How accurate is accurate enough for a 3-Gun Rifle?

[PrestonJMoore]

So, for those of you that shoot 3-Gun matches with shots out to 300-400 yards , how accurate are your rifles/loads or what would you consider acceptable accuracy? 0.5MOA, 1 MOA, 2 MOA, 3+

Edited August 17, 2013 by PrestonJMoore

[Dan Sierpina]

If my rifle/ammo shoots 1 MOA at 300 yards, I'm satisfied. Of course if it shoots smaller, I have more room for wobble. Better to spend more time shooting positions than off the bench looking for tiny groups.

[GreenDragon64]

I'm with Dan. My loads for my AR can put 3 shots at 100 yards in a dime-sized group. It doesn't mean much when you don't practice shooting off-hand in awkward positions. I learned that the hard way today...

[Jesse Tischauser]

If my rifle/ammo shoots 1 MOA at 300 yards, I'm satisfied. Of course if it shoots smaller, I have more room for wobble. Better to spend more time shooting positions than off the bench looking for tiny groups.

Exactly! If I can get a group or two at 1 MOA at 300 with a 6X scope that tells me the gun is more accurate than that setup and way accurate enough to hit 2-4 MOA long range 3 gun targets.

With that said you could have a lot fun with a 3 MOA 3 gun rifle in the sport.

[Alaskapopo]

2 moa is accurate enough as most matches seem to follow the 4 moa target guideline. Personally I want nothing less than 1.5 moa with match ammo and I much prefer sub moa.

Pat

[co-exprs]

Yep. All about the skilz. Different matches also have different requirements. At the Noveske match in April, any 3 moa rifle would have gotten the job done. For matches at the Whittington Center, I won't bother with any rifle not able to run 1moa or better.

[bigbrowndog]

Pretty much everyone had answered based on an optic sight, not exactly what you asked.

A 2moa rifle is all you need, but that is the max you should accept. You and your rifle should be capable of at least half that.

[JohnLTD]

I say start with the most accuracy you can afford in a rifle. Mine can shoot 1 moa or less with match ammo but it will still pump out xm193, or other practice ammo at under 2moa so guess what I use most of the time....cheap stuff! That will easily carry you out to 400yds and after that you could bring out the expensive ammo if you think you need to.

[Alaskapopo]

I say start with the most accuracy you can afford in a rifle. Mine can shoot 1 moa or less with match ammo but it will still pump out xm193, or other practice ammo at under 2moa so guess what I use most of the time....cheap stuff! That will easily carry you out to 400yds and after that you could bring out the expensive ammo if you think you need to.

Good advice but I would add put more money into the optics than the rifle if money is tight. I would rather have a 2 moa rifle with good glass than a .5 moa rifle with so so glass. You can't hit what you can't see.

Pat

[Butterpuc]

1 MOA, is all you should need. If I was shooting professionally, as in my families lively hood depended on my shooting abilities... I would strive for 0.5 MOA. Understand that 1 MOA is a 1" group at 100 yards, 2" group at 200 yards, 3" group at 300 yards.... That really isn't that difficult for relatively low cost. You should be able to take a standard AR-15 5.56mm and drop in an 223 Wylde match grade barrel for ~$300 and easily achieve 1MOA.

But in the beginning, an AR-15 5.56mm should be able to achieve 2MOA out of the box. Plenty good enough for a beginner at local matches.

[Onagoth]

I use bulk ammo for anything close and don't get too concerned with accuracy. I use match ammo for the LR rifle targets and won't accept less than 1.5 MOA at 300y.

By using this standard when shoot from a bench, I find it correlates pretty closely with the practical accuracy requirements during a match (usually 2-3 MOA is required)

[Lead-Head]

2 moa is all you really need, but off the bench I like 1.5 with factory 55 grain (not expensive) bulk ammo.

I will say a 2 moa rifle that is reliable is a far better 3 gun rifle than a 0.5 moa gun that has a poor temperament.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Lead-Head

[Alaskapopo]

1 MOA, is all you should need. If I was shooting professionally, as in my families lively hood depended on my shooting abilities... I would strive for 0.5 MOA. Understand that 1 MOA is a 1" group at 100 yards, 2" group at 200 yards, 3" group at 300 yards.... That really isn't that difficult for relatively low cost. You should be able to take a standard AR-15 5.56mm and drop in an 223 Wylde match grade barrel for ~$300 and easily achieve 1MOA.

But in the beginning, an AR-15 5.56mm should be able to achieve 2MOA out of the box. Plenty good enough for a beginner at local matches.

1 MOA is a bit harder than that if you are measuring honestly. Not the best 3 shot group you ever fired but rather an average of 5 shot groups fired or a few 10 shot groups.

Pat

[DonovanM]

My rifle shoots 3/4 MOA with bulk 55gr reloads. I don't know crap about 3-gun, but Keith Garcia told me this is more than enough.

Better can't hurt, right? Only in buying more expensive bullets.

Edited August 20, 2013 by DonovanM

[Butterpuc]

1 MOA, is all you should need. If I was shooting professionally, as in my families lively hood depended on my shooting abilities... I would strive for 0.5 MOA. Understand that 1 MOA is a 1" group at 100 yards, 2" group at 200 yards, 3" group at 300 yards.... That really isn't that difficult for relatively low cost. You should be able to take a standard AR-15 5.56mm and drop in an 223 Wylde match grade barrel for ~$300 and easily achieve 1MOA.

But in the beginning, an AR-15 5.56mm should be able to achieve 2MOA out of the box. Plenty good enough for a beginner at local matches.

1 MOA is a bit harder than that if you are measuring honestly. Not the best 3 shot group you ever fired but rather an average of 5 shot groups fired or a few 10 shot groups.

Pat

You're right, I shouldn't have made it sound so easy. I added a 223 Wylde match grade barrel and a new free float rail for ~$500. I do not shoot 10 shot groups but I normally can keep 5 shots in 1" at 100 yards with factory ammo.