Practical handgun accuracy!!!

[mellonhead]

I am leaving for an elk hunt in a week from today. I am taking my Freedom Arms 475 Linebaugh. I have been practicing alot, but have a question. What do you guy consider good field accuracy for an iron sighted 6" revolver at 100 yards? I am not talking revolvers with optics or from bench rests. I'm talking true field shooting positions like kneeling, rested along a tree, etc.... Thanks.

Toby

[williamwaco]

I am leaving for an elk hunt in a week from today. I am taking my Freedom Arms 475 Linebaugh. I have been practicing alot, but have a question. What do you guy consider good field accuracy for an iron sighted 6" revolver at 100 yards? I am not talking revolvers with optics or from bench rests. I'm talking true field shooting positions like kneeling, rested along a tree, etc.... Thanks.

Toby


You are not gling to like my answer but here it is:

Worst case:
High altitude.
Out of breath.
Wearing unfamiliar clothing.
Setting on unevern ground.
A rock gouging your butt.
Glasses fogged up, ( If you wear them )
Uncertain range.
Unknown wind. In the mountains it could be hitting you on the right side and the target on the opposite side.

I would be very surprised if you could reliably hit a 24 inch circle on the first shot. And make no mistake, at that range, you are not going to get another one unless the first one disables him.

Yes, I know that under ideal conditions, where you know the exact range, exact windage, exact holdover and have practiced at that exact location ( where the target is standing), you should be able to take an elk at 400 yards with that revolver.

When I was much younger, one of my favorite sports was busting melon sized sand stones at 500 to 600 yards with a 7 1/2 inch Ruger .44 Mag. BUT it may take four or five shots to get the first hit. After that, you can hit 4 out of 6.

[mellonhead]

I have been shooting in the rain, low light, uphill, down hill, grassy fields, plowed fields. Shooting at rocks, targets, steel plates, and a full size elk cut out of plywood. I have been getting some good quality practice in, but I know it can not replace the real deal. The rain actually really sucked. I shot for about 30 minutes in a pretty good shower we had the other day.

Toby

[subsonic]

I think that being able to make a clean kill when you decide to shoot, or knowing not to shoot, is the most important thing.

As far as a number, I have to quote some that are wiser than me and say 1" per 10yds is really quite good and very difficult to acheive away from a good rest. That works out to minute of paper plate at 100yds for those that are mathematicay challenged. I'm good for about half of that (10" @50yds) I would say under poor conditions with my current guns, but part of that is the guns as I can only make them go about 6" at 100yds from the bench, which doesn't leave much wiggle room.

When I'm having a good day I can shoot about the same size groups from a weaver stance as I can from the bench, maybe an inch bigger group at 50yds, but that is at the range under good conditions.

[dvnv]

I figure a good offhand shooter under calm conditions, can stay inside about 10-12 inches at 100 yards with 6" open sights. A really good shot might be more like 5-6 inches. The real test is what YOU do with the first shot, no warm-up, on several different days at different times of the day and under different conditions. It is the first shot that counts.

If I am out of breath, dealing with heavy wind, or foggy glasses...I am not going to try a 50 yard shot let alone 100. If you have shot handguns some, you ought to have an idea of when you are steady enough to reliably hit a given target...I let that be my guide on whether I take a shot at a game animal or pass. Just another opinion, dvnv

[Groo]

Groo here
The paper plate idea is about right,, if you can't put the first one from a cold barrel
on one at 100yds then you need to get closer till you can.
I used to do that on command with my python but got old farts eyes now.

[subsonic]

"A man's gotta know his limitations."

Strive to shoot a little better every time you "test" yourself. Never blow off ammo just to make noise and always challenge yourself. You will surprise yourself at how well you can shoot.

[98Redline]

Another thing to do is run a quick 40 yard sprint, do a couple of pushups then pick up your gun and try to get a shot off.

The racing heart, heavy breathing and shaky hands are what the adrenaline will do to your system when that elk steps out. It will give you some pseudo real world idea of what your body will be doing to your sight picture at the moment of truth.

I was unpleasantly surprised on what happened to my "effective range" under those conditions.

[Matthew 25]

I agree with the paper plate. Any range you can keep 5/5 offhand is a safe range to hunt from. My 7 1/2" SBH 44 will do this at 100y almost every time.

[bobthenailer]

IMO how ever far you can shoot and keep at least 6 shots consistantly in a 5 inch circle , in your desired shooting postion and distance .

[white eagle]

why would you shoot at game off hand ?
many years of hunting I can count on one hand the
amount of time I have shot at game without a rest of some sort

[mellonhead]

I'm not planning on shooting offhand. I plan on using whatever is available to me as a rest. Field conditions are far from benchrest conditions though. I have always subscribed to Ross Seyfried's idea of practical field accuracy with a handgun. He says an inch for every 10 yards of range. Right now I am consistantly getting 8" groups at 100 yards from field positions. Just seeing what everyones opinion of field accuracy was.

