Shot grouping

Shooting at close range indicates a cylinder bore barrel to deliver a wide grouping, while for hunting at longer distances such as 50 yards or meters, a choke is recommended to constrict the scattering for a tighter pattern.

Such shots may be the result of trajectory deviation caused by unexpected changes in wind condition (known as a "wind shift" or "gust"), a muscular flinch of the shooter at the time of the trigger pull, a problem with the firearm mechanism, poor tuning of barrel harmonics, or inconsistency in the ammunition (e.g. bullet/pellet weight and aerodynamics, propellant load and efficiency, muzzle velocity).

[2] While target shooting with a handgun, if a grouping is consistently off-center then the shooter is instructed to alter the body angle or the stance, rather than shifting the arm, wrist or hand, which should remain in position.

Conversely, the group size of 1 arcminute at 100 yards (the most commonly used sighting-in distance in North America) can also be calculated: The linear formula above for measuring group sizes using arcminutes with imperial units is less precise than using milliradians with metric units, but can still be a good approximation depending on the demands for precision.

When shooting at a target 100 yards away, a 1 MOA group is a circle of approximately 1.047 inch diameter,[8] roughly the size of a dollar coin.

Expensive and well-machined match-grade pistols demonstrate a higher accuracy than normal handguns, capable of groupings of 1.25 inches at 25 yards, which is about 5 MOA (equivalent to about 30 mm at 25 meters, which is 1.2 mil).

If an archer's arrows are grouping on target but off center, this shows consistent basic form, with better results achievable after slight adjustments.

A tighter grouping may be achieved with such a stabilizer, which adds mass extending outward on a moment arm, usually mounted perpendicular to the bow riser, aligned with the arrow path.