9mm handgun at 130 yards

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CzCasull

New member
I saw a video on youtube by nutnfancy. Him and his buds were shooting 9mm at 130 yards and connecting with the target. Is the 9mm -or any major handgun caliber for that matter- actually effective at that far? Revolvers included, y'all.
 
I looked once.

A .40 S&W 155 grain bullet at 150 yards was still going around 850-900 FPS.

A 95 grain .380 is considered effective at close range with that velocity, so it should work.

Handgun rounds really hold energy alot better than people think at range.
 
A 9mm, 40cal and 45acp at 130 yards and beyond will kill someone with a thoracic hit, it just probably won't do it quickly. I'd say 99% of the time it will take the fight out of them, but then again a 22 would also do that.

As far as the revolver, in 357 mag 41 mag and 44 mag it will likely kill them out right, just like they do to deer.
 
We shoot handguns a good bit out to 300 yards. A Desert Eagle 44 mag can easily hit a 1/2 gal water jug at 300 yards. You'll most likely not hit it the first time, but once you know your hold over, it's not a problem. 200 yards is not an issue at all after just 3-4 shots. I don't know the velocity or energy at that distance, but at 200 yards a 158 gr LSWC will go in and out of a steel 5 gal. can.
 
CzCasull

9mm handgun at 130 yards
I saw a video on youtube by nutnfancy. Him and his buds were shooting 9mm at 130 yards and connecting with the target. Is the 9mm -or any major handgun caliber for that matter- actually effective at that far? Revolvers included, y'all.
Click to expand...

It depends on what the definition of effective is.

Effective could mean:
hitting a target
inflicting a wound
causing death
stopping a human threat in a reasonable time

My use of the word is to mean stopping a human threat in a reasonable time.

An extreme example of use of lethal force that takes a long time is when African tribesman use pointed sticks buried in the ground to wound an elephant's foot or feet then follow it for days or weeks waiting for it to fall over from infection and then kill it. Is that effective?
 
Another variable is what handgun rounds are fired from - handguns or carbines.

The rounds themselves still possess adequate energy at those distances to produce the desired effect, provided they hit vital areas. Reliably hitting those vital areas, however, is more problematic.

Carbines may offer additional velocity and accuracy with handgun rounds.
 
I've been shooting my BFR in .480 Ruger at 100 yards lately and it is quite effective. I suspect it would work at 130 yards as well, but 100 yards is what I have chosen as my personal limit for shooting at an elk with this particular revolver.
 
When I was out at FrontSight in April their combat master prep students were popping human-sized targets with handguns at 400-450 yards consistently
 
I know a guy who shot a running felon (back when it was cool to do so) at a measured 179 yards with a 158 grain .357 Mag in a 4" Model 66. It dropped the guy, who then regained his senses and ran around a corner and hid, and was rather quickly arrested.

He said he held on the shoulder, but the bullet hit the BG in the kidney. Not a bad shot- the guy was running across a ploughed field at a 45 degree angle.
 
At 130 yards, I'm not as concerned about instantly stopping the perp. He's far enough for me to not worry about him charging at me. Also, if he's returning fire, I can just as easily duck for cover as he can with that much distance between us.
 
I seem to remember an old John Taffin article where he mentioned shooting at an abandoned log cabin from 300+ yards away with a heavy-loaded (i.e. 300+grn bullets at .44 Magnum velocities) .45 Long Colt revolver. If memory serves, his bullets were still able to pass through both walls.
 
If I hit anything @ 130 yards with any of my nines, it would be by accident. Not what the caliber or the pistol was designed for. Not saying you couldn't kill somebody, but 130yds?? Why would you even try?:confused:
 
Anything's possible.
However, if you don't practice at that distance, I can't imagine what the hold-over would be, or where to start.

If I had to guess, I would guess that a .45 at 100 yards plus would have the ballistic trajectory of a rainbow. Okay, not quite, but...
 
We used to shoot our 9's (among other pistols) about 150 yards. Only we'd shoot across the river by glancing the rounds off the water and hit a 55 gallon drum. LOL....so maybe if you have some extra ammo to burn and love a challenge anything goes.
 
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