I was having this discussion the other day at the gun shop. The employee and another guy in there were devout one-shot shooters, meaning to sight in they shoot once and then let the gun sit for a few minutes before the next shot. I have also talked to many who were devout 3-shot shooters, shoot a 3-shot group and take the average. I see both sides, with a one-shot sight in you save ammo, with the 2 or 3-shot group it give more room for shooter error I suppose. Discuss. thanks.

I always do a 3 shot group. Posting a tight group, even if it is 6" high and 6" left is always nice. If you cannot get a tight group, maybe there are other tasks that need to be done before sighting in, like buying different ammos, more practice, gun cleaning, ...

I think they was talking that they was letting the barrel cool between shots. I was tought that way. They are still shooting a group of shots.

Unless you are shooting extremely hot handloads through an exceptionally thin barrel you are fine with 3-5 shots before you let the barrel cool down.

Sure. A 3 shots group should not be a problem for the barrel.

For initial paper punching I leave the action open between shots and let it cool for 1min til I have a 3 shot group.No need for 5 shot or more groups unless your headed to the Olympics or Iraq.Keep in mind I'm talking about hunting rifles,so if you see the bullets walking across the paper diagonally ,it's too hot.Some guns are freaks that won't start to shoot until their red hot.Sell those ones...................Harold

Depends on the gun. If it can group well for 3 shots go for it, if it starts to string then I guess you will have to wait. You might want to look at fixing that problem though.

I often sight my hunting guns in with the first shot out of a cold barrel if it differs from how it shoots after warmed up. Since that is the ONLY shot I really care about.

Paul

For a new scope/gun, I do single shots at 25 yards to get to the "x" then move to either 50 or 100 yards and do 3 shot groups, sighting in often 2" high at 100 yds.

Actually the original post was talking about saving ammos versus margin for errors. I think this is a wrong trade off. Go for the 3-5 shots group.

Depends on how I and the gun are shooting. If I place two shots on top of each other (with a minute to cool between each shot), I will adjust my scope as needed. If my two shots are not consistant, I will get a third or 4th shot in to get an average.

It is not uncommon for a standard hunting rifle with magnum loads to start losing accuracy after 3 quick shots. I would definitly let the gun cool down for several minutes (maybe 10) after a 3-shot group. If you are going for consistancy, you do not want to get in a hurry at the range! Take your time!