Thread: Offhand

Most sporting rifles' true spread at 50m is about 1 inch or more. I appreciate that many people may report that their rifles have done a 3-short 1/4 inch group.

The chest kill zone on a rabbit is probably 3-4 inches wide. So that gives you about 2 inches or so margin of error. It is not easy to never miss such shots.

Take small bore silhouette shooting, the pig is placed at 60m, its size is 11x7cm. People that compete silhouette seriously use high end rifles that does about 1/2 spread in at 50. See these two links:
1. Shooting Sports USA - October 2018. This is a $2,000 USD high end sporter rifle - Cooper 57M , about the same class as Anschutz 54 sporters. Out of 31 different 22LR ammo only one did better than 1/2 in at 50 m.
2. 55 Rimfire Ammo Types Tested by AccurateReloading.com . This is a $10K USD bench rest grade rifle - Blieker. 55 types ammos tested at 50m, most were target grade ammo and they achieved good accuracy, but some less-than-target-grade ammos did about 1/2 inch or worse.

If you have ever shot silhouette you would know how hard it is. I would say shooting a rabbit at 50m using a mid-low end sporting rifle and hunting ammo, is about the same level of difficulty as shooting the 60m steel pig with a club grade rifle and club grade target ammo. So if you cannot consistently get it, I say it is pretty normal and dont beat yourself up about it, especially if you do not spend a lot of time practising.

When I shoot small game, I always kneel unless it is not possible. You do not loss much height by kneeling about you get way better accuracy from kneeling.