How far do you usually shoot your handguns?

Mostly 8 to 25 yards steel challenge practice or local IPSC. Strong hand, weak hand, behind barricade and so on as much my local range allow me.

Usually between 8-15 yards. With particularly nice single-action pistols I'll go out to 25 yards, never more than that.

murf said:

that is funny.

murf

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Oops. Thought I was in the Rim fire thread

Jeff olson said:

Oops. Thought I was in the Rim fire thread

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i shouldn't be amazed at those that think 100 yards is too far for a 22lr chambered handgun.

once in a while i practice shooting my ruger bearcat at bowling pins @ 90 yards. i may only hit the pin one out of ten, but i am taking a bit more time with the shot and concentrating hard on each shot. sometimes i shoot centerfire handguns (revolvers and autoloaders) a lot farther.

there are some here on thr that used to shoot ihmsa (international mettalic silhouette association) back in the seventies and eighties. competitors shot targets at 50, 100, 150 and 200 meters with handguns. shooting that far is difficult, but doable.

luck,

murf

Hey, doing the "impossible" is how you learn.

I have a 12" gong I shoot, minimum, 7 yds, and max about 20 yds.
I shoot, mostly, for self defense and those are the ranges that seem to fit my scenarios best.
When I can put 5 or 6 fast shots, consistently, in the center of that gong, I'm satisfied.
I keep working at it until I do.

Depends on how skittish the pasture poodles are that day.

When I was in LE we shot the old PPC course to fifty yards. When were done we put clay pigeons out at 100 yards to determine who bought the beer.
That’s when things got serious.

Jeff olson said:

Oops. Thought I was in the Rim fire thread

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216.4 yards on the range finder, had to put 4 clays around it just to see it. Busted 3 outta 4 clays and took me 34 shots total to hit the little tin. Ruger single 6 with cci standard velocity rounds. Its doable if you practice dumb distances enough.

LoonWulf said:

Regular handguns, not handrifles lol.

Ive been doing quite a bit of reading and watching youtube etc, as handguns in general are my weakest firearm type. I really only started investing time in them about two (maybe 3) years ago. What I noticed is that a great deal of what Im seeing, and reading, is 10-25yds being average to long for many/most handgun shooters.

Am I wrong in that observation? what ranges do you guys usually shoot at?

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I've shot this old gal at ranges anywhere from six feet to 250yds. Usually anything beyond 150yds has been just for giggles, but once in a while it can get interesting when new guys at the range say things like "I bet he can't hit" and point towards the 150+yd stuff after watching me empty the cylinder on the 6" plate at 75.

I shot my 1911 at 200 yards once. Took me 35 tries but did hit the plate!

A long, long time ago, when there was nothing out there at all... in what is now Delray Beach, FL, my firefighter bud and I were next to the Fl Turnpike a little south of Atlantic Avenue (well, maybe 1000 yards east of the Turnpike) and shooting parallel to the road, lobbing low power 38 wadcutters (our reloads) at cattle egrets like mortar rounds. Angle had to be 30-40 degrees. It would have been a Hail Mary to hit anything, and we weren't trying, just... getting into trouble as young men are apt to occasionally do. The discussion was had though - you kill it, you clean it, you eat it. There was nothing there but fallow bean fields, and heavy Australian pines lined the Turnpike. Jeeze, that property is one of my customers golf community!

My favorite shooting drill is to throw a plastic bottle on the ground then compete with a buddy to score hits on it as it gets pushed down range. It adds a bit of urgency in follow up shots so the bottle doesn't go flying away while you are aiming. Occasionally one of us can hit the bottle while it is in the air from the other's shot. It is also great practice for reloading a fresh magazine. When the bottle is 5 yards away I had better not be aiming too much if I am going to beat my buddy to the shot.

...if I really want to add some pressure I will get 2 buddies and the three of us will go at the bottle... this doesn't give me a chance to think... just shoot!

If I am in a situation where I am attacked I do not foresee myself asking the assailant to count off 15 paces because that is my practice distance. Shooting at a down range moving target trains my eye to compensate for distance while I am shooting. I also believe in shooting where I stand. In a self defense situation I am not going to take the time to adjust to a "proper" shooting stance... pull, shoot, thats it!

