The Guns & Ammo Network

Thoughts On Testing: Why Not 200 Yards?

by J. Scott Rupp • August 5, 2011 • 16 comments

A few readers have questioned why Rifle Shooter magazine doesn’t use 200 yards as our standard distance for accuracy tests. It’s a legitimate question. Here’s my short answer: Because it doesn’t accomplish our goal, which is to give the widest range of readers some kind of measuring stick they can use to decide whether a particular rifle might be of interest to them.

In my opinion (and since I’m the editor, this is the one instance where my opinion actually matters), 100 yards is a sensible testing distance. It’s far enough to gauge a rifle’s accuracy potential or lack thereof, it’s a distance available to the largest number of shooters (nearly every outdoor facility has a 100-yard range, but not all have the capability to shoot farther), and it’s a distance that measures the gun and not the shooter.

It is true that accuracy at 200 can be markedly different than at 100 for the same load. I know I’ve worked with rifles that shot tiny little groups with a given load at 100, but when compared side by side at 200 with a load that didn’t shoot as well, the better load at 100 didn’t always win. What does that tell me? Not much about the accuracy of the rifle overall but a lot about how well it shoots a particular load.

Further, at 200 yards you’re testing the shooter just as much as you are the rifle. Errors in natural point of aim, sight alignment, breath control and trigger squeeze are greatly magnified at 200 yards.

Further, depending on the caliber, one’s wind-reading skills become pretty crucial. Sure, if I’m shooting a .300 Win. Mag. at 200 yards, I don’t worry too much about small changes in velocity and even direction if the winds are light. But with a .223 Rem., for example, missing small changes is going to make groups bigger. At 100 yards, conditions aren’t an issue for the vast majority of centerfire cartridges.

I do shoot at 200 yards, a lot. Every gun and load I take on a hunt get a serious workout at 200 because I always want to be able to shoot that distance—and often beyond—and I want to know what load is most accurate at that yardage. And I encourage everyone to shoot their chosen loads at longer ranges for a true picture not only of accuracy but of zero. I don’t zero “X” inches high at 100 and then assume I’ll be on 200. I zero at 200 and then see where it’s hitting at 100—and at 300, if necessary.

But what I do in preparation for a hunt or shoot is not the same as giving a potential buyer a picture of what level of accuracy he or she can expect from a newly introduced rifle. And that’s a big part of Rifle Shooter’s mission.

In Accuracy Tests, Ammo, Rifles, Shooting Tips • Tagged , ,
  • Seth

    As a gunsmith I have a standard program when I am fixing a new production rifle. Or in the event of a custom job this is part of the build process. It is called incremental load development method (ILDM). I didn't come up with it, and it has been around for a while.

    Since I am a gunsmith and not just a hobby reloader, I first attack common problems with the rifle in this order: 1. glass bed, 2 adjust trigger, 3 free float barrel or us pressure bedding based on accuracy, 4 clean, 5 assure proper re-assembly.

    I do ILDM at 50 yards, then again at 300. Honestly 300 will quite often give you a broader picture.

    I take a bullet that I want, let's say the 165 .308 nosler accubond, and then go load 5 cartridges from each powder wait for my selected powder. Yes this burns a lot of bullets! So if the book says 57 to 61 grains of powder, I load 5 shots, of 57, 5 shots of 58, 5 shots of 59, and so on. For hunting rifles I seat the bullets so they will fit into the magazine. For target rifles I use the lands.

    I discount any fliers, and measure the group size. If I get something really good on a certain powder weight, I'll load 5 more 5 shot groups of that weight. And shoot them again at 50 and 300.

    300 yards will often show you some things that you never saw at 100. 50, will help you decide fish from fowl.

    Buy a bullet you like the carachteristics of in a bullet weight your barrel will stabilize and work up from there.

  • ntrudr_800

    Gee, I forgot the name of the fixed bench rest that you put the rifle in and pull the string & you get an idea of the groupings. It would work just as well at 200 & 300 yards as it does at 100 yards.

    Why not test a rifle at 200+ yards? Because the gun magazine guys are selling 1moa @ 100 yards, not MOA accuracy beyond that.

    I suppose for the average hunter or shooter we don't need much better. But precision rifles these days are more accurate than 'regular hunting' rifles like the Remington 700 and Ruger Hawkeye. The way I see it, if you want extreme accuracy, get the extreme rifle. Otherwise get a Ruger Hawkeye, Remington 700, or something good that fits the bill–& find a load that works for you. Or be ready to customize what ya got! Am I right? Plenty of choices out there…

    It'd be interesting to me what the Ruger Hawkeye and the Remington 700 does at 200 & 300 yards in an honest gun review. Head to head, y'know?

