Best long distance pistol caliber

[Waterboy3313]

I just started thinking about longish distance pistol shooting. I've been plinking off targets with my GP 100 at 150-160 yards. This has been pretty new to me as I was getting bored with the standard 7-10 yard pistol drills. In the last few months I've started reaching out further with my pistols and I have been quite surprised with the results. My shooting is target shooting only no hunting. With that said I'm curious what would be a good pistol caliber for longer distance shooting. I push myself for accuracy. A couple weeks ago I was hitting a bowling pin sized target at a 160 yards 4 out of six shots. The 357 has been good and fun but I was thinking maybe something else would be better. So more or less this question is just out of curiosity.

 

[.38 Special]

For my money, the "artillery" game with revolvers is best practiced with a minimum of 220 grains at about 1000 fps, and a maximum of whatever the shooter can handle. I personally have done my best work with 325 grains at 1200 fps, out a 7.5" .45 Colt.

 

[Grumulkin]

You're doing very well with what you have.

If you wish to reach out further, I'd suggest a Thompson/Center Encore chambered for a bottle necked cartridge. A 375 H&H Magnum with a 13 inch barrel, a 460 S&W Magnum and a 444 Marlin could all do about 1.5 inches at 200 yards off the bench. You will have a lot of hold over at 300 to 400 yards with cartridges of lower velocity. Of the ones I used, the 460 S&W Magnum was the fastest (about 2,350 fps at the muzzle) but was also the hardest to get an accurate load for. If you don't want one of the big bores, you might try the 22-250, 7mm/08, 300 Win. Mag., etc.

 

[troy fairweather]

We used to reach out with are savage striker 7wsm. But don't think that's what your looking for.

 

[George P]

An XP-100 with either a 6mm or 7mm BR

 

[Frulk]

Waterboy...If you’re hitting 4 of 6 on bowling pin sized targets at 160 yards that’s dang fine shooting. You didn’t specify if you’re interested in going further by using rifle calibers or if you plan to stay with traditional pistol calibers.

If it’s the latter then .357 Maximum and 445 Super Mag come to mind. Not knowing what you’re currently lobbing down range in your GP you could go with a hot rodded 125 grainer to extend your distance a little.

 

[Demi-human]

My shooting is target shooting only no hunting. With that said I'm curious what would be a good pistol caliber for longer distance shooting.

I would have said a .243Winchester.
Then I thought 6Creedmoor.

But I guess today a 6ARC would be the one.
I would like to have one of those, in a Savage Stryker.
@MaxP has some knowledge he could share with you.


My personal choice, that I do own is the Desert Eagle.
It was specifically made for Silhouette shooting.
I use it to finely disperse water jugs, to water the lawn...
Though, I admit, a 44 caliber bullet has a better coefficient.

If you are talking strictly revolvers I am hardly any help, I prefer those to be snubbed. @CraigC could help there, perhaps.
A bigger gun just to target shoot is unnecessary. You are doing very well as is.
Maybe a steel target and a rattle can would be a better purchase. Instant feedback and a record of the group.

 

[bikerdoc]

When I get an itch to reach out it is a 357.
Of late a 22 magnum 6 inch SSA revolver has challenged my skills. Great fun!

 

[Waterboy3313]

The long distance pistol shooting is really new to me. It actually started on a bet from someone saying I couldn't hit what looked like a 2 liter bottle at about a 100 yards or so. I wasn't serious about hitting it because I thought no way that's way out of pistol range. I one handed my 357 as a joke and hit within a foot of it. Then I got serious and and actually did hit it. From there on I started working out further with what I have.

I guess I always just assumed a revolver would be best for something like this. Where I shoot I would be limited to about 200 yards and I really can't see myself trying to shoot any farther. Also I live in California so my choice of pistols is limited to the ca roster. Ammo is another issue if I can't find it locally it's more or less a problem. I do reload though and can mail order components.

 

[murf]

If you are going to stick with 357 magnum, a 180 grain bullet at top speed would be best. the 180 grain xtp works well here.

luck,

murf

 

[labnoti]

Why? I mean why does a heavy bullet work better? As long as we're sticking with traditional handgun cartridges and not bottle-neck rifle cartridges, it seems like the two problems would be high drag because of low ballistic coefficient and because of this, if the bullet starts out supersonic, it will soon go transonic. On the other hand, if we stay subsonic, it will have a very steep trajectory. I suppose a heavier bullet will be more stable in wind, but if there is little wind then that doesn't matter. So given the goal of the OP with traditional handgun cartridges, what are the priorities?

