moa
i have been confused to no end on MOA and the references. i understand the 1MOA is 1" @100yds and so on. now, does that mean that if you are sighted in at 200yds, the MOA for a 400yd shot would be 2MOA? or because it is at 400yds, it would be the 4MOA? and is there any data sheets that have a generalized MOA calculation for distance?
In basic terms target shooters will refer to the size of a group ( usually measured from the centre of the bullet hole 0n one side of the group to the centre of the hole farthest from it in terms of moa
as allready stated a 1" group at 100 yards is equal to 1 moa. thereby a 1 moa group at 50yards is half an inch across .and a 1 moa group at 200 yards is 2" across.
All you need to do is be aware that if your rifle is capable of shooting 5 shots measured centre to centre at 100 yards into 2" it is a 2 moa rifle. Its normal group size at 1000 yards is within a 20 " circle. A 1/2 Moa gun ,s group will be within a 5" circle
Trajectory is the curve from the barrell to the target. The factors that determine this are 1..The weight of the bullet/projectile 2.. The speed ( muzzle velocity of the bullet0. 3 The shape of the bullet be it a round ball , boat tail spire point etc. This is commonly expressed
as the BC.. ballistic coefficient of the bullet.( How well it flies. think basketball vs football.)
4 The distance you want the rifle to hit dead on say 225 for a 308, if you sight it for 300 the rise above the line of bore will increase .
The old military ladder sights make this easier to understand as the soldier estimated the enemys range and raised the back sight for longer distances thus increasing the angle of elevation of the barrell , so the bullet went higher to come down at the target like throwing a baseball .
These are the basics. speed can be affected by case capacity, powder type and burning rate .
effecient design of case , lenght of barrell ,twist of barrell etc.
Find a ballistics program ( Remington sell one on their web site) and then understand that long range shooting is a black art..
Oh and dont forget to look up windage, mirage ,mil dot scopes ,wind indicators ,breathing and people shooting back.