"I would like to know what a normal 50 yard, 5 shot grouping is experienced by an average Joe Blow…"
The answer depends on what gun, the conditions where you are shooting and your lever of Marksmanship....
People need to be realistic and understand the intended use of their guns, don't expect consistent sub .250" groups at 50 yards with a 100-$200 gun if that is what you are shooting...Not that these guns can not shoot this accurate, but they just will not do it consistently...By the same token, no reason why not to expect very good accuracy from a gun that is designed for Field Target shooting and even from some of those excellent sporters that are out there...Those guns can shoot very accurately (depending on caliber) up to 75 and even 100 yards...
The conditions are extremely important...Shooting outside or indoors? What kind of gun is it: PCP, Springer (Break in or side/under lever), or?, what brand of gun is it and what is the gun designed for (Plinking, Benchrest, Fiel Target, or?), what caliber and velocity are you shooting?, are you an experienced consistent shooter ?
!0 M guns (6 ft./lb.) shoot 8.4 gr, pellets at 570 ft./sec...While these guns can be extremely expensive and accurate at 10 yards (.004" ctc Feinwerkbau, Anschutz, Walther, Steyr, etc.) these guns will not shoot at longer distances...At 50 yards they become big losers.
Mostly any gun shooting above 12 ft./lb. or around 800 ft./sec. with a 8.4 gr. pellet has the potential for accuracy at 50 yards, they will shoot .500" + or - groups at this distance, but not all of them will do it consistently...
This game is no different that racing or any other sport where you need to invest money to be competitive, but keep in mind that the marginal gains in accuracy after certain level become VERY EXPENSIVE and time consuming....
For accuracy you need a gun that provides consistent velocities, a gun that has a good trigger, good optics, and most importantly, that has a GOOD BARREL...If you are going to spend money, then put it in the barrel and optics...A good barrel will shoot pretty well at different velocities within a reasonable spread, but a bad barrel will not shoot good at consistent velocities...Then, as mentioned, you want the best optics you can afford...No parallax, no jumping of the reticle shot after shot, etc.
Don't expect to break the national record for accuracy with a $60.00 Leapers and a $80 Break barrel gun, for competing at that top level you need a $1K plus or minus scope and you will need a PCP in the $1.5 K to 4-5 K range...
So...Grounding this reply I will suggest that you shoot 10 groups of 5 consecutive shoots at 50 yards (clean your barrel before the test) , do it when the conditions (wind) are appropriate in order to eliminate wind deviation...Shoot from a very solid bench and with Benchrest type front rest and rear:...Test JSB's, H&H and Crossman Premier and RWS pellets, these are pretty much up there for accuracy...
If you need further assistance, please provide us brand, caliber and model of gun you are using, scope, pellets, velocity and type of bench and rests that you are using...This will pretty much give us an idea of what kind of accuracy to expect...
Regards,
AZUARO
