your best shooting gun? [Archive]

lead-1

11-12-2009, 03:39 AM

Mine is a Remington 700 PSS in .308 with a 3.5-10x50 target dot scope. I have shot 5 shot 100 yard groups that each round touched and have a time or two shot 1 1/4" groups at 200 yards and I myself am not built to sniper specs, lol. One day I pulled a bone head move and left it standing up on the bi-pod while I went to check the target and I was about 50 yards out when a heavy gust of wind kicked up and then my stomach turned as I heard the rifle hit the stone covered lane. I almost cried as all I could picture was a broken lens or a buggered up muzzle, all that it got was a small ding in the sun shade and a knick in the stock about the size of a pea. Loaded it up and shot it, put like 5-6 clicks in the windage and was right back where it started, it has been worth every penny I spent on it.

JesterGrin_1

11-12-2009, 03:59 AM

This is a Hard question as it does not only pertain to how accurate a firearm is but also how you feel about shooting it. So I will give it my best SHOT lol.

For me at this time my No. 1 Is a 1895 Marlin GS in 45-70 that will give me 3/4 groups at 100 yards with either my cast BOOLIT load or a bit larger with a jacketed load. But the HUGE part I like about the rifle to me is not only that it will shoot well but it is also easy to carry and I do not worry that game may just run off after being hit with this Rifle.

Now for accuracy I still like my old Remington 600 Mohawk in .243 as it will do under 1/2 at 100 yards. And since it is a short rifle it is also easy to carry but I do not trust it for Deer Sized game in South Texas or Larger game such as Hog. But it is very good for coyote. But at the ranges I see them the Marlin will do it all. So with the Marlin it does not matter if it is a Huge Hog or a Deer or a coyote it will put them down with authority.

So to me it is not only how accurate a firearm is but how you feel about it when you carry it and how much you trust it to do what needs to be done.

But who knows I will be trying cast in my new Marlin XL-7 in 30-06 with the Lyman 311284 for hunting. :)

Mike Venturino

11-12-2009, 06:24 AM

Tom W.

11-12-2009, 06:30 AM

My Ruger #1 in 7mm Rem Mag is the most accurate rifle that I hunt with, but my Savage Mod 12 BVSS-S can make consistent bug holes waaayyy on out there...

joejr

11-12-2009, 06:37 AM

my 722 rem in 222 is by far the most accurate rifle i've ever shot .

Mike Venturino

11-12-2009, 06:37 AM

As far as handguns go these are my best and most favorite ones. They are the Colt 1873/1973 Peacemaker Centennials. Caliber is .44-40, or .44 WCF, as I prefer to call it. Grips are from bison bone.

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr169/MLV1/3-28-06all126LargeWebview.jpg

Hickory

11-12-2009, 07:49 AM

Right now I can claim two;
Rifle:This is my prairie dog shooter, it is a Remington XP100 that is now a rifle . I t has a 24" Lilja barrel McMillin stock with a 6x20 Leupold scope on top.
Handgun: I have a few handguns but my best shooter is my S&W 629 with a Truglo dot sight on top and a 6" barrel:razz:

Lloyd Smale

11-12-2009, 07:55 AM

rifle Dpms ar10 in 308 easily a 1/2moa gun
revolver my linebaugh built 475. Hands down the most accurate revolver or even handgun ive ever owned.
pistol kimber gold match.

testhop

11-12-2009, 08:27 AM

my sbh hunter 44 mag is my best handgun .
for rifle it gets tough . soi broke it down to classes.
varmit a rem722 in 222 (short range)
med range rem 700 223
long range win mod 70 pre 64 in 220swift
deer win mod70 pre 64 270

Shepherd2

11-12-2009, 08:56 AM

My best shooting gun is a Winchester Model 770 in .222 Remington that I bought around 1970.

Hip's Ax

11-12-2009, 09:11 AM

My Remington 700 in 260, this was my first long range prone gun and my first custom, I had it built in 2004. FAR more accurate then it has any right to be. I don't usually shoot it at 100 yards but when it was newly built and after a few months I saved up enough to get her a scope, bought it, got it mounted and headed to the 100 yard range just to get her on paper before heading to the 600 then the 1000 yard range.

