Acceptable offhand group size?

[Nealgl1985]

I'm curious what everyone feels is acceptable group size for shooting 50 yards offhand? I usually shoot off a bench so give me a break .

I've just started practicing offhand at 50 yards and my 1st go was laughable. This was my 1st attempt with the uragan 2 compact 22. At least it leaves lots of room for improvement i painted a black spot to aim at then decided i didnt need it for the other groups.

Then I started aiming high on the target and dropping into the kill zone as I squeezed the trigger. This improved my group considerably but still not great. This group was from the taipan vet standard 25. Mag only had 5 rounds in it

This group was my attempt at redemption with the uragan 2 compact 22. Much better but still not real good

I'll be practicing more each day to see how much I can improve. My goal is to be able to consistently hold 3 inch 5-10 shot groups at 50 by the end of October. Not sure I'll reach that goal but I'll try.

Feel free to post your 50 yard offhand groups or just let me know what you consider acceptable by your own standards for 50 yards. I'm not talking cherry picked groups either. What's your average out of 10 groups of 5+ shots per group?

Also if you have anything that helped you with offhand shooting feel free to post up the info. Never know what I might be missing or doing wrong. I try my best at having good trigger control but I'm figuring out the rest as I go.

 

[Hateful McNasty]

Ya, the 3 p's

Practice
Pellets &
Patience
( not necessarily in that order)

 

[Ranchibi]

That's a LOT BETTER than I could do! That's how a good freehand shooter told me....either raise or lower the gun slowly till you find your aim point....then PRACTICE....

 

[Solo1]

A very good off hand shooter will almost keep moa

 

[Nealgl1985]

1 more for the evening. I've been resting between groups. It's hot and my arm starts to get slightly fatigued by the 5th shot.

Taipan veteran standard 25 10 shots @ 50 yards. This new target should be good for my practice.

 

[Nealgl1985]

A very good off hand shooter will almost keep moa

I'll strive for "close to" moa by this time next year but that's a tall order from this shakey fella . Time to start doing reps!

 

[Sqwirl57]

I'll strive for "close to" moa by this time next year but that's a tall order from this shakey fella . Time to start doing reps!

A 2 MOA average is more realistic but even that is nearing on pro shooter levels of accuracy for standing offhand. Right now you're at about 4 moa which isn't terrible at all. Practice, practice, practice. It isn't like riding a bike. If you dont use it, you will lose it!

 

[Nealgl1985]

A 2 MOA average is more realistic but even that is nearing on pro shooter levels of accuracy for standing offhand. Right now you're at about 4 moa which isn't terrible at all. Practice, practice, practice. It isn't like riding a bike. If you dont use it, you will lose it!

View attachment 382861

I believe that red part is 3 nches. I'll have to measure it

 

[Moog]

I'll strive for "close to" moa by this time next year but that's a tall order from this shakey fella . Time to start doing reps!

Your off hand groups are very good. My air rifles are spring piston guns. Standing up shooting unsupported I can keep my shots on a 7 1/2 inch diameter cast iron skillet at 50 yards.
A little closer at 40 yards I can consistently hit a soup can.

 

[Sqwirl57]

I believe that red part is 3 nches. I'll have to measure it

Measure the cutout (not the red target) and I'll re-run the group. I was just eyeballing it on the hits assuming a 1/4" pellet

 

[rcs9250]

Maybe post your question in the Field Trials section. They do some pretty good shooting out to 55 yards. I don’t know how far they shoot offhand.

 

[Long_Gun_Dallas]

I don't shoot for groups off-hand. I'd rather get one shot that is dead on than 3 or 5 that are close. That's my mentality, anyhow. Make it count when you need to. I've made headshots on grey squirrel off-hand from 40 to maybe 75 yards using pellets. The gun, first of all, has to be able to do it. The rest is knowledge, technique, and timing.

This gun will repeatedly hit soda cans pretty close to the center, off hand at 100 yards. Say maybe 3 moa, not really trying too hard. Using slugs, of course. Benched, it is around .5 moa, using 700mm barrel / 36gr .218 slugs. I've never really measured accuracy of the short pellet barrel, but I can say the accuracy is rather absurd.

In my opinion or experience, a long gun (not too long) is better for off-hand. The sling adds an additional point of stability. And if the gun is properly balanced, and tuned... It becomes real easy.

 

[Septicdeath]

Shot this one the other day 40 yards. 6 inche target. With red dot. Sometimes I'll do better Sometimes worse. I only shoot springers

 

[Crabbypatties]

Anything that’s hits the target off hand more than 10 yards away is pretty cool. Good shooting!

