WV Hunter

I agree with that fist theory, however I want to know my gun is doing the best it can. That makes hitting in the fist easier to accomplish!

stripercrazy

At 100 yards I’m shooting a in-line with a scope i’m 57

bronko22000

2" with a ML at 100 yards...Heck I'd be happy with 3-4". I'm still playing with my Accura V2 but I know it puts Barnes EZs into 1 1/2" consistently. But 4" @ 100 is still "good enough" for hunting. Not ideal but it will do the job if the shooter does his.
You see some of the guys on here shooting tiny groups at outlandish distances but those are the exception rather then the rule. And these guys spent quite a bit more for a ML with the ability to do that.
My hats off to them but more than I really need.

Semisane

Well we all post pictures of our best groups, don't we.

My goal is two inches or less at 100 yards, but in the real world I'm happy with three inches with sabot shooters and four inches with round balls. I have several guns that will put five shots into a two inch group at 100 yards (on occasion ).

hunters_life

Mr. Bronkoski, I hate disagreeing with you but if I can't get any of my rifles to get better than 2.5" at 100 then that rifle will no longer belong to me. And while yes some of my smoke poles are in the upper atmosphere in cost, the majority of them are well within most anyone's budget. Any well made rifle should be easily expected to get within 2.5" groups but, as with pretty much any rifle being smoker or smokeless, you sometimes have to do a lot of looking for a load. I used to watch the old man get so mad he looked like he had a wild cherry for a head. But he rarely gave up on a rifle till he found that magic load that brought everything together. Sometimes it isn't a load but just a matter of replacing a wedge key or relieving a bit of material in the barrel channel or just tightening a screw. Sometimes one may want to really put a cleaning to a barrel with some JB as it might have some rough spots. But I have honestly found over the years that most of the time, it's the operator not the equipment causing poor groups. Especially with muzzleloaders. Shooting a smoker is a unique experience in my opinion. I was raised shooting them and have been at it around 40 or so years. And there is still much room for improvement in my skills. I find comparing CF rifles and traditional ML rifles to Traditional Archery and Compounds to be a close comparison. Lot of guys out there using Compounds if you put a long bow in their hands they would be totally lost. Now these inlines, which I have very little experience with, are much closer to CF's and are much much more forgiving to shoot than a sidelock of any sort but you still have some little hooks even with them such as consistent loading pressures and a few other things but it's worlds easier than our old smokers.

falcon

There is much more to hunting than shooting small groups. Some guys routinely shoot small groups but seldom kill thing because they are lousy hunters and trackers. Best hunter i know confirms the zero of his very nice Knight rifle before season opens by shooting a few rounds at a 100 yard target.


Since season opened this fall that hunter has killed seven deer, two elk, two antelope and a bunch of wild hogs. Despite a torn up knee i ain't done too bad myself: Managed to kill five deer with muzzleloaders this season.

rogerstv

[QUOTE=falcon;4324142]There is much more to hunting than shooting small groups. Some guys routinely shoot small groups but seldom kill thing because they are lousy hunters and trackers.....

Never seen a game animal with a bullseye on it except in a Far Side cartoon. "Bummer of a birthmark, Hal !"

They don't stay stationary for long either.

That said, confidence in your equipment and your shooting ability are paramount. Shoot the tightest groups both are capable of producing as one.

BarnesAddict

[QUOTE=rogerstv;4324158]To be quite frank, if more hunters would shoot at a spot on a deer, instead of AT the deer, there would be less tracking and more meat in the freezer.
I happen to be one of those guys that shoot small groups, yet I don't miss, wound or have to worry about tracking a deer. Its because I shoot at that spot and know where the bullet should pass through.

Regardless, and back to the question at hand, every time anyone shoots, he/she should plan on shooting better than the last time. Yes, it doesn't always happen that way, but IMO its the only way to look at it.

idahoron

The criteria for my loads is sub 2" for all my muzzleloaders. My guns don't have scopes I am using peep sights. When I developed my paper patch loads I was 10 years younger and I could see a lot better. Back then I got enough sub 1" groups to know that my rifles and loads were there. Now days I don't shoot groups that much if at all. Once and a while at best. Also now days I spend most of my range time shooting off cross sticks and I also shoot steel targets. I am focusing on shooting the center of the target but the yardage might be 136 yards or 88, or 179, or 235. These yardages are not the normal 100, 150 200. Since my guns have already proven to be accurate, I practice how I hunt.
In these pictures my son is practicing for a muzzleloader Antelope hunt.





This is a few pictures of that hunt.

bronko22000

[QUOTE=hunters_life;4324045]Mr. Bronkoski, I hate disagreeing with you but if I can't get any of my rifles to get better than 2.5" at 100 then that rifle will no longer belong to me./QUOTE]

Actually HL you're not disagreeing with me. What I'm saying is that I'd be happy with 2" @ 100 if that's all my rifle would do. And 3-4" is, in reality, good enough for hunting with a ML where shots tend to be less than 100 yards (mostly a lot less). My only inline is my CVA Accura and I have it shooting 1 1/2" groups right now but still working with it. Over the last couple years I've acquired a goodly number of sidelocks both fast twist and slow. The only one I've played with past the 50 yard mark is my T/C-GM Hawken .45 shooting paper patched conicals (IdahoRon got me into this). I still have some tweaking to do with this by it is shooting 2" groups at 100 with the peep sights and these old eyes.