The nerves would be the biggest part. Windage wise at 200 yards we’d be talking about 3 inches or less left or right and less than an inch high or low if there was a steady breeze going. Guessing a bit, not knowing what rifle\ammo the shooter used. Nerves aside, I’m just saying it was something any novice shooter could do so long as they weren’t standing while shooting free hand.
There’s a huge difference between range and reality. The vast majority of combat casualties for infantry happen within 80 yards, which is why virtually all “assault” or battle rifles are zeroed at a hundred yards.
The vast majority of “skilled” shooters lack access to ranges that have anything over 50 yards available, let alone 100 yards. If you can reliably group 3 inches at 200 yards your probably in the top percentile of marksman in the country. Not many people hunt anymore, and most people going to shooting ranges are going for handguns or rifles zeroed at 100 yards or less.
It probably sounds strange for people who live in communities that hunt or have an avid rifle culture, but not much of the population can even safely handle a rifle anymore, let alone be accurate with one at 200 yards.
I’m not sure where you live, but you underestimate the amount of people who can shoot a rifle. Also, while you can zero a hunting rifle at 100 yards, most bullets haven’t apexed yet at 100, so the bullet will continue to raise up a bit before starting to drop.
All mostly irrelevant because the first 250 yards of almost any ammo is like 3 inches from its highest to lowest point.
Basically, if you’re shooting less than 250 yards and your rifle is zeroed out anywhere from 50 to 200 yards, no matter what anything else is, if you put the cross hairs directly over the target that’s 200 yards out you’re going to be within 3" of your mark. When aiming at anything under 300 yards that’s larger than a coyote you don’t really have to worry about windage (unless it’s very windy) or bullet drop or leading the target or anything. Target in cross hairs and fire is all that’s required. I could get a complete novice to hit a melon at 200 yards in less than 10 minutes time so long as they don’t flinch while pulling the trigger.
I’m not sure where you live, but you underestimate the amount of people who can shoot a rifle.
I think you’d be surprised… I live in Oklahoma, one of the highest gun per person populations in the US. However, this is not the norm when considering the entire US population. Only 20% of Americans live in rural areas, and not all of them regularly go out to the range. With a population nearing 350 million, only around 12 million people participate in rifle target shooting and less than that on a regular basis.
Also, while you can zero a hunting rifle at 100 yards, most bullets haven’t apexed yet at 100, so the bullet will continue to raise up a bit before starting to drop
Again, have you ever taken a novice out to shoot with a hunting rifle? Most people barely understand how to zero a scope. There are only around 10 million people in the US that even hunt with rifles.
if you put the cross hairs directly over the target that’s 200 yards out you’re going to be within 3" of your mark.
That is a huge “if” for most people…I think you are underestimating how terrible of a shot the vast majority of people are.
I could get a complete novice to hit a melon at 200 yards in less than 10 minutes time so long as they don’t flinch while pulling the trigger.
Right, but could you get a complete novice to cleanly take down a buck at 200 yards? Now imagine shooting at a person, and in a scenario that is likely to lead to your death or imprisonment immediately after.
Also “so long as they don’t flinch while pulling the trigger” that takes a while for people to learn, and it gets a lot worse when aiming at something that’s alive.
The nerves would be the biggest part. Windage wise at 200 yards we’d be talking about 3 inches or less left or right and less than an inch high or low if there was a steady breeze going. Guessing a bit, not knowing what rifle\ammo the shooter used. Nerves aside, I’m just saying it was something any novice shooter could do so long as they weren’t standing while shooting free hand.
Anybody could have made that shit.
There’s a huge difference between range and reality. The vast majority of combat casualties for infantry happen within 80 yards, which is why virtually all “assault” or battle rifles are zeroed at a hundred yards.
The vast majority of “skilled” shooters lack access to ranges that have anything over 50 yards available, let alone 100 yards. If you can reliably group 3 inches at 200 yards your probably in the top percentile of marksman in the country. Not many people hunt anymore, and most people going to shooting ranges are going for handguns or rifles zeroed at 100 yards or less.
It probably sounds strange for people who live in communities that hunt or have an avid rifle culture, but not much of the population can even safely handle a rifle anymore, let alone be accurate with one at 200 yards.
I’m not sure where you live, but you underestimate the amount of people who can shoot a rifle. Also, while you can zero a hunting rifle at 100 yards, most bullets haven’t apexed yet at 100, so the bullet will continue to raise up a bit before starting to drop.
All mostly irrelevant because the first 250 yards of almost any ammo is like 3 inches from its highest to lowest point.
Basically, if you’re shooting less than 250 yards and your rifle is zeroed out anywhere from 50 to 200 yards, no matter what anything else is, if you put the cross hairs directly over the target that’s 200 yards out you’re going to be within 3" of your mark. When aiming at anything under 300 yards that’s larger than a coyote you don’t really have to worry about windage (unless it’s very windy) or bullet drop or leading the target or anything. Target in cross hairs and fire is all that’s required. I could get a complete novice to hit a melon at 200 yards in less than 10 minutes time so long as they don’t flinch while pulling the trigger.
I think you’d be surprised… I live in Oklahoma, one of the highest gun per person populations in the US. However, this is not the norm when considering the entire US population. Only 20% of Americans live in rural areas, and not all of them regularly go out to the range. With a population nearing 350 million, only around 12 million people participate in rifle target shooting and less than that on a regular basis.
Again, have you ever taken a novice out to shoot with a hunting rifle? Most people barely understand how to zero a scope. There are only around 10 million people in the US that even hunt with rifles.
That is a huge “if” for most people…I think you are underestimating how terrible of a shot the vast majority of people are.
Right, but could you get a complete novice to cleanly take down a buck at 200 yards? Now imagine shooting at a person, and in a scenario that is likely to lead to your death or imprisonment immediately after.
Also “so long as they don’t flinch while pulling the trigger” that takes a while for people to learn, and it gets a lot worse when aiming at something that’s alive.