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National Matches underway!
A good report on them at SI.com.
· shooting
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The article says that out of 125 shots she put 62 in the x ring from 1000 yards. What I've been wondering is how many could she put in the x ring if there was no wind. And how big is the x ring. And what is the average that someone like Tubb can put in the x ring over many competitions when there is no wind. I wonder about these things because I wonder what the current state of the art is in practical rifle accuracy. I've heard of hunting rifles that the manufacturer claims can be expected to shoot groups in the teens, i.e. groups less than .2 inches at 100 yards. Is that plausible?
The standard NRA High Power target for 800, 900 and 1000 yards has a ten-inch X-ring and a twenty-inch 10-ring. At those distances, it’s unusual that there is not any wind and/or mirage. As far as possible accuracy at those ranges, I recently read that a new 1000-yard benchrest record was set at 4.237 inches. You can find the article at: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2010/07/frank-weber-sets-new-1000-yard-score-record-with-dasher/
Incidentally, AccurateShooter.com (http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/) and its parent, 6mmBR.com (http://www.6mmbr.com), are excellent sources for such info, along with how-to tips and equipment evaluations, among other things.
Re: "The standard NRA High Power target for 800, 900 and 1000 yards has a ten-inch X-ring and a twenty-inch 10-ring."
That's for Palma (iron sights and sling support). For F-class cut it in half. The X-ring is 5 inches, the 10 is 10, the 9 is 20, etc. This is because you can use scopes and rests/bipods.
In terms of minutes of angle (at 100 yds 1 MOA = 1 inch on the target), 5" at 1000 yds is 1/2 MOA, 10" is 1 MOA, etc.
A rifle that shoots better than 1/2 MOA is almost a necessity, but reading the wind is what separates the good, the bad, and the ugly.
"A rifle that shoots better than 1/2 MOA is almost a necessity, but reading the wind is what separates the good, the bad, and the ugly."
Assuming all the other is met, the next important thing is your skill at reloading (tuning and assembling the cartridges with powder, bullet, primer, brass).
That's a nice article, but it appears to be about the 2009 matches. That said, critic, I suspect that in zero-wind conditions the champions could put 10 out of 10 in the x-ring, pretty much every time. They have the mental discipline to maintain that kind of accuracy shot after shot, and any variations in the short term would probably be due to ammunition. Long term, barrel wear will affect accuracy, but I'm sure the shooters at that level can spot a downward trend before shots start to leave the x-ring consistently.
FWIW, when I shot High Power matches a decade or two ago, the NRA course was all iron sight at 200, 300 and 600 yards. When we would have the occasional 600 yard any-sight match after the regular course was over, the scope guys rarely shot more than 2 points higher than the iron sight guys (out of 200) and if it was particularly warm they usually did worse. (These were not rummies - there were several High Masters in all of my matches. I was squadded with Middleton Tompkins more than once.) So scopes are not always a blessing, at least at longer ranges. I'm surprised to see F-class targets are half the size of iron sight targets. Are the ranges as long?
Surely you're aware that the pistol, air rifle, NRA match rifle, blackpowder and service rifle, among others, are either underway or completed?