"It's for close range"

B

Bill DeShivs

New member
I think a lot of shooters limit themselves by thinking that small handguns are only accurate at short range. Small guns are harder to shoot accurately, but it seems that limiting ones shooting to say- 7 yards is doing one's self a great disservice. If you can hit a target at 25 yards, then 7 yards should be easy-but many people never practice past 7 yards. Longer range shooting is both challenging and fun. MOST guns, regardless of barrel length are more accurate than 95% of shooters.
Now, tell me why you won't practice at distance......
 
I've shot my Seecamp at 50 yards, you won't get an argument out of me.:)

It's fun shooting handguns at long range. Useful? I don't know, but it can't hurt.
 
I use handguns for small game hunting all the time, well past 30 yards. :D.
But it is a kind or practice for me, you are going to have to be one heck of a marksman to hit a running rabbit with a p22 in one shot, but with a full clip, you have a chance. A week and a half ago I was out jeeping, and had my hi point c9 with me. Its just my beater gun, but it was loading in the center console and I saw a big cotton tail running on the side of the trail, I pulled over and, since the sights on it are beyond useless, I was not even sighting it through, just pointing it. It was around 20 yds away and hopping a few times every few seconds, and I started shooting at it, with about a second and a half between each shot, I hit it through the neck with the 4th shot, surprised myself! But I think its good moving target training, I do always eat what I kill though, warbles or not, just cook it REALLY good.
 
Nothing wrong with practicing at distance Bill, it is fun and challenging and I like to practice out to 30 yards or so with my SP101.
But, from a practical stand point, being accurate at 30 ft. is all that is needed with say a snubbie used for self defense.
30 ft. is generally the distance where you are asked " could you run away or retreat?"
The longer the distance the more you'll be questioned in your AVERAGE self defense situation.
 
Now, tell me why you won't practice at distance......
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Because my practice targets are printed on 8-1/2 x 11 paper and it's frustrating to not know if my miss was high, low, left, or right. :)

Most of my practice is at 10 yards where I can pretty much keep everything inside the 9 ring on a SR-1 center (6-3/8"). On occasion I'll set the targets up at 15 yards. Slowly but surely I'm getting there...
 
Sport
Now THAT'S a good excuse!
At least you are trying, and you understand the need to practice at distance.
Some guys just don't even try-and I suspect they use the "most self-defense shootings happen under 7 yards" stuff as an excuse for bad shooting.
 
I pretty much always end a range session shooting handguns out at about thirty yards.

Start in close and work my way out.

Doing this for a long time, it is pretty amazing when groups start tightening up after some practice. When I first started out years ago I was lucky to see anything resembling a group!

Even a little 1 7/8" snubbie can form a decent group at that range, if one practices.

And occasionally I will go further out just to see what I can hit, 100 yards, but at this point I am "playing" more than anything. If I need to be shooting that far I have rifles for that.

I agree that "most" guns are more accurate than the shooter, until the shooter starts putting the time in, and then the gun's limitations start to be known.
 
Like a lot of people when I get a new handgun it takes a few hundred rounds to break in and get accustomed to the gun. Then I earnestly go about marksmanship. I always start at 10 yards. That's not very far for me to obtain sight picture on the free silhouette targets I have at my range. I practive my tail off until I can get a 2" group at 10 yards. I then move to 15 yards and do the same. At the present that's where I am with my 1911. Once I become proficient at 15 yards I will move to 25 yards. If I get afford more ammo more often I am sure the process would be quicker, oh well! But I agree with the OP -- if you can be accurate at 25 yards, when a BG is at 5 yards it will make that shot a tad bit more easy, plus there is the confidence you gain with your weapon system which is invaluable.
 
someone tell me if my .40 S&W is considered small handgun??? and I havent owned it but only four months and im shooting at around 25 ft... not sure if thats close or middle range.
 
Most of my practice with my SD guns is done at 7 to 10 yards simply because that is the distance were most SD situations will arrise.

