Shooting Groups

How many shots and how many groups?

That’s a good group — no need to measure it. Now, adjust your scope so it lands on your point of aim.

Recently, Outdoor Life has been promoting the use of a 20-shot method to establish a rifle zero and the use of a mean radius as an indicator of precision when evaluating a rifle. In most cases, more data means better data. However, except for a very small subset of rifle shooters — long range competition shooters — I think it’s mostly a large waste of time. My opinion is based on experiments I’ve conducted and a half-century of shooting and hunting with rifles.

I’m not going to detail Outdoor Life’s approach, I suggest you read it. You might find it makes sense for you, and you might feel it’s a better way to skin a cat. What I want to do is give you some things to think about when it comes to setting your rifle’s zero, and when evaluating how precise a rifle shoots.

The Weak Link

When it comes to shooting groups to establish the level of a precision a rifle can deliver, the weakest link in the process is the shooter. The notion that you can shoot several, three, five, or even 10 or 20 shot groups without making a mistake is preposterous. This truth is probably best exemplified by something my cousin, Johnny Walker – who used to compete in the annual Alvin York muzzleloading shoot – used to say. In that competition shooters fired 10 shots, and Johnny liked to say that a lot of folks can fire nine good shots, but nobody can fire 10 good shots in a row.

There’s a lot of truth to this. How many times have you been shooting a group and a single shot – often the last shot – screwed everything up? Here’s another and maybe more telling example. I’m testing a rifle, ammunition, riflescope, or a suppressor, at least every week – I shoot groups all the time. I also have rifles, ammunition, and riflescopes I’ve vetted and trust to help me with these evaluations. Somedays I’ll go out to shoot and just cannot shoot up to the proven potential of the tools I’m using.

Shooting is a physical activity. It’s no different than many other athletics. Just as I’m sure you’ve witnessed, the best athletes in the world have good and bad days, and most of us are a long way from a best athlete in the world. Simply put, the more times you pull a trigger, the greater the possibility of a mistake on your part. Sometimes you can identify that mistake, but often you cannot.

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The Price of Precision

Rifle/Shooter Gremlins

Most rifle shooters know every rifle has its gremlins. For example, you may have a rifle that will shoot four or five shots with precision, but as the barrel heats up, group size opens up. Some rifles are better at this than others, but it is an inherent flaw with all rifles. Sometimes the flaw is so small – almost indistinguishable – we cannot see it because it’s within the margin or error of our shooting — but it’s still there. So, do you shoot five shots within 60 seconds, let the barrel cool, and do it again? Or do you shoot one shot and let the barrel fully cool before you shoot another?