I had been shooting the rifle with the irons for some weeks and had my load and jump worked out and had some nice groups and scores at 600 with her. I bore sighted the scope, took one shot at 50 yards and it was on paper so I moved the target to 100 and took another shot. Pin Wheel !!! Big smile. Took another shot, and cursed, I couldn't find the hole through my spotting scope. I knew I had broke the shot well and since I was shooting from a bench I figured the bullet stuck in the barrel. I pulled the bolt and looked up the bore, nope, nothing stuck in the barrel. Well, I must have shanked it without seeing myself do it. Took another shot, no hole in the target again. Dang. Look up the barrel again, nope, clear. I asked another fellow on the line to see if he could spot my shots for me, I figured I must be way off. The guy tells me the shots are hitting right behnd the target. Took another, yep, right where it should hit the berm. Still no new holes in the target!!!

I walk out to the target, one ragged 6.5MM hole dead center. I Still can't believe it.

wallenba

11-12-2009, 09:14 AM

Handgun= S&W 625JM....Rifle= Ruger M77 .308 Winchester.

44man

11-12-2009, 09:39 AM

These are two of my best BPCR Silhouette competition rifles. The rolling block is an original Remington Creedmoor action and buttstock fitted with a new Kreiger .45-90 barrel by Montana gunsmith John King. It has grouped 10 shots into 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches at 300 yards on several occasions and the only rifle with which I've ever been able to hit all 10 pigs, turkeys, and rams in one match. Interestingly, the barrel was sent back by one of John King's customers who said it was defective and wouldn't shoot worth a hoot.

The Sharps is an original Model 1874 Long Range #2 action and buttstock that in this photo is fitted with a Badger .40-70 Sharps Straight barrel. It is currently at John King's shop being fitted with a Kreiger .45-90 barrel, and I have my fingers crossed that it will shoot the same load as the rolling block.

Thanks for giving someone who can't sleep tonight something to do at 3am!

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr169/MLV1/7-26-07021LargeWebview.jpg
My hat is off to you Mike! I could never get my Browning to shoot for beans, still can't. :evil: I have had test groups of 1-1/2" at 200 yards but Pete watches the boolits sail all over after about 300 yards. Any weight and size boolit from .459" to .464", any load, any powder.
I can shoot his Pedersoli like crazy but I hate the fit to my shoulder.
Can't afford a new gun anyway!
But my most accurate rifle is my 1919 Swede, holds 1/2" at 100 and shoots all weight bullets to the same place on the target.
The 45-70 BFR is the most accurate revolver, followed by the .475 and then my SBH and Vaquero.
Here is a picture of the Swede. I made the stock from a cherry tree that fell in my woods. The target was when the gun was in the military stock, regulating the open sights with a file. My last three at 100 were in .432". I shot the can twice off hand at 100 yards with open sights.
Help me make the Browning PBCR shoot like this! :Fire:

leadeye

11-12-2009, 09:53 AM

My old Nylon 66 has killed more small game than I can imagine and still brings in the rabbits and squirrels. I have had the rifle for 43 years with no complaints.:D

Jbar4Ranch

11-12-2009, 10:03 AM

Too many to pick from...

Rifles, probably either a Savage 112V .220 Swift or a Ruger MKII VLE .308, but my AR50 has turned in some impressive long range groups too.

Handguns... Probably a Freedom Arms M555 .50AE/.500 Wyoming Express convertible.

I've had 500 yard groups with a cheapo H&R Handi .38-55 and black powder loads of under eight inches on a cool calm day, with iron sights no less.

runfiverun

11-12-2009, 10:21 AM

with j-words it has to be my win-70 pushfeed in 7x57 ackley with 100 gr sierras or hornady 139 gr i-locks.
it will do as well as my 22-250 or 223 target models
with cast it's my 358 win ruger hawkeye.
in revolvers it's gotta be my 44mag dan wesson with the 10" bbl,it's scary accurate out past 50 yds.

