What is a MOA?

[topspin43]

Handgun guy here just built my first 10/22 ultimate from my first ever rifle! Love it. All I know is that it shoots straight.

But when someone says a their 10/22 shoots 1/2 MOA at 50 yards and 1 MOA at 100 yards, what are they talking about? I know that MOA = minute of angle... but helifiknowwhatitmeans.

HELP!

 

[VUPDblue]

Minute of angle at 100 yards is 1.047 inches. That means that when you shoot your target and the groups are < 1" you are shooting sub-MOA. Check out this link for everything you need to know...
http://riflestocks.tripod.com/moa.html

 

[croyance]

One degree of angle is made up of 60 minutes of angle. A very small subdivision. A minute of angle is the size of a group at a given distance.
With a little trigonometry, you can calculate that at 100 yards, that 1 MOA (minute of angle) is 1.047".
If you figure the distance to the target y=100 yards (3600 inches) and the group size is x, then the MOAs is:
MOA= inverse tangent (x/y)

 

[mete]

You are measuring accuracy by radial dispersion in minutes of angle. Conveniently 1 minute of angle is almost exactly 1" at 100 yards !!

 

[topspin43]

so it's 1/2" at 50 yards? Think I got it.

 

[Dave R]

Correct. And 2" at 200 yards, 3" at 300 yards, etc.