This is a very broad subject that needs to be addressed, and I will do my best to make it concise. You see all over about guys guaranteeing different levels of precision on rifles, anywhere from ¼ MOA up to 1 MOA. In my opinion this is a marketing scheme and isn’t realistic. The very important piece that is being left out is what do these accuracy guarantees means. Does every rifle with that guarantee come with a test target to “prove” that claim? If so, what kind of group is it? Is it a lucky three shot group? Is it a five, ten, or twenty shot group? Is it multiple consecutive groups on the same piece of paper? There is usually no explanation of what this means and usually no proof of this claim either. The reason I bring this up is just because a rifle shoots a three shot group one time under a ¼ MOA does not mean it is a ¼ MOA rifle. What they don’t show you is all the other three shot groups that didn’t meet the guarantee, that they throw away and don’t mention. A three shot group doesn’t hold much statistical significance and doesn’t come close to showing the true precision capabilities of a rifle.

There are many variables that affect the precision of a rifle and some of those are:

• Shooter’s ability
• Ammo quality and consistency
• Optics and mounting system
• Barrel quality
• Barrel fouling
• Action trueness
• Chamber and muzzle quality
• Bedding

If everything is working properly, every rifle I build should be capable of producing a ¼ MOA or less group with proper ammo and shooting technique, but there are just too many variables to be able to make an honest guarantee to my customers. I could slap a ¼ or ½ MOA guarantee on my rifles and even provide a “test target” with it, and technically I wouldn’t be wrong. But to me, being completely transparent and honest with the customer means more to me than throwing a “proof” target at them to make a sale. What I can guarantee is that you as the customer will be very happy with the precision obtained with your Misery Custom rifle and for whatever reason if you are not, I will do whatever it takes to make it right.

–Zack Tannen