Dale53

11-12-2009, 10:21 AM

Since this is a cast bullet forum, I'll show my favorite cast bullet rifle and revolver:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QASSRAPeregrine-Casting2-2006019.jpg

This is a custom Peregrine Rifle in .32/.357 Dell (similar to the .32 Miller Short). The metal work is by Charlie Dell (may he rest in peace) and the wood work is by Bernie Harrell of Springboro, Ohio. It is a genuine ½ minute rifle at 200 yards with plain base cast bullets breech seated. It doesn't show in the image, but the rifle has been delightfully engraved by the Master Engraver, Ken Hurst. I have been privileged to call these three gentlemen my friends of long standing.

This should be a familiar image - it's my S&W 625-6 Model of 1989 (5") with a Simmons Red Dot sight. It is my most "shootable" revolver. My personal best is a 97x100 with 6 "X's" on the NRA Slow Fire Target, shot standing. The bullet is a MiHec H&G #68 clone ahead of 4.5 grs of 5066. The revolver and load is the most reliable in my shooting stable:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QDalesRevolversandPistols-1720.jpg

Dale53

Ricochet

11-12-2009, 10:23 AM

My Ruger #1 in 7mm Rem Mag is the most accurate rifle that I hunt with, but my Savage Mod 12 BVSS-S can make consistent bug holes waaayyy on out there...
My push feed Wal-Mart special Winchester M70 in 7mm Remington Magnum will shoot the smallest groups for a "big game" rifle, closely challenged by my Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby Magnum, another Wal-Mart special. But my Savage Model 12BVSS in .22-250 will consistently shoot the smallest groups I've ever been able to shoot, way out there. Come to think of it, I got it from the Wal-Mart, too.

I'm not hung up on group size. I could never be a benchrester. I roll my eyes when someone says "Only accurate rifles are interesting." Every gun I've got is fun to shoot. Some I've never shot under a 6" group with and probably never could. My Mini-14 bullet sprayer is hard to even get on paper at 100 yards. I'd jump with joy if I ever shot a 6" group with it. But it's fun to line up a bunch of jugs nearby and blast them with it. Ruger was advertising truthfully when they called it "The World's Most Expensive Plinker."

jerrold

11-12-2009, 11:07 AM

Only accurate rifles are interesting to me. Being a " has been" short range Benchrest shooter I have the famed 6 PPC, Also three versions of the 6 BR, all these shoot under .250 MOA. In boolits i shoot a 1874 Sharps with black powder in 45/90 which is near the top in favorite to shoot. I can get 1.5 in groups with the MVA sights

11-12-2009, 12:04 PM

The smallest group I've ever shot was .289. The rifle is a cut down M96 swede epoxy bedded into a $50 ramline stock. I call it "the ugly gun". At that time I had my 3-10 leupold on it for load development. Total cost of the rifle less scope was under $200. That was a good day for me as I printed about ten sub 1/2" 3 shot groups that morning working up a load with the 120 grain Nosler BT.

I own rifles worth a lot more that don't shoot as well.

I have a DW 744 that I had bought from Natchez when they got out of DW. It came with a cylinder that had the chambers bored to six different lengths and six different throat diameters. DW told me it was a "transition gun", a Palmer, MA cylinder in a Norwich CNC frame. I sent the cylinder back to DW with 6 of my favorite 265 grain WFNs and for $50 they returned me a Norwich CNC cylinder custom throated for my boolits. With a scope that revolver will keep them under 4" at 100 yards all day long if I do my part. Far better than any other handgun I own.

These days, most all of my guns shoot better than I do. :)

BD

AZ-Stew

11-12-2009, 12:26 PM

Remington M788 in .223. I've shot 10 shot groups with it at 100 yards that disappeared when a dime was placed on the target.

I also have three out-of-the-box Remington 700s, stainless, synthetic, that will shoot around 3/4 inch at a hundred, one in 7mm Mag, one in 30-06 and the other a .375 H&H.

