Accessories, Blog, Guns

Factors that affect Gun Accuracy Pt. 2

The Sights

While their proper use is largely impingent on the shooter, handgun sights can cause inaccurate firing if they are improperly aligned. Proper alignment means if you put the gun on top of a bench rest and align the sights exactly with a bullseye’s center, and then fire, the bullet would hit dead center each time. If this does not happen, you have misaligned sights, which can be fixed by taking the obvious steps. After that is taken care of, the accuracy of firing boils down to how the shooter sights their target before firing. This is where firearm accessories such as a weapon light can be of tremendous use.

Clearances

A gun is basically a mechanical system which manufactures an explosion – the pressure form that sends the projectile (bullet) flying out the tube. Consistency is achieved by making sure none of that pressure is lost along the way. An inserted bullet is supposed to form an effective seal, which means the clearances in the gun need to be kept at the possible minimum. Also important are the tolerances present between the frame and the slide inside semi-autos. The tighter you have these, the less chance that any of the firearm parts might move when the gun is fired. For this reason, accurized rifle barrels usually get made in the floating style rather than the bedded one; in case the stock deforms for some reason, the barrel bends along with it.

Ammunition

Bullet flight depends on highly precise aerodynamics, but this affects only drop and velocity significantly, and not accuracy as such. A bullet traveling accurately and experiencing a dramatic drop after the first hundred yards can be made to hit the right target, if the shooter fully understands how drop and distance relate in that particular situation. As long as sufficient adjustments are made, he or she can make the shot accurately.

Accuracy vs. Precision

When it comes to the firing of a gun, as mentioned earlier, tighter clearance can raise accuracy to a pinpoint, although this is not the same as high precision. Firing accuracy is the extent of exactness to which the shooter is able to place a bullet in an intended spot; when they are able to do this several times, it means they have achieved high firing precision as well. A lot of times, both things depend on the technique which the shooter employs, as well as how well they stick to it.