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what's the true effective range of a 2 inch snubby?
- Thread starter bullfrog99
- Start date
Ron Ankeny
New member
Dave:
I have shot two J-Frame Smiths from a Ransom rest and neither one even came close to what I get with one of my Distinguished PPC guns. Tell me which snubbies shoot X-ring accuracy at 50 and I'll rush out and buy one. --- Elmer
I have shot two J-Frame Smiths from a Ransom rest and neither one even came close to what I get with one of my Distinguished PPC guns. Tell me which snubbies shoot X-ring accuracy at 50 and I'll rush out and buy one. --- Elmer
Ron Ankeny
It sounds like you are comparing a highly costomized PPC gun to a stock J-frame. Let's be constuctive and hear what the J-frames did out of the Ransom rest, I for one would like to know the potential accuracy of one. I have a Model 60 and used to be able to shoot pretty good with it. I seldom shoot it anymore and noticed the last time I shot it that I had fallen off dramatically. I think the whole point of this discussion is to once again, try and dispell the myth that 2" barrels result in a gun that can't hit the side of a barn from the inside. I agree that the two primary factors involved in snubby accuracy are individual skill and the short sight radius. The potential is there for some surprising accuracy if you do your part.
It sounds like you are comparing a highly costomized PPC gun to a stock J-frame. Let's be constuctive and hear what the J-frames did out of the Ransom rest, I for one would like to know the potential accuracy of one. I have a Model 60 and used to be able to shoot pretty good with it. I seldom shoot it anymore and noticed the last time I shot it that I had fallen off dramatically. I think the whole point of this discussion is to once again, try and dispell the myth that 2" barrels result in a gun that can't hit the side of a barn from the inside. I agree that the two primary factors involved in snubby accuracy are individual skill and the short sight radius. The potential is there for some surprising accuracy if you do your part.
ellsworthtoohey
New member
So, if you are not close enough to leave powder burns around the bullet hole, you are not justtified in shooting?
OK OK OK (best Joe Pesci imitation)
The 38 S&W snubbies will shoot as accurately as the shooter. Not only that, the sights are regulated to hit dead on.
The reason people don't know how to shoot a 2" is they do not try to shoot with a 2". Lighter weight, louder boom, shorter sight radius all add up to something many find unpleasant to shoot. Still, it's not the gun's fault.
Not only that, but a snubby should be shot DA only, in MHO. Learn to pull thru on that trigger and you can hit pop cans at 25 yards with one. That's why all my snubbies are centennial models now.
I also had a Colt Agent 2" Alloy snubby that would hit pop cans at 25 yards.
It is a poor workman who blames his tools, someone once said.
One more thing: It is unrealistic to think you are Marshall Matt Dillon and strap on your big magnum or 45 Auto and shoot up the range, more often than not, those guns remain at home. If you want to carry concealed, you will soon gravitate to something you can easily carry, in all kinds of clothes in all kinds of weather. In many cases the person's taste evolves to an alloy snubby, which is truly a gun for all seasons. Just my 2 Clinton bucks worth!
The 38 S&W snubbies will shoot as accurately as the shooter. Not only that, the sights are regulated to hit dead on.
The reason people don't know how to shoot a 2" is they do not try to shoot with a 2". Lighter weight, louder boom, shorter sight radius all add up to something many find unpleasant to shoot. Still, it's not the gun's fault.
Not only that, but a snubby should be shot DA only, in MHO. Learn to pull thru on that trigger and you can hit pop cans at 25 yards with one. That's why all my snubbies are centennial models now.
I also had a Colt Agent 2" Alloy snubby that would hit pop cans at 25 yards.
It is a poor workman who blames his tools, someone once said.
One more thing: It is unrealistic to think you are Marshall Matt Dillon and strap on your big magnum or 45 Auto and shoot up the range, more often than not, those guns remain at home. If you want to carry concealed, you will soon gravitate to something you can easily carry, in all kinds of clothes in all kinds of weather. In many cases the person's taste evolves to an alloy snubby, which is truly a gun for all seasons. Just my 2 Clinton bucks worth!
Compare apples to apples, Elmer. Tweaked vs stock is not valid.
Try cinching up a 4" Model 19 in that Ransom Rest and following it with a 2 1/2". Unless you label the targets, my guess is they're indistinguishable. Or make the first one a 6".
Years ago, had a 22 Kit Gun, a J frame that Bob Chow has done. Superb trigger pull,decent sights,etc. We machine tested it against a High Standard Trophy Supermatic, a top line 22 target pistol. Groups at 25 yards were similiar.
Hand shot, of course, there were major differences, but it wasn't the snubbies' fault, it was pilot error....
Try cinching up a 4" Model 19 in that Ransom Rest and following it with a 2 1/2". Unless you label the targets, my guess is they're indistinguishable. Or make the first one a 6".
