Accuracy standard

[#blackpowderbill]

In the center fire world, everyone is looking for the one inch group at 100 yards.
What is the Standard in the Black Powder world?
G

1" at 100 yards

 

[flatcreek]

Every camp and hunter has its standards but mine is 2" to 2-1/2" at 50 yds. If my rifle can't do that it doesn't go in the field.

Very reasonable goal.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

If you are putting every shot through the same hole you’re not getting your money’s worth out of that piece of paper.

 

[Banjoman]

If you are putting every shot through the same hole you’re not getting your money’s worth out of that piece of paper.

That’s why I generally put them all over the paper!

I gotta remember that!

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Yup, all good.

 

[SciAggie]

My eyes (and wind conditions) are the limiting factor for me. Off the bench, my .62 and .72 rifles will put 5 shots in a ragged hole at 75 yards. When I back things up to 100 yards my groups easily spread to 1 1/2 - 3” (maybe 4”) if the wind is calm. If it’s windy? I’m happy keeping shots on a milk jug at 100 yards. It amuses me what that additional 25 yards does to my groups.

 

[snakebit]

Where I hunt, 50 would be a far shot, I like to hunt cover. Most of the deer I've killed with either of my hunting BP rifles have been under 30.

 

[Seabee Chief]

Accuracy is dependent on a lot of things. Hold, breathing, working up loads. TIME! I started at 16 when Dad bought me a 308 and all the reloading stuff for it. I tried for the most accurate round and ended up if I did my part a load that was 5 shots almost in the same hole at 100yards. But went through almost 30 different combinations. 50years later shooting M/Al’s if I can hold 6 inches at 100 yards with iron sights I am good. Most shots are 60 yards or less now. jmho

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

I’d say that actual group sizes some folks usually shoot are like the big fish that got away.

so true

 

[LME]

Some days I couldn’t hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle, but I always have fun at the range.

I had one of those day recently . I have had some of the most accurate rifles/pistols money could buy but my trip to the range recently humbled me down. When the eyes go accuracy is out of the question. I now see to rear sights when I try to aim? It is depressing.

 

[Gsjcky]

Finaly made it to the range with my 50 cal TC Hawken. Shot 3 shot groups from 60-80 grains of FFG. Achieved 2” groups at 50 yards with a Hornady round ball and .015 preluded patches at 80 grains of powder.
Ordered 3 different thicknesses of patches, and 2 different lubes on line last night, hoping I can shrink group size to 1.5”. So far so good. One thing I know for sure….. I had a fun afternoon.

 

[JDBraddy]

"Perfect is the enemy of good!"

The goal of these historical pioneers wasn't to win some prize or bragging rights, it was to survive in a world very different from the one we know today.

Walking into an unexplored wilderness, traveling possibly hundreds or thousands of miles, for months or years on end without anyone or anything but the few simple hand tools, and perhaps a couple of companions they could carry with them. A wilderness already sparcely populated with potentially hostile others, who where similarly desperate to survive.

Survival wasn't just a goal, but the ultimate prize. A muzzle loader wasn't a nostalgic hobby or toy, it was a simple essential portable survival tool, like an axe, or a knife, and was probably the best tool for the job, that was readily and financially available to them, it didn't have to be perfect, it just had to enable them to survive, and "God willing" thrive.

 

[Kicking&Screaming]

In my neck of the woods there is generally two thoughts on accuracy. First are the competition shooters of all sorts who strive for groups much better than 1" at 100 yds. Then there are us average deer hunters. Every camp and hunter has its standards but mine is 2" to 2-1/2" at 50 yds. If my rifle can't do that it doesn't go in the field. Hunting ethics dictate that 100 yd shots should only be taken by a MLr who has practiced at that distance and knows they can make (and see) that shot.

….or is shooting a scoped inline. My Gonic Arms shoots like a centerfire but there is no joy in it. She is a soulless b*tch and doesn’t get out much anymore. My TC .56 SB has captured my heart.

 

[SciAggie]

Finaly made it to the range with my 50 cal TC Hawken. Shot 3 shot groups from 60-80 grains of FFG. Achieved 2” groups at 50 yards with a Hornady round ball and .015 preluded patches at 80 grains of powder.
Ordered 3 different thicknesses of patches, and 2 different lubes on line last night, hoping I can shrink group size to 1.5”. So far so good. One thing I know for sure….. I had a fun afternoon.

