3,vs 5, Vs 10 Shot Groups

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
I'VE OCCASIONALLY SEEN GUYS BRAGGING ABOUT RIFLES THAT CAN KEEP ALL THE SHOTS TOUCHING ON PAPER,
AT 100 YARDS AND THE NEED TO HAVE AN ACCURATE RIFLE,
YEAH I see guys all the time bragging about shooting groups with all the bullet impact holes touching,
but thats off a sand bag rest in most cases.
most of those guys could not hit a 2" coke can at 100 yards from their choice of a rapidly acquired field position.
I can easily see where shooting 5-10 shot groups for a target rifle , might be valid,
shooting paper is vastly different than hunting game.
but on larger caliber hunting rifle I don't think thats really required or necessary,
Any dependable hunting rifle in a reasonable caliber and bullet weight,
for the game being hunted,if you miss the intended bullet impact point ,
on a large game animal by less than an inch,
I doubt theres ever been a different outcome to the impact of the bullet, from any rifle
that will provide you with a consistent 3 shot group, starting with a cold barrel is more realistic,
and if you can place all your first 3 shots inside a 1.5 inch diameter circle thats effectively placing all your shots within about 3/4s of an inch of the aim point,
and if you can do that, placing shots with an accurate rifle to the games vital's I can't image anything walking surviving even one or two well-placed shots.
for a couple years I worked part time as a range officer and I helped train new security guards in proper pistol craft,
if you can drop into a sitting or prone position and put a hole in a coke can at 100 yards CONSISTENTLY, in under 7-10 seconds
with your hunting rifle, on the first shot, your skills are far above average.
trust me when I say that I've had dozens of people that are excellent shots of a bench rest, try that and the vast majority have had zero or near-zero success.
yeah most experienced hunters get close or can do it occasionally,
and with practice its not hard to do with a good rifle,
but your average guy at the range....
your making a safe bet he can,t drop into a sitting or prone position and put a hole in a coke can in under 7-10 seconds
with his first shot.

its not the cartridge or rifle choice, nearly as much as the experience and skill of the guy holding the rifle,
precise shot placement is always critical to success,
and you can,t ignore physics a larger mass projectile traveling at similar or higher velocity imparts greater impact energy,
and damage and tends to penetrate deeper, given equal construction.
you certainly might not agree with my choices in rifle or caliber,
but I've never seen a deer or elk shrug off a hit from my three favorite rifles,
a 30/06 browning single shot, a 340 wby bolt action,
and a 375 H&H sako bolt action

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