Realistic accuracy expectations

[hanshi]

100 yards! That's excellent plus!

 

[Sun City]

The best rest I've ever found and it beats the whey out of the commercial rest. Just a rolled up shooting mat with a piece of hard tubing inside to keep it from collapsing! And the bench is made such that the shooter can get his chest up against the bench to aid stability rather than the shooter sitting off to one side!

Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr

Yeah....I'm wearing shorts! It gets mighty hot here in summer!!

 

[Sun City]

You...or the rifle don't have to shoot half inch groups to kill deer!

 

[bang]

My hawken 45 I built 40 something years ago when my eyes were still peek would put 8 of 10 in bull at 100 yards. Aggravated many a modern gun shooter with it.
Took 30 years to shoot out the barrel. Now trying to get best I can with a 50 barrel and old eyes.
Front packers can be amazingly accurate.

 

[Kestrel]

Getting older SUCKS! I remember being able to hit jackrabbits on the run, tight groups at any range with any weapon and shooting slightly over par when I took the sticks to the golf course.
As I've gotten older, the groups have opened and my golf game has really fallen off. I used to think that it was just a lack of practice as life had become so busy and severely eaten into my fun time. Making an effort to get to the range more, I find that it may be more a Father Time issue. My eyes have definitely changed over the past handful of years and my concentration seems to get broken more easily.
I have always been very competitive and tried to be the best at what ever I attempt. The frustration with aging is just that, FRUSTRATING!
To deal with this, I'm going to try and get in a little more practice when I can but more importantly, I'm going to just enjoy the comraderie and friendships I've developed thru sport and the beautiful locations in which we get to shoot/play.
We are truly blessed in this country to be able to travel freely with our guns and visit the gorgeous landscapes that God created for us. All government intrusions aside, we got it pretty good comparatively speaking.
Don't get me wrong, if we step to the line, I'm still going to try and whoop you....but I'm going to enjoy our time together more than the final results.

 

[Robwright]

I always enjoyed making a game of benchresting for tight groups. Front and rear sandbags have been best for me, on a very solid bench. A scoped rifle is one thing, big boxy iron sights are quite another, especially with older eyes. Just learning flintlock, but had three .54 RB's touching at 25 yards the other day.

 

[lyman54]

Getting older SUCKS! I remember being able to hit jackrabbits on the run, tight groups at any range with any weapon and shooting slightly over par when I took the sticks to the golf course.
As I've gotten older, the groups have opened and my golf game has really fallen off. I used to think that it was just a lack of practice as life had become so busy and severely eaten into my fun time. Making an effort to get to the range more, I find that it may be more a Father Time issue. My eyes have definitely changed over the past handful of years and my concentration seems to get broken more easily.
I have always been very competitive and tried to be the best at what ever I attempt. The frustration with aging is just that, FRUSTRATING!
To deal with this, I'm going to try and get in a little more practice when I can but more importantly, I'm going to just enjoy the comraderie and friendships I've developed thru sport and the beautiful locations in which we get to shoot/play.
We are truly blessed in this country to be able to travel freely with our guns and visit the gorgeous landscapes that God created for us. All government intrusions aside, we got it pretty good comparatively speaking.
Don't get me wrong, if we step to the line, I'm still going to try and whoop you....but I'm going to enjoy our time together more than the final results.

Pretty much the same for us all as we age. Perfect eyesight slowly goes. Yet I'm sure you still enjoy shooting as much as the next guy. I don't expect my shots to go where they did 20 + years ago but when they do I'm happier than I was back then.

 

[azmntman]

This works for me from 60 yards.

.54 Hawken Flintlock by Sharps Man, on Flickr

Ya, tahat will do, if your ready to "settle" LOL. VERY NICE. My CVA .50 will do that at 90 on days when "i'm on"

 

[Darkhorse]

I always enjoyed making a game of benchresting for tight groups. Front and rear sandbags have been best for me, on a very solid bench. A scoped rifle is one thing, big boxy iron sights are quite another, especially with older eyes. Just learning flintlock, but had three .54 RB's touching at 25 yards the other day.

