New to handguns.
- Thread starter Because 'Merica
- Start date
jackstrawIII
New member
The groupings you saw are not unusual, especially for a new handgun shooter. Most modern guns are more mechanically/inherently accurate than the shooter, and that applies to both rifles and shotguns. It's impossible to know if the issue is with you, or the Ruger.
With that said, I have certain guns that seem to be more mechanically/inherently accurate than others, especially in my hands. In my experience, this comes down to how the grip fits your hand... especially grip angle and width.
Keep practicing with the Ruger and see what you can do. I've never owned a Ruger handgun, so I'm not much help there.
Of the guns I've owned, I'm most accurate with:
CZ P-01 (and variants)
S&W M&Ps (I have several)
Walther P99s
They all seem to fit my hand really well, and it shows in my groups.
With that said, I have certain guns that seem to be more mechanically/inherently accurate than others, especially in my hands. In my experience, this comes down to how the grip fits your hand... especially grip angle and width.
Keep practicing with the Ruger and see what you can do. I've never owned a Ruger handgun, so I'm not much help there.
Of the guns I've owned, I'm most accurate with:
CZ P-01 (and variants)
S&W M&Ps (I have several)
Walther P99s
They all seem to fit my hand really well, and it shows in my groups.
I've been shooting for about six months, mostly 9mm but recently .22 also. The three guns I shoot regularly are:
Springfield XD Subcompact (3" barrel) 9mm
Beretta 92fs compact (4.3" barrel...ish) 9mm
S&W Victory target pistol (5.5" barrel) .22
I haven't emphasized shooting beyond 10 yards. I often shoot at 5, 7 and 10 when I practice. With the combat guns I'm more concerned at landing all my shots inside a circle, than with group size necessarily.
I haven't shot the Ruger you have, but it's probably comparable to my springfield in overall size and purpose (compact carry gun).
My accuracy (measured in group size) definitely tracks the overall size of the gun. At 10 yards I can keep the .22 groupings to under 2" without much difficulty, often better. With the Beretta I'm almost always consistently inside a 3" circle. With the Springfield it widens to 4" and honestly, sometimes more.
That said, I know I can improve and I'm taking classes (although they're all focused on combat shooting). But I'm noticeably more accurate with some guns than others. I think the barrel length and sight radius have much to do with it...I think the trigger may have more. The Victory has almost no pull or travel, where the 92 (in single action) isn't much more. The Springfield is a striker gun, where the trigger travel is considerably longer on every pull than the others, heavier, and the breaks and resets aren't as crisp.
In any case, I haven't had much trouble hitting a critical zone in a silhouette target at 10 yards, even from behind cover or while moving, so combat accuracy with the concealed gun seems good enough. I'd bet yours is too. I'll give it more practice and training, and at some point I may consider changing over to a DA/SA gun for CCW.
Springfield XD Subcompact (3" barrel) 9mm
Beretta 92fs compact (4.3" barrel...ish) 9mm
S&W Victory target pistol (5.5" barrel) .22
I haven't emphasized shooting beyond 10 yards. I often shoot at 5, 7 and 10 when I practice. With the combat guns I'm more concerned at landing all my shots inside a circle, than with group size necessarily.
I haven't shot the Ruger you have, but it's probably comparable to my springfield in overall size and purpose (compact carry gun).
My accuracy (measured in group size) definitely tracks the overall size of the gun. At 10 yards I can keep the .22 groupings to under 2" without much difficulty, often better. With the Beretta I'm almost always consistently inside a 3" circle. With the Springfield it widens to 4" and honestly, sometimes more.
That said, I know I can improve and I'm taking classes (although they're all focused on combat shooting). But I'm noticeably more accurate with some guns than others. I think the barrel length and sight radius have much to do with it...I think the trigger may have more. The Victory has almost no pull or travel, where the 92 (in single action) isn't much more. The Springfield is a striker gun, where the trigger travel is considerably longer on every pull than the others, heavier, and the breaks and resets aren't as crisp.
In any case, I haven't had much trouble hitting a critical zone in a silhouette target at 10 yards, even from behind cover or while moving, so combat accuracy with the concealed gun seems good enough. I'd bet yours is too. I'll give it more practice and training, and at some point I may consider changing over to a DA/SA gun for CCW.
