Pistol-How far and how accurate ?

[Shawn.L]

100 yard pistol, I know your good Steve but come on.... I practice for self defense and USPSA so i keep all my shooting to 3 to 25 yards but mostly around 15 yards. One other thing you have to look at is speed vs accuracy. I would rather have a 3 in group in 2seconds than a 1in group at 4 seconds. If i have to go past 25yds out comes my AR or FAL.

reading Brian Enos in "practical shooting, beyond fundamentals" there is aprt where he talks about the best time that can be spent live fire is shooting for pure accuracy , and hes shooting plates at 50 yards..... with his eyes closed. Its not super fast splits that win matches (nod to Lycan) .

[TonyF]

And the point of practicing accuracy at range isnt because I expect to make head shots at 25 , its because evry other shot becomes easy by comparison and once the fundamentals of making the tough shots are ingrained hard we can do like Lycan says and generalize skillsets.

I guarantee you the guy who can shoot them all the black on timed fire at 25 isnt putting rounds out of the A zone at 5 , but the guy whos standard is big and close usually falls apart moving as fast as possible or when any distance or difficulty is added to the shot (partially obscured , movers, off angles, distance, hostage type shots , no shoots ).

Shooting at distance is a critical aspect of ingraining trigger press and follow through and should be part of your normal practice regimen. It not only forces you to adhere to the fundamentals, it will also disclose any deficiencies that may have crept into your technique if you haven't had an opportunity to practice in a while.

We've come to describe distance shooting exercises as the "so you think you're good?" drills.

One thing that has to be taken into account is the degradation of visual acuity as one ages. I shot much better at distance 15 years ago than I do now. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[mpan72]

Pistol folks, when you head to the range to practice at what distance do you usually shoot from ? And what sort of accuracy do you expect of yourself ?

Where exactly are you loca.... oh wait I see you. Hold a dime up with your thumb and index finger.... great now hold still..........

[slammersworld]

I practice for self defense and USPSA so i keep all my shooting to 3 to 25 yards but mostly around 15 yards. One other thing you have to look at is speed vs accuracy. I would rather have a 3 in group in 2seconds than a 1in group at 4 seconds. If i have to go past 25yds out comes my AR or FAL.

Sure, an FAL or AR would be better past 25 yards, hell.... They'd be better under 25yards too....but, the purpose of "training" as opposed to simple "recreational shooting" is to improve one's skills outside the realm of the ideal situation..... Practicing at longer ranges allows for the proficiency of making hits at those ranges if the situation makes that necessary.... Such as an empty, or damaged rifle, if the OP is simply looking for advice to liven up recreational shooting sessions, all of the suggestions here are fine, but if he really wants to improve his handgun skills, then it may take some less-fun, training and drills to do so.....although, after awhile even the drudgery of repetitive drills become fun, if you have the right attitude about it....

One quote I really like addresses the learning period for anything:

"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, long enough to learn to do it well
"

Practice is the only thing that separates you from any other person....

http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=34

[Genin]

There are a lot of factors to consider in what accuracy to expect. If you are talking about bullseye shooting where you take very slow, precise, long pause between shots then your accuracy should be one ragged hole worthy at 7-10 yards. If you are talking about realistic/defensive/combat pistol shooting where you'll be shooting fast (ie, double taps, multiple target engagements, etc) then your accuracy will degrade. I wouldn't be happy with anything outside of the 9 ring at 7 yards. Add in some dynamic movement and point shooting progressions then I'd be happy staying in the 8 ring at 7 yards (but would like to stay in the 9, sometimes a couple go into the 8 darn it!). Anyway, that's how I judge myself and think it's a pretty good measurement for different scenarios and styles.

[Automan21k]

With my Taurus 24/7 9mm or any of the .22lr pistols I normally shoot at 10-15 yards and expect 3" groupings, with my Taurus 66 (which I hunt with) I expect 2" groups at 50 yards.

[Shawn.L]

Shooting at distance is a critical aspect of ingraining trigger press and follow through and should be part of your normal practice regimen. It not only forces you to adhere to the fundamentals, it will also disclose any deficiencies that may have crept into your technique if you haven't had an opportunity to practice in a while.

We've come to describe distance shooting exercises as the "so you think you're good?" drills.

One thing that has to be taken into account is the degradation of visual acuity as one ages. I shot much better at distance 15 years ago than I do now. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Im damn near blind as is, and my eyes fatigue fast.
Its the sight alignmentin reference to the target thats important, not that you see it clearly
Crystal clear front sight is a myth in my mind Ive heard of, and yet I still manage to shoot groups at distance worthy of bragging about on the internets

Shawnusestheforce.L

[TonyF]

Im damn near blind as is, and my eyes fatigue fast.
Its the sight alignmentin reference to the target thats important, not that you see it clearly
Crystal clear front sight is a myth in my mind Ive heard of, and yet I still manage to shoot groups at distance worthy of bragging about on the internets

Shawnusestheforce.L

I've heard it said that the center of a blurry target is still the center of the target.

Granted the target is supposed to be out of focus but wait until you get to be my age. You'll "see" the difference.

[Yoder]

I can consistanly keep inside an 8 in paper plate at 25 yrds decent rate of fire. My best is 5 out of 6 at 50 yrds. This is with a G17.

[Grunt33]

What I expect of myself and what is reasonably expected are two different items. What is reasonable to expect from a shooter has a lot to do with their experience and their actual dedication to being a marksman. If it's Joe Schmoe who takes out his nightstand gun once a month, he's good to be "point of bad guy". If it's someone who is serious about it, I want to know why they can't shoot to a certain level.

If I'm not in one ragged hole at 10 meters, I'm frustrated already. Why? Because it means I'm not shooting where I know I can. As I've progressed as a pistol shooter (rifleman for a long time) I've raised the bar on my ability and expectations of myself. When I started, 4" at 10 meters was okay. Now, it best be one hole or I know I'm screwing the pooch somewhere.

So, I'm harder on myself than another shooter. I have friends that I shoot with often. If they're on a 6" target at 10 meters, I'm complimenting them. If I'm looking like buckshot at that distance, I'm ready to scream.

My reasonable expectancy? For my ability level as of this posting: one hole at 10, something respectable at 25 (4-6"), and point of bad guy after that. After 50, I'm finding a rifle because I am a firm believer in using the right tool for the job.