ORIGINAL: Warren
Update:
I went back to the range with another box of inexpensive Winchester 130gr .270 ($17/box of 20) and took the best steady rest I could come up with and took 3 shots at 100 yards. These 3 shots could be covered with a quarter.
Conculsion: Out of the box Savage .270win with factory scope and inexpensive ammo and a steady rest is capable of 1" groups at 100 yards.
Thanks to everyone for your replys.
Warren
Congrats! I'm glad you found something that works for you.
I think the posts have been spot-on, where the folks have mentioned not bothering with premium bullets for whitetail hunting. I have tried far more types of ammo than it was worth, trying to find my "magic bullet" for accuracy. 'Twould have been better to define "good enough" for me, then move on with my life.
My experience has been that different rifles may prefer different bullet weights. I've heard about people who will shoot 150's, 165's, 180's,
and 220's in their .30-'06, depending on the game. I tried all of them in my '06, and
only the 165's would shoot worth a darn. So, I accepted the fact that I own a lover of 165's, and I go kill everything I point them at. So far, no critter has laughed at me after a shot, and suggested I come back with some 220's...
FWIW, I've got a 7x57 that vastly prefers 175's to 140's, and a .35 Whelen that's much happier belching out 250's than 200's. I feed them what they like, & they all seem to treat me pretty well.
These days, when I'm wringing-out a new rifle, I'll try 2 or 3 different boxes of ammo, in different bullet weights. If one of those shows more promise than the others, I'll buy 2 or 3 other types of ammo in that bullet weight, & see if any of those are better still. Seeing as how most of my rifles are shooting < 3,000 fps, I almost never reach for the premium ammo anymore.
Now go out there & knock 'em down this Fall, then send us some pix!
FC