daniel craig
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2009
- Messages
- 2,815
When shooting, accuracy and precision can go hand in hand OR they can be mutually exclusive.
You can have accuracy without precision and precision without accuracy.
Accuracy describes the difference between the measurement and the part's actual value, while precision describes the variation you see when you measure the same part repeatedly with the same device.
It helps, when talking about rifles to understand what is going on here.
If you get a tight group you’re looking at precision. If that tight group is far from where you aimed that would be high precision but low accuracy. It’s the difference between the two that can frustrate a new shooter trying to sight in a rifle.
Let’s say the shooter takes his brand new rifle to the range, and from a standing position touches off 4 shots. When he examines the target he notices that none of the holes are close to each other nor are they close to where he aimed. The new shooter probably thinks he’s looking at poor accuracy when in reality he is looking at BOTH poor accuracy and poor precision.
A little annoyed the shooter takes up a prone supported position, and touches off another 4 shots. Upon examining his target he sees that all the holes are touching but not where he is aiming, this is an example of high precision but low accuracy. It show’s the shooter that he has the fundamentals down and that he just needs to adjust the sight/scope.
If, on the other hand, the shooter takes up a prone supported position, fires four shots and gets them all within the the second smallest ring but none of them are close to each other he has achieved accuracy but not precision, and chances are it’s not the tool he’s using but a hang up in one of his fundamentals.
Most rifles will generally shoot where you point them, the limiting factor being your ability to point it and keep it pointed where you want the bullet to go.
If you can only have one or the the other, take accuracy every time. It might not be as pretty but if you’ve got limited time to train and a limited budget, training for relative accuracy (as opposed to both high precision and high accuracy) will be more worth your time.
Edit: the intent here wasn’t to call anyone dumb or take a “holier than than thou” position. I like talking through concepts, and trying to explain them helps me see if I understand the concepts correctly. I’m not saying that you do is wrong or that you should change how you’ve always done things.
You can have accuracy without precision and precision without accuracy.
Accuracy describes the difference between the measurement and the part's actual value, while precision describes the variation you see when you measure the same part repeatedly with the same device.
It helps, when talking about rifles to understand what is going on here.
If you get a tight group you’re looking at precision. If that tight group is far from where you aimed that would be high precision but low accuracy. It’s the difference between the two that can frustrate a new shooter trying to sight in a rifle.
Let’s say the shooter takes his brand new rifle to the range, and from a standing position touches off 4 shots. When he examines the target he notices that none of the holes are close to each other nor are they close to where he aimed. The new shooter probably thinks he’s looking at poor accuracy when in reality he is looking at BOTH poor accuracy and poor precision.
A little annoyed the shooter takes up a prone supported position, and touches off another 4 shots. Upon examining his target he sees that all the holes are touching but not where he is aiming, this is an example of high precision but low accuracy. It show’s the shooter that he has the fundamentals down and that he just needs to adjust the sight/scope.
If, on the other hand, the shooter takes up a prone supported position, fires four shots and gets them all within the the second smallest ring but none of them are close to each other he has achieved accuracy but not precision, and chances are it’s not the tool he’s using but a hang up in one of his fundamentals.
Most rifles will generally shoot where you point them, the limiting factor being your ability to point it and keep it pointed where you want the bullet to go.
If you can only have one or the the other, take accuracy every time. It might not be as pretty but if you’ve got limited time to train and a limited budget, training for relative accuracy (as opposed to both high precision and high accuracy) will be more worth your time.
Edit: the intent here wasn’t to call anyone dumb or take a “holier than than thou” position. I like talking through concepts, and trying to explain them helps me see if I understand the concepts correctly. I’m not saying that you do is wrong or that you should change how you’ve always done things.
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