  • Harry

    200ys? 300yds? Why not 500 yds? Why do people seem to always want to fix something that isn't broke? 100 yds has been the standard forever.

  • ntrudr_800

    Well… I am not sure that .223 would be used much after 300 yards. Now .308 on the other hand…

    Why not 500 yards? Yes. 100 yards is the standard, but it does not prove anything but that the rifle can/can't shoot MOA at 100 yards. Last time I checked, Newton's Laws of Physics dictated that the Prairie Dog I'd be hunting stands at 101 yards, and if the rifle I have shoots MOA at 100 yards–but 5 MOA at 101 yards–I'd like to know! lol XD

  • Scott E. Mayer

    You read my mind, Rupp! All 200 yards would add is telling the reader how good a shot you are, not the gun. Another good thing about 100 yards is that there are decades of 100-yard groups to compare the accuracy of one gun to the next.

  • http://rebelforiam.com mike sharpe

    My hunting load is 2'' low at 25 yds. and just over 2'' high at 100 yds. It is dead on at 200. Then I am permitted to shoot in any position Other than the bench. Field position practice is fun and will allow self imposed limits. 200 is a very long shot as a hunter.

  • Just Time

    Sighting in at 100 yards is OK for typical hunts for whitetails in Eastern woods. But for shooting western prairie dogs at distances of up to 450 yards, I settled on the 22 long rifle up to 150 yards (low cost of ammo), and the .223 beyond 150 yards (low recoil and ability to see where the bullet hits). Accuracy at a specific distance under ideal wind and lighting conditions is not meaningful when the object is to hit the target at varying conditions and distances. You must be able to accommodate to the requirements at hand. So, sight in at the expected distance you intend to do most of your shooting.

    • MAX

      I like the 22 wmr for the 150 yard ranges. Anything longer, and I use a 22-250. Just a small quibble.

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  • GK Price

    200 yards has been the standard among "good" gunsmiths and discerning shooters for years now, ANY knowledgable shooter knows that !

  • Jeff Myers

    100, 200, 500, 1000. It is all relative to what a person is shooting. 100 yards is the place to start. My two ground hog rifles are set up at 200 yards and I know what they will do at 400. The biggest advantage of different ranges and different rifles is "MORE SHOOTING."

  • Mack Missiletoe

    Gee, every Deer must be within 100 yards. Every Prairie Dog within 100 yards! We spend all this money on impressive scope and rifle, but gee… life's furthest distance is 100 yards.

    I wish we would have known THAT during WWII. That there was no need for all our technological development–and that we don't need to worry about the ships across the sea. Because the enemy, or the meat, is further than 100 yards away. Yet we would have lost the war. We would have gone hungry.

    Do bullets spin perfectly straight through their whole flight? They may stabilize at different and certain distances for each rifle. Does every rifle have the same twist rate?

    No reason to limit ourselves. There is such thing as 101 yards!

  • http://www.facebook.com/Gunluvr Ben Bryant

    100 yards is the practical standard for most shooters and hunters hunting in the eastern and southern woods. I would imagine a 200 yard zero standard would be applicable to the wide open spaces of the west.

  • DanC

    Your 100 yd. testing might be a convenient and useful comparison for a rifle/ammo combination, and 100yds. is a practical distance for most shooters especially those shooting slow velocity ammo and/or using low power scopes, I do not think it is the best for riles shooting higher velocity ammunition. I like to test loads at my intended zero. I first check and adjust my scope at 25 yds. and then move from there, so for muzzle velocities from 2600 fps to under 3000 fps my zero would be 200 yds. or meters depending on how your range is set and 3000 fps-3300 fps at 250 yds and above that 300 yds. As you mentioned and has been my experience sometimes things change for the worse going from 100 to 200 and beyond. It is also important to get grouping data out to either your longest intended shot or accuracy potential of your rifle/ammo combination.

  • Lt. T. Siewert USMC

    I have made rifle barrels. Any barrel maker will tell you that 300 yards is the true test for accuracy. It takes that much distance for a bullet to stabilize particularly for barrels .25 caliber or greater. If you were to see a bullet in flight from muzzel to target you would understand why.

  • MAX

    Morons. He is not saying that 100 yards is the maximum distance for hunting. He is saying that it is a good place to test rifles in a gun magazine. And it is because most people cannot shoot past 100 yards.