9mm accuracy, and an accurate 9mm

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ACP

ACP

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Is the 9mm an inherently accurate round? I have little experience with it.

Historically it seems target pistols (revolvers or semiautomatics) favor the .38 Special and.45 ACP cartridges.

Can the 9mm compete with them for bullseye accuracy? And, if so, what's an accurate 9mm handgun -- revolver or semiauto?
 
I don't think a caliber is necessarily the key factor in accuracy. Any caliber can be accurate in the right hands.

But, the 9mm has many attractive qualities: Affordable, plentiful, lower recoil without totally compromising power, and there are a ton of awesome pistols on the market today that offer that caliber.

My favorite is the Springfield XD. They are very accurate guns out of the box.
 
The only round I don't get good accuracy from, with factory ammo, is .40 S&W. 9mm is as accurate as anything else. My choice in 9mm is a CZ-75B. It is a fine shooting iron.
 
No particular caliber is inherently more or less accurate within it's intended range and application, the load and the weapon determine the accuracy. That said 9mm is my preferred caliber and there are a great many accurate and high quality, cheap, and readily available 9mm ammunition which is part of why I prefer it. 9mm also has a lot of full size and full steel duty sized pistols offered in that chambering, which lend themself to pleasant, accurate shooting.

I'd recommend a CZ75, either da/sa or just SAO if you prefer. A long barrel and a steel frame with big fat grips will be a straight and true shooter out of the box. Sig Sauer or Beretta also offer fine full sized full steel pistols, the Beretta M9 (92FS) is a great example or the Sig P226.

I highly recommend 9mm as it's possible to get into reloading, there are a TON of options from small guns to large guns all using the caliber, and it has an IMO perfect mix of terminal performance and recoil from defensive ammo that I can get rapid shots accurately. An often 15-19+1rd capacity in most duty-size pistols is also a big perk over a comparable 6rd revolver or 7+1rd 1911.
 
The 9mm has been able to win fairly recent championships at Camp Perry. Like any of the calibers well tuned target handguns and match grade ammo are key to providing the best potential accuracy of the shooter.

One of the reasons the 9mm isn't as accurate with general factory ammo is that most loading in the 115 to 125gr are a supersonic round that crosses the sound barrier between 25 and 50 yards. This super to sub sonic transition with its resulting turbulence is a known reason for inaccuracy at those ranges. Being subsonic from the muzzle like the .45 acp, .38 spl, etc. avoids this and these cartridges are capable of exceptional accuracy even with standard factory loads. Of course there is the 147 gr 9mm that's subsonic from the muzzle.
 
I like my BHP, my STI Trojan 9mm 1911, and my CZ 75B, shooting 147gr FMJ subsonic ammo.
 
My Springfield EMP has been plenty accurate. My HiPower is better, I'd say it's the most accurate pistol I have.
 
I think the 9mm is capable of being more accurate than we are.

Jerry Miculek is one example.

I can hit a frying pan at 240 yrds with a Sig 239 in 9mm. Naturally not every shot, but the gun and the round are capable. Check my youtube channel for details.
 
Sequins said
No particular caliber is inherently more or less accurate within it's intended range and application, the load and the weapon determine the accuracy.*
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about that. I'm certainly no expert with a handgun, there does seem to be calibers that are by there nature more accurate. 44 Mag would be an example.
 
Have you experimented with a much higher-velocity round such as the .357SIG in the same pistol? Not trying to be argumentative...just touting the superior speed, ballistics and accuracy of a SIG-designed round which is quite exceptional in my experience.

It shoots flatter and more accurately than any cartridge I've ever tried in the 9mm range.

Milk jugs at 50 yards are absolute child's play...and the results are quite spectacular.
 
For 25 yard and longer ranges I've had best results with 147 gr. ammo from a CZ75b. Lighter bullets don't do as well but are fine out to 10 yards with the CZ, M&P Shield or Springfield XD. I don't know about "inherent" accuracy in the 9mm but I suspect the transition from super to sub sonic is a detriment. Wish I knew more about ballistics.

BTW, I believe Jerry Miculek could hit his target at 200 yards with spitballs. :rolleyes:

Jeff
 
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I'd say it's an inherently accurate package as a round.

As is the 30-06, .50BMG or .22LR.... In most loadings.

I think some cartridges are blessed with performance parameters which challenge firearms manufacturers to rise to the cartridge's level of expected performance.

I just had a retired cop out in the desert with me yesterday shooting a bunch of long-neglected stuff. Among them was a century old Luger running new Winchester ammo through it.

His Copness has really only experienced .38/.357 and .40 S&W. Given the unscientific results of how hard the 9 smacked the iron along with his degree of accuracy (given the Luger's underwhelming sights) he found himself quite surprised by the round. Later shooting of my CZs, Colt and Beretta in 9 only reenforced his new found respect for the round.

As far as "Target" history, at least in the U.S. - 9mm has suffered on the wrong side of artificial performance parameters keeping it out of several levels of competition. Lots of bars have been shifted to keep 9s out of competition.

Inherently accurate? I call it so.

Todd.
 
That's a good point you make about the 9mm being kept out of US competition for so long, ApacheCoTodd. I hadn't thought of that.
 
I always thought it was cool that these 9's had a rear sight with elevation to 800 meters and offset to make up for the spin imparted to the round at a distance. Somebody must have done some research and testing at one point
f39dce5f99b9822edf619246b9e6a506_zps14698dea.png

also agree on the 210, my most accurate 9 in my hands
 
Plastikosmd said:
I always thought it was cool that these 9's had a rear sight with elevation to 800 meters and offset to make up for the spin imparted to the round at a distance. Somebody must have done some research and testing at one point
f39dce5f99b9822edf619246b9e6a506_zps14698dea.png

also agree on the 210, my most accurate 9 in my hands
Click to expand...
Well... "Artillery" and all that! I wonder how they felt about the earth's rotation?:evil:

Todd.
 
Lol, dunno

I just always thought it was a bit of a stretch to shoot at the distances noted on the rear sight, yet they put the work into the design and had to have tested? I only shoot these at 100
 
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I've found the Glock 17L with a trigger kit to be very easy to shoot accurately

I've found the S&W 929 to be very easy to shoot accurately single-action, and the DA trigger is good enough that I can shoot DA at 10 yards and turn in decent groups.

Step up to more than two times the price and you can pick up a Tanfoglio Witness Match Xtreme. I believe it is as close as you can get to the Tanfoglio Gold Match in the U.S. without doing some special importation or something:

http://eaacorp.com/portfolio-item/witness-match-xtreme-tanfoglio/


Witness Match Xtreme:

attachment.php


Gold Match:

attachment.php
 

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Thx norm

Only top one is all matching, bottom is all match in regards to gun but stock and kit are aftermarket or not matched
 
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