What distance do you shoot from?

[murf205]

The secret to long(er) range shooting of handguns is bigger targets with lots of contrastAttachment 284516This is a homemade target that I can see at 50 yds for open sights and still has a pretty good aiming point for 100 yds or a bit further with a scope. Can't shoot it if you can't see it.

[2A-Jay]

I shoot more Lon Guns than I do Hand Guns. The closest Range to me is over 100 miles round trip.

The range is mostly Trap and Skeet. the 3 lane hand gun/rifle range is only out to 100 yards So my longest shot is 100 yards.

[Walks]

Until I stated Cowboy Shooting in 1987, I don't think I ever fired at a target under 25yrds.
Shot some Handgun Silhouette before then, Bullseye too.
Dad said if you can hit it a 25-50yrds, you can certainly hit it inside of that.

I still prefer 25yrds for most handguns. 50yrds for the big Revolvers.

[tazman]

Until I stated Cowboy Shooting in 1987, I don't think I ever fired at a target under 25yrds.
Shot some Handgun Silhouette before then, Bullseye too.
Dad said if you can hit it a 25-50yrds, you can certainly hit it inside of that.

I still prefer 25yrds for most handguns. 50yrds for the big Revolvers.

Your Dad was entirely correct. There is just one issue with that statement.
I can't hit reliably beyond 25 yards these days. My eyes and my shakes no longer allow it. I was never very steady when I was young. Now that I am old, it is not going to happen no matter how much I practice.
Now, I practice at the longest distance I can hit reliably and feel comfortable if I need to shoot at closer range.
The last target I shoot during a practice is a man sized silhouette at my expected combat distance. It reminds me that I am still good enough for that, at least.

[QuackAttack24]

My pistols I shoot mostly at 25 yards, first from a rest at a target until I can figure out where to aim for each particular load. Then I generally shoot free hand standing at the metal targets which vary from 8 inch down to 4 inch. There's something about that immediate "tink" sound of the bullet hitting the target that is very satisfying. Makes it more fun for me.

[Blood Trail]

25 yards for my carry guns. Out to 200 with my magnum pistols.


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[Idaho45guy]

All pistols get bench rested at 25 yards when determining loads and capabilities. Then, they get shot off-hand from 25 down to 7 yards. All my handguns are for defense, except my .22 pistol. I don't own any hunting handguns. But if I lived in the Midwest where hunting deer is boringly easy, I might take it up to make it more challenging.

[danmat]

All pistols get bench rested at 25 yards when determining loads and capabilities. Then, they get shot off-hand from 25 down to 7 yards. All my handguns are for defense, except my .22 pistol. I don't own any hunting handguns. But if I lived in the Midwest where hunting deer is boringly easy, I might take it up to make it more challenging.

Dang you need to take up bowhunting, I have never found it easy taking a trophy whitetail from a low fence, free ranging property with a rifle much less a handgun. I am in Texas where deer are more than plentiful.

[Idaho45guy]

Dang you need to take up bowhunting, I have never found it easy taking a trophy whitetail from a low fence, free ranging property with a rifle much less a handgun. I am in Texas where deer are more than plentiful.

https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/blog/be...rs-for-success

States are ranked by hunter success rates. Meaning, how many deer were harvested per tag sold. The easier it is to hunt, the higher the success rate of that state.

The easiest state to shoot a deer? South Carolina at 87% success rate. Texas was third at 80%. Idaho is near the bottom at 24%. Hunting is just harder out here due to terrain, weather, and the amount of animals and the amount of wilderness.

Texas has 37,000 acres of designated wilderness in the state with 14.4 deer per square mile.

Idaho has 4,792,969 acres of wilderness, with another 9 million acres of roadless areas eligible for wilderness status. And only 2.4 deer per square mile.

[sharps4590]

Obviously never hunted the Ozarks.

[GhostHawk]

Pistol mostly 20 feet with once and a while a try at 25 yards.

Rifle I shoot shorter than 100 yards pretty much only for getting a scope on paper and adjusted.

I do have a couple of pistol caliber semi auto carbines that are mostly IMO for inside the house work. Those mostly get shot at 20 to 50 feet with now and then a visit to a 100 yard range. The exception to this is my Hipoint .45acp carbine. This will stack them up at 100 just as well as any of my other rifles. Stacks them in real nice and tight. Better than the shooter can hold.

[one-eyed fat man]

...tend to be older and most have probably stood in a classic bullseye stance and shot a B-21 target one handed at 50 yards in days of yore...a well rounded shooter should be able to draw from concealment, shoot an IDPA target clean while moving at 5 yards with a serious carry gun AND hit a 200 yard ram from prone with a serious hunting handgun...

Really, it’s what tickles your trigger finger.

Pretty much sums it up for me, except it's the Wednesday night informal geezer gathering, making neat and tidy clusters with the .22 caliber bullets on a B-16 slow fire target as the local indoor range is only 25 yards. I used to shoot IPSC with a Combat Commander (tried IDPA but I ain't buying the stupid vest.) Many years ago, I shot my way up to IHMSA A class with a three screw Super Blackhawk and cast bullets. Throw in some random critters for the freezer or the stew pot with whatever was handy that day.

Over the years, played most of the "bowling with bullets" games at one time or another, but the most fun was shoulder to shoulder against Dan Cash and his dueling tree.

[Thumbcocker]

https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt/blog/be...rs-for-success

States are ranked by hunter success rates. Meaning, how many deer were harvested per tag sold. The easier it is to hunt, the higher the success rate of that state.

