Accurizing
Accurizing
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Accurizing

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Accurizing

Accurizing is the process of improving the accuracy and precision of a gun (firearm or airgun).

For shooting sport, accuracy is the gun's ability to hit exactly what the shooter is aiming at, and precision is the ability to hit the same place over and over again in a repeatable fashion. Both are the goals of accurizing, which generally concentrates on four different areas:

The key to an accurate firearm is consistency. Getting everything to happen the same way for every shot is key to producing small groupings, and there are a large number of issues to be addressed in achieving an accurate firearm. The keys to firing an accurate shot are a firm but not overtight grip, the ability to get a good sight picture and a controlled squeeze of the trigger. The ability to manage recoil is also important in heavily recoiling calibers, both to aid in possible additional shots, and to prevent the user from developing a fear of the recoil.

Determining accuracy is not always a straightforward task, as it depends on a large number of variables.

The accuracy of a shot relies on many different factors, which can be broken down into three broad categories: the firearm, the cartridge, and the shooter. Accurizing generally refers to the processes that are applied to the firearm. Techniques relating to producing accurate ammunition are covered in internal and external ballistics, and handloading, and just like accurizing a firearm, the goal is to produce the most consistent possible results. The shooter must also be consistent, and this means that the fundamentals of marksmanship have to be followed rigorously; any failure on the part of the shooter to remain focused and consistent can result in a bad shot. It's common to use a benchrest or a vise when evaluating ammunition or a weapon for accuracy to eliminate human error.

Since adjusting the point of impact to match the point of aim is relatively simple with any type of adjustable sights, the primary goal of accurizing is to increase the precision of the firearm, which is generally measured by looking at the dispersion of a number of shots fired at the same point of aim. An ideal group would be one where all shots land in a hole no larger than the diameter of a single bullet; this would indicate zero dispersion. The most common way of measuring groups then is to measure the edge to edge distance of the farthest holes, and subtract the bullet diameter, which gives the center to center or c-c measurement of the group. This can be expressed in linear measures (a 30 mm group at 100 m, or a one inch group at 100 yards) or in angular measures (a milliradian or MOA group). Groups for rifles are traditionally shot at either 100 meters or 100 yards (91 m). At 100 yd a minute of arc equals 1.047 inches (26.6 mm), and the one MOA group (approximately 1/3 or 0.3 mil) is a traditional benchmark of accuracy. Handguns are generally used at closer ranges, and are tested for accuracy at their intended range of use. Also of importance is the number of shots fired. Statistical likelihood says the fewer shots that are fired, the smaller the dispersion will be. 3 or 5-shot groups are acceptable for zeroing the sights and rough accuracy estimates, but most shooters[who?] consider 10-shot groups to be the minimum for accuracy comparisons.

Even defining accuracy can be problematic. An example of this can be shown by the following tests, run by Performance Shooter magazine in December, 1996. The magazine was testing seven brands of .38 Special wadcutter rounds in a semi-automatic pistol and two different revolvers: a Smith & Wesson Model 52, Smith & Wesson Model 686, and a Colt Python Target model, with five, six and eight inch long barrels, respectively. Ten groups of five shots were fired and measured from each revolver with each ammunition. Click on the image at right to see a larger view of the graph of average group sizes for each type of ammunition and each revolver. The average group size for the overall test was 72 millimetres (2.85 in).

Based on average group size, the winner was the Model 686, which shot an average group of 68 millimetres (2.69 in) across the brands of ammunition, with a standard deviation between ammunition types of 14 millimetres (0.54 in). However, the Model 52, while shooting slightly larger groups at 73 millimetres (2.88 in), was far more consistent across the brands, with a standard deviation of only 7.6 millimetres (0.30 in), and was the most consistent performer of the test. However, if the ammunition was tuned to the gun, the clear winner was the Python, which averaged just 43 millimetres (1.69 in) with its favored brand of ammunition. The Python was also by far the pickiest, however, turning in the largest groups at 154 and 102 millimetres (6.08 and 4.0 in) averages with its least favorite brands, for a standard deviation of 41 millimetres (1.6 in).

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