Shooting Groups and what it means to hunting

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bubblerboy64

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Jul 25, 2018
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I shot some groups at 50 yards this morning and it got me to thinking. What follows are my observations.

1) I'm surprised how much different the point of impact is when changing ammo even at 50 yards. You clearly have to zero for every pellet. 

2) Rifle hold and follow thru mean a lot. Every shot hunting is somewhat if not dramatically so. I will have to try to do as much as I can to reduce that variable.

3) conditions change over time. If you're sitting for extended periods watching for birds (or what ever) wind ,lighting and even temperature changes and probably affecting the shots .

4) Flyers and pulled shots ( we know we all get them.) You can miss a target to the right and then dial in some left windage but is that necessarily a good idea? If you pulled a shot or if it was a flyer or a gust of wind caught the pellet and you didn't notice you can begin to chase the point of aim and work against yourself. I am suggesting that there are many reasons for a miss that might not require a change of the scope settings. I tend to do this. Make adjustments from shot to shot and find that some times I help myself and some times I'm working against my own best interests.

5) GROUP SIZE. my guns and I were shooting pretty well this morning. I shot a bunch of 5 shot groups at 50 yards and very few were over 1 inch. BUT my hunting is at about that same distance and I'm shooting at sparrows and starlings. To hit every one I'd have to do my part perfectly every time meaning I'd have to break the trigger dead center and judge the wind perfectly. Which I certainly don't do.

6) Ammo selection. I can shoot ragged holes at 50 yards some times but ONE five shoot group doesn't make a winner. Of my guns and ammo my 25 cal Cricket shot the best group this morning using 34 grain JSP pellets. If I can do that tomorrow and then next day I MIGHT be on to something. Think it will happen ? So many times the next day things are entirely different that ragged hole group I shot yesterday is an inch

7). The picture posted is of that one best group. Not that it means much. However to shoot at small targets at 100 yards and beyond you better shoot one holers at 50. 

8) I'll try to follow up tomorrow and maybe sneak over to the range and try 100 yards.

9) Lastly what is the best you can expect of yourself? I noticed my heart beat when aiming at the targets this morning, The gun is picking up my carotid artery pulse. It's not much movement but it would certainly make the difference between a one half inch and a one quarter inch group. (I don't shoot 1/4 inch groups its beyond my ability) 
 
Your comments mirror my experience, I shoot groups to get a gauge on my accuracy as far as hunting or pesting is concerned. I’ve had some awesome groups at 50 yards. Do I consider myself as accurate in the field? Heck no, too many variables, wind, shot angles, animal movement, and no bench to shoot from. If I have a doubt about accuracy a good barrel cleaning and a few shot groups gets me back on track. Yesterday while testing some different pellets I was getting an occasional flyer, it was windy, but I was aware of that. I remembered that I had 1500 pellets through with no cleaning. Cleaned the barrel this morning and the gun is back to shooting 1/4” to 3/8” groups at 25 yards. Gun can do better, I’m the limiting factor. I am learning to embrace the wind as it’s always a factor around these parts.
 
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Nice to hear I'm not the only one. I've talked to a bunch of people about group size and guns. Many have said they (and their gun) can ---- and you can add your favorite. Something like shoot the eye out of a groundhog at 400 yards. This made me feel inadequate for years because I MISS. I miss shots that I shouldn't miss but I've also learned that most everyone else does too. NOW having said that I've been with and shot with some rather incredible shots. People who are just exceptionally accomplished.

Couple months back I went to a bench rest competition just to watch. I figured I'd see what those guys are doing. I found that at 100 most of them were shooting about 1/2 inch. At three hundred yards. Probably about 1 1/2 and they did then shoot at 500 because we have the range to do it and believe me NO ONE was shooting the eyes out of the groundhog. In fact the groundhog was a BIG one and it definitely was not hit every time. 

SO what that tells me is that I'm not doing as poorly as I thought and also that I have lots of room to improve as well

You have enjoy the challenge and you also have to accept your own personal limitations. I'd love to find the gun ammo and equipment to consistently shoot one inch at 100 but I have my real doubts that is possible with MY abilities.

