How do you group at 50 yards?

Handguns fired from a rest are capable of rifle accuracy.
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Nothing personal, but this is an exageration. Now I have shot 1/2" 5 shot 50 yard groups with a scoped and rested single six (my best group with that gun). But to say that handguns are capable of rifle accuracy is stretching the truth as a general rule. Now both rifles and pistols have a lot of variation. I've owned several rifles that couldn't out shoot some of my pistols. It can happen, but it is the exception to the rule. On average most handguns are simply not capable of the accuracy of a good rifle. The Ransom Rest has proven this. Then you put a human behind the trigger and it gets less even.
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When I wrote my statement I had in mind one of those Rem 700 short action pistols. A friend has one. The Thompson Center single barrel pistol is capable of exceptional accuracy.

Compared to a friend's F Class unlimited rifle, not only will none of my pistols shot as accurately, neither will any of my target rifles!

My revolvers are not as accurate as most of my rifles.

The best pistols are capable of outstanding accuracy, but it takes a rest to see it. I would agree that the average, and maybe even the below average rifle will shoot tighter groups than the average pistol.

But I still see handgun groups that are amazing and beyond my comprehension.

This was of a PPC champ and his 50 yard offhand double action target. I can't do that!


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Years ago when I was hunting regularly I could get about a 12" group at 100 yards with my Super Blackhawk, and could regularly bowl over the rams at 200 meters.

Now I seldom get a chance to shoot over 25 yards.

Bob Wright
 
When I wrote my statement I had in mind one of those Rem 700 short action pistols. A friend has one. The Thompson Center single barrel pistol is capable of exceptional accuracy.
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Slamfire: That might be the exception. I imagine/have heard those single shot TCs are tack drivers. All in all, I get what you're saying. Hope I didn't come across wrong.
JHC
 
This gun will group under an inch at 50 yds. I've shot 4" groups at 200 meters, but not every time I tried. :o

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From a rest with irons I can do about 4" @ 50 yards with my SBH or RH 44's. Off hand, typically keeping them all on a paper plate (9"?). Wont win matches but'll bring home the Jerky.
 
I'm with the others on here that don't even shoot handguns at that distance. I may have tried 50 yds once, and I bet I did poorly. For me, 50 yards is already rifle distance.
 
Japle what is that strange creature?
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Wichita Silhouette pistol in 7mm International Rimmed. The cases are made from 30/30 cases necked to 7mm with the shoulder pushed back and reformed.
 
I'm hoping we don't get hand-slapped for drifting this discussion in the revolver forum, but we've got a different kinda group in here than we do in the semi-auto forum so maybe we'll be okay! :p

I'm impressed with Old Grump's 100 yard target. I'd be impressed with the guy standing next to his 50-yard PPC target, but he's not posting here so it doesn't do a lot for me.

At 50 yards with an unrested revolver and no optical sights, I'd say my groups go "THAT A WAY" and I won't get anymore specific than that. For anyone that doesn't follow...I'd suck out loud.

As for the discussion of what a "handgun" is capable of when rested, I'll add to the camp that says if we are talking about any handgun, then it's without limits. I found myself in the situation of having ONE SHOT, one attempt, to drill a 12-inch steel plate at 300 yards with my rested T/C Contender Super 14, .223, Bushnell LER 2-6x, and my own handloaded 55gr SP rounds pushed with H-4198.

I made the plate ring. I wasn't shocked, but happily relieved when I allowed that handgun to make the hit. I would have to say that I wasn't fully shocked -- but I was nicely surprised when we brought the plate in to find the hit was just about dead center of that plate.
 
I shot a 2.5 inch 5 shot standing group ONCE with a S&W 29 5 inch full lug revolver with irons...shoulda kept that gun. Shot a full magazine from a S&W 4506 into the 8 ring of a B27 target at...125 yards. This was of course a few years ago with 20-10 vision...Now I have progressive bifocals..
 
In my last Bullseye match using a rack grade 1911 I put 10 of 10 in the in the 10 ring. The string was scored 10X10X7. (7 in the X ring)


Last Christmas when shooting with my son I put 10 rounds at 50 yrds on a slow fire Bullseye target off hand. all scored in the 8 ring.

Good groups and scores at 50 yards are more a psychological problem than physical or shooting problem.
 
Winchester_73

Who rechambered your model 15 K frame 38 special combat masterpiece to 41 mag? Was it expensive? 5 shot cylinder?

I think instead you have a model 58 in 41 magnum. At least in the photo, that appears to be what you have.
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Yup, you is right. I been shooting my Dan Wesson M15 a lot lately and had 15 on my dinosaur brain. Takes awhile for me to shift gears.
 
Here's the best I've done at 50 yds. The upper group has four shots in it. Then I biffed on the last shot(lower). Of course this was off a bench. Remington XP-100, 35 Rem.

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When I was shooting PPC with my duty gun 6" 686 I could keep a consistent group in the 9 ring of a B-27 at 50 yards offhand. After that, when I went to the USBP our qual called for 16 shots at 50 yards, I kept them in the 5 ring on a transtar ( about 8") with a 4" 686.
 
Hit the bullseye everytime !!!!

But I gotta shoot first :D:D:p

I have a 8" plate I practice shooting at to touch up hunting accuracy.
Limit my distace to where I can hit it 6 outta6 , this yr. by the time hunting season was here was close to 65 yds.
 
1/4" with my Competitor .243 W (16") scoped.

1/2" Competitor .44 mag (14") iron sights.

3/4" Thomson Contender .357 mag (12") iron sights.

1" Ruger Blackhawk .357 and Super Blackhawk and Super Redhawk .44 mag.

3" 1911 Springfield Long Slide TM.

4" Taurus 1911.

It's all about the gun!
 
I put 10 rounds into an area the size of my outspread left hand, standing and firing using a two hand hold the first time I had my CZ75b out.
That was probably a good ten years ago.
That's about the only time in the last 30 or so years I ever paid attention to group size @ any range.

IMHO - I either hit what I aim at or miss.
How close together the individual shots are holds no meaning for me.

Edit - an exception here would be using a scoped pistol. I do use groups/group size to dial in the scope.
Once it's dialed in though, I stop using group size as any gage of anything.

Good groups and scores at 50 yards are more a psychological problem than physical or shooting problem
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I'm going to sort of disagree w/that.
One Sunday morning I was at Kelbley's in Massillon Ohio.
They had a Bullseye match going on @ the 25 yard range when I got there.
I set up at the 50 yard range, and for a few targets, I sort of shot along with them - but - all on my own.
I'd check their targets @ 25 yards through a spotting scope, then comapre mine @ 50 yars to theirs.
I felt pretty smug and cocky for the first two or three targets becaue I was doing better than they were.

Then....
About the fourth target, the fatigue set in like a hammer.
All of a sudden, my right arm was moving all around like it was in a hurricane.
I don't recall even getting a single shot on paper after that.
I came away very humbled and with a lot of new found respect for those guys shooting round after round after round.
 
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Talking about 100 yard shots got me remembering when I was a kid, with clear vision and no wobbles, a group of us used to have friendly matches on gallon, half gallon and quart sized water bottles at that distance.
The only guy allowed to use the bench had a Walther .380 and never wanted to borrow anything else.
He didn't like the noise and recoil of our .44s and .357s.
We all could hit those bottles, more often than not.
Ahh, the good old days.
 
FBI qualification course of fire using NRA B-6 target I saw former agent put 5 in the black at 50 yards with his arm on the table using a J-Frame. I kept 5 on the target using a S&W 627 PC and thought I was doing great.
 
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