Shooting your handgun at 100 yards

After we would sight our AR's or M1A's in for a high power match that was the following day,we would break out the pistols and revolvers .With a S&W M28 6inch barrel 125gr.hp it got to be easy to hit bowling pins at 100yds.Couple months ago someone asked on here about long range pistol shooting and i told the same story.Pretty much called me a liar,stated that he shot in pistol competition and it was hard to keep them on the paper at 25yds.Guess he never heard of Elmer Keith and what a revolver is capable of.
 
I'm feelin inadequate...Just started shooting 6 moths ago...First time I shot at a 25yd target I think I only hit the darn paper 5 times! Guess I need to practice before backing up to 100!!!!
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Bababooey, this will get easier as you get more experience with handgun shooting. IMHO, the 3 keys to being able to hit at long range are:

1. A steady hold.

2. A consistent sight picture.

3. Zero flinch.

None of those is easy. All get easier with practice.

Ahhh, I should add a 4th key--use a big enough target!
 
You might try shooting varmints at 100 yards or so. Voles, ground squirrels, etc., make entertaining targets and give valuable practice in aiming your firearms at unknown distances.

I prefer a 38 Special revolver for the practice. Usually a hood or car roof can provide a rest spot.

"Sacramento" Bruce Conklin
 
Why on earth does anyone need to shoot a handgun at 100 yards ? Even hunting I hold the range to 70 yards with a .44 magnum. If it is a life threatening situation, I hardly think 100 yards qualifies and it better to leave the 'battle field'.

Has anyone ever had a handgun fight at 100 yards, or more ?
 
In all honesty, I can't hit anything with my p22 over 15 yards:D (Gotta locktite the barrel screw it keeps comin loose) and its still my favorite gun to shoot. With a Ruger 22/45 I could hit an empty propane can at about 100 yards almost consistently, and with my formerly owned S&W 66 with Winchester White box .38 rounds I did even better than that
 
This wasn't a "fight", but not far off. I was checking old targets and posting new ones at the 100 yd. line. Yahoo backs in at the firing line, opens the back doors of his van, and starts firing his AR. His strikes are coming within a few feet of me. I whupped out my trusty P-85 and dumped a mag into the concrete bench, just in front of him. He took that as a subtle hint that he maybe shouldn't oughta' shoot at me. Too bad he ran off! -I had 8 more mags to play with.
 
"Why does anyone need to shoot handguns at 100 yards?"
I have backpacked and seakayaked for years. I have always felt the ability to put rounds on target with a service pistol could be useful out to 100yards.
Yes, retreating is preferable, but I am not running across an open mountain meadow while a meth cooker stands in the open plinking at me with a 30-30.
Currently, I use a Romanian Tokarev pistol as my hiking companion. The flat shooting 7.62x25 round is great for 100 yard shooting.
I practice steady, seated, improvised field positions for my long range pistol shooting.
 
I shoot 100 yards+ just to be sure I know my handgun.
You'd be surprised how many people have trouble holding their own with a rifle when we shoot for a wager.
The best was when a buddy & I were talk smack to each other about our choices of sidearm for the day.
He had a S&W .44 mag, and I had a Norinco 1911 (not stock)
We decided to test ourselves at the 36" X 36" steel gong at the range.
I hit 5 out of 8 rounds, and he hit 3 out of 6. I was holding about 5-6 feet over the target since my first round was well under the target.
Another guy used his rangefinder to measure the distance. To our surprise, it was 307 yards.
This is not something I do everytime, but I do enjoy the practice.
 
It's not really that hard, the size of the front sight relative to the target seems to be the biggest limiting factor. The first few times I shot my Glock at long range I was suprised by the huge POI difference between practice fodder and my carry ammo. With my sights, carry ammo and hold I'd want to hold a little above knee height to center a torso at 100 yards. The practice ammo is a pretty much dead on hold. I think most people shoot high the first time they try long range pistol shooting, for instance a .45 230gr only drops about 6 inches at 100 from a 25 yd sight-in.

The bigger thing is what can you use it for besides fun? I practice to a standard of a full mag from my carry Glock into the head of an IDPA or IPSC target at 25yds. Beyond that, if I have to shoot something it would fall under the desperate measures for desperate times clause. I'll probably get hits, but I can't tell you exactly where.
 
I was pleasantly surprised when I found out my micro-compact 1911 could consistantly hit the end of a coke can-laying longways away from me- at 50 yards. Better yet it's my BUL- M5 polymer with blackout out sights!
 
The first few times I shot my Glock at long range I was suprised by the huge POI difference between practice fodder and my carry ammo. With my sights, carry ammo and hold I'd want to hold a little above knee height to center a torso at 100 yards. The practice ammo is a pretty much dead on hold. I think most people shoot high the first time they try long range pistol shooting, for instance a .45 230gr only drops about 6 inches at 100 from a 25 yd sight-in.
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Among the guns I shot last Saturday at 100 yards was a USFA single action loaded with .45 Colt "cowboy" ammo (weak). We had to either hold three feet above the target, or hold about 2/3 of the front sight above the notch to hit the 24"-tall plate. Using competition loads in my .45 ACP, I aimed at the top 1/3 of the target, but don't know how far they were dropping along the way; inches versus feet, anyway.
 
Navy Joe
It's not really that hard, the size of the front sight relative to the target seems to be the biggest limiting factor.
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I guess you're talking about the height of the front sight? The width is irrelevant, of course.
 
I guess you're talking about the height of the front sight? The width is irrelevant, of course.
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No, I'm talking about the width. When your target appears to be about 1/4 the thickness of the front blade, precise placement on that target becomes somewhat iffy. Example, at 7-10 yards I am a-okay with the back of my square ugly pistol functioning as the sight blade, as in I see the outline of the pistol and the target, and pull the trigger. This method yield less than optimum results at 25 yards. Now at 100 yards, those gigantic combat sights that were so easy to see are suddenly huge compared to the target.

Don't believe me, watch somebody with an Ashley big dot sight try to hit 35 yard steel plates.
 
Few years ago a USAF Security Policeman was called on to shoot at a subject on an Eastern WA air base that was on a killing rampage. He fired ONE FMJ round from his issue Beretta 92SF 9mm at a reported 75 yards. Killed the suspect dead. Can happen. :D
 
I shoot my T/C Contender in .30-30 at 100 yards most of the time. In fact, the closest I've shot it at was 50 yards, and it'll one-hole at 50. That and my Ruger Redhawk are the only handguns I've fired at 100, but most of my handguns, except the ones I carry, have been fired for accuracy at 50.
 
need

Why does anyone need to shoot handguns at 100 yards?"
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need is a dangerous word.
I don't "need" to do a lot of things that are fun; shooting at 100 yards with an old .38 is one of them.
The anti-gun lobby will tell you that you don't need that AK/AR. ("Why does anyone need an AK47?" Same kind of question.)
Be careful with that word.
Pete
 
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