Revolver accuracy vs Semi-Auto

[treg]

Have you bench tested your guns with various types and brands of ammo? If your gun doesn't "like" what you feed it, it's not going to shoot well no matter what you do.

At ten yards, rested, off a bench with a GP100, all 6 shots making one ragged hole is not too much to expect. Use a target with a dot about the size of a nickle, not a man target. I am not familiar with SR9's enough to know what to expect.

 

[Ken - Oh]

I don't know much about the SR9, but differences in sights and trigger pulls can make a significant difference to how the gun shoots for you. Typically, I suspect that the GP100 has better sights than the SR9, that could be part of the issue.

The ergonomics of the different guns could make a big difference for you too.

Then too, each of us shoots different guns better than others.

It would be interesting some day to take all my guns out and see which ones I shoot the best.

Ken

 

[kle]

About inherent accuracy - in Bullseye ("Conventional Pistol") match shooting - where a premium is placed on precision shooting - the 1911 has dominated the .45 stages for decades. In the Centerfire stages, autoloaders rule be they .32s, .38s, 9mms, .45s.
If revolvers gave better scores, shooters would have kept using them in that game of Xs. Some of that is, of course, because an autoloader is easier to shoot during sustained fire.

As you said, in Bullseye semi-autos dominate because of the sustained fire stages--no manually cocking the hammers for every shot, or having to deal with a long, heavy double-action trigger pull. In early Bullseye, revolvers dominated because they were more accurate than the 1911s of the time...and then smiths figured out how to make a 1911 accurate (barrel bushings, slide-to-frame fit, slide-to-barrel fit, trigger jobs, etc.), so shooters started using them.

Out of the box among American manufacturers, however, I contend that revolvers are more accurate in centerfire calibers (nevermind the European .32 spaceguns)--simply because of the fixed barrel-to-sights relationship. A stock 1911 typically needs a bit of work to get it to shoot Xs at 50 yards.

 

[Dwight55]

Geek, . . . without seeing you shoot, . . . I suspect you and my younger brother are in the same category, . . . as his shooting matches yours fairly well.

Why? I believe it has to do with his revolver (or mine) is a lot heavier than the plastic automatics he and you have. In "pulling the trigger" the lighter weapon is moved back and forth (left and right) more by the movement than the heavier one.

He used to beat me all to pieces shooting my own Colt Anaconda, . . . but I can take his Ruger .45 and shoot circles around him.

But he does not "squeeze" the trigger, . . . it is more of a controlled slam backwards that he does.

Anyway, . . . just my $.02, . . . you can probably settle the question for yourself by doing some two handed, . . . nestled in the sandbag, . . . very slow and deliberate type shooting. I suspect your shooting will be very much equal with either in that scenario.

May God bless,
Dwight

 

[woad_yurt]

2 cents:

I'm way better with a K-frame than I am with any semi-auto. A friend, on the other hand, had never shot a semi until he tried my Makarov. He was dead-on by the time he finished his second magazine. He had only shot K-frames beforehand. Another friend is totally useless with a semi but she can hit like crazy with a Model 10. She liked it so much that she begged me for it. She bought me a Model 64 to replace it.

PS: I sure miss that pencil barrel, though....

 

[B.L.E.]

Semi autos don't have the freebore and cylinder to barrel gap that revolvers have to contend with.
Revolvers have the sights mounted directly on the barrel and ridgid frame.

Semiautos can appearently be very accurate if the barrel and slide is worked on to eliminate play and slop between the barrel and slide and slide and frame.

(this target was not shot by me, it is from a bullseye website)

However, a stock 1911 was designed to be reliable even when it was dropped in sand, not to win bullseye matches.

 

[nutty ned]

Trigger pull weight or hand fit. Shoot SA and you will get better.
Doesn't take long to thumb back the hammer with a two handed grip using the weak hand to thumb the hammer..

 

[herbie1]

Here is an interesting article explaining the accuracy characteristics between semi-autos and revolvers, centerfires and rimfires:

http://www.gunsandammo.com/content/defining-handgun-accuracy

H.

 

[Geek-With-A-Gun]

Good article Herbie1. Being a handgun noob, that article explained some handgun mechanics that I was not aware of. Thanks.

 

[S&W Kinda Guy]

First time I ever shot a handgun, I was shooting with a friend on some property he owned, and he brought his .44 Magnum and a .45 I could hit the target with the .44 everytime, but the .45 I couldnt even get on target.