The easiest state to shoot a deer? South Carolina at 87% success rate. Texas was third at 80%. Idaho is near the bottom at 24%. Hunting is just harder out here due to terrain, weather, and the amount of animals and the amount of wilderness.

Texas has 37,000 acres of designated wilderness in the state with 14.4 deer per square mile.

Idaho has 4,792,969 acres of wilderness, with another 9 million acres of roadless areas eligible for wilderness status. And only 2.4 deer per square mile.

Maybe you could come to the Midwest and show us how boringly easy it is to kill a deer with a handgun. A deer shot at long rane with a rifle strikes me as much easier than getting inside the see and smell zone of a critter that has been at the top of every carnivor or omnivores menu for mellinia. They know their home turf and have been dodging bullets, slugs, boolits, bolts, and arrows from the time they were 6 months old.

I really envy your ability to speak authoritatively on a topic with zero personal experience.

[Soundguy]

When I go to the range I constantly see the majority of people going to the 5 to 7 yard line to shoot their handguns. I believe this is a result of concealed carry courses. I normally try to do most of my handgun shooting form 15 yards or further.

I am just curious of where the majority of the members here shoot from.

15 -25 yards is great for target shooting accuracy.. but if you carry for self defense.. then for sure you should also shoot at 10-20 feet... because that is the most common shooting distance according to fbi spec. Remember.. if you see an attacker running at you. By the time you draw a concealed weapon to fire.. you are shooting from 21 feet to point blank range... so best to be able to hit close targets.. which sounds easier.. but.. the shooting is different.. remember.. at 25 yards you are aiming.. at 5' you had better to be able to point and shoot from the hip or other 'non aimed' style shots.. and possible have your off hand ready for defense in case the attacker has a weapon... etc.

[Idaho45guy]

I really envy your ability to speak authoritatively on a topic with zero personal experience.

I hunted a few seasons in Iowa with a .54 caliber muzzleloader with a 70 yard range. Been there, done that. It's easy and a walk in the park compared to out here. The farthest I ever had to walk was less than a mile.

This was my first elk, at age 13, taken at 260 yards with a .257 Roberts. I had to hike 5 miles in the mountains in the dark to get in place and wait for the sun to come up and the elk to come out of the timber. After I shot it, it rolled downhill over 100 yards until it hit the bottom, where this picture was taken. I then had to butcher it on the spot into 100lb quarters, and pack each one out on my back over a mile to the nearest passable road. Then come back and get another quarter.

Attachment 284646

Hunting out here is brutal, physical, tough work. You Midwest people have ZERO clue just how easy you have it. That is evident when you think the hardest part of the hunt is the shot. Pfft...

Tell me, when was the last time you killed a deer and had to have someone watch your back for bears and wolves coming in to try and take your deer?

This is where we went for deer and elk last year. It was 10 degrees overnight and 65 degrees during the day. We went from deep, damp draws with ferns and moss where you couldn't see past 40 yards, to clear cut ridges where you had shots up to 800 yards away. Several hundred feet in elevation changes in an hour hike.

Attachment 284649

I know there are some hills and heavy timber in the Midwest. The seasons are shorter, so there is more hunting pressure. Back when I hunted Iowa in the 90's, you could only use either a shotgun, muzzleloader, or handgun. Public hunting areas were a joke with more hunters than deer. The best places and biggest bucks were on private property and if you had the wrong last name, you were locked out. Once I got to know a couple of farmers and the manager of a Christian camp, I had access to some prime whitetail territory, and it became a game of finding the biggest buck I could. It was really easy to get within 70 yards of deer. Even if you judged the wind wrong or made noise, there was always more deer to try again on.

I am familiar with Midwest hunting. Come out here and spend a week hiking the mountains all day and seeing a handful of does and maybe a little buck. Then tell me how I have zero experience.

[Blood Trail]

Dang you need to take up bowhunting, I have never found it easy taking a trophy whitetail from a low fence, free ranging property with a rifle much less a handgun. I am in Texas where deer are more than plentiful.

Where at in Texas?


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[danmat]

Where at in Texas?


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I have hunted all over, south Texas, Hill country, East Texas paper company land. i currently hunt central east Texas
Key words in my post were TROPHY, which can be different for each person.

[Thumbcocker]

South Carolina and Texas aren't the Midwest. Iowa is one state in the Midwest.

Are there no river bottoms in the west? Those pics don't look especially "deery" to me.

[Sasquatch-1]

As per normal for this site, it appears there are those who wish to hi jack the thread. The original post was meant mainly for hand gunners and was addressing those who only practice at 7 yards or closer and then brag about how tight a group they shot. I see it all the time at the club I belong to. When you move these same people out to 15 yards, which is the minimum distance we allow on our steel plate range, these same people can't hit a 2' by 2' target backer and then get upset because we won't qualify them to shoot steel.

[44MAG#1]

Sasquatch-1 said,

Understand I am not trying to hi-jack this thread.


"What distance do you shoot from?"


"When I go to the range I constantly see the majority of people going to the 5 to 7 yard line to shoot their handguns. I believe this is a result of concealed carry courses. "

The reason is most can't shoot a handgun well. So up close the better. That stands to reason. No secret to it. No one wants to look bad.

"I normally try to do most of my handgun shooting form 15 yards or further."

That is good. Evidentally you are better than many.



"I am just curious of where the majority of the members here shoot from."

5 to 50 and occasionally 100 yards offhand.