IMO much of it is hype. Most rifles shoot straighter than the shooter does anyway.
Big barrels may have some effect on harmonics, mostly it is heat dissipation. The only shot that really counts in hunting is the first shot. If you are practicing it can be beneficial, shooting multiple rounds over a relatively short period of time and heat may move your barrel some. The bigger factor is consistency, you and the rifle.
When I practice I may spend two hours firing ten rounds (or less). I practice and plan for that first shot.
Sometimes it is just luck. I have an old model 70 featherweight that is almost as accurate as my Steyr SSG (which weighs around 9 pounds). When I say almost as accurate, I mean around a bullet diameter (or less) difference at a hundred yards in three shot groups. I doubt all the feather weights are that accurate, I just got lucky.
I think it takes a lot of practice and maybe even a good coach or teacher to make a shooter that can out shoot his or her rifle. And the shooter being good enough to successfully tune a rifle, takes a lot of practice also.
Most bang for the buck IMO is a good trigger.
When you get nuts over the whole thing and start shooting at extended ranges your pulse will move the cross hairs significantly. The bullet traveling through different air layers, cross winds and even the ambient temperature become factors. And the big one that nobody ever talks about, bullets don't fly straight, the barrel twist actually makes them corkscrew a bit.
And lastly IMO the only way to shoot long range is sitting at a shooting table or prone. Those magnums will punish you in the prone position. My 7mm Mag has been collecting dust in the safe for decades, it is no fun to shoot.
Last edited by MudderChuck; 09-27-2017 at 06:14 AM.