Same for me. Front and rear sandbags on a solid bench. Any time I shoot from a rest I'm testing my rifle and load, or a new load, and I need to see the tightest groups I can get. I want to see a one hole group before I call a load good to go.
Most shooters really want to see those one hole groups but the fact is only a very few have the skill to actually do it so many will criticize those that do.
Precision shooting a flintlock is tough and takes a long time to master. If your just starting out with the flinter and your getting 3 .54 RB's touching at 25 yards then your doing better than most. Keep on shooting center and concentrate.

 

[Mark Herman]

I'm on the far side of 75 now but recently shot a one hole group at 50 yards with my .40 caliber table gun. Put the rifle away and refused to take a second shot! One hole, no problem.
Mark

 

[sonnyboy]

Made it to the range the other day, got all set up, 50 yards, loaded up the flinter, an the first shot with new front sight hit the edge of a redfield target, dead center dot. Man was I pumped!!!. I thought long an hard about loading it up again to drive another one into the center of the center. I eventually did !!!!!........... sheesh 2" right 1" up. I danced with those sights all afternoon trying to get things lined up dead on like the OLE DAYS. Nope. I honestly cannot see as well as I did 40 years ago, its just that my head still thinks it will happen again. How can I convince myself to stop being so picky looking for one hole group clusters.......HOW??????.........sonny

 

[Mark Herman]

Quit taking the second shot. Join the one hole club!

 

[Kansas Jake]

Here is a target I shot 4 years ago with an pawnshop find Ardessa 50 caliber Hawken that had a rough bore and needed some repairs. I considered the first shot a fouler and the second the money shot so quit there. I didn't think I could do better with my old eyes. The distance was 50 meters from the bench.

 

[Popz67]

I only use a front rest, and shot my TC Omega from 100yds. The club I belong to has a pistol range that has 15 and 40yd rifle range is a long 100yds. Being out here in farm country, the wind and weather keeps it interesting.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I know the feeling of getting older. Had the Flintlock out this afternoon. Best I could do was a baseball sized group and slightly low at 50 yards. Good enough to kill a deer but I can and have done better. And man its getting harder to line up those sights. The overcast skies really played havoc on my groups.

To my defense though I havent shot this particular gun since last deer season, and it's only the second trip to the range in as many months with a muzzleloader. Took my GPR out last month but ran out of powder after only 8 shots.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I’ve been shooting my longrifle more lately, and have gotten to the point that I can expect 1.5”-2” groups at 50 yards from a rest.

I noticed some sharp improvement from some of the powder/charge/patch changes I experimented with, but I still don’t know how much of the improvement is coming from proper load or from becoming more accustomed to shooting a flintlock.

My question is, what group sizes (from a rest) do you guys expect routinely? I’m just trying to decide whether to keep chasing a magic load or to focus more on shooting technique.

If I hit where I am aiming I am good with it
SM

 

[bldtrailer]

With the rifle in my avatar getz 44 round bottom .50 barrel Nate McKenzie Lancaster bench 50yrds

 

[hanshi]

I've fired quite a few 5 shot one hole groups up to at least 60 yards in the past. I can still do it on rare occasion even today when the gods are smiling. And if I stick to only 3 shots it becomes a little "less rare". At 100 yards I've never been able to get much under 4" for 5 shots. I recently did a 2-shot two inch "group" at 100; but notice I stopped shooting at that point. As I get where I shoot worse and worse I shoot more and more 3-shot groups. That way I don't always go home dejected and blue.

 

[duelist1954]

At 100 yards, I expect a 2-inch to 3-inch group off of a rest. I've I'm not getting that, then there is usually something sub-optimal with the load...powder charge, patch thickness or ball diameter. I'll make changes until I consistently get a 2-inch group.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I wish I could shoot 2-3 inch groups at 100 with open sights. I did when I was younger, but eyes and coordination just aren’t as good any more.