I have a Longbranch which will shoot a 1" 5 shot group with hand loads. It has all new wood on it though. The majority of my "keepers are good for 2"-3" groups all day. That being said, my keepers are usually the best all around condition.
I have fired a ton of military rifles and most are right at a 4" group. I have never had a problem with a tight 2 shot group growing on the 3rd shot.......or atleast I don't think I did. Could be I was blaming myself when this happened.
I did have a friend who had a similar but much worse issue with a Mosin 91/30. With each shot it seemed to get more of a wandering zero.
He asked me to shoot it. We put up paper at 75yds and I fired a shot. 1"right and 2" high od bullseye. I disregarded the point of impact and lined the sights up where I did the first time, trigger pull, breathing, everything was the same and I had a perfect duplicate second shot. He said I hit the same spot but I couldn't see the hole. I looked through his spotting scope and I just stretched the first hole a little. I told him it seemed good to me. He said "Just keep shooting" The group went out in a counterclockwise spiral from there. He later tried to swage the bore and the lead fell about 2" when it was about halfway down the barrel. It had rusted out in a short section of the barrel and while cold it was not a problem. As the barrel warmed up the bullet seemd to have trouble stabilizing as it went through the loose patch.
After 70yrs allot can go wrong.
As to military rifles being "point of person" Sure, now most are but in good condition the majority I have dealt with have been much better than that. Devils Advocate though, MILSPEC on AR-15 basically means it is nearly crap. The MILSPEC is a 4" group at 100ys. But, people like to pay extra for "MILSPEC"
Last edited by Guamsst; 06-02-2013 at 06:37.
I own firearms not to fight against my government, but to ensure I will not have to.