 

[markhooper]

I don't shoot for groups off-hand. I'd rather get one shot that is dead on than 3 or 5 that are close. That's my mentality, anyhow. Make it count when you need to. I've made headshots on grey squirrel off-hand from 40 to maybe 75 yards using pellets. The gun, first of all, has to be able to do it. The rest is knowledge, technique, and timing.

This gun will repeatedly hit soda cans pretty close to the center, off hand at 100 yards. Say maybe 3 moa, not really trying too hard. Using slugs, of course. Benched, it is around .5 moa, using 700mm barrel / 36gr .218 slugs. I've never really measured accuracy of the short pellet barrel, but I can say the accuracy is rather absurd.

In my opinion or experience, a long gun (not too long) is better for off-hand. The sling adds an additional point of stability. And if the gun is properly balanced, and tuned... It becomes real easy.

View attachment 382878

from my experience, my Dad was in cadet's and army.. if you have the sling the right length you can put your arm through it and loop around so that you can put tension on it and it basically locks the gun up to your shoulder with less fatigue on your arm.. it's how I have done offhand shots except for catching a running target when not prepared.. but honestly I prefer to rest on something, anything, if possible to get the perfect shot.. fence post, rail, tree trunks, limb, deck railing, whatever is close and convenient.
Mark

 

[Long_Gun_Dallas]

Yep, sometimes it's just awkward to find an appropriate rest. Sometimes I also just crouch and use my knee or something

 

[dgeesaman]

A very good off hand shooter will almost keep moa

And an average off hand shooter won’t be remotely close to that.

Technique and setup do matter a lot though. Shooting coat, forearm risers, weight balance of the gun all make a big difference. Not saying you should get into that stuff, and getting into that too soon will deprive you of some offhand skill building, but don’t let comparison be the thief of offhand joy.

 

[rcarlisle]

from my experience, my Dad was in cadet's and army.. if you have the sling the right length you can put your arm through it and loop around so that you can put tension on it and it basically locks the gun up to your shoulder with less fatigue on your arm.. it's how I have done offhand shots except for catching a running target when not prepared.. but honestly I prefer to rest on something, anything, if possible to get the perfect shot.. fence post, rail, tree trunks, limb, deck railing, whatever is close and convenient.
Mark

I was also taught this by my dad. The right length sling is about much more than just carrying the gun. This is one reason I prefer traditional stocks on my field guns. I also prefer traditional iron sights, though that limits my range a bit due to aging eyes. I'll grab a gun with a scope out past 35-40 yards. And yes, if hunting and not just challenging myself, I will brace against available stable objects as well.

 

[alpineboard]

Have been standing for a while now at 100 yd, in search of the best pellet and pressure, and barrel to make it work the best for 100 yd.
And have been considering going to 50 yards again.

 

[Nealgl1985]

I don't shoot for groups off-hand. I'd rather get one shot that is dead on than 3 or 5 that are close. That's my mentality, anyhow. Make it count when you need to. I've made headshots on grey squirrel off-hand from 40 to maybe 75 yards using pellets. The gun, first of all, has to be able to do it. The rest is knowledge, technique, and timing.

This gun will repeatedly hit soda cans pretty close to the center, off hand at 100 yards. Say maybe 3 moa, not really trying too hard. Using slugs, of course. Benched, it is around .5 moa, using 700mm barrel / 36gr .218 slugs. I've never really measured accuracy of the short pellet barrel, but I can say the accuracy is rather absurd.

In my opinion or experience, a long gun (not too long) is better for off-hand. The sling adds an additional point of stability. And if the gun is properly balanced, and tuned... It becomes real easy.

View attachment 382878

Sweet shooting rig! Consistent 1/2" groups at 100 is stuff most people dream about. You should try to shoot a offhand group and just imagine each shot in the group is your 1 and only shot at the animal you are hunting and see what happens. If 3 moa is not even trying for you, then I bet you could do half that easily, which is amazing to me! I have a 1 point sling I can attach and see if it helps me any. Ill also be trying multiple platforms from bullpup to long gun and see if anything changes.Thanks for the tips!

I can shoot moa off of bags on a good day if I do my part but some days I shoot better than others. This is more for fun than for hunting purposes. I usually only deer hunt during archery and those shots are usually from 10-30 yards and are always supported on something.

Thank you to all that shared their tips and experiences with me and the community. I'll try to keep this thread updated with some more groups as i practice and hopefully get better. Happy shooting!