I'm still working on the Rem. 788 in 30-30 as a cast shooter. I've shot one group with all shots touching at 50 yards. More work to do.

Regards,

Stew

ETG

11-12-2009, 12:29 PM

Rem 700 BDL Varminter Deluxe in 25-06 with 10x Weaver Varmint scope. Dime to quarter size groups at 200 yds. Both rifle and scope are 70s vintage.

dsmjon

11-12-2009, 12:30 PM

All of mine shoot better than me... :)

JSnover

11-12-2009, 12:45 PM

My most accurate is a Remington 700 BDL. Bought off-the-rack and slightly tricked out by the previous owner (it is not a custom job or a "precision rifle) it will group 3/4" @ 100 yds if all is right with the world.
My favorite is a Lone Star Rolling Block in 45-70. It proves my status as a rank amatuer everytime I haul it to the range but I don't care. I just love that dang thing!

Naphtali

11-12-2009, 02:00 PM

what is your BEST shooting gun?

the one that is just ridiculously accurate? . . . For this elk season we created a near-maximum 475 Linebaugh/400-gr WFN PB/H110 load for my Model 83 6-inch I chose to use. Two things are egregious ('way over the top) about revolver and load:

1. Three-shot group accuracy at 50 meters is just over one inch - no one would have believed I could shoot any open-sighted handgun that well;

2. That three-shot group is all I can handle because recoil is equally unbelievable. I fired ten rounds over three days, second session being four rounds, and injured my wrist. After nearly three weeks I can just comfortably shoot the elk load I'm actually using this season.
***
Parenthetically, seen two [dead] elk but no live ones yet. Oops, I bought the wrong large-scale topo map. So I'm visiting places for the first time. Fortunately, the season is young.

S.R.Custom

11-12-2009, 02:27 PM

Best cast bullet gun: A .445 SM Dan Wesson I just got through mentioning in another post.

Best other: A custom Savage 7mm mag with a 30" Douglas premium barrel I built for the Boomer Shoot in Lewiston in '07. I could put 175 gr. sierra Matchkings into less than 1" at 300 yards any time you wanted to see it. Ugly, and weighing 22 pounds, it was of very limited use, so I sold it last year. This is it:

softpoint

11-12-2009, 02:32 PM

I have to vote for my Remington 40XBR in .223. It has shot only one group under .200, but will regularly shoot .250 to .300.
Handgun? Ihave a 10 inch barrel Encore in 7mm BRthat will do an inch most of the time at 100yd. Here' the rifle. It was re-bedded into a position rifle stock, the BR stock is different

Doc Highwall

11-12-2009, 07:08 PM

I don't normaly shoot for group as I have shot a lot of smallbore prone and highpower prone for score but I have twice gone to a club benchrest match. The first time with my 40X prone gun in 223Rem shot a .204" group and this summer was the 2nd time I used a 40X in 308 with cast boolits and shot a .305" group. These are 5 shot groups. Here is my cast boolit 5 shot group at 100 yards.

MtGun44

11-12-2009, 08:26 PM

Three .22 caliber guns. Well, I guess I upped it to 4.

Stock Colt HBAR .223 will shoot 5/8" and less at 100 with a scope. I once shot a 100/7X
with it at 500 yds in a NRA High Power match. IIRC the X ring is about 6" and the 10 is
about 12". That is only 70" ~ 1 MOA ; call it 1.5 MOA, but for ME, prone with a sling and
open sights it was a darned good string.

Savage Lam stock SSfluted Varmint .22-250 will shoot great out to at least 200 yds. Still
trying to get under 1/2" at 200, not quite there yet.

My first handgun ever, bought for my by me Dad when I was 17. Ruger Std auto .22 pistol 6" bbl.
I got to where I could knock over 3 of 5 pop cans at 100 yds sitting with my hand against
my Mom's clothesline pole. Today, with a scope and RWS match ammo I can do 5/8"
groups most days at 25 yds. I'm sure it would be well under 1/2" in a Ransom rest.

