Is your marksmanship better then your rifles ability
 

So, if you have been following the last few posts from me on this forum you’ll have noticed that I’ve have been digging around for a .222 that is a good shooter. Accompanied by a brand that deliveries quality/ accuracy without a lot of diminished returns on the purchase. I prefer function over beauty so with function being the driving factor. How many of you know that your level/ skill as marksmanship excesses that of the rifle. How did you come to determine that.

Every now and then I run into a rifle that should be able to shoot better but does not, even after I try everything from accurizing it to load development.
My first Ruger #1 was like that until it was re- barreled , and coincidentally so was the last one!
Not sure about the first one, I think it was just a bad barrel but the last one was truly a bad barrel, it would not shoot three into 26" at 200 Meters.
After FullCurlEarl worked his magic with a new Shilen v
Barrel it will go under 1/2MOA AT 500, and accounted for a cow elk at over 750 yards this year with one shot.
Edit note: the elk was not shot by me but the new owner of thd rifle .
Cat

You have to be able to hold more steady than the rifle is accurate.

Typically need a good steady position to realize this and need the ability to call your shots to help eliminate variables and call your fliers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Run a bore scope...... if barrel is shot out your peeing in the wind

A borescope will tell you the condition of the barrel but not necessarily how it will shoot.
Even with several inches of bore right gonzo I have still seen some rifles shoot MOA or better , I have one in my vault right now in fact .
Cat

What I have found with borescopes is that some really poor looking barrels shoot quite well actually. That being said they can confirm ones suspicions of why a barrel may not be shooting well .

very true. i find the value in my borescope in determining barrel wear/ cleanliness. i’ve looked through more bores that absolutely shocked me with how well they shot for the condition of the bore.
rusty, copper fouled, 12” of rifling missing in the bore followed by another 12” of fire cracking. still hunt deer for a lifetime.
as my gunsmith buddy said to me when i asked about something i thought i saw in a new barrel; ‘does it shoot? if so who cares what you think you saw?’

Like most, i have way more guns then I need or will ever use. Just something about acquiring a new pea shooter, whether its new or old. My ritual after acquiring is to dismantle and clean, check bedding and clean the bore. I have one scope that I use on any new acquisition. I do this because I know its reliable and know if the gun doesn't shoot it wont be due to a faulty scope, which has happened a few times over the years.

Next is a range test with factory ammo. If I'm not pleased with the results, then I hit the reloading bench and get it recrowned.

I am not a target shooter by any means and most likely my guns outshoot me. But I am good enough to know if I have a gun capable of MOA or better. My worst experience was a Browning BLR chambered in 243, thankfully it was new and was able to send it back........

I suspect most rifles can shoot better than the guy holding them. :D

Grizz

The nut behind the bolt, and the jerk behind the trigger are the biggest variable with respect to accuracy.

I have fait my rifles will out preform me if human error is eliminated

Barrels are changed for a reason. Daniel Boone can't make a burnt out barrel more accurate. Benchmark , Bartlein , Hart , Krieger and others would not be in business selling lots of barrels.

At the range, sure, I can outshoot some of my rifles... in the field, very doubtful.

Replacing worn out or damaged parts is a no-brainer. But, like all sports that require equipment to participate, rather than training and focusing on technique, many believe they can simply purchase a skill upgrade.
That's marketing. :sHa_sarcasticlol:

OT- I like to believe I can shoot to my rifles full potential. Some days, I almost get there.

You would be surprised how an old good shooter can be returned to being a good shooter rifle simply by re crowning the barrel.

What the magic is for that last fraction of a second that a bullet leaves the barrel is as opposed to the first 22 - 24 inches, I cannot tell you, but if the lands are re cut and square the magic often returns to make the gun accurate again. Usually only a 1/16 of an inch is all it takes to get back to good accuracy.

But suggesting that the shooter is generally more accurate than the gun, that is pure ego.

Drewski

Hey!! I resemble that remark!! :mad3:

I always suggest to someone complaining about their rifle's accuracy to get someone else behind thee rifle, someone who is a known good shooter.
Normally two things happen - they either ask who to get, or the conversation ends and they walk away mumbling about how it is not them!! LOL:sHa_sarcasticlol:
I have often got someone else to shoot my rifles if they are scoped to verify, but in the case of 90% of my long range rifles, if I have doubts about the accuracy, I take the irons and sling off , and put my 9-36X IOR on and bench the rifle at 500 meters and 1,000 meters - that normally ends up with me mumbling that my form needs some rework , but happy that my load and rifle are still fine!!:budo:
Cat

I keep tellin you to get parallax adjustable peep sites, but you just don't listen...:sHa_sarcasticlol:

I have been looking for years and haven't found any yet, probably need to find a specialty store that stocks them along with blue steam and skyhooks!:budo:
Cat

Hahah skyhooks. That brings back some great memories of my grandfather. Always sending the new guy to go get some skyhooks!

Yes a known good shooter makes a big difference!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have guns that I can shoot better than they are capable of, and that is true for quite a few guys on here. Think of it this way, if you have one 223 that will shoot .2 and another .223 that won't shoot better than .7, no matter what you do with loads, bedding etc, is it the shooter or the gun? Form, practice, wind, and a host of other factors, including the shooter all matter, but if day in day out, shot side by side, and one gun is far more accurate than another, then you can shoot better than that gun.

If one guy can shoot a gun into .2 and you can't do better than .5 with it, then the gun is more accurate than you. Those two ways are really the only way to know for sure.

I had a Remington 7600 pump in 30-06 that would shoot no better than 6"-8" groups at 100yds (off the bench). I had no confidence even taking this gun hunting or shooting at anything from field positions. It would have been unethical and foolish.

Didn't matter who shot it, it was brutal. Not sure what the deal with the gun was, but this is one gun I know where "it wasn't me". I was a better shooter than that gun for sure. I'm not great, but I'm also not that bad either.

My most accurate gun, a gun Dean helped me restock and bed, is probably the most accurate gun I own when shooting the right bullets - and in this case, I will pull a shot (or sometimes two) from each group and I know it the minute the gun goes off. Nothing worse than printing the first 4 shots into a 3/4 MOA group, getting excited, really concentrating then flying the last shot and inch and a half off !!!!!! lol.

This is why I can never be a marksman ....

My rifle exceeds my abilities

Im good with my rifle

My son is surgical with my rifle

in answer to the original question, part of the reason i have too many guns is so that there is usually one i can outperform...... but i’m working on catching up to the good ones😂😂

Golfers are the living proof of that statement. There is no flaw in the game that can't be fixed with the latest magic club.

Yup - probably the one sport where there is a gadget for everyone - and the latest clubs and balls are always "better".

Money pit sport like no other .....

My first rifle was a 760 pump in 30-06 and ya definitely not a tack driver by any means... Lent it to one of the wifes relatives with a full disclaimer and haven't been in any hurry to get it back.

Never had that issue happened to me. Usually it's me being the issue, instead of the rifle.

I'm no world class sniper by any means but I've never had a heavy barreled rifle that didn't shoot well. Maybe that says more about me than about rifles. A heavy rifle on a proper rest just reduces many of the things you can mess up. So no, I can't say my marksmanship is better than my rifle's ability, to be honest.

If the unit is a quality shooter with a proven optic,,, the hands that hold it are ture,,, then anything is possible...

Oh wait,,,,,,, wait,,,,,,, dam paper target moved on me again...

Followed up by another miss !!!

{Emoji} Sad Face Hand Plant