need advice on my next purchase (long range revolver)

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Ian's Dad

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looking for a revolver to equip with a scope for target shooting at 50 yards and beyond (would love to become proficient up to 100 yards)..

single action is fine...

what calibers would be best? what guns would you recommend.. Not looking for a "competition/custom" gun.. this will be for fun, but i want a gun that is capable of small groups at 100 yards..

i'm guessing 6"+ barrell.. that is about as far as i've gotten.
 
A Ruger GP100 or a S&W 686, both in 6", will do the job just fine. The GP will do it for 300$ less tho... you can put that on .357mag ammo. ;)
 
honestly....

since my post i've been thinking about that.. shooting with scope kinda defeats the purpose of why i want to go with a revolver...

what kind of accuracy can be expected (with lots of practice and good handloads) with a revolver with iron sights at 25 50 and even 100 yards?
 
^^ You can shoot gongs with basic fixed iron sights, with standard sized pistol, at 100 yards.
With adjustable sights on a revolver, you can shoot at 200 yards if you're good. It comes down to are you good enough to do it? The gun is capable of long range shooting with the iron sights.
 
sooooooo....

given the comments and the recommendation of the iron sights and .357, maybe i should spend my money on lessons and ammo and shoot my S&W model 27 and forget buying something.. right?:)
 
single action is fine...

what calibers would be best? what guns would you recommend.. Not looking for a "competition/custom" gun.. this will be for fun, but i want a gun that is capable of small groups at 100 yards..
Click to expand...


What's your budget? When I think of a long range target revolver for myself, I see a scoped Freedom Arms Model 83 .44 magnum with a 6" or 7 1/2" barrel. But then, there's the budget thing, so I'm left merely thinking....:rolleyes:
 
I think you want something new. Consider a Thompson Center Contender in a mild recoil caliber such as 223 or 204 Ruger. With the Contender, you can buy barrels in whatever caliber that later grabs you.

In a revolver, I think you might consider an old Model 27 with 8 3/8" barrel. I have a 41 mag (M57) in that barrel length and it is my best shooting revolver at distances over 50 yds. Bouncing a pop can across a field is no problem at 100 yds.

Freedom Arms revolver is also an excellent choice.
 
A Dan Wesson is what you want. Long range accuracy that has been proven in silhouette competition with targets out to 220 yards. The Dan Wesson is also very beefy and will handle stout loads without shooting loose. 9 out of 10 tournaments were won by Dan Wesson revolvers. If you want more info go here: http://www.danwessonforum.com/
 
Best long range revolver for the money is the Dan Wessons. Mine out shoot any S&W or Ruger I have tried them against. I do own S&W's and Ruger's along with my Dan Wesson's. I believe the DW's still hold some records, but with their tensioned barrels of 2", 4", 6", 8", 10" they were hard to beat when 100 to 200 yards. I only shot mine on the 50 yard and 100 range and my DW 744 (44mag) out groups my Marlin 1894P at 50 yards shooting both with factor iron sights.

I hope to later after deer season try out the DW model 15 (357 mag) against my Marlin 1894C (357 mag) with the Skinner Sights. Should be fun to see which wins that match.
 
Iron sights at 100: I'll say...if you are average good, 10", if you are pretty good, 6-8", if you are really really good 1-3". So at 25 yards, 1.5" or less if you are good.

Look to the silhouette competitors to see what they shoot. I think Freedom Arms tops the revovler list these days and it was Dan Wesson before that. BFRs, Rugers and S&Ws can be very accurate. Good reloading technique is key.

If you are going to practice, practice, practice...a nice heavy 357 won't wear you out as fast as something of greater caliber. But, once you start hitting stuff at 100, you will want to try 200, 300 or more and the dust from bigger chunks of lead is easier to see (and the clangs easier to hear) than those little .38 cal bullets.

A longer sight radius helps, I think 7.5" is a decent compromise between kind of packable and long range shooting. my .02, dvnv
 
Check out a long barrelled .22 magnum. If you just want to shoot at paper, why do you need such a ton of horsepower?

I had a 6.5" Single Six Magnum Model that was killer but I sold it after I got an H&R 676 convertible with a 7.5" barrel. (just as accurate and DA.) For 100 yards out, .22 WMR is a great round with longer barrels. The 676 is the most target-accurate handgun I own. I have a 8 3/8" Model 14 and the 676 outshoots it.
 