Mike V. - I really LOVE those old Remington Rollers. I have a really nice No. 4 that will do
about 3/4" to 5/8" at 50 yds with everything it was born with (stock sights) and my old
eyes (I think we are about the same age- 1951), but it requires the proper .22 ammo to be able
to do it. IIRC it was Win Powerpoint that it likes the best.

Bill

Kskybroom

11-12-2009, 08:39 PM

Mine Is a Dan Wessen SS 8in hv bbl 44 Mag, This Wheel Gun Shots better then me. Puts Meat in the freezer, Rugs on the wall. Bought it in 77. ( Has NEVER seen a J Word or Factory round) I built a AR-15 in 1980 from parts. Powder coated white ss bbl. Been a tack driver from day one. Mn changed the rules an made it legal to use a 223. So this weekend ill be in my stand with a AR 15.. ( Im Taken Dan to incase at the last minute I feel underguned) (LOL)

dhansen

11-12-2009, 08:44 PM

I never put it on paper so I can't make any claims to its accuracy but my old 6.5x55 96 Swede spit out 266469's over 4759 like they were radar guided. Had more fun blasting silhouettes with it than any other gun I've owned. All that with battle sights too.

southpaw

11-12-2009, 09:07 PM

Right now I am going to say that it is my savage 10 fple2a. Some of my others are atleast as accurate but I really really really like the 6-24 black diamond that is on it. Just shot it today and didn't do too bad. Groups are as follows: .451, .652 and .373. They were 3 shot groups since I wanted to see if the load would group. I think that it will do pretty good if I can fix the loose nut behind the trigger.

My favorite gun to shoot is my savage 111 in 338 wm. It will shoot .75"-1" at 100 for me. It just feels good to shoot. Enough recoil to let you know that you shot it but not so much that it takes your hat off.

Jerry Jr.

HollowPoint

11-12-2009, 09:07 PM

As far as accurate pistols go, I pick my Kimber Classic Custom 45.
The bullets hit close enough to where I'm aiming (if not dead on) the overwhelming majority of the time. The rest of the time I blame myself for missing; both lead cast and jacketed.

In rifle calibers, I have a couple but, my .17 Remington 700 BDL is the one I'll brag about here.
Of course it took a new trigger, pillar bedding, barrel floating and a bit of load work up in order to get it shoot.

On a calm windless day, I can shoot the foreskin off a sexually aroused mosquito at a hundred-and-fifty yards with this rifle.
If these little .17 caliber slugs were incendiary loads, I could cauterize the wound and still leave that mosquito with a fully functional erection; it's that accurate.:bigsmyl2:

Incidentally, here in Arizona, mosquito season corresponds with our monsoon season when we have lots of standing pools of water. Nuf said.:kidding:

HollowPoint

montana_charlie

11-12-2009, 09:48 PM

My most accurate gun is an Anshutz bolt action sporter I bought in Germany for $35 back in 1968. I sold it to my dad, and re-inherited it when he died.

My most dependable gun is a Browning 78 in 7mm Rem. Mag. My wife gave it to me in 1978, and I put my old Weaver V-7 on it.

That fall, I sighted it in to hit three inches high at a hundred and haven't touched the turrets since that day. I may not take it out for two years running, but when I decide to pick off a pesky coyote or harvest a fat buck, it always does the job.

CM

Glen

11-12-2009, 10:24 PM

Is this question aimed at cast bullets? Or jacketed? Handguns? Or rifles?

Since this is a cast bullet board, I will start there.

Cast bullet, handgun: a custom SS Ruger NMBH in .44 Special, 7 1/2" bbl -- it shoots everything well.

Cast bullet, rifle: tough call, there are several -- probably a tie between the 96 Mauser 6.5 Swede Target Rifle and the .30-40 Krag carbine

Jacketed bullet rifle: easy, the Ruger #1 6mm Remington, a sub-1/2 MOA rifle with the right loads; honorable mention the Remington 700 Classic in .35 Whelen (not too far behind).

