When They Say Yard, do They Mean Feet?

I can't do it, but I've seen it done...

Nice PPC description, BillCA. I shoot PPC regularly (though I don't have a good heavy-barreled PPC revolver, I have to use my M&P9), and on a 600 course of fire I usually shoot in the low 500's, which is usually good for either dead last, or next to it. :D Still fun, though.

We have a couple guys in our club that shoot at Grand Master level, these guys regularly shoot 1460+ on a 1500 course of fire (which includes a couple of 24-shot strings at 50 yards), and are simply amazing. There is basically one ragged hole in the B27 center, and maybe the occasional "flyer" in the 9 ring. Something for me to try and aspire to.

It is definitely possible, though, just not by me... yet. :D

Cheers!
McClintock
 
Eye opener......

I've been reloading to determine the best load for my .40. (It's a 200gr jhp loaded mid-range with Bulleye.) Anyway I was using the table top as a sort of rest by resting the bottom of my left hand on the tabletop. I was able to keep all 10 in the 9 ring(4 actually in the black. But......

After firing my 10 rounds my son hands me his new Browning Buckmark to shoot just for the heck of it. With no rest , 1 handed, and firing fairly rapidly I was able to put all 10 in the black. I didn't save the target but we think the group was maybe 3".

It's all about the gun after you have developed good methods. With his little 'target pistol' the indoor range with the longest distance at 25 yds is just silly. I'm sure with practice he and I will be able to shoot this .22 at 50 paces outside with very impressive results.

I guess my point being I too am very suspicious of someone who takes a new semi-auto straight out of the box to the range and posts pics of a target supposedly set at 25 yds with the middle shot out of it.

Now, for someone shooting a good quality revolver SA at 25yds even if a gun new to them it is entirely possible they could be shooting 2" groups..... IMHO
 
I think a lot of people guesstimate distances. 25 yards is a fair ways off for a handgun. As a matter of fact, I just measured the length of my house at 25 yards.
 
Jeff Cooper once did a humor piece on "Duck Yards." Yup, funny man Jeff.

He studied the various types of shooting and came up with the length of various "yards." He found that the duck yard was about two feet, because of the optimistic estimation of ranges at high angles above the horizon with no references. The target shooters' yard came out at 35 3/4 inches due to rules committee members showing up with tape measures.
The plinkers' yard was 11 inches. He decided that was because the plinker sees his distances in feet but calls them yards because he knows that is what shooters use.
 
me

On demand I'm good for under 6" @ 25 yds standing.
Usually.

On my best days (fewer and farther between) I'm good for under 2".
Sometimes.

When I'm developing ammo I begin my initial test at 20--30FT, then work at greater distances (I find a 1" at 20--30FT works for finding potential loads).
I've moved to more bench-testing, too, since I ain't all that good standing.
I want my premium stuff, regardless of intended use, to be capable of under 2" @ 25 yds.
It gives me confidence.
Always.



I've witnessed good shots; they're amazing.
 
Read up on the shooting done by the metallic silhoutte shooters. They shoot small steel chickens at 50 meters and steel rams at 200 meters. With open sights. I tried it and it requires careful technique and concentration but it can be done. Also read Elmer Keith's books.
 
Go to a regular Bullseye match, you know the one handed target guys.

It often takes more than one day for the full 270 shots, in .22 RF, .45 ACP. and 'any center fire.'

The targets are at 25 and 50 yards.

The record is 2680-159X out of 270 shots for a 2700 possible.

Health stopped me about 19 years ago.
 
A couple of years ago one of the gunzines tested a new rifle and the writer raved about the accuracy, with groups under 1" at 100 yards. But he made the mistake of picturing the target, on which someone had written "25 yds". Ooooppps!

Jim
 
At 25 yards, if your standing two-handed groups are under 2-inches, that's good shooting. If you keep them under 1.75 inches, that's very good shooting. Anything under 1.5" is excellent shooting by almost any standard.
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Yowza - that's a high bar! :eek:

Is this relative to other PPC or bullseye shooters, or generally? Either way, I need to keep practicing... :D
 
I most certainly think that you can do some super-accurate handgun shooting at 25-50 yards.

Do I think that people have a tendency to over-exaggerate their own shooting skills on the Internet? Also yes.
 
