Good 'nuff For Hunting?

[Jack Ryan]

What would you consider good enough accuracy for hunting?

Would a 6 inch group at 50 yards be good enough to take out in the field the next day?

[.308sniper]

What caliber and is it a rifle or pistil.

[Savage .250]

 Like .308sniper said, need more information.
   That being said, lets suppose your talking about a shotgun. 6 inch at 50 yds, why not?  If that`s as  good as you can get with what ever your set up is then make shot selection your priority. 
   
   

[Rick Teal]

It depends on how far you're shooting.  The vast bulk of my deer have been taken at 30 yds or less, with only a couple as far as 90 yds.  A 6"/50yd group would be good enough for me under these circumstances.  In fact, I've been quoted in the past as being happy with an 18"/100yd group for most of my hunting.

I normally don't shoot groups, but when I'm shooting at a 100 yd range, I find I'm satisfied with a 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 inch group.  If your intended point of impact is in the centre of your group, a 9"/100yd group would mean a dead deer at that range.

[Jack Ryan]

What caliber and is it a rifle or pistil.

Does it matter?

I just don't get this mind set that and inch and a half at a 100 with a rifle isn't good enough and the next day half a foot at 50 is good enough with a pistol.

I think a lot of what a lot of people claim as good enough is to a large degree due to what they can acheive with the effort they are willing to make or capable of.

"Well that's good enough any way."

Good enough for what? Good enough to kill two out of five and wound two? Good enough to kill milk jugs? There's a post in a pistol forum that just set me off that's all.

[Jack Ryan]

  If that`s as  good as you can get with what ever your set up is then make shot selection your priority. 
   
   

If thats as good as it can get then that's not good enough for shots at deer at 50 yards. That's all. Coyotes and other vermin, OK maybe if half the groundhogs or rats get wounded. Ruining half the game animals people shoot at just isn't good enough.

[The Sodbuster]

Is 6" at 50 yards the best the rifle can do, or the best the shooter can do?  The usual axiom for deer accuracy is that you need to be able to put the bullet in to a target the size of a plate (maybe 8-10" diameter).  If you can do that at 300 yards, then you can take shots at that distance.  If you can't do it past 100 yards, then don't shoot at game beyond that.  6" at 50 yds is fine; just don't figure on shooting deer beyond 50-100 yards.

[Redhawk1]

I would say no, because I can do a lot better than that with all my guns, including handguns. If you are shooting a sling shot maybe. Sorry but I expect a lot better from my guns. 

[John Y Cannuck]

I have a '92 winchester that groups 4" at 100 yards. I'll be using it this year as a close range brush gun, in areas where shots are very unlikely to be even 100 yards.
4" bugs me, and I've been working on that. It used to group 12".
I suggest you play with your rifle a bit, You can probably get it to do better.

[bigbore442001]

I would not be happy with a firearm that shot like that. I like a firearm to be as accurate as possible. It eliminates much of the fudge factor. if the gun is shooting very well, then a miss is your fault. If the gun is shooting poorly, then there is that factor of doubt in your mind.

I guarantee that if you miss a decent buck with a gun shooting that poorly, you will be very tempted to wrap it around a tree.

[TreyAzagthoth]

I would say no, because I can do a lot better than that with all my guns, including handguns. If you are shooting a sling shot maybe. Sorry but I expect a lot better from my guns. 

i'd have to agree, if i couldnt shoot a group better than 6 inches at 50 yards, i'd get rid of it cause i know it wouldnt be my fault.

[Jack Ryan]

Plenty of guys think 6 inch groups at 50 yards and more are just dandy for hunting.
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,94453.0/topicseen.html

You don't need any  more information than that. If you can't hit a game animals heart size target on a range every shot then you are shooting to freaking far. The lungs are just your safety back up for screw ups and the myraid of excuse posted on these hunting boards every year in the got one down and wounded one threads. When that bullet hits a game animal it isn't suddenly more deadly because it started out in a pistol than it would be if it started in a rifle.

If you couldn't hit it's heart on a the range in a card board cut out you've no business shooting that far in the fields at a trophy game animal regardless of what you are shooting, if you are old or young, female or male. Bullets and animals don't know any of those excuses.

[cocomen69]

I'd have to agree with a lot of the other posters... in my humble opinion, if 6" at 50 yards is the best accuracy that can be achived under "ideal" range conditions with a solid rest, then the probability of a HUMANE and swift kill at a game animal at varying distances with the possible lack of a stable rest and the stress of shooting in the field should not be attempted with that firearm.  Perhaps the addition of a scope, or a switch to better ammo, or more practice with the firearm may be in order to gain profficiency.

If its 6" at 50 yards, its going to be 10"-12" at 100 yards...