South Pender
Active Member
By accuracy in the title I’m referring to the kind of pure rifle accuracy you expect to get from your hunting rifle when shooting it off the bench with good front rest and rear support—in other words taking the human element out of it as much as possible. With all the talk and advertising surrounding 1 MOA accuracy (with this guaranteed from some rifle makers), is this the accuracy standard you require from your hunting rifles?
It might be informative to look at a typical hunting rifle scenario. When in the field shooting from typical field positions (kneeling, sitting, offhand) in usual field conditions (uneven terrain, the possibility of high grass or other obstructions, being out of breath, being excited when you see game, the need to get a shot off quickly, etc.), let's say that you are able on average to keep all your shots within a 4.0” circle at 100 yards, and this is with a rifle that gives 1.5” accuracy at 100 yards off the bench while well supported—so with what we may call a 1.5 MOA rifle. We might term this 4” at 100 yards practical field accuracy and is a combination of rifle accuracy and what we may term shooter accuracy. This level of field accuracy (4” at 100 yards) is actually pretty good in typical field conditions. So ignoring conditions like wind, you can keep your shots within a 12” circle at 300 yards with this rifle. The question arises as to whether you should seek more rifle accuracy, say a true 1 MOA rifle.
It turns out that given your shooter accuracy and under field conditions, this new 1 MOA rifle will now put your shots into a 3.84” circle at 100 yards (instead of the earlier 4” with your 1.5 MOA rifle) and will put your shots into a 11.52” circle at 300 yards (instead of the earlier 12” with your 1.5 MOA rifle). So you gain less than ½” smaller impact zone at 300 yards with the more accurate rifle. And just for fun, let’s consider a super-accurate ½ MOA rifle. What advantage do you have at 300 yards under typical field conditions? Well, it turns out that your earlier 12” circle at 300 yards with your 1.5 MOA rifle has been reduced to a 11.22” circle, so a net gain of about a ¾” smaller impact zone at 300 yards.
So the question is: will you benefit in a meaningful way with a 1 MOA or ½ MOA, rifle for deer hunting under typical field conditions? Seems to me that the answer is pretty clear. What do you think?
It might be informative to look at a typical hunting rifle scenario. When in the field shooting from typical field positions (kneeling, sitting, offhand) in usual field conditions (uneven terrain, the possibility of high grass or other obstructions, being out of breath, being excited when you see game, the need to get a shot off quickly, etc.), let's say that you are able on average to keep all your shots within a 4.0” circle at 100 yards, and this is with a rifle that gives 1.5” accuracy at 100 yards off the bench while well supported—so with what we may call a 1.5 MOA rifle. We might term this 4” at 100 yards practical field accuracy and is a combination of rifle accuracy and what we may term shooter accuracy. This level of field accuracy (4” at 100 yards) is actually pretty good in typical field conditions. So ignoring conditions like wind, you can keep your shots within a 12” circle at 300 yards with this rifle. The question arises as to whether you should seek more rifle accuracy, say a true 1 MOA rifle.
It turns out that given your shooter accuracy and under field conditions, this new 1 MOA rifle will now put your shots into a 3.84” circle at 100 yards (instead of the earlier 4” with your 1.5 MOA rifle) and will put your shots into a 11.52” circle at 300 yards (instead of the earlier 12” with your 1.5 MOA rifle). So you gain less than ½” smaller impact zone at 300 yards with the more accurate rifle. And just for fun, let’s consider a super-accurate ½ MOA rifle. What advantage do you have at 300 yards under typical field conditions? Well, it turns out that your earlier 12” circle at 300 yards with your 1.5 MOA rifle has been reduced to a 11.22” circle, so a net gain of about a ¾” smaller impact zone at 300 yards.
So the question is: will you benefit in a meaningful way with a 1 MOA or ½ MOA, rifle for deer hunting under typical field conditions? Seems to me that the answer is pretty clear. What do you think?
