In our previous post of this series, we asked our readers to guess which of the following shot groups was better? Let’s revisit that example today and see how AccuShoot can definitively reveal the answer for us mortals given the shot group analysis basics we covered before.

Our two shot groups of interest are from this year’s AccuShoot Day at Thunder Ranch, which was a total blast, putting it mildly! The first one belonged to shooter Jack (left-hand side) and the latter one to Ben (right-hand side) both of whom are early adopters of AccuShoot.

The table below summarizes all the shot group size measures for our example sessions. All of those metrics are available to you on the AccuShoot dashboard. The more desirable value is shown underlined and in bold format for each row of our table. Of the eight shot group size metrics colored in dark gray, Ben and Jack are tied with four a piece.

We also included Extreme Spread and Roundness measures colored in light gray as they are automatically computed for each session by AccuShoot. It just so happens that Jack led in both although the shooters were not necessarily instructed to produce round groups, just tight ones.

At a glance, it’s obvious Jack and Ben beat each other on separate metrics so one session does not completely dominate the other. Let’s look at two of the groups size measures to demonstrate the point.

Because of the outlier shot #5 in Ben’s (right-hand side) session, his group gets clearly rated as the bigger group at 14.64 square inches vs. Ben’s 6.47 square inches.

If we are to zoom in on the Median Group Radius, however, the tables are turned and with Jack’s group (left-hand side) measuring 1.29 square inches vs. Ben’s (right-hand side) 2.33 square inches. This is purely because the effects of outlying shots such as #5 and #7 in Jack’s case are smoothened out by the Median Group Radius measure leaving behind a tighter group of shots.

The two groups are more or less a tied in our eyes. Jack has excelled in terms of the smaller Extreme Spread along with the better Roundness. However, if we are to put higher weight on AccuShoot’s default Oriented Spread metric, Ben’s session emerges victorious by a razor thin margin of 0.05 square inches!

Ultimately, there are no absolutes when it comes to shot group analysis. Any of the above methods can work just fine as long as you stay consistent across the sessions you compare and refrain from mixing apples and oranges. With lots of built-in flexibility, AccuShoot makes it easy to compare and contrast multiple sessions side-by-side.

This example is one of many ways AccuShoot helps digitize your marksmanship while introducing a fun and competitive aspect to your live fire sessions at the ranch. We hope that you come aboard and join the ride with the rest of us by signing up for AccuShoot and taking advantage of our 14-day FREE trial before too long!