100y groups for hunting
- Thread starter spyde82
- Start date
Whatever group size is required to hit the kill zone of whatever game you are trying to dispatch. If hunting squirrels it would be the size of the head of the squirrel or the heart lung region ... and so on and so forth. Depends upon the quarry.
If target shooting … of course everyone wants hole in hole at 100 yards … which, of course, depends upon the skill of the marksman, the gun, the equipment, the pellet and everything being in sync including the weather
Hunting requirements are not quite so exact … but at the same time you don't want to wound some critter and have it run off to die a loathsome death hours later or being eaten by one of it's natural predators … you want to be ethical and kind to those you are about to kill
Shalom
John
If target shooting … of course everyone wants hole in hole at 100 yards … which, of course, depends upon the skill of the marksman, the gun, the equipment, the pellet and everything being in sync including the weather
Hunting requirements are not quite so exact … but at the same time you don't want to wound some critter and have it run off to die a loathsome death hours later or being eaten by one of it's natural predators … you want to be ethical and kind to those you are about to kill
Shalom
John
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Here's a 4 shot group from my FX Boss yesterday at 100 yds. 
I think most importantly is having a rangefinder and knowing how far your target is and having a good dope sheet
I think most importantly is having a rangefinder and knowing how far your target is and having a good dope sheet
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@kdog Keith, what happened to the 5th shot? 
Nice shooting... Those Boss/Bobcat platforms are timeless, and as good as anything currently produced...
@likkitysplyt Everyone would like to have hole in hole at 100 yards, but that's pretty much an unreasonable expectation unless you're shooting indoors with your rifle clamped in a heavy rest. I'd say generally MOA is about as good as it gets on average from the very best of guns... IMHO
Nice shooting... Those Boss/Bobcat platforms are timeless, and as good as anything currently produced...@likkitysplyt Everyone would like to have hole in hole at 100 yards, but that's pretty much an unreasonable expectation unless you're shooting indoors with your rifle clamped in a heavy rest. I'd say generally MOA is about as good as it gets on average from the very best of guns... IMHO
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Size of the prey and the intended kill-zone (headshot, heart-lung or ?? ) determines amount of accuracy needed. You never mentioned caliber so that's another consideration. Pellet versus Slug? Windy or calm? Regulated or not (IE: concern with where you are in a shot string) and are you not actually pesting off a bunch/bipod or truly hunting (roaming afield) and shooting freehand or off sticks or braced against a tree?
I snipe queen hornets during the summer and fall; MOA means I'll never hit one if I shot a hundred yards. P-dawgs and ground squirrels have different size kills zones, even in head shots. I use my 2400KT inside 25 yards and RWS Meisterkugeln wadcutters are my go-to, but for a CO2 gun with a Crosman barrel, it can surprisingly shoot MOA @ 20 yards. 100? Not a chance LOL My Leshiy is knocking HOSPs down at 45 yards; I'm shooting braced and this is an accurate PCP but it is not going to deliver MOA@100.
Realistically, if you can hit a ping-pong ball at 100 yards every time, you'll be fine for nearly anything. It might be worth reconsidering your ideal range for the caliber you are using. In .177 or .22, I'd be personally inclined to shorten that distance- but I shoot freehand or braced, not off a bench.
I snipe queen hornets during the summer and fall; MOA means I'll never hit one if I shot a hundred yards. P-dawgs and ground squirrels have different size kills zones, even in head shots. I use my 2400KT inside 25 yards and RWS Meisterkugeln wadcutters are my go-to, but for a CO2 gun with a Crosman barrel, it can surprisingly shoot MOA @ 20 yards. 100? Not a chance LOL My Leshiy is knocking HOSPs down at 45 yards; I'm shooting braced and this is an accurate PCP but it is not going to deliver MOA@100.
Realistically, if you can hit a ping-pong ball at 100 yards every time, you'll be fine for nearly anything. It might be worth reconsidering your ideal range for the caliber you are using. In .177 or .22, I'd be personally inclined to shorten that distance- but I shoot freehand or braced, not off a bench.
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@kdog Keith, what happened to the 5th shot?
@likkitysplyt Everyone would like to have hole in hole at 100 yards, but that's pretty much an unreasonable expectation unless you're shooting indoors with your rifle clamped in a heavy rest. I'd say generally MOA is about as good as it gets on average from the very best of guns... IMHO
I knew that was coming lol. Actually I had it sighted in at 50yds. On about a 12"x12" piece of paper....I moved it out to 100yds and just figured my holdover would be about 2 mil at 10x on my scope. So I start shooting at 100yds useing 2 mil holdover a d couldn't hit the paper and had no idea where I was hitting. Well I was running out of air and didn't bring my tank so I found a big piece of plywood and shot at that and found out I needed to be at 4 mil holdover at 100yds. These 4 shots were on that plywood as I was trying to find where I was hitting. After these 4 shots I was at about 125bar a d starting to drop every shot. So that's kinda why it's.a.4 shot group. Didn't plan on shooting it alot that day.
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There are some excellent answers here from the other posters, but you have not indicated what size and 'which' game you are trying to hunt for here either at 100 yards. Your post intrigued me, so I wanted to add some side commentary based on my squirrel hunting/dispatching experiences. Take it with a grain of salt.