 

[cfullgraf]

I just started thinking about longish distance pistol shooting.

Do some searching on IHMSA Handgun silhouette competition. The competitions are out to 200 meters with all sorts of single shot and production handguns.

When I was competing, I shot a 357 magnum revolver in the revolver class and a 357 Magnum Contender in the production class. Not optimum but it worked.

357 Maximum was developed in part for handgun silhouette and a host of cartridges in the 41 to 45 caliber range. Some successful, some not.

In the unlimited class, many different short bottle neck cartridges were used in hand held bolt handguns.

 

[Demi-human]

Why? I mean why does a heavy bullet work better?

Momentum. Works in tissue, works in air.

Even at low BC pistol bullets, a heavier bullet of the same caliber will have a better Coefficient.

“All things equal, and they almost never are, a bigger bullet is a better one.”
Hornady’s A-Tip 50 BMG is the only bullet they make with a Ballistic Coefficient over unity.(1.05)

But at two hundred yards with the revolver you have, a fast bullet may be better. Conditions, target and ranges are a large part of the equation.

 

[entropy]

7mm-08. Savage Striker. 'Twould be my choice.

 

[Varminterror]

For a revolver, I have found the 357/44 Bain & Davis Mag to be the best option. I shoot a resized rifle bullet at speeds simply not attainable with revolver bullets - getting 180 grn HotCor’s up to 1900fps from a 7.5” barrel. I built my Redhawk with 250 yard deer hunting in mind, but given a steel IPSC out front, it’s a 450-500yrds range toy. A standard 357mag Blackhawk can be reamed for under $200 and be delivering impressive range work within a couple of weeks turnaround. It’s about as cheap as a guy can get into a super magnum meant for long range wheelgunning. Cheap and readily available revolver, cheap conversion, cheap and readily available brass, doesn’t get much easier than that.



For specialty pistols, the sky is the limit. Get a 16-18” barrel in a TC Encore, Savage Striker, Rem 700/XP100, or Nosler NCH chambered for something between 6 creed and 338 Edge, and you’ll be able to reach as far as your heart could ever desire, past a mile.

 

[.38 Special]

Why? I mean why does a heavy bullet work better? As long as we're sticking with traditional handgun cartridges and not bottle-neck rifle cartridges, it seems like the two problems would be high drag because of low ballistic coefficient and because of this, if the bullet starts out supersonic, it will soon go transonic. On the other hand, if we stay subsonic, it will have a very steep trajectory. I suppose a heavier bullet will be more stable in wind, but if there is little wind then that doesn't matter. So given the goal of the OP with traditional handgun cartridges, what are the priorities?

All of the revolver cartridges have rainbow trajectories. Some are "flatter" than others, but at extreme range with iron sights, it doesn't really matter - the shooter has to learn where to hold with his particular cartridge and that's all there is to it. The guns also are not accurate enough - or at least not from field positions with iron sights - for transonic instability to make any notable difference.

I like the biggest possible bullet simply because it's easier to see the misses. The "artillery" game with revolvers really is just that: You drop one in, hopefully see the mud fly from where it hit, make a correction, and try again. Eventually you figure out where you need to hold and then start making hits. If you can't see where your misses are impacting, you're just flinging lead and prayers.

 

[Varminterror]

Stubby, heavy bullets used in revolvers are much less affected by transonic transition than long, skinny rifle bullets. Plus, we’re talking about a firearm typically capable of 2.5-4moa, such an extra MOA due to any elicited yaw at 500yrds is a lot less noticeable than it is with a rifle which might still only be shooting 1/2-3/4moa groups at 500.

 

[labnoti]

Ok. I learned something.

As for the OP. I'm not sure 200 yards is quite "artillery" range with a 357. I've hit a 200 yard target (it was a 2' x 4' steel plate) and the hold-over was less than two feet (so basically I could just aim at the top of the target). Even with 9x19, it's not much worse. The holdover would probably still only be a little over 3'. 300 yards and the trajectory gets a lot steeper. You'd have to start aiming 10' above the target. Much beyond that you'd really have to lob them in.

 

[Waterboy3313]

It's interesting to hear different thoughts and ideas from a whole group of people on this subject. This is relatively new to me and I appreciate the input.

I reload my 38/357 stuff and have tried several bullets from lead cast swc, plated rnfp and Hornady xtp. I have used these bullets in 158gr and 125gr. With a lot of time doing workups and making adjustments I have found they all work relatively well to at least the 100 yard mark without loading to the recommended max powder charges. Most of which are actually very comfortable to shoot.

