I agree with you. We all tend to get really focussed on tiny groups, when the reality i that any shot group 6" or less around the POA will result in a good kill. Target sports are a whole 'nother game. I have watched infernal item shooters burn up several boxes of ammo trying to get single hole groups, when the rifle probably wasn't capable of that level of accuracy, let alone the shooter.
I absolutely agree with both of you when it comes to everyday accuracy.
I was blessed from the very beginning of my flint longrifle journey that started in June 1971 when I was 17 years old. For whatever reason, by my second range session, I stumbled upon that magical combination of patch thickness, ball diameter, and lube (spit) that gave me silver dollar size groups of 5 shots at 100 yards. This was with a semi-custom, GAA .45 caliber rifle that had a 1:48" twist Douglas barrel.
The next two custom flint longrifles, both with Getz barrels (one .50 caliber & one .62 caliber), provided me with the exact same level of accuracy.
Since my eyes could not let me see to kill at 100 yards, searching for better accuracy never occurred to me. Silver dollar size groups at 100 yards always seemed like excellent accuracy to me when I was young, and now that I am 67 such a group size would please me greatly.
As I have aged I have come to agree with Col. Jeff Cooper as regards to everyday accuracy. His criteria for a Scout Rifle was 2 M.O.A. out to 400 yards/meters. This was to kill, or better yet, incapacitate enemy combatants. As the Scout Rifle came to be adopted for hunting, the same criteria applied to medium skinned game up to 600 pounds.
How much accuracy is truly required to hunt with? Most shooters cannot begin to wring out the potential accuracy inheritent in any good modern muzzleloading barrel. Hugh Toenges has established this pretty convincingly by the use of his homemade barrel testing device. Most barrels are capable of one hole groups, shot after shot, out to at least 50 yards, if not farther. It's the stock, and the shooter that keeps a barrel from reaching its potential.
For me, any new rifle that will keep 5 shots inside of 2" at 50 meters (65 yards), is OK with me. Because, that's as far as I ever plan to pull the trigger on anything, ant to elephant, shooting with open/aperture iron sights for the balance of my hunting days. If I stumble upon better accuracy than 4 M.O.A, so much the better. But, I don't plan to spend vast amounts of time, resources, and money searching for the "ONE HOLE HOLY GRAIL".
