What makes a rifle most accurate
 

Although the industry seems to care more about easy of cleaning than accuracy, accuracy is still #1 in my mind.
What do you think are the most important factors that make a rifle more accurate than most. Is it barrel quality, meaning quality of rifling and a consistent bore from end to end? Is it mainly the fit of the barrel to the stock? Are most rifles capable of this kind of accuracy once you find the right load for it?
I have had some guns that the first time you shoot them they just feel, well, accurate. It seems that even when you change bullets and powder you may change POI but you still have that special something that makes them accurate and gives you great confidence. Other rifles you might have plenty of accuracy for hunting but not the same kind of consistency.
What do you all think?

Probably in my opinion the order of importance:#1 Barrel to stock fit,#2 Barrel crown quality,#3 rifling consistency from end to end. After that it is up to the shooter. Again, this is Just My Opinion.

I would like to add to your thought of accuracy being the first and most important thing about a rifle. Then maybe move one more word ahead of that by adding 'consistentcy'. Day and day out I want a rifle that will perform with what ever load and or projectile I choose to use in that gun.

Quality products, from top to bottom, usually are built from quality parts by companies with quality people. Is it a gun or product built by people who care and have pride to offer a product.

I know that this is not what most or a lot of people think, but I believe a quality rifle will or should shoot whatever you choose to shoot from it accurately. I would like to believe that if a rifle can not perform over a large range varibles, it really is not a great rifle.

Personally, I think you last statement prety much sums up the whole ideal. And personally if the gun does not do what you mentioned, why own it?

I am also trying to think of a way to say that there are different expectations for different classes of guns.... such as should or will you expect a slow twist sidehammer PRB gun to shoot modern projectiles as well as a faster twist, shallow grooved modern barrel - but then again the modern one will and should not be asked to shoot a PRB with great expectations... does that make sense....

The Person behind the rifle

I am just talking about the rifle only jon.

That's always a factor but if you have a cheap ,crappy,tomato stake gun then I don't care how good a shot a person is, the gun is still going to shoot like a cheap,crappy tomato stake gun. I have one I ought to know. Then I can take a well built well designed gun like my Knight or my Triumph and shoot over 200 yards with no problem . So I agree with the previous posts in regard to barrel to stock and rifling, etc. I do like experimenting with loads and finding the best one but I don't like wasting time and money trying to get something to shoot that simply won't shoot. My Triumph will shoot anywhere from 90 to 130 gr with excellent accuracy and 200, 250, 300 gr bullets and a variety of different ones. My Knight was a 4 shot sight in. While the right load for a gun is a real accurate load ( MOA), a quality gun shoots a lot of loads that are deadly for hunting,( bigger group but still in the kill zone) in my opinion of course. If you start with quality then the shooter becomes the final factor. The gun will only shoot as good as the person. Most of mine shoot much better than I can ( with the exception of one:s8:)

:DWant to guess which one that is?:D

yall are forgetting some very important things here,,,first off are you talking about black powder or cartrige gun at any rate if a rifle dont fit you you will never shoot as well with it as you may with a proper fitting gun. 2nd,,i dont care how much quality you spend for
a poor shooting gun is that pure and simple. its a crock saying you have to spend multi dollars to get a good gun...i bought a pr of cva inlines for 200 bucks from redhead,,and they shot great,,i only gave em up to get a mag ,,150grn gun,,i liked the optima because of the sealed breach..and all bullits dont shoot the same ,,i got some power belts once that was nothing but pure junk...i dont call 1 ft groups good enough at 100 yrds..for any gun..heavy bullits seem to do better than the lighter ones..this will most likely be a subject that no one will agree to till the end of time ,,,but thats my opinion,and thats why america is so great,,,

Sounds like they covered it well. But accuracy to me depends on the rifle, the powder, the projectiles, the accessories, and how well it is maintained. I also have some cheap rifles that shoot real well. And I have a couple that are definitely short range weapons.

the shooter by far... doesn't matter what ya got if mickey mouse is behind it!!!

Why is my Accura so accurate? Is it the barrel? Is it the name? It sure as heck isn't me. Cost wasn't much. It has to be one of the least pretty rifles i have ever seen. Most every thing about it kinda seems cheezy. It sure shoots straight.

Now, my Triumph is pretty. It shoots straight. My Omegas shoot pretty good too. With their wood stocks, they have a nice look.

If it isn't the 'name' that makes a straight shooting rifle, i am thinkin' it is the barrel.

Perhaps some manufacture should try makin' and sellin' a rifle called the 'strait shooter', and see if it shoots as good as the Accura. Gosh the Accura is an ugly rifle!!

Put a good barrel on a rifle, and it will, no doubt, shoot straight, 'i think'.

In muzzle loading there are a lot of variables if most people were as consistent in the way they load as they think they are there would be a whole lot more minute of angle groups. Some people try thinks erratically and change more than one thing at a time; if they ever find the best load for a rifle its an accident. There are some people that can take a rifle capable of 1/2 minute of angle groups and not get any better than 3 inches. SO while I know there is some guns around that are not capable of really decent accuracy, most of the time its the shooter, you can tell most of the really horrible guns by the awful trigger pull.

Never seen anyone say trigger. I don't care how good your barrel is, if you have an 8# trigger, it just isn't going to be consistent like a 3# trigger will.

My order would be barrel/rifling/crown #1, trigger #2, solid lock-up #3, good stock fit #4.

Yup, a good trigger is so very very important.

Concentricity at the muzzle, it's the first and last rifling the projectile sees.

Bedding, the action and barrel remain or return to the same alignment shot after shot.

Lock time, the less time from sear release to projectile leaving the bbl the less time the shooter has to maintain aim.

All of the above, plus the powder! I honestly think that using black powder, for me, is the most accurate factor in all my experiences. I think I have fired all the subs and now have this opinion.

#1: Barrel quality.

#2: Bedding of barrel and action.

#3. Optics or quality of sights.

#4: Trigger.

#5. Proper loading procedure-100% consistency in loading(but this is not attributable to the actual rifle).

Tom.

I think quality from end to end helps a lot with consistency. From my experience (not very much) and reading about everyone Else's experiences I believe finding and shooting the right load for that gun is the key. I was ready to get rid of my Omega when the FPB's came out. I had decided that the FPB's were going to be the last bullets I try in it and if they don't work out, it's gone. It does shoot sabot well but I can't hunt with sabots in Colorado.

Well, after finding what it likes which is FPB's, 85gr. BH209, and STS primers, I'll never get rid of that gun unless Hornady quits selling FPB's or BH is no longer available.