What to use as a target gun?

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In your experience what handgun under $700 will hold a tighter groop when shot in single action, a 38 revolver or a 9mm autoloader?

I already have a 6 inch 686 but I want to by a heavy framed 25 to 50 yard plinking gun that anyone I take with me (Including small females with no experience shooting handguns) can shoot without too much dificulty. I would also like to use this gun to practice my 1 handed unsupported slow fire groups.
 
You make it very tough with asking for a heavy gun for you to target shoot with and then also woman will shoot well with no prior experiance , Thats two different guns .
for serious target from the bench my contender will shoot 5 shots under 1 inch at 100 yards with its favorite barrels ,for fun plinkin I shoot ruger single actions in .45 or a gp100 and for when it comes time for the feild I take either a FA in 454 for ranges to 100 yards or the contender for long range.
I suggest a good quality .22 for the beginners
 
Some women may not like or find it easy to shoot a heavy frame long barreled hand gun. A mid size barrel medium frame should be a nice comprimise. say like a 3" or 4". .357 shooting perhaps .38's.
 
1. A .38 special will generally hold tighter groups than a 9mm. So will a .357 wheel gun firing .38's once its sights are adjusted.

2. A 686 with a 6" barrel might be "nose heavy" to most petite women. The extra weight will tame the recoil though. Check out one of the Ruger revolvers though as they balance differently than S&Ws or Colts.

Other Notes:
Keep in mind women have smaller hands than most men. The trigger reach might be too long in an L-Frame to be comfortable to women under 5'5". In this case, I'd suggest looking for either a K-Frame S&W or Ruger GP series.

A "heavy frame" revolver, to be heavier framed than your 686 would be an N-Frame S&W built on the .44Mag frame. You'd be looking for a model 27/28 or 627 in .357, but these guns are huge for most women (and some men!).
 
As has already been said, it sounds to me like you really need 2 guns, one of which you already have. Your 6" 686 should fit the bill nicely for the plinker, but I know that my wife (who is 5'3") has trouble handling my 4" one. I'd say that you need to get something like a model 60, or maybe a .22 of some sort for the ladies.

As far as which will hold a tighter SA group, the .38 or the 9mm, I'd say that it all depends. I know from first hand experience that my 686 shoots .38's SA better than I can hold them, and I can't ask for anything more. I'd imagine that with all of the 9mm's out there that there would be several that could do as well. Now, whether they have that sweet S&W trigger is another matter! :D
 
.38 special, one handed out to 50 yards. Sounds a lot a Bullseye.

Any nice used K38 should fix you right up.

14_4l.jpg


Nice K38's can usually be found in the $275 --> $350 range. A model like the 14-4 above, without the full underlug, is pretty easy to hold steady one handed.

There are 9mm semis that will shoot just as well, but you'll have to tripple your budget.

952 Rapid Fire
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Good Luck...

Joe
 
Thanks for all the good advice. I like the K38 idea. I really like the contender idea because I could shoot rimfire and center fire. Does anybody know if a contender with a short barrel rimfire will be too heavy for the small people?
 
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