mountain rifles were designed to be a 300 yard shot and under hardcore hunting rifle. they are more designed for the ease of carrying on long and hard hunts rather then tack driving accuracy. the mountain rifle in comparison to a heavier rifle which might hinder your ability to manuver in tough mountainous terrain are much easier to carry and manuver. though mounatin rifles have what I call a toothpick barrel they are plenty accurate for their intended purpose they are deffinately not a bench rifle but are a compact easy to carry serious hunting rifle. I have one in 308 WIN ive hunted everything from whitetail on up to elk with it. with the right ammo your rifle likes best excellent accuracy is deffinately attainable. My mounatin rifle is capable of .5 inch groups at 100 yards aslong as im doing my part ive shot on paper out to 200 and 300 yards my best at 200 yards were 2 to 3 inch groups and at 300 yards the groups printed in the 4 to 5 inch range which is plenty accurate for hunting purposes. On my elk hunt with this little rifle I took a shot at 400 or so yards I hit with the first shot but ended up having to stick a second round in for a anchoring shot both shots were double lung hits. but thats even common for your magnums to need a second or third shot at those longer distances. I decided to take the shot at that range because I knew the 180 grain NP's i was using had enough juice to take the animal also the elk being a larger target is easier to hit then say a whitetail at that range I would probably pass on a deer at that range just because of it being a much smaller target in comparison to an elk.