Toby

[44man]

why would you shoot at game off hand ?
many years of hunting I can count on one hand the
amount of time I have shot at game without a rest of some sort
I would say 99% of my deer were shot off hand, even just over 100 yards. It is because I have no way to rest, walking or from a tree stand. The rest were shot from a ground seat where I could use my knees to rest my elbows.
Groo and Subsonic say it best, know your limitations. Your vision will be the worst as you age when using open sights yet they are deadly if you can see the dumb things. I can't unless it is very bright outside and the gun is far from my eyes.
I switched to an Ultra Dot and can usually hold 6" at 100 and call misses. Age has a BAD affect and I am shaking more now, yet I still call my shots. Distance must be shorter now and I prefer 20 yards every time.
If you flinch or yank the trigger when the sights pass the target, you will miss at 10 yards.
My friend is a great shot on paper deer but a live one makes him peek and he can NOT hit a live animal, he peeks before the gun fires! :mrgreen: I have seen him miss a deer by 10 feet from 15 yards! :coffee:
Buck fever???

[subsonic]

Peeking is/was my issue. Used to miss squirrels a lot from doing this. Finally taught myself to watch through the scope to see the impact. Only works with a .22, but once you learn to do it, the "follow through" becomes natural with all.

[JMtoolman]

Just think like an archer would. Just get as close as possable and squeeze, you will do all right. the toolman

[Whitworth]

why would you shoot at game off hand ?
many years of hunting I can count on one hand the
amount of time I have shot at game without a rest of some sort

It happens to me more than I care to admit. I love a rest, but it often isn't possible and you must be prepared for the worst case scenario. JMHO.

[cbrick]

If you flinch or yank the trigger when the sights pass the target, you will miss at 10 yards.

My friend is a great shot on paper deer but a live one makes him peek and he can NOT hit a live animal, he peeks before the gun fires! :mrgreen: I have seen him miss a deer by 10 feet from 15 yards! :coffee: Buck fever???

Absolutely. This is one of the things where handgun silhouette is great training. If you want to post a good score your eyes will stay on the sights and grip will remain consistent all the way through recoil. Practice enough that the grip and trigger control is automatic and always exactly the same, when shooting your concentration is sights, sights, sights. When the revolver fires it will be a surprise. After recoil is the time to look downrange and is when you will see that you placed the shot exactly where you wanted.

Rick

[Matthew 25]

All but one of my iron-sighted deer and elk kills have been off-hand, rifle and pistol. I guess it depends on how an where you hunt. I can't hardly sit still for more than 10 minutes, so I'm always moving.

[Multigunner]

My Colt Officers Model Target could print a shot round palm sized (maybe 4-5 inches) group in about the dead center of a pie pan nailed to a fallen tree a little over one hundred yards from where I fired using a seated against a tree position with wrists braced between my knees.
This revolver was the most accurate I ever owned or have yet fired, making 50 foot single hole groups only a hair larger than the .38 bullet consistently with both factory rounds and handloads.
Back then I never bothered measuring group sizes, and actually thought that every quality revolver shot at least that good. If I'd known what a peach that old Colt was I'd never have parted with it.

[John Ross]

I'm not planning on shooting offhand. I plan on using whatever is available to me as a rest. Field conditions are far from benchrest conditions though. I have always subscribed to Ross Seyfried's idea of practical field accuracy with a handgun. He says an inch for every 10 yards of range. Right now I am consistantly getting 8" groups at 100 yards from field positions. Just seeing what everyones opinion of field accuracy was.

Toby

Agree with this post 100%.

[mellonhead]

If you look at it like this they are similiar. You said Cooper says a pop can at 50 yards 75% of the time. At that same 50 yards Seyfried is saying all of them in a 5" circle. A pop can goes a good way of filling a 5" circle. And only 4 out of 6 have to hit the can.

Toby

[btroj]

I ignore what the gun writers say. I go off what my gut says is the max range I can make a clean, killing shot.
It is my responsibility to know when to say NO to a shot.

For me it is between 50 and 100 yards. Depends on rest or no rest, my mood that day, and who knows what else. I need to use my head before using my trigger finger.

Ever think the gun writers spend lots of time coming up with stuff to write? I do.

[Char-Gar]

The range at which you can keep six our of six rounds on a paper plate, from a field shooting position, is you maximum effective range, whether that is 25 feet or 200 yards.

[44man]

Many, many, many deer walk when I hunt. I started as an archer, after all. No shot is ever taken unless I am sure. If I am not steady, I lower the gun.
A deer on the wrong side where I can't get both hands on the grip is also safe. I can hit with a .44 using one hand but the larger guns NEED both hands or you will over shoot or cripple the animal. Big calibers need held very tight so barrel rise does not throw shots high.
So much for the "roll" thing, it just does not work.

[btroj]

The range at which you can keep six our of six rounds on a paper plate, from a field shooting position, is you maximum effective range, whether that is 25 feet or 200 yards.

That is about as simple as it gets. I could not agree more.

[subsonic]

The range at which you can keep six our of six rounds on a paper plate, from a field shooting position, is you maximum effective range, whether that is 25 feet or 200 yards.

You definitely need to specify what game here. That wouldn't work for squirrels and you could have a larger margine for error on a bull moose.

I really prefer to use the half-plate size for whitetails as my standard at the range because shooting in the woods adds many more variables.

[Multigunner]

I have a 4" fix sight Official Police, I believe is the same action. It too shoots like yours. I bought it because a friend showed me how accurate his was, plus they were only about $150 ,20 years ago. I wish they would build guns like that now, the rifling is shiny and deep lands, non of that BS mirror image look of rifling.

I had $60 in trading stock in my Officers Model Target, that was 40 years ago. I think they did use the same frame as the Official Police.
Everything about these spelled Quality. They don't make em like that any more, and if they did they'd charge more for them than most could afford.

Mine had the elevation adjustable front sight, and a military inspectors cartouche.