2-3" groups at 25 yds is good shooting from a standing position. There are lots of guns that will shoot 1" groups or less off the bench or from a maching rest. When I was shooting metallic silhouette, I had several guns that would group on a soda can at 200 meters (220 yds). Any gun that wouldn't shoot 1" groups @ 25 yds was a liability.

Most of my handguns will shoot under 2" at 25 and sometimes I get lucky.
These groups were shot two-hand standing at 25 yds. I don't claim to be able to do it every time or even every day.
2254wtarget.jpg

BHPwTarget.jpg
 
Heck, nobody is even shooting at 15 yards which is suppose to be very short distance for a lot of shooters in the internet
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The amount of lead I personally waste at distances less than 15 yards is quite small. Unless practicing hip shooting, or similar close range technique, 25 feet is about useless for an experienced shot.

Now, some of the small and restrictive indoor urban ranges I've been to (No fast fire! No X_ Ammo! Only X_ rounds per mag! etc.) have guys shooting at ridiculously close range, and missing as a result of using poor technique. Since 25 yards is often the end of the range, it seems like a longer way that it really is.

If you go out to ranges that experienced shots use then you'll see most of the work done at about 15 yards. 25 is more for slow fire, 7 for quick draw stuff.
 
25 yards is what I do. It does seem like a long ways (Poor eyesight), but it does the job.

At 25 yards, with careful aiming I can get most of my guns down to 2 1/2" at that range. Offhand, it usually adds about another inch to it. I am satisified with that.

The way I figure it, at that range, with my eyesight (Consider laser surgerr), my 2 1/2" guns can probably shave an inch off of both.

Normal range drill though:
At LEAST one mag, offhand at 25 yards to practice. That's the meat&potatoes of shooting, as it builds up general accuracy at all ranges.

Another mag close-range(10 yards) relatively rapid fire. You may laugh, but (At least for me) shooting at close range is a fair bit differant than group-shooting at 25.

A third mag at about 40 yards (Farthest I shoot with a good backstop) with attention to grouping.

After that (If I have any more ammo), I mix group shooting and offhand shooting.
 
On demand I'm good for under 6" @ 25 yds standing.
Usually.
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Sounds like me. My best (and only attempt at 25 yards) was about 4 3/4", five rounds, standing.
Of course, I make no claims to being anything special, and have only tried 25 that one time. :)
 
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I know what the OP means. I've seen targets that guys have drilled the center out of, very small groups, and said it was shot at 25 yards. I know I'm not the best of shots and many people are much better, but that type of shooting offhand is almost unbelievable. We are talking about keeping the sights aligned to within a few thousandths of an inch to get those groups at that distance.
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If you shoot a lot, sometimes all the stars line up or something and you get a really impressive target. The trick is to keep that target and keep showing it over and over (until you get a better one to replace it.) You quietly throw away all the crappy targets. :rolleyes:
 
The trick is to keep that target and keep showing it over and over (until you get a better one to replace it.) You quietly throw away all the crappy targets.
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Shhhh! When you break the code you're supposed to keep it quiet! :D

It should be no surprise that folks save good targets and throw away ordinary or poor targets. After years of shooting, I have a collection of pretty impressive handgun targets, including a few showing 25 yards offhand groups that are less than 2". On a normal trip to the range, if I have an accurate gun and ammo it likes I can usually shoot a five shot group or two that measures around 3" @ 25 yards but significantly better than that is always cause for celebration. And, of course, even on a range trip when I shoot very well, there are always more targets that get thrown away than kept.
 
When you can make a happy face at 25 yrds you know you the man.:D.Seriously though I think I shoot well most of the time but sometimes I shoot excellent and other times good god I Suck.Could be the same gun, same ammo, same distance with different results at the indoor range,so I can't blame the weather conditions.
 
It should be no surprise that folks save good targets and throw away ordinary or poor targets.
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That's what I do :D

If you walk down the line of a BE match, you'll see some great targets pasted on the inside of the shooters' gun boxes. This is especially popular among members of the service teams. I don't know if it's something that they're encouraged to do, or just a tradition that they've picked-up. But it is a good way to remind yourself of what you're capable of when you're shooting well.
 
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