Shooting for group: a rifle's application determines how it's tested

Guns Magazine, May, 2007 by Mike Venturino

It's hard to imagine something as simple as shooting groups with a rifle could cause controversy. But, recently on a Web site dedicated to shooting Sharps rifles, a guy unloaded on me because I shoot 3-, 5- and 10-shot groups. His stand was anyone intelligent and with a PhD like himself would only shoot 2-shot groups, because the two shots farthest apart were the only ones that count. The ones in between are wasted.

Since I've made my living with guns for most of my adult life with an emphasis on actually shooting them, I believe I know a little bit about getting them to perform. And I've got the trophy heads on the walls and the trophy plaques in the case to prove I can actually hit where I aim at times.

So the first thing I want you to ask yourself is this: How many times in your group shooting are the two widest shots the first ones fired? By only shooting two shots, how does one determine group center such as needed say when zeroing a scope or even iron sights? How does one determine at what point accuracy begins to deteriorate? Here's an example: In the BPCR Silhouette game in which I am an avid competitor, accuracy with black powder as the propellant can possibly begin to fall off as the barrel becomes overly heated and consequently fouled. In other words, there can be a loss of precision if the load burns "dirty." A rifle and specific load may hold its precision for upwards of 20 shots on a cool, damp day when fired from a covered firing line, yet may start to give wider groups after only five rounds in dry heat on an uncovered firing line.

Barrel heat can also be a factor with smokeless powder rifles, especially ones with very lightweight barrels as is the current vogue. In even slightly warm weather, a thin barrel can be scorching hot after only a few rounds, especially with some of the cartridges burning large charges of powder. And then there is the recoil factor to consider. A couple of years back I did an article on the .405 Winchester using both a new US Repeating Arms Model 1895 and my original Winchester Model 1895. In it I fired only 3-shot groups because those lever guns were kicking me silly shooting off the benchrest.

So here's the way I do things. When test firing a load for its precision, I feel 5-shot groups are a good indicator of its potential, and it's best to shoot several 5-shot groups of said load, preferably on several different days.

On the other hand, when trying to determine an individual rifle's level of precision, I will shoot the number of shots it is most likely that particular rifle will be used with. With a big-game hunting rifles that is often three shots, especially one with a lightweight barrel or one with substantial recoil. Of course one 3-shot group means nothing--neither do five 3-shot groups if they are fired back to back without letting the rifle cool.

Then if the rifle is say a varmint-type with a heavier barrel meant for more sustained strings of shots, then 5-shot groups seem more appropriate to me. You want to see at what point groups start to open up due to barrel heat, or if indeed that happens at all.

Timing Matters.

Next there are match rifles to consider. If an event consists of X number of shots in Y number of minutes, then test groups should be fired in such a fashion. For instance, in BPCR Silhouette, most monthly matches consist of a seven minute initial score period including unlimited sighters, but the five score shots must be gotten off, too. Most of us get at least five sighters out in the seven minutes in addition to our five score shots. At many monthly matches we can shoot all 10 targets without resetting, so the second five shots are then fired after a short pause. That means all 15 rounds (five sighters and 10 score rounds) will be put downrange in about 12 to 14 minutes.

Therefore, when I'm test firing one of my BPCR match rifles, I follow the above time limits. At the NRA National Championships the procedure varies a bit. Then there is a seven-minute period as described above. Then about a five minute pause while target setters put the silhouettes up again, another five minute score period, another target setting pause, and then a final five-minute score period. That means about 20 rounds are fired in a relay that lasts approximately one half hour. So before heading out to the "nationals" every year I like to put my competition rifle through such a pace. The rounds don't have to be put into one huge cluster; sights can be adjusted so each 5-shot sequence can be viewed separately with the point being to ascertain if the last group is still holding together despite barrel fouling and barrel heat.

Handgun Groups

Now let's consider handguns for a minute. They are far more difficult to test fire than a rifle because of their short sight radius and their muzzle blast. Also, your eyes will quickly grow fatigued trying to focus on a handgun's open sights for very long. I can shoot several groups from a mild-kicking, mild-sounding handgun, but give me a big bucking magnum type and my shooting is in the toilet in about 12 rounds. I freely admit that. And, that is precisely why I turned to machine rests for my handgun-load testing long ago. So with handguns I fire from a sandbag rest a 5-shot group and it suits me OK, but to be sure of the results, several should be fired over a period of days. When using a machine rest, and actually testing loads more than the handgun itself, then I'll fire 12-shot groups if shooting a revolver so each chamber is fired twice. With autoloaders, a 10-shot group is suitable.