Tag Soup wrote:I just took my Ruger American out to the range for the first time and I got a 1.5” best group (not complaining, but I did expect better). Should I expect better? Does it improve as it gets broken in? How many does it take to break it in?
All my 450b setups are AR based so I'll let RAR owners chime in about barrel break-in. Another of my passions is competing in BenchRest shooting. My experience has been that the more BenchRest-like your shooting setup, the easier is is to keep the groups sub-MOA. This caliber Rocks and Rolls a rifle. With a less precise shooting setup,
1.5 MOA is doing pretty good at 100 yds. The other point is your optics, assuming you're using a scope. Take two .45 sized circles, 1 inch apart (C-T-C) on a piece of paper and look at them through your scope at 100 yds. If you can't resolve the difference between them because of reticle thickness or the power of your scope, you can't expect to reliably shoot in between them, IE a 1 inch group. The rifle can't shoot itself. It needs precise guidance to shoot precise. When I'm testing load recipes for the 450b, I use a 24X scope at 100 yds. I'm not testing my eyes, I'm testing the load recipe.
You want to remove as many variables as possible when testing for accuracy and precision.
Here's an example. Solid concrete shooting table, high resistance rubber mat, 6-24x scope, stable micro-adjustable AZ/EL front rest, stable lead shot filled rear bag, even an adjustable height chair. (I use a "Pork Pie"drummer's throne)
just sayin'...
Hoot