This article says, "John Yenason, who is among the top competitive .50 shooters, says that before showing up at a match you should be able to put five shots in a minute of angle at 1,000 yards—a 10-inch group." A competitive shooter putting 5 shots in 1 min. of angle under ideal conditions leaves you with shots in a 10 in. group.
Exactly, and that's world class shooters using 50 caliber weapons, under ideal conditions, at a range with wind indicators all the way out to the targetsand still a 10 inch group is considered good at 1000 yards. But there is no hope here MinnFinn. Too many folks eat up with the Ramboitis. They believe that a person can just be so good a shot that they can alter the laws of physics. They are just so good that variable wind speeds and directions across a 1000 yard gap somehow doesn't alter their bullets POIfrom one shot to the next. Cause they are just so good you see. They can close their eyes and just know that the the wind is NNE at 7 mph where they are, NNE at 4mph at the 200 yard mark, NE and 9 mph at the 500 yard mark and dead calm from 700 on to 1000 yards. And then somehow just knowing these things they can correctly dope the proper firing solution so perfectly that they can pick lint off a gnats @$$ at 1000 yards with their first shot each time. Cause they are just so good you see.
Fueled by tall tale war stories, self agrandizing and ultimately BS laden books about military snipers, and now the internet, long range shooting fantasies (like most uban legends) are hard to kill.