SOME THING TO SHOOT FOR. 😁
 
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My shooting in calm conditions is always confidence building. But then the wind comes in and I start to realise the limitations of my wind calls and the platform. 

If im working on follow through, my drill is to take the shot keeping the crosshairs where i want them, and the trigger squeezed to the rear.

I only release the trigger when I see the round impact. I tend to do this normally when I shoot now out of habit, and it makes a huge difference for me.












 
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@bubblerboy64, totally agree. One thing I ALWAYS do is check my zero before I start hunting. Every single time. Very simple to do. I put the shoot n see targets on a small cardboard box and bring it with me. When I get out of the car, I take the rangefinder and walk 45 or 50 yards, whatever the zero is for that gun and ammo combo. Then I go back, get prone, and shoot 3 to 5 shots. If zero’d, I’m good. If not, a couple clicks on the scope, a few more shots and I’m ready to hunt. 

This way when I miss, I know it’s me. Could be wind, could be trigger control, could be inaccurate range, but it’s not the gun. I’ve been shooting the .22 Cricket mini a lot hunting and getting ready for RMAC, and my 45 yard groups almost always look like the group in your OP. If you remove the gun as a variable, it gives less excuses for a miss... ;)
 
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One thing over the many years with any rifle I get Hmmmm sloppy with the trigger pull shooting fur or feathers.

On the target I watch thru the scope for impact, hunting I find myself cycling the next round just in case I WOULD MISS.

With high power I can get away with this, with pellet or rimfire there are barrel time that can cause misses.
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Yep. It’s sight picture and trigger control but seems like you can screw that up pretty badly when the right side of your brain starts takin to left side saying. “ pull the trigger you fool that pigeon knows what that long stick lookin thing is that’s pointed at him is and he’s bout to fly off and he’s sure not gonna sit back down and give you a second try so PULL THAT DAM TRIGGER) And you do and sure enough you miss. Which of course you recorded but who you gonna show that one to. Only likely person is your wife (and she doesn’t want to watch anyway in case you did finally hit one) She’s actually happy you missed but says something like “ it’s ok honey you”ll get him the next time “which makes you feel even worse cause we all know real men NEVER miss 

I’m considering taking up golf 🤪
 
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@bubblerboy64, totally agree. One thing I ALWAYS do is check my zero before I start hunting. Every single time. Very simple to do. I put the shoot n see targets on a small cardboard box and bring it with me. When I get out of the car, I take the rangefinder and walk 45 or 50 yards, whatever the zero is for that gun and ammo combo. Then I go back, get prone, and shoot 3 to 5 shots. If zero’d, I’m good. If not, a couple clicks on the scope, a few more shots and I’m ready to hunt. 

This way when I miss, I know it’s me. Could be wind, could be trigger control, could be inaccurate range, but it’s not the gun. I’ve been shooting the .22 Cricket mini a lot hunting and getting ready for RMAC, and my 45 yard groups almost always look like the group in your OP. If you remove the gun as a variable, it gives less excuses for a miss... ;)
Click to expand...


Good idea. Air rifle POI is hard to understand. No, change that, it's impossible to understand, and hard to manage. I think there are so many variables at work, and the velocity of the pellet so slow (relative to most metallic cartridges), that any slight change can have significant results. And, it's exacerbated by rather fragile barrel-to-action attaching systems. Yes, checking your zero is always prudent.
 
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Very good post! It happens to all of us .

I find myself chasing zero sometimes when I know better to not do it. I have some top notch guns and I know they are accurate and hold zero so if I miss it's all on me. One thing I need to use more often is my range finder. Last time out I didn't take it and shot low on several shots so I'm pretty sure I was under estimating my yardage. 

I'm currently setting up my Veteran .22 with a new scope with a Scope-Werks turret for clicking yardage so I'll see how good that works in conjunction with my rangefinder.

Used to have an AZ Rapid with that setup and it was pretty slick.
 
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