I love taking shots at the 100 yard gong and I am quite pleased when I hit it. I am most successful with .44 mag and 50ae at 100 yards as 45's and 9's arc too much.

When I used to shoot competition IPSC we learned about DVC, latin for diligentia vis celeritas = accuracy -power -speed. Practice at ranges where you can maintain accuracy first, work on the others and then increase the range.

Walkalong said:

The farthest one is a 16" round steel target and 108 yards from the front of the deck.
It's much easier with a red dot sights since my eyes got old. I have small targets for rifle,
plus target stands for paper targets.
View attachment 936986

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Hickok45? Is that you?

Nice range @Walkalong !

I usually shoot my 9mm's and .45 at 10 yds and don't have much trouble putting 90%+ of the rounds on an 8" paper plate two handed or strong hand only. Last trip out I tried some shots at the 25 yd range. Let's just say I have some work to do there and leave it at that. It kind of reminded me of when I first took my AR which I thought I was doing good with at 100 yds, to the 300 yd range. Humbling is the word that applies.

One nice thing about shooting, you never run out of challenges.

mmb617 said:

I usually shoot my 9mm's and .45 at 10 yds and don't have much trouble putting 90%+ of the rounds on an 8" paper plate two handed or strong hand only. Last trip out I tried some shots at the 25 yd range. Let's just say I have some work to do there and leave it at that. It kind of reminded me of when I first took my AR which I thought I was doing good with at 100 yds, to the 300 yd range. Humbling is the word that applies.

One nice thing about shooting, you never run out of challenges.

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When you start shooting groups you're proud of at 25 yards, I think you'll be pleased with how your 10 yard work is impacted.

It depends on what I'm shooting.
Concealables go from seven to fifteen yards.
Service autoloaders and double-action revolvers go from fifteen yards to twenty-five yards.
Large-frame single-action revolvers go to fifty yards.
Longer ranges require optics or eye surgery.

Drail said:

300 yards is fun - ain't it? All the rifle guys would laught at us "You can't hit nothing from here with a handgun!" Bang.........................CLANG!

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Loving it!

With Hunting Revolvers (357 magnum and 44 magnum) that use some kind of optic, 50 yards is the closest I shoot.
I typically shoot AR-500 steel out to 200 yards or 250 yards, and sometimes quite a bit further.
This is from a variety of field positions, and from the bench.
I will be shooting an iron sighted 44 Mag this year out to about 200 yards, but that is unusual for me.
With SD pistols, I shoot on paper and or steel out to about 50 yards.
I will use those same handguns when prairie dog shooting and go out to 100 yards or so.

Jeff olson said:

Oops. Thought I was in the Rim fire thread

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My offhand work was at a 6" steel at 100 yards with a 77/22. Seven out of ten was the line between doing well and doing poorly. Two out of six with the Singel Six unsupported was pretty fun. Then my eyes got weak.

My backstop is very steep, the steel came off its hanger, and I didn't put it back up, so I haven't tried it since I've gotten corrective lenses.

I rarely go for distance accuracy, due to range access. For me, it's about comfortable function and acceptable accuracy.

15 yds with either a 7" splatter target, or I unfold the ammo box and use that. Pick up the gun and empty the mag in a relaxed standing position, not putting any undue effort into aiming. Bang-bang-bang etc... if the rounds all hit on the target, in a group about the size of my wallet or cellphone, without incident, I deem the gun good-to-go. I only have a couple that do not pass that test, some old .32's. Mauser 1914 won't feed from the magazine unless I forcefully hold it upwards into the frame; but is accurate. Savage 1907 will run, but it will "group" around 2 FEET ... even at 5 yds. And NO, the barrel isn't bad; if I shoot it from a benchrest I can make cloverleaf patterns. I keep that gun because I occasionally hate-shoot it .

Used to sometimes go to an outdoor range and have shot at distances up to around 70 yds, and have a few that would hit paper plates at that distance consistently. Star Modelo B Super, once I found point of impact, it's a darn laser for me.

I don't sweat the ultimate grouping, because I have so many different grip and trigger combo's, and want to remain acceptably good with each.

I shoot handguns anywhere from 2 yards to 100 yards, but the majority of my handgun shooting is between 7 and 25 yards. Do a lot of shooting at 50 feet, as that is the distance at the local indoor range I shoot at.

15yds paper, 25yds steel