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S&W K38 Target Masterpiece with 8 3/8th barrel is cheap to shoot and I can't think of a revolver more accurate. You already have a 27. Maybe a Dan Wesson pistol pac with 8 inch barrel in .357. A M15-2 would do nicely. If you are only shooting paper magnums are not needed.
 
When you get to where you can out shoot that Model 27, you need to buy a rifle!;)

You already have the Cadillac of hand guns. Unless you are saving it something special, you can't get much better than you already have.
If you're bound to find something else. The recommendations for a Dan Wesson are right on target.

I have seen a guy shoot a 2" Model 10 and hit a gong at 200 yards. Granted he did it every day and knew exactly where to aim to do so, but the point is, the gun could do it if he did his part.

That was how old Elmer was able to shoot the way he did. He learned his gun.
 
Get a a good revolver from Ruger, S&W, Freedom Arms, Dan Wesson, or Colt. Handload LOTS OF AMMO and shoot all you can.

Watch my 5 part video series on youtube, its on long range revolver shooting with iron sights. (http://www.youtube.com/texasfivegun) Take some liquid paper, a needle, a brass "tooth brush" and a beach chair
if you can find one.

Use the liquid paper on your front sight. Make a line with the needle to use as a reference and brush of the
dried paper with the brass brush to start over if your marks are wrong or when your finished.

keithfrontsight.jpg


The chair I am talking about puts your butt about 4" off the ground and lets you lean back. You pull your legs up
put your hands/wrists between your knees. It works better "much better" for me than a bench rest or any thing else.
I have a Caldwell HAMMR machine rest and I can out shoot it with my chairs.

You must have "0" flinch for this, a good spotter helps and if you can get the sun behind you the bullets are easy to see in flight.

You may run out of front sight with a long barrel, short to medium barrels and tall front sights are easier to work with.

I have never shot a 500 or 460 S&W but we have found with 500 & 475 Linebaughs, 414 & 445 Supermags, 454 Casull, and
44 Remington Magnum. A heavy for caliber cast lead bullet works best. A gas check is easier to see in flight. A high velocity
is not needed. About 1200 FPS is what we use the most.

If I can help PM me and I will give you my phone # and email.

Good Shootin and Good Luck! Chad
 
Ok so you had a guy sitting in the woods hitting a gong. :)

Great shooting. How big was the target?
 
kanook you would'n beleve how much it cost to have someone hide down there!

The gong is about 3'X3' and has a bullseye of about 1'. On a good day I can get a few groups of about 1 foot. Look at the other videos and I show the target before and after shooting.
 
looking for a revolver to equip with a scope for target shooting at 50 yards and beyond
Click to expand...

I missed the scope part the first read.

A Redhawk or Super Redhawk with integral mount would be my first choice. If you don't mind drilling and tapping then then about any of the mentioned revolvers well do.


PICT0001Medium-3.jpg
supermag01.jpg
DW02.jpg
PICT0003Medium-2.jpg
 
Competitor Pistols make long barrelled single shot handguns in just about any calibre you want. I have a .357 and .44mag and both shoot out to 300yrds easily enough.
Both mine have 23" barrels, the .44mag has Williams open sights and the .357 has a red dot as I use it at 25 & 50 yrd indoors.
 
Using either my S&W M27 or M25 I practiced until shots on a 5 gallon pail were easy to get out to 300 yards. From sitting, with my arms braced on my knees. I tried the one handed style used by Keith but found it too wobbly for me.

If you have an M27, use the money you would have spent on a new revolver and get a reloading set up or more components. The key is practice.

I started with the bucket at 25 yards and kept moving it back. After a year or so I was able quickly figure what I needed for a sight picture and get a very high percentage of first shot hits at unknown ranges.
 
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Quote:kanook
3000 yards

I hope that a typo. If not I'll just call you Mr. StrawHat from now on.
Click to expand...

kanook,

plain old humble StrawHat is sufficient. Thank you for calling my attention to the obvious faux pas.

I would apologize for my error and hope it brought a smile to your heart. When I read your post I reread my post and about spilled my coffee.
 
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