Seems to me you’re on the right path. Ball diameter, patch thickness, lube, etc all have an impact on accuracy.
When I commented on my group sizes earlier, that was with the combinations I finally found to be best for my rifle. Those groups easily double in size by changing components.

 

[Robert Losekamp]

From a bench at 50 with my .54 Colonial followed by .50 Traditions. Good enough for me but I will practice to get them touching.

 

[GreyGus]

Yesterday, with the help of a mentor, I shot my .58 caliber repro Colt special for the first time.
No experience with bullets, loads, or the shooter.
Whenever I shoot a new gun, or one I have not shot in a long time, I want to shot on paper. We started with .575 minie and 45 grains of 3f. Target was a 4 inch circle at 50 yards. My first three shots were almost touching, 1 1/2 inch above the target (2 inch group). I was very happy with that. N-SSA targets are a clay bird at that range. Those shots were off a bench, so I knew the rifle was good enough, doesn’t mean I am. Off hand would be much worse as the trigger pull is 9 lbs. gotta find someone to fix that.
To put it into perspective, the union requirement to join a sharpshooters regiment in the CW was a standing 5 shot group at 100 yards not to exceed 21 inches. I couldn’t find any accuracy requirements for regular infantry.

I expect most internet accounts of accuracy are exaggerated. Posting the best 5 shot group out of twenty fired is not a standard, but a statistical anomaly.

I collected and shot k98k mausers for 40 years. On our collector’s forums one guy posted that his unmodified K98k would routinely shoot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. That is a significantly tighter group than the Germans required for their sniper rifles, and beyond the capabilities of the K98k.
I was tempted to tell him I would meet him at the range of his choice, let him use the ammo of his choice, and bet him $10,000 that he couldn’t do it one time with 10 opportunities. But I was to late, others had already called him out.

 

[Kmcmichael]

I have never shot a 1” group at 100 yds. with round ball gun. I have shot a 2.5” at 110 yards and was proud of it as I can not do it everyday. I did not spend years reading wind. When I shot long range unmentionables, I had a spotter. Actually with the best unmentionable I was happy with a .5” group at 100 yards.
I do have a friend that shoots competitions. His gun weighs 45 pounds. He can read the wind. He can shoot small groups.
I see three rear sights these days, and my range is in a depression with variable wind currents. I will be installing a peep on my hunting gun and still doubt I will shoot much farther than 82 yards.
I shot small bore Silhouettes with a guy that was really good but that was a highly modified Anshutz.

As far as those fellows that can keep their round ball gun into one inch offhand all day, I don’t believe you.

 

[nick_1]

I make my targets out of a standard letter size piece of paper 8 1/2 X11". when I was shooting my hawken I tried to hit that 3 inch sharpie circle benched @100yrds but absolutely satisfied with hitting the paper off hand at the same range. Hopefully sort of close to the center but always felt that on 8.5 x 11 paper at 100yrds off hand was good enough for hunting. Pistols are more my game I feel that the 7yd standard is a lousy excuse for most folks to be pathetic marksman with a pistol. I find paper punching to be a boring necessary evil. Its a tool for me to see whats happening but I much prefer to shoot steel and that is what I shoot 98% of the time. I have a 5" plate and 5x6" rectangle usually about 28yrds. I have a 6" plate at 35, 45 and 50 yrds and a 5" plate in the woods at 20 and 25yrds. I shorten those distances a bit with the cap and ball revolvers mostly due to crappy trigger with too much creep. the steel is just way more fun than punching paper. I love the way it sounds when you hit it and the way it jumps. 50 yrd 6" steel.

 

[Banjoman]

I don’t always shoot paper from a rest, trying to get the smallest group possible. That gets boring, fast. I shoot paper when developing or verifying a load or checking sights. I prefer shooting random, reactive targets like milk jugs, pop cans, sticks, dirt clods, empty shotgun shells, etc., at random distances. That’s good practice for hunting.

 

[nick_1]

I just shot a perfect 9 on my biathlon course. only the 3rd time I have ever done that but to be fair I was walking not running...