Realistic shooting accuracy

It depends.
Well, it's a little more complicated than that!  I am not a master shooter; on my best days I shoot better than most folks, even pretty good shots.  I just wish I had more of those "good days".  When I watch some of those videos online of folks making really long shots, I have to put things into perspective. Also keep in mind that almost nobody uploads videos of them missing their shots...so we are led to believe that these long shots are the everyday, not the "good days". Let's take a quick look at why we all need to consider what PRACTICAL accuracy is.

There are so many variables in shooting and hunting that we could spend all day just listing them - winds, temperature, visibility, ammo, action type, barrel length, barrel weights, rifling twist rates and so on.  Did we shoot at the target using a bench rest or a bipod with support for the stock?  Maybe our intended game forced us to shoot in the kneeling position, or even standing offhand...is it fair to compare our conditions with others? 

I would love to smack English Starlings using only head shots at 70 yards with my air rifle (check out Ted's Holdover on YouTube - amazing!).  But my air rifle does not have the inherent accuracy to do so reliably - see my previous post!  Also, I am not yet skilled enough on this particular spring-powered air rifle to shoot half-inch groups at 70 yards...from a sitting or kneeling position.  Where I hunt starlings ( an invasive nuisance species in my home state), I can't use a bench rest or set up a bipod.  I have to move frequently, and taking a shot from whatever position I can get into before the birds spook.

So, practical accuracy depends on a few criteria; your target, your equipment (and its limitations), your skills as a shooter, skill as a hunter and environmental conditions, including your shooting site.  You have to evaluate all of these to determine just how accurate you must be to be successful.  Once you determine what you and your equipment are capable of, let's say a one inch group at 50 yards with an air rifle - you can determine if that is good enough for your plans.  If your plan is to head shoot starlings at 70 yards consistently, you need to take a look at where you can improve your accuracy. Can you shoot that well if you used a bipod?  If so, what can you change so you can utilize one in that situation?

Everyone wants to make those "impossible" shots!  Take some time now (as hunting seasons open up soon) to determine what YOUR practical accuracy is and put that knowledge to good use!