Years ago, had a 22 Kit Gun, a J frame that Bob Chow has done. Superb trigger pull,decent sights,etc. We machine tested it against a High Standard Trophy Supermatic, a top line 22 target pistol. Groups at 25 yards were similiar.
Hand shot, of course, there were major differences, but it wasn't the snubbies' fault, it was pilot error....
frontlander
New member
Ellsworth--I like your username. What does a New York architectural critic know about guns?
Howard R.
Howard R.
ellsworthtoohey
New member
Well Mr. Roark, I have been shooting and reloading .38 spl/.357 magnums since 1984. I've tried alot of others, but I always come back to that which is the most useful.
P.S. Anyone who can't hit an adult sized target at 100 yards double-action with a S&W J-Frame .38 spl. is a damn lousy shooter. However, there is a remedy for that--practice. Practice is cheap with a .38, especially if you reload. Reloading for the .38 spl. is as cheap and simple as reloading gets.
P.S. Anyone who can't hit an adult sized target at 100 yards double-action with a S&W J-Frame .38 spl. is a damn lousy shooter. However, there is a remedy for that--practice. Practice is cheap with a .38, especially if you reload. Reloading for the .38 spl. is as cheap and simple as reloading gets.
Ron Ankeny
New member
Lots of people have been killed stone dead by damn poor shots. Shooting a J-frame Smith at 100 yards serves no useful purpose.
ellsworthtoohey
New member
Yes it does serve a useful purpose--a most important purpose. It is fun. That is what most of us do with our guns in the first place. If we didn't find shooting fun, we wouldn't do much of it.
Besides, when you have achieved the skill necessary to hit small targets at long ranges with a snubby, you have aquired the skill nescessary to shoot at least as well at closer ranges, while under stress, as those who can't hit a paper target at 100 yards.
It's silly to think that the ability to hit a target at 100 yards is somehow inferior to never even trying.
Besides, when you have achieved the skill necessary to hit small targets at long ranges with a snubby, you have aquired the skill nescessary to shoot at least as well at closer ranges, while under stress, as those who can't hit a paper target at 100 yards.
It's silly to think that the ability to hit a target at 100 yards is somehow inferior to never even trying.
frontlander
New member
Because Its Fun!
Ellsworth has it right. Shooting should be fun. I shun the pure utilitarian viewpoint in everything I do. Many people in my area view guns as only hunting tools. "If you don't hunt, why own one?" they ask. I could say that I'm keeping my family safe or that I'm exercising my consitutional rights (all valid reasons) but the real answer is that I love, (the anti-gun psychologists will be howling) yes, love to shoot. Shooting my snubbie at long range not only makes me a better shot at close range, it is fun and makes me happy. To say that there is no useful purpose for shooting a snub at long range is like saying we should scrap all of our V-8s and drive Yugos or pitch our wheelguns and shoot only Glocks.
[Edited by frontlander on 12-22-2000 at 09:45 AM]
Ellsworth has it right. Shooting should be fun. I shun the pure utilitarian viewpoint in everything I do. Many people in my area view guns as only hunting tools. "If you don't hunt, why own one?" they ask. I could say that I'm keeping my family safe or that I'm exercising my consitutional rights (all valid reasons) but the real answer is that I love, (the anti-gun psychologists will be howling) yes, love to shoot. Shooting my snubbie at long range not only makes me a better shot at close range, it is fun and makes me happy. To say that there is no useful purpose for shooting a snub at long range is like saying we should scrap all of our V-8s and drive Yugos or pitch our wheelguns and shoot only Glocks.
[Edited by frontlander on 12-22-2000 at 09:45 AM]
Right on, shooting SHOULD be fun. Furthermore who is someone else to tell me what I can and can't use MY guns for ? I really enjoy shooting my M60 and plan on buying an SP-101 (can't decide on 2" or 3"). I am sure that I will shoot them at ranges far and near. And contrary to whatever anyone else thinks I should do, I have no intention of using either one for personal defense.
Ron Ankeny
New member
I guess I stand corrected. What I mean is that performing defensive training at 100 yards with a 2 inch snub nose revolver, in my opinion, serves no useful purpose. Then again, you guys all know what they say about opinions.
I suppose my real problem with threads like these are those folks who would try to make me belive that they can hit 100 clay pigeons straight that are set up on a dirt bank 100 yards distant with a 2 inch J-frame double action. Such claims are just plain crap and we all know it. But, just like fish stories, they are kind of entertaining.
I suppose my real problem with threads like these are those folks who would try to make me belive that they can hit 100 clay pigeons straight that are set up on a dirt bank 100 yards distant with a 2 inch J-frame double action. Such claims are just plain crap and we all know it. But, just like fish stories, they are kind of entertaining.