With that said, I do practice at 25 yards each range session as well. Overall, I am amazed at how well once can shoot at that distance regardless of which gun you are using.
 
I practice most of my shooting at 7 yards. Occasionally at 15 yards for fun. I can however hit a human sized target at 25 yards.

The only reason I don't practice at 25 yards is that I'm at an indoor range. The lighting isn't good enough to tell if you have hit your target. They have scopes mounted on the walls of the stalls, but not every stall has one and if they do, they may not look down to the spot where the target is hanging.
 
What kind of group should a person expect if they arrive at the range and fire their first five shots of the day freehand into a target at 25 yards? I see comments where folks start off at short range and then move the targets out as they "warm up".
 
Now, tell me why you won't practice at distance......
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I routinely work on accuracy at the longest distance I'm able, but unfortunately, this is currently only 20 yards. I used to shoot at a 50 yard range, but it closed. :mad: I'd love to opportunity to shoot longer. I see myself eventually springing for a membership at one of the private ranges.
 
Well, while I grew up plinking soda cans and such at greater distances (the family had a farm back then and things were cheaper), these days I prefer to use my (rather limited) time and money practicing for "real world" situations (usually no more than about 10 yards, two-handed shooting, right hand shooting, left hand shooting, point shooting, shooting from the hip, ect...).

I'm just a poor boy who can only spend so much $$$ on bullets and range time and such.
 
My closest targets are 20 yards away. You get in that 7-10 yard range and it seems like a waste of ammo because of the lack of challenge. If you can't hit targets EVERYTIME at such short range you have no business picking up a handgun.
 
After I get warmed up at 15 yds I like to push the target back to what appears to be about 28yds (it is against the berm which looks like it is about 3 yds past the 25yd line on the floor).
I like to sandbag a new round I've loaded at this distance just for comparisons.
 
This has aways been one of my pet peeves.

I whole heartly agree most people (using SD guns) practice at about 15-21 feet, using the excuse that most SD shooting is done at that range. Its an excuse not to put the time and effort in shooting a pistol accurately.

If you can shoot 50 yards, you can shoot 7, but the reverse isnt true. I carry a little 642. Most of my practice is at 25 yards at an 8 in. gong or on Bulleseye 25 yard RF/TF targetts. I also like to shoot ISPC targets at 100 yards, thought I wont say I get head shots, I am convinced I could discourage bad behavier at that range. I also like to shoot the PCC course of fire with my 642.

I admit, its easier when you have your one range and have the means to reload keeping the ammo price to near the cost of 22s.

I have set a requiremnt that I shoot a min of 200 rounds a week with my pocket pistol regardless of what else I shoot. Often more but slack off as it warms up and I start decating my time to Rifle practice for HP. Still I keep to my min 200 rds anyway.

If one carries a pistol for SD, its your responsibility to be the best you can and spend what ever time and effort to shoot that pistol well.
 
My closest targets are 20 yards away. You get in that 7-10 yard range and it seems like a waste of ammo because of the lack of challenge. If you can't hit targets EVERYTIME at such short range you have no business picking up a handgun.
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No, not a waste of ammo at all.
There's more to it than just putting lead on target.

For example...

You can practice putting every round within a 2" circle in the target's head, or a 2" circle in the center of the target's chest.

And if that's no challenge, then you practice doing that with the off hand from the hip.

And if that's no challenge, then you practicing doing it with multiple targets.

Can you put all rounds, quickly, in to a 2" circle in the center of the chest or head, on three targets, while shooting with your off hand from the hip?

Besides, while 20 yard targets can be fun, who really get's attacked or mugged or assaulted from 60 feet away?
 
I always practice with my handguns at 25 yards plus. It cracks me up when I see some guy feeling all proud of himself when he hits the 9 and 10 rings at 7 yards. I laugh when he puts the target at 25 yards and can't even hit the paper!!! To me it's all albout precision if I am shooting for fun. If you have to defend yourself, then hitting something at 7-10 yards should be a piece of cake if you can hit things precisely at long range.
 
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