As an example only; but if you are shooting at squirrels that have a relatively small kill zone at 100 yards, I would think that you would have to be very confident of your abilities ( and your equipment ) of shooting MOA -- or no larger than one inch group; consistently at 100 yards to take a clean shot. I don't shoot squirrels past 50 yards and do have some high end PCPs, but there are plenty of excellent marksman in this and other forums that do shoot game at 100 yards or more. The common denominator in many/most of these shooters is that they have vast experience shooting various game for at 100 yards or greater, many are competition or equivalent BR long distance shooters, many know exactly how their specific ammo will react and behave in terms of appropriate velocity and drop at 100 yards, and most will not pull the trigger if conditions are not right for the shot, etc....
Q. Are you just curious about group size at 100 yards just to see if you 'can' hunt at that distance, or do you actually plan to regulary shoot game at 100 yards? I'm asking because if it is squirrels and rabbits ( again, as an example ), that is a long way to shoot for even a high end PCP if you are not very confident in your accuracy and ability to cleanly dispatch at that range. As you know, shooting tight groups at 100 yards and actually dispatching a critter that may be moving, about to move or whatever; and KNOW that your shot is going to cleanly dispatch the animal are two different types of shooting. One being target vs. hunting.
I shoot regularly paper targets at 100 yards bench rest and have had some decent outings, but I would not trust myself just yet to dispatch a rabbit or squirrel at that distance based on my BR 100 yards results. This is why I try and stay within my limitations. For me, this equates to normally shooting game at under 50 yards; preferably 20-40 yards for squirrels. Highly skilled longer distance shooters who know what they are doing, can do this on a regular basis.
Just an opinion, and food for thought. In any case, you have some good answers here to your original question.
Good luck.
As an example only; but if you are shooting at squirrels that have a relatively small kill zone at 100 yards, I would think that you would have to be very confident of your abilities ( and your equipment ) of shooting MOA -- or no larger than one inch group; consistently at 100 yards to take a clean shot. I don't shoot squirrels past 50 yards and do have some high end PCPs, but there are plenty of excellent marksman in this and other forums that do shoot game at 100 yards or more. The common denominator in many/most of these shooters is that they have vast experience shooting various game for at 100 yards or greater, many are competition or equivalent BR long distance shooters, many know exactly how their specific ammo will react and behave in terms of appropriate velocity and drop at 100 yards, and most will not pull the trigger if conditions are not right for the shot, etc....
Q. Are you just curious about group size at 100 yards just to see if you 'can' hunt at that distance, or do you actually plan to regulary shoot game at 100 yards? I'm asking because if it is squirrels and rabbits ( again, as an example ), that is a long way to shoot for even a high end PCP if you are not very confident in your accuracy and ability to cleanly dispatch at that range. As you know, shooting tight groups at 100 yards and actually dispatching a critter that may be moving, about to move or whatever; and KNOW that your shot is going to cleanly dispatch the animal are two different types of shooting. One being target vs. hunting.
I shoot regularly paper targets at 100 yards bench rest and have had some decent outings, but I would not trust myself just yet to dispatch a rabbit or squirrel at that distance based on my BR 100 yards results. This is why I try and stay within my limitations. For me, this equates to normally shooting game at under 50 yards; preferably 20-40 yards for squirrels. Highly skilled longer distance shooters who know what they are doing, can do this on a regular basis.
Just an opinion, and food for thought. In any case, you have some good answers here to your original question.
Good luck.
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If (like me) your hunting for food, 2 MOA,
rabbits head at 100y, squirrels head 60y, pigeons head 40y, MAX.
I would always err on the side of caution.
rabbits head at 100y, squirrels head 60y, pigeons head 40y, MAX.
I would always err on the side of caution.
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100 yards to me is long range for my .22... I do a lot of shooting from 25-65 yards in my backyard. I am amazed at how much a little wind can move an 18 gr. pellet. At 100 yards in any wind over 3 mph, for me all bets are off, won’t even consider the shot. Now from 65 yards in? I’m in my and the guns best accuracy zone. I can confidently hit chipmunk sized targets out to 65 yards repeatedly... wounding a critter sucks and is not an option. If in doubt don’t shoot...
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Agreed. I've only got 43 yards of room in my backyard and I'm amazed how much a little wind moves the pellets and even the slugs around.
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In my opinion, this is one of the most important questions that have been asked. As a novice air gunner, I have read everything that I could about groups and have tried to compare my groups with what others have reported. I have seen “pellet on pellet, one hole,etc.” groups and I have not been able to replicate these groups. I finally went to Resources/Printable Targets and downloaded a picture of a full size pigeon, duplicated it, and attached them at yardages to 100yds. Next , I shot 5 shot groups and based on the results, I discovered that I could make ethical shots without “pellet on pellet or one hole groups”. My rifle will shoot moa out to 100yds. I am not a good enough shot to do better. Maybe at 80 years old, that will be my best. Needless to say I was encouraged by my results. This is just my experience.
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IMHO a 30 caliber RAW or FX "Anything" or any gun with comparable accuracy would do fine YO!
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