Same here

I have an accurate 243, never use it, all my deer have been taken with a peep sighted 30-30, piles of them, it's accurate enough.

I have a friend that has hunted all over, ...Alaska, Canada, Africa, ...he's taken everything he's hunted for . ...and he's in my opinion a lousy shot, lol
As long as most of the bullets land on a paper plate at 100 yds he's happy....YMMV, lol

Right there's your trouble. You don't need a new rifle to work up.
You need to work on Charles.
I had a guy that I had spent a lot of time to get him up to speed on how to take advantage of what his rifle was capable of doing (one ragged hole at 100 yards).
He said that the group was all over the place. He kept trying to adjust the scope, but kept chasing his tail trying to hit the same spot twice. I asked him what a three shot group looked like and he said it pretty much surrounded the bullseye.
He wanted to know if it would be a good idea to take the scope off and make sure that it was mounted securely.
Given the concentric group around the bullseye, I suggested that he work on "sighting Brian in" first.
I suggested that he take his very accurate, little recoil 17 HMR to the range and shoot it at a target at 100 yards, then shoot the 308.
He did just that, and reported back that my suggestion worked and that "Brian had been zeroed back in."

This! Most rifles will shoot far better than the operator. As long as mine shoot "minute of deer" I am happy.

I have a few pretty accurate long range rifles but in my experience most of the spots I hunt have a 200 yard shot or less max. I tuned in my groups as tight as I could get them with factory ammo and have been satisfied. I used to hunt food plots heavy when I was younger but now I mostly climber sit in the thicket. That’s where the big boys are at. So my long range guns mostly sit in the safe. I have a short barrel howa 6.5 grendel and a sporter enfield jungle carbine 303 that I use for thick woods hunting. Both have been fine guns that don’t disappoint. My wife’s grandfather used to sight guns in for his friends at the hunting club when he was younger. He said most guys would tell him just to get it hitting a pie plate at a 100 yards. Me personally I believe if a rifle can be tuned way closer than that then why not do it??

Of course everyone wants a super accurate deer hunting rifle As for me I feel it is more important to have a gun that fits the hunter ,is easy to mount and if the rifle has a scope the hunter is able to find the target in the scope . .I am not likely to need minute of angle accuracy to shot a deer a t most whitetail ranges .

Agreed. Most shots in my woods are under 75 yds, so if I can hit a pie plate at 100 yds, I'm good

My old Mod 84 with peep sights does just fine around here. My scoped rifles are morosely used to make holes in paper.
Now if ya ca.t get a 1/2 inch group, just move the target closer as the paper does not give a crap at what distance you put the holes in it.

Another tip is to buy yer pants one size to large and tell folks ya lost weight.

The most accurate rifle I've ever owned was a 6.5/55 Swede that I paid $69.99 for at Woolworths in the mid 80's.It was an infantry model I guess,because it sure wasn't a carbine.I hated the straight bolt on it,it seems like it was hung up a lot when walking thru the brush.I remember it having "1904", and I think " Gustov"stamped on the reciever.It didn't look like much but that gun could shoot rings around rifles costing hundreds times more,and that with open sights.

So you guys are saying this might be acceptable accuracy for a deer rifle?

In that case, maybe I ought to hold off dumping that powder on the garden......or burning it.........at least for now. I had given up on it and moved on.

Sometimes the smaller rifles are more accurate because of recoil.

I like reloading. Working up a load for a rifle is interesting and challenging trying to meet all the parameters I want from the load. I figure the better the rifle does the better I will do. That said, I’m aware the rifle always does better than I do!

I am still looking for a 7.62x39 in either a bolt or single shot.

My hunting is close range. No more than 150 yards at the best.

I still have my .32 Win. spl., but I don't want to overdue the wear on it.

I've had it for 60 years.

Some could reduce their groups by 50% if they just cleaned their rifles(ex. my in-laws)

Out at 100 yards that will do just fine. The deer won't know the difference as long as you aim for the right spot.

To each his own, but for the hunting I do that's in heavy brush where you thread the shot through small openings, I like a good shooting gun in my hands.

A few years ago I found one of those at a yard sale in Northern MN. A Gustav Stads 1917. 20” barrel. Terrific condition. I took it to Ahmens in southern MN and they made a higher front sight and attached perfectly. The factory sights were set from 330 yards and out. Terrific fun shooting that century old Swede and it puts a serious wallop on a bear.

Osky

I like that qualification.

Osky

I was first allowed to go hunting by myself when I turned 7 years old.I was issued the "Barn Gun",,an old Noble .22 pump rifle,,but was only allowed to have one .22 shell.I was expected to either come back with something to eat,,,OR that .22 shell.I got cut loose when I turned 8 years old and was allowed my own boxes of .22 shells.I thought I hit the big time.

Not "because of recoil", but most people shoot rifles better that don't kick so hard.
Me included.
I've spent WAY TOO MUCH time/$ chasing the accurate dream.
Now, unless shooting prairie dogs at 300 yards plus, a 1" rifle is just fine.