Sighting in hunting rifles. Do I need a good bench rest?

[str8shooter]

A deer is a big animal, so I never thought about getting sub 1MOA groups when I sight in my rifles, but I'm wondering if I should invest in a good bench rest, or should my sand bag on a picnic table set up good enough to bring home the venison. This will be my first year with a .30-06, so I'm trying to get good consistant groups at 100 yards, but so far I'm pulling in about 3" groups with my make shift set-up. Will a high priced store bought bench help me tighten that up so if I have to take the 150 yard shot I've got some confidence that may rifle and scope are up to the task, even if I'm not?

[jb12string]

3" @ 100 ought to translate to sub minute of deer at 150 yards. It all depends on how much you want to wring out of your gun. IMHO, you can't hurt anything by having a quality rest

[P-11 shooter]

Sand bag will do the trick, but being "too accurate" can't be a bad thing

[4XLT]

just remember once yoru in the woods you wont have a bench rest.. a decent rest ( something to put your elbows on) to get your rifle zeroed in . if you can hit a paper plate at 100 yards without a rest , standing, you will be able to kill a deer within 100 yards... ya it's nice to say my rifle shoots 12" MOA or 1" MOA . trust me i love the accurate rifles but meat in the fridge means more!

[Brown-Bear]

I use a bi-pod as a rest. Sub MOA is not necessary for deer hunting, your 3 inch groups at 100yds are adequate at that range. But if you wanna try to reach out there, then you need t o practice more. There is no such thing as a scope and rifle being up to a task that the man behind the trigger is not. Its a harsh reality, but a reality all the same.

Dave

[tobyking8773]

Are your groups centered and have consistent acceptable patterns? If so then you're good to go as far as shooting in Penn's Woods. If not, then you might want to research vertical, horizontal stringing and group shifting or post up some picts and some of the experienced shooters here can offer up their thoughts and solutions. But being aware of YOUR capabilities and Sticking to them is more important than anything else. Aim small, miss small. Kill clean or miss clean, one or the other. And happy hunting!


Oh yeah, almost forgot, the most important shot is the first one out of a cold barrel and where it strikes, everything else is just wasting lead and making noise imho.

[TonyF]

Will a high priced store bought bench help me tighten that up so if I have to take the 150 yard shot I've got some confidence that may rifle and scope are up to the task, even if I'm not?

A high priced bench will tighten accuracy but it's irrelevant in the field. IMO this is not unlike zeroing a rifle for defensive use. A rifle zeroed from a solid support system (bench) does not translate well to an off hand shot in the field.

IOW, your rifle needs to be shot and sighted in the way it will be shot in the field.

I zero all my rifles from unsupported prone. With a scoped, bolt action rifle you should still be able to achieve 2 MOA @ 100 yards if the rifle is capable of that level of accuracy.

[BerksCountyDave]

Shouldn't this thread be over in the rifles section? Just sayin'

[Posit]

A sturdy picnic table, rifle bagged front (or bipod) and rear, shoud be good. You're right though, that you need to be sure rifle, scope and cartridge are working together, and 3 MOA isn't great, even for a hunting rifle.

[Lycanthrope]

3 moa is unacceptable for a deer rifle in my opinion. Every inch counts when you are looking for a clean kill. 3 inches can make the difference in a front shoulder shot where the deer is anchored and in a brisket shot where a deer can run for miles. 4.5 inches at 150 yards? Even worse.

You aren't shooting for "minute of deer"..... Just as in a self defense scenario you are looking for a hit to incapacitate quickly.....and that heart/lung area is much smaller. Use a "premium" bonded bullet which will expand, but not fragment much and shot placement is even more critical. Say what you want about the old ballistic tips and partitions ruining meat, but both of those bullets lost weight and anchored deer like the hammer of God....even with shots off center.

Bag the gun with nothing touching the barrel. Keep the bags off the action screws and find your best ammo. Then shoot it offhand and prone for effect. Free float the barrel and most guns shoot the same from the bench as in hand for me.

Not using the accuracy potential of a weapon with no consequent penalty in reliability makes no sense to me.

Lycandon'tbelazythrope