid with an iron-sighted, lever action .30-30. For those seven consecutive seasons, I had a 100% success rate in a zone having a 7% hunter success rate every season that I hunted it.

I filled every D-14 deer tag I ever bought, I filled at least half of them on the ground you can see in this photo. From 1985 onward, I primarily hunted the ground you see here with a Ruger M-77 RL Ultralight in .250-3000 Savage; a one-minute, 20" pencil-barreled sweetheart of a rifle delivering about 100 fewer foot-pounds of energy at 300 yards than my 77 grain TMK 5.56 NATO load delivers today.

Most of the deer I shot on this ground were bedded and less than 100 yards away from me when I shot them.

Yes, you read that right. Bedded. Less than 100 yards. Usually much less. On the terrain you see here.

My dad shot a few deer in the big "saddle" between the two main peaks of Luna Mountain. He had no problem pulling the trigger on a deer 660 yards away. He was good shot, but not much of a hunter. Most of my paternal and maternal uncles who hunted this same ground never shot a deer closer than 400 yards on it. They were what we called "stand hunters." They find some arbitrary comfy rock to sit their assess on all morning and stay there until about 10:30 to 11:00 AM and then head back to our 20-acre family camp for a nap, lunch, and a card game.

Uncle Bob hunted this ground with an open-sight Winchester 94 in .30-30 that looked like it fought and lost three world wars. He called what he did "bird-dogging." He walked a little, glassed a lot, and kept repeating that until he filled his tag or legal shooting hours ended. His D-14 deer season usually ended by noon on opening day. My dad and other uncles never fully understood that Bob's slow, stealthy movement through country like this was deliberate; it would have him intercept the herd in multiple places, and most of them would have him meet the herd well within range of his "pea shooter."

Having started off with a Marlin 336, I couldn't hunt like my dad did. I hunted like Bob.

Having filled my first seven mule deer tags somewhere in the frame of this photo below as a kid with a peep-sighted Marlin 336 in .30-30, and only shooting two deer on this ground at over 200 yards, I will go to my grave believing that "long range" is a CHOICE, rather than an absolute NECESSITY. Set yourself up 600 yards from a game trail the herd uses the most, like my dad habitually did, and a 600 yard shot might be the only one you get, as it was for my dad. Hunt like Bob on ground like this, though, and even on ground like this, your shots will be measured in dozens of yards, rather than hundreds.

If a dumb-ass 11 year old kid with a peep-sighted Marlin 336 could fill a mule deer tag on this kind of terrain, in a deer management zone with a 7% hunter success rate, anybody could, if they wanted to.

In closing, I'm NOT against "long range hunting." My dad was doing it my whole life. What I do think is bullshit is framing it as some kind of necessity when the reality is that isn't. You can choose to get as close as possible, or you can choose to shoot 'em as far away as your equipment and skill set allow, but either way, it is a choice, and not a need.


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Way to completely ignore OP's question and go on a rant instead. If you want to brag about your hunting prowess and/or rail against "long range hunting", make your own thread.

 

[Pharmseller]

Challenge your assumptions and start over.
What do you plan to hunt, and how far are you good enough to shoot? Be realistic on both counts.

Notice I asked about your skills, not the rifle’s capability. 95% of the time it’s the shooter’s skill that determines range. And I’m talking about shooting from field positions, not off the bench.

Pick the lowest-recoiling cartridge that meets your needs. And remember to be realistic. It’s probably not a 30-06. Remember its placement that kills, not diameter. Are you really going to Alaska to shoot a Brown bear? Heck, if you do, buy another rifle.

Try a variety of factory loads before you go down the reloading rabbit hole. An MOA rifle in field positions is lethal a lot farther than most people shoot at game.

And speaking of distance, try to hit a piece of printer paper in landscape orientation at 500 yards from a field position. It’s hard.

If you’re set on reloading, do the math on the potential difference group size has at distance. Maybe hand loading cuts your group from 1” to .75”. What does that mean at 500 yards?

Not much.

Be sure to practice at distance if you plan to shoot at distance.

 

[Cherokeeguide]

Ruger 1B in 30-06 that is also a great shooting rifle

Indeed, a Ruger No.1 B can be a great-shooting rifle

 

[6mm Remington]

Indeed, a Ruger No.1 B can be a great-shooting rifle

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I have two 1B's. One is the 30-06 and the second one is a 6mm Remington which is a 1976 200th Anniversary of the United States. The Ruger #1's are just beautiful rifles and I love how they carry. Just a classic looking rifle.

 

[wind gypsy]

QUESTION: of all the things I could change about the rifle or the load, what do you guys believe REALLY matters in the pursuit of superb accuracy in a rifle?

Finding powder/bullet combo it likes. Macro changes, not the million different "tuning" tweaks that handloading lore talks about.

Rifle: if it's solid in the furniture from a bedding and mechanical assembly standpoint, the barrel is the biggest variable.

I guess a bonus question: have yall ever had to call it quits on a gun because it just won’t do what you want it to do?

Yes, a handful of times.

If so, when did you make that call and what were you able to sell the rifle for, Pennie’s on the dollar or pretty good deal?

I've typically just replaced the barrel if it doesnt shoot to my desire. If I'm fighting the gun a bit to shoot consistently and i'm not positive that I'm a primary loose variable, i'll typically change the stock to make it easier to shoot. If one had reasonable expectations of the rifle and it doesn't achieve them, selling it with honesty about the reason why can kill a good chunk of the value. That's why i typically just rebarrel.