falcon

My rifles are capable of very good groups from a bench on a good day. Great groups fired from a bench do not directly translate to venison, unless one shoots deer from a bench. Shooting from a small wooden tree stand is a bit more of a challenge. Finding a rest in the woods is a challenge.

The most consistent buck hunteri know is not a dedicated shooter: He is a very good and dedicated hunter. Every yearbefore muzzleloader season he brings his Knight to the range and fires two or three shots.Most times his bullets strike withintwo or three inches of the three inch bullseye at 100 yards, and he goes home.i have seen a lot of his deer and every one of them was 140 points or over.

If shooting small groupsfrom a bench translated to venison they would call it deer shooting: But for various complicated reasons it is still called deer hunting.

TNHagies

I think a lot of it has to do w/how people measure the group. I was talking to a guy the other day that was bragging about his groups and when he showed me the target I questioned it only to find out that he was measuring from inside edge to inside edge.

I don't shoot a lot because I don't enjoy shooting paper. But when I do shoot, I shoot 3 shot groups and call it quits. I shoot each gun I'm gonna hunt w/each year 2 or 3 shots prior to the season to make sure it's still lined up and then that's it until hopefully the next time is on meat.

sjsfire

Here's my 100 yard shot with my $100 CVA Wolf and a Nikon Pro Staff scope. Target is a 6 inch shoot-n-see Thats a dead deer........when I'm hunting thats all I'm after.

cayugad

This wasone of my best days... I had just put a Sightron S1 scope on my Wolverine and had a good load already worked up. The first three shots were the first three at 100 yards. I then adjusted the scope and shot the next 10 shots at the center bull. I have never touched the rifle's scope adjustments after that. With 90 grains of Goex 3f and a 240 grain XTP that is my tree stand rifle. That group amazed me so much, I have always kept the picture.

If I showed you some of my bad days though.. you would all have a real good laugh. For instance I once taped a AOL Free 100 minute CD on a board at 100 yards. I was going to try and shoot the very center of that CD. I fired six times and finally chipped the outside edge of that thing. But days like that happen to me. And I did find a good use for those AOL CD's.

Steve863

Just like with centerfire rifles I think most people love to boast how there guns are capable of minute of angle accuracy. The truth probably is that not many guns and even fewer shooters are capable of doing this consistantly. I am new to muzzleloading, but I can't see why a muzzleloader needs too much paper accuracy. The shooting should be kept to no more than 100-150 yards so as long as your shots are around the bull at 100 yards, you the shooter will be at fault if you miss that deer and NOT the gun!

falcon

"The truth probably is that not many guns and even fewer shooters are capable of doing this consistantly."

In my experiencequitea few guns are capableof 1" three shot or five shot groups at 100 yards. There are very few shooters who are consistently capable of firing 1"groups, including me.

"But days like that happen to me. And I did find a good use for those AOL CD's. "

Lots of days like that happen to me. To think i've been throwing those AOL disks away. [:@]

sabotloader

Semisane

Like Dave said, I too shoot a lot and I use the word a lot, cause nobody shoots ML's as much as Dave, so i do expect groups @ better than 3" - and I use that word expect for a reason - and to be honest most of the time I do and can achieve groups from on average of 1.5" (with a scope). I am also one of those guys that you orginally mentioned that if I could not I probably would not have the gun. All of the rifles I have, including the centerfires, I have all the confidence in the world in for shooting an animal with in a hunting situation. Now then if i were shooting targets all day everyday - shooting for sub MOA's I am not sure that I have a gun that I could claim.... Oh! I do! a Sako bull-barrel 222 and a Savage bull-barrel .17 now those with the scopes that they have and a non-windy day and the proper bench... or in all the others reduce the charge down to become target shooters.... Well anyway - the real important thing in my mind - Do YOU know the limitations of your gun - then do you know the limitations of YOU and YOUR gun.

I found your orginal post very intersesting and very direct - thanks for putting it out there...

Keep shooting ML's because they truly are a blast - addictive - fun - challenging - frustrating - and all of the other things you can add on.

mike

Underclocked

I can fire one shot at a deer at one time during the yearbut I can shoot da heck out of a piece of paper, do it year around, and I enjoy it. It's just another way of challenging yourself and a nice hobby (which I've not done enough of for the last two years).

So far as good days and bad - yep, and they sometimes fall on the SAME day. Check the first three shots in the group below (same rifle as used for the targets shown before). I should have stopped at 3, before my day turned sour - too much pressure. Shot 5 was an "I no longer care" shot. I save that picture to remind myself of what WOULD have been my personal best 3-shot group at 100 yards ... had I stopped.

cayugad

UC that always happens.. I will have just a perfect group and then get high on myself and blow the whole thing,.. I think that is suppose to happen that way.

Underclocked

I even know what I did wrong - and knew immediately AFTER I pulled the trigger, but still... (don't tell anyone I screamed and cried like a little girl).