What is a " Tack Driver " Anyway??

It’s a rifle that is very accurate. Everybody know dat! Lol

Literally, its a rifle that will "drive the tack" stuck in the board that it was aimed at.

Just something that gives an exceptional group.

The trick is, to shoot enough three shot groups that you finally get a one holer. And then claim you do that all the time!

Only shoot three shots, enough attempts, one will cluster



and don't muck it up by shooting a ten shot group



Lets talk about my sub MOA Marlin Lever actions, military rifles, Garands, and smooth bore slug guns. All tack drivers.

That which can be use to drive tacks. I have never used a firearm for that purpose myself.

This!

After Dad bought himself a little Browning semi-auto .22LR, I remember him saying there's no such thing as a "nail driver." It seemed that little Browning .22LR was the most "accurate" rifle Dad had ever owned, so he decided to see if he could drive nails with it. He pounded a few nails half-way into a 1x6 board, set the board up 10 or 12 yards out, and proceeded to try to drive the nails the rest of the way in by shooting them on their heads.
Dad's words, "It will bend them over, but it won't drive them in!"

someguy2800 said:

That which can be use to drive tacks. I have never used a firearm for that purpose myself.

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I watched "Open Range" again the other night. There's one scene where either Costner or DuVall (I forget which) is using the butt of his revolver to drive tacks in order to post a notice on the door of the town marshal's office.

Turkeytider said:

What is a "Tack Driver" anyway?? See that term tossed around a lot. Is there a standard definition within the rifle shooting community?

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Firearm with group size small enough to be able to drive a tack.

trackskippy said:

Literally, its a rifle that will "drive the tack" stuck in the board that it was aimed at.

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Here US Army AMU shooter driving a nail with bullets (So I guess his rifle is a "Nail Driver" ) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ns-shooting-competition.909685/#post-12391544

Start here.

I had a Savage with a Shilen select match 308 bbl, it would group just over an inch at 330 yards, and have shot same hole 5rd groups at 100 yards. Closest rifle to a tack driver that I have owned. My R700 LTR 223 would shoot bug hole groups too, best factory shooter I have owned.

Tack Driver: A firearm that (at some point in the past, or in the imagination) has demonstrated a level of accuracy which creates a sense of pride in the mind of the owner.

Turkeytider said:

... Is one man`s " tack driver " another man`s " meh, that`s pretty good " depending on the individual definition of "accurate" ? ...

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Ab-so-lute-ly.

Turkeytider said:

LOL! Yea, I kinda knew that. Is one man`s " tack driver " another man`s " meh, that`s pretty good " depending on the individual definition of "accurate" ?

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If this is true, then at least one of the “men” also likely will tell you he only catches 5lb bass and that in college they had to carry a stick to the bars with them to beat back all of the tall blondes with double D’s trying to crawl all over them…

If a guy can drive tacks, the rifle is grouping somewhere around 1/2moa, and there’s no one which can rightfully say that isn’t “accurate.” Maybe not accurate enough to compete in the highest forms of precision competition, maybe not the most accurate among accurate rifles, but certainly “accurate.”

As above, it's all personal perception.

If a given weapon shoots half the expected MOA, you are like to consider that a "tack driver."

So, that's like to vary.

If you pick up a rifle known to have about 4 MOA factory acceptance, and it gives you 2 MOA (or better) that's twice the accuracy you were expecting (mathematically, probably 4 times, as we are talking about reductions in square area).

There' a natural corollary, too.

If you pick up an arm you expect with shoot 1 MOA or less, and it shoots 4 MOA, you are like to dismiss it as "unable to hit a barn." Despite the fact it's entirely within its original factory specification. We in "the community" can be fickle about such things. Goes with the territory.

Varminterror said:

If this is true, then at least one of the “men” also likely will tell you he only catches 5lb bass and that in college they had to carry a stick to the bars with them to beat back all of the tall blondes with double D’s trying to crawl all over them…

If a guy can drive tacks, the rifle is grouping somewhere around 1/2moa, and there’s no one which can rightfully say that isn’t “accurate.” Maybe not accurate enough to compete in the highest forms of precision competition, maybe not the most accurate among accurate rifles, but certainly “accurate.”

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Nobody defined what range the tack to be driven was from the rifle.

Slang term for an exceptionally accurate rifle. No clear criteria. What some would call a tack driver would be a disappointment to someone else.

someguy2800 said:

Nobody defined what range the tack to be driven was from the rifle.

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For most folks, range from the rifle won’t matter. Whether at 25yrds, 50, or 100, most guys aren’t capable of driving racks, and a guy talking tack driving at 10yrds tends to fall into that class of telling fish tales about e’rything else too.

It does seem to be a relatively generational term, as I don’t hear many younger new shooters using “tack driver” any more. Not like we would have heard in the ‘90s, for sure.

Varminterror said:

....in college they had to carry a stick to the bars with them to beat back all of the tall blondes with double D’s trying to crawl all over them…

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This happened to you, too?

Walkalong said:

A very accurate rifle, whatever that means to whoever is using the phrase.

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For me, that would be my Heritage revolving rifle with magnum cylinder. Couldn't believe it. I only use open sights, and this was the first time I'd used "buckhorn" sights. Didn't think I'd like 'em but, dang, those MaxiMags sure found the bullseye more often than I'm used to.

For the missus it's her Bearcat revolver. Shoots so sweet she doesn't even want to try anything else.

Are we talkin triple ot brass tacks or FFF carpet tacks?

My son use to be a staple driver. He'd shoot the corner staples off my targets when I wasn't paying attention. Not on first shots but after a couple ... 22lr at 50 and 100yds

Accurate enough to drive a tack... Not sure if thumb tack or saddlery tack lol.

My take is its a gun that regularly shoots groups where the holes touch at whatever distance it is set up for.