30-06 long vs short range shooting.

[willhunt4coues]

A lotta good info guys, thank you. Some make sense and some make even more sense. Right now i'm depending on my accusope chart while im sighting at the range. I can only still get 2 inch groups at 100 yards. Im gonna sight it at 200 this week. But is that normal 2"groups at 100 yards?. It's an '06 74 sportmaster. I am shooting 165 gr PSP. All remington.

 

If you want to site it in at 200 aim at center at 100 yards and shoot high about 2 1/4 of an inch. Mine is 3 inches high at 100 which makes it zeroed at 250 yards. 2 inch groups, well is that shooter error or are you dead steady. I use a bench and can all shots within a 1/4 inch of touching each other. Best advise is shoot and shoot and shoot all the time. Practice and try different positions sorry is said positions .

[audsley]

I don't like to encourage the blaming of large groups on the hardware, but that might be appropriate in this case.

 

I don't recall there ever being a Model 74 Sportmaster. However, Remington made a Model 74 Sportsman in 30.06 only. I'm guessing that's what you have. It's a semi-auto that was made for the budget-conscious sportsman, and I wouldn't expect great accuracy from it.

 

Although semi-autos are capable of very good accuracy, rifle manufacturers haven't usually taken the pains to delivery superior accuracy in semis simply because semi-auto buyers aren't making accuracy their priority. Instead they're looking for fast follow-up shots. (In other words, they plan to miss some of the time, which is why they they're focusing on follow-up shots.) The semi-auto is most suitable for hunting in cover where game has to be flushed and shot on the run. That doesn't describe Arizona.

 

If you're getting 2-inch groups from a Model 74 Remington, I'd say you have one of the good ones. They had hardwood (not walnut) stocks and were just about the cheapest Remington centerfire rifles that could be found at that time.

 

Also, Model 74s were made 1985-87, which is a little before machining technology brought barrel quality up a couple of notches.

 

If you need to stay budget conscious but want to think about long range shooting, look around for used Savage 110s, Vanguards (by Howa) or Tikkas that aren't much over 10 years old. Not the most beautiful guns, but all punch above their weight classes when it comes to accuracy at a great price.