Jacketed bullet handgun: the .338 GEF Contender (made by SSK), with the 200 Nosler BT and H380 will put 3 shots into 1/2" at 100 yards.

Heavy lead

11-12-2009, 10:45 PM

Cast boolit handgun: Weaver 4 power scoped BFR .475 Linebaugh, my go to boolit is the RCBS400SWC, it'll shoot better than me.

Jacketed rifle: This is a three way tie.
Remington 700 Sendero, stock except some trigger adjustment, in .338 Ultra, it'll shoot 250 grain partitions like a target rifle.
Ruger 1B Stainless .25-06 it'll do the same as above with Hornady 120 grain hollow point flat base. This is also a stock rifle.
Winchester Model 70 push feed rebarreled to .338-06, it'll shoot 200 grain ballistic silver tips with the other two.

Rimfire:
Winchester 9422 22 Magnum. Shoots honest 1moa at 100 yards with Fiocchi softpoint ammunition (when I can find it, I stock up when I can) with a (I know, gag putting a scope on this) 3x9 mil dot Bushnell Trophy.

Shotgun:
Remington 11-87 stock cantilever rifled barrel. It will shoot the Brenneke KO slugs (made for smooth bores, go figure) into a better group at 100 yards than anyone will believe, so I won't say, I still have not, nor can not duplicate it with any darn slug load I've casted or develope myself, nor will it shoot very good at all with any factory sabot load.

Ruger 77 .416 Rigby will shoot the RCBS 350 gas check into 1" all day at a hundred.

oldfart1956

11-13-2009, 11:59 AM

Hmmm..? Well now back in 1968 I went to Bobs Army/Navy Store in Clearfield, Pa. and bought a 30.06 that had an ugly white stock and KODIAK stamped on the barrel. Seems it was from a company that took 98 Mausers and sporterized 'em. I payed $80 for it and bought L.C. ammo and must'a shot thousands of rounds thru it. The throat is puddy much burned out and my brother said the barrel should be set back as it's about the end of it's rope. But it still touches 3 holes at 100yds. so I'm gonna leave it be. I restocked it with a Fajen (sp.?) stock back in 1970 and glass bedded it. Audie..the Oldfart.. P.S. we need a post for the most FUN gun ya shoot!!

Freischütz

11-13-2009, 09:04 PM

P.08 in 7.65 Par.

BarryinIN

11-13-2009, 10:18 PM

I suppose there are different classes or ideas of accuracy.

I've had guns whose groups on paper weren't the best indicator of how I could actually hit with them.
Some shot one-holers, but were so clumsy feeling it was hard to get full use out of that acccuracy. I could often do better with a slightly less accurate gun that felt and handled better.
On the other hand, one of my 1911s does OK on paper though it's not my most accurate 1911...but it always seems to hit where I want, even if I screw up my end of things. How do you measure that? And guess which I'd rather shoot!

Just going by measuring holes in paper, my Winchester 52 Sporter (shoots good and feels good) and the Colt AR15 I used in Highpower stand out.

Another measure of accuracy is how a gun handles a wide range of ammo. Shooting a couple of loads well is nice, but shooting several loads fairly well is interesting too.
I have one rifle that may not break any records, but it shoots everything pretty well (it's a Steyr Scout .308). I've tried cast, jacketed, light bullets, heavy bullets, surplus FMJ bullets, light loads, heavy loads, etc. While none of them make "wallet carrying" groups, they all do around an inch give or take a little. That may not sound all that impressive, but I've never had a rifle that would shoot like that with such a wide range of loads.
Even better, at least to me, is that the jacketed "full speed" loads have generally the same point of impact, and the cast loads aren't too far off (at 100 yards, anyway). I noticed the jacketed loads were hitting in the same general area, so I shot a target with one shot each of several bullet weights from 110 to 180 (I think it was 11 different bullets): They went just under 2" for all but one that I must have yanked.
A half MOA rifle might be nice, but a rifle that puts just about anything I can feed it into 2 MOA is probably more useful to me.