Realistic Accuracy Expectations

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This author recently came across a review of Valor Ridge. For the record, this author has taken two classes at Valor Ridge, and it is a highly recommended resource for great training! 

The purpose of this post, however, is to point out a flaw. NOT a flaw in Valor Ridge, Reid Henrichs, or the material being taught in the class. A flaw in the logic behind the instruction. There are a great many people that believe any ol' rifle and any bulk ammo can stack shots at 100 yards. This simply is not the case. 

What is the reality?
A great many guns, when paired with off the shelf ammo, are around 4 Minute of Angle performers. That means a 4" group at 100 yards. Naturally, some are better, and some are not that precise. For a class like the one linked above, the AR-15 rifle, shooting 55-grain ammo, would be the standard. And that is a 4 MOA setup. Worthy of note, there was also an AK shooter mentioned in the review. An AK with standard ammo is usually about a 6 MOA setup. 

It is also worthy of note that many claim better accuracy than 4 MOA out of an AR-15 with bulk ammo, but proof is "slim pickins." Similarly, some claim 2-3 MOA out of an AK, but this author has never found a live video demonstration of that. In the classes taught by this author, most shooters experience 6-8 MOA out of an AK. 

What does this mean?
Let's do the math. 

On a 4 MOA AR-15 setup, groups will be:
4" at 100 yards. 
8" at 200 yards
12" at 300 yards
16" at 400 yards ... Note this! 
20" at 500 yards. 
24" at 600 yards. 

On a 6 MOA AK-47 model, groups will be:
6" at 100 yards
12" at 200 yards
18" at 300 yards... Note this! 
24" at 400 yards
30" at 500 yards
36" at 600 yards

Most steel used for classes like this are standard IDPA target size - meaning the target is 18" wide. The "Note this" mentioned above was the farthest range the target can be expected to be engaged with all rounds having the mechanical potential to hit the target. Shooter skill notwithstanding. 

So, when you read a phrase like "He ... really began to struggle (along with his spotter) to consistently get hits at 600 yards." Know that this was not because of the shooter. It was not because of the drop of the 7.62x39 round. It was because mechanically, the gun can only make that hit occasionally at that distance due to the facts above!

Similarly, when this phrase is taken into consideration: "When we got to 600 I felt like I was at nearly a 50% hit rate on a steel silhouette. " Understand that this is because the rifle and ammo simply IS NOT capable of staying on that target at that distance 100% of the time. And this is before you factor in the drop and the wind. 

Summary
Use bulk ammo out to 300, maybe 400 yards, max. 
Use match rifles and match ammo for work beyond that. Why? Because it is more accurate, and, therefore, actually capable of making consistent hits at that distance. 
Now, if there had been a discussion in the class to that effect, but directly informing the students that their guns were not mechanically capable of a 100% hit rate, then that would be fine. It would be an "understanding your setup" type of exercise. 

What say you? 

Comments

  1. 1chotaJuly 24, 2025 at 12:48 PM

    I competed in 3 gun matches for over 20 years. (Until my body quit on me.)
    Steel targets ranged from 2 MOA to 4 MOA at various distances. With a 2 MOA rifle and ammo combo hits could be obtained out to 600. (wind conditions taken into account.)
    Now I shot a JP LRP-07 in .308 zeroed at 300 with Sierra 135 gr. Match King HP bullets over 46 grains of Varget and Winshester Large rifle primers. When Sierra ceased production on those bullets I went to the Sierra 155 gr. Palma Match bullet with 45 grains of Varget. I also used a Live Free Armory AR10 with the Palma bullets. Both of those rifles were1 - 1.5 MOA at all distances. The JP had many thousands of rounds through it and still shot very well. I used a Swarovski Z6 1-6X with the BRT reticle. Good glass really helps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Recce RiflemanJuly 24, 2025 at 12:54 PM

      Oh, for sure. 2 MOA at 600 is 12" . I have several .223/5.56 rifles that can easily make that shot 10/10 times, given they are fed match ammo.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJuly 24, 2025 at 1:11 PM

      The longer range targets were 4 MOA. S 2 MOA rifle/ammo combo would be well within the 24" steel target at 600.

      Delete

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