sorry, but I think you're wrong.
put it this way... at
100yards, the 6group, 5shot each shootout actually gives a really good idea if a rifle is worth a shit IMO. the whole wind and mirage factor is very little at 100yards... it is when you get well past 100yards that wind and mirage really starts to push the skill of the shooter.... IMO, the 100yard 6group 5shot each shootout is the best your're going to find on the net for giving a person a solid idea if a rifle is worth a shit..... the rifle and ammo used at 100yards is much much more important at 100yard shooting than the shooter.. I've always said at 100yard, it is 40% rifle, 20% ammo, and 40% shooter..... the more you increase the yardage, the more the importance of the shooter% increases.... while the shooter at 100yard does play a factor, it is kinds hard to fuck up a shot at 100yards when you're using a sand bag and a bipod, well, at least it should give you a solid idea if a rifle has the potential to be a sub-moa shooter or not... mirage and wind (the two main factors above and beyond the obvious gravity factor) is very little at 100yards.
put it this way... I took my girlfriend to the range two weeks ago to shoot a REAL rifle f
or the first time (she only shot a .22lr a couple times as a kid with her father type of thing many many years ago). I gave her some pointers on how to use the rear sand bag, cheek weld blah blah, don't move your view from scope once you take your shots, keep an eye on scope shadow, how to pull the trigger, cut the round circle into 4 perfect pcs of pie with the crosshairs, blah blah blah blah. We both used the SAME rfile that day with the same RELOADS that I made personally from brass previously shot out of the same rifle with a .003 bump on the shoulder... to show how important a good rifle with good reloads is at 100yards = these pictures tell it all..... yes, the
100yard shootout thread (not the 300yard) does prove IMO if a rifle is worth a shit or not... she got 4 out 6 groups sub-moa,,,,, I also got 4 out of 6 groups sub-moa and my average was just a tad bit better than her average BUT not by much... now with that said, I think my GF is a talented shooter, but the rifle used WITH my reloads tells a good story in these pictures.
Mind you, she actually got a much much better score as a first time shooter than other people's entries that I would consider "better / experienced shooters" with much more expensive LMT's, GAP's, and OBR's... Knowing which rifles with the correct reloads produce good groups is cash money IMO.. Just another reason why I'm a HUGE fan of rock river rifles with good reloads. My GF is currently in the top ten of the current shootout thread FYI.. Is she that good of a shooter? or is it more the rifle and the reloads? just a little logic goes a long ways when it comes to 100yard shooting. Don't get me wrong, I think she is talented, BUT she would never do this with a dpms oracle and factory ammo with a red dot.
my GF's shootout entry:
my shootout entry done the very same day with the same rifle and reloads:
Accuracy challenges are not so much a testament of the rifle but more of the shooter. The LMT is a great rifle, I think the extra $1,500 gets you the quick change barrel. If that is a valued requirement then all means go for it. Inning sold on piston guns but many are, it appears Ruger has the bugs worked out of their rifle but I would make sure it is a current production rifle because the early ones would not run using the 3rd Gen PMags. Me, no one makes exactly what I want so I would build if I were to do it over again, get exactly what you want. If you use quality parts you give up nothing to a factory built rifle...