I didn't realize that this was going to get into custom built rifle caliber type pistols. That's not exactly where I want to go with this. I'm more into something off the shelf. I was thinking about possibly buying a new pistol soon probably a revolver that would be a step up over what I already have for reaching out to about 200 yards max.

 

[.38 Special]

As for the OP. I'm not sure 200 yards is quite "artillery" range with a 357. I've hit a 200 yard target (it was a 2' x 4' steel plate) and the hold-over was less than two feet (so basically I could just aim at the top of the target). Even with 9x19, it's not much worse. The holdover would probably still only be a little over 3'. 300 yards and the trajectory gets a lot steeper. You'd have to start aiming 10' above the target. Much beyond that you'd really have to lob them in.

Oops! I hear "long distance handgunning" and automatically assume he means my kind of long distance handgunning. I keep forgetting I am not the center of the universe.

At any rate, my ramblings have all been about heavy revolvers and distances of many hundreds of yards. If the OP is interested in pushing the envelope with that sort of thing, then I will stand by what I have written. If he is content with his (very good) shooting at 150 yards or so, then no, I don't think any revolver cartridges will be significantly better than his .357 Magnum. And of course, any of the "hand rifles" mentioned here will completely blow all the revolvers away.

 

[.38 Special]

I didn't realize that this was going to get into custom built rifle caliber type pistols. That's not exactly where I want to go with this. I'm more into something off the shelf. I was thinking about possibly buying a new pistol soon probably a revolver that would be a step up over what I already have for reaching out to about 200 yards max.

I think the .357 is a fine cartridge for the purpose. A longer sight radius is probably the one thing that would make hits easier at those ranges. I personally like a 7.5" barrel, though I sure don't like carrying it! You may also consider a revolver which is suited to a scope. I generally stick with iron sights even for silly stuff like 600 yard targets, but do sometimes enjoy a scoped revolver.

Given your parameters I think a Freedom Arms revolver in .357 on up would be ideal. For a more reasonable budget I would look into a Ruger Bisley "Hunter" model or, if you prefer double action, the Redhawk/Super Redhawk.

 

[cfullgraf]

Ok. I learned something.

As for the OP. I'm not sure 200 yards is quite "artillery" range with a 357. I've hit a 200 yard target (it was a 2' x 4' steel plate) and the hold-over was less than two feet (so basically I could just aim at the top of the target). .

With my 6" 357 Magnum Model 19, there was enough sight adjustment between the 50 meter chickens and the 200 meter rams that I could hold on the target. I was shooting full power 158 grain soft point bullets.

I had to press my 45 Colt Model 25-5 into service for one match after the forcing cone cracked on the Model 19. The 45 Colt ran out of sight adjustment at 150 meters and I had to hold about 15 to 20 feet over the rams to get a hit.

I didn't realize that this was going to get into custom built rifle caliber type pistols. That's not exactly where I want to go with this. I'm more into something off the shelf. I was thinking about possibly buying a new pistol soon probably a revolver that would be a step up over what I already have for reaching out to about 200 yards max.

With the bottle neck cartridge guns, you can really reach out and touch something. It is easy to make and record sight adjustments for the different ranges because the cartridges shoot flatter. Contenders and Encores are available in a variety of suitable cartridges at reasonable costs.

But, shooting revolvers is fun at longer ranges as well. When you choose, you want something with velocity to have a flatter shooting cartridge which requires less sight adjustment. If you get into shooting at heavy steel targets at long ranges such as silhouette rams. If I remember correctly, they weigh about 50 pounds or so. Light bullets will not reliably knock the rams down at revolver velocities.

If you are just punching holes in targets of opportunity or ringing gongs, any bullet that will reach the range desired will work.

If you want to impress your friends, practice at different ranges recording the sight settings. Then you can dial in your sights and hit the target on the first shot. I counted the number of clicks from the sight being screwed all the way down.

 

[Jack B.]

I've been shooting a 480 Ruger with 355gr.lead gas checked bullets out to 100 -150 yards with some success. Open sights ,no scope. 7.5 inch barrel.

 

[TonyAngel]

In terms of more traditional handgun cartridges, I had fun with 10mm and .41 mag.

 

[Waterboy3313]

In terms of more traditional handgun cartridges, I had fun with 10mm and .41 mag.

I've always wondered about 10mm I've never shot one though.