How accurate are you with a snub nose pistol?

How accurate are you with a snub nose pistol in double action?
If you had to shoot someone in the head, How confident would you be that you could hit him?
Say he was holding a friend or family member and you had one shot to take him out.

 

It depends on rate of fire. With slow, aimed fire at the range I can hit a 4" circle or smaller at 25 yards, no problem. With rapid fire it's more like a 6" circle at 10 yards.

Besides, the head shot such as you describe is extremely dangerous and I wouldn't attempt it without a long gun unless I was very close and had a good shot from the hostage-taker's flank. Apart from the range involved the targets are moving around a lot, both in general and in relation to each other.

 

You don't say whether it's sa or da. Makes a bit of difference.

Other than that ditto on what Cosmoline had to say.

tipoc

 

cosemoline what brand of snub'y do you have that shoots that good.
I have a taurus mod. 85 and a Rg mod 39 both are good to about 7 yards after that hit and miss.
I ground the hammer spur off my mod. 85 now it is pretty much double action only.
I have painted white dots on the sights for the next time I go to the range.
I will be taking my glasses next time maybe I will shoot better.

 

The easiest way to get better is put up one target and then put 50 in a row into it. After 50 shots you see all of your warts and wounds on paper and you learn a lot about how to be consistent. That was 50 at 15 yards.

 

How do you guys post pics it won't let me.

 

I post pictures buy have them on the Internet via a free photo site like Photobucket and then point to the URL of the photo.

You need to add a image tag like this

I can shoot into a 4" circle at 25 yards slow fire but that's because I practice from that range. I shoot from 7 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards and 25 yards when at the range.

Here is a photo of one of my best groups. It was fired from a M638, double action unsupported, slow fire from 10 yards out.

 

my Taurus 905 with crimson trace will stay in 4" easy at 25 yards,the M&P 340 da it would be more like 15 yards.
but for a hostage shot with a handgun I'd need to be close real close before I'd take the shot.

 

There's nothing inherently inaccurate about snubs. My DS can easily produce 3" or better groups at 25 yards with 158 grain RN or wadcutters if I'm firing SA mode from the bench. It's a lot more accurate than I am.

 

Cosmoline is correct, it's not the revolver that's inaccurate, it's the shooter. The trigger pull on a snub nose is a little heavier than on full size revolvers. That coupled with the very short sight picture makes for a revolver which isn't very forgiving. Every little mistake is multiplied. Practice-practice and then practice some more. You will do fine, really! Dry firing with snap-caps will help you with your trigger control. The bonus is a smother trigger from shooting it so much!! LOL

 

7 yards for me, need more practice.

 

Crimson Trace laser grips make it possible to shoot 6-8" groups at 50 yards, off a bench, with my 637. But I'd never do it around a hostage. 7 to 10 yards max in that situation. The cost of failure is too great.

RBH

 

hmm, how much do I LIKE the hostage...?

no, seriously, it depends alot on the revolver, but even more so on what you practice with/are used to. I find if I have been shooting auto's mostly for awhile, it may take me a little while to shoot a revolver at my best--they just shoot differently. I also find I can generally shoot my model 10 snubbie better than my j frames, BUT the j frames CAN be pretty accurate with practice.

 

Below a 2" post war M&P at 15 yards sa. 3 different loads. That's a 3" box.



2" Colt Cobra, fast da 8 yards.



2" post war M&P at 25 yards from a braced position, sa.



Rapid fire da at 7-10 yards, some one handed with three guns pictured.



tipoc

 

I said 15 yards (double action) but if I am carrying my Colt Detective Special (about the same age as the one Cosmoline has) I have a single action option, and if I use it 4" groups at 25 yards are quite possible.

 

Deadly Accurate

with a snubby, out to 25 yards~!

Like hitting a nat's a$$ at 25 yards, without clipping his wing's.

 

Depends a little on the gun and ammo being used but truth is my accuracy with snubbies becomes very limited after 7 yards.

 

I'm a big fan of the 2 inch revolvers.



J Frame.


I like timed shooting.


I also practice laser shooting several evenings a week.


Including weak hand point shooting.


I like to shoot the small pistols at 100 yards.
Sitting.
No misses but you can't cover the group with one hand.
(The white pasters are from my Beretta Minx 22 Short. It doesn't do too bad at 100 yards.)


Standing.
I need some practice.

 

Amen. I answered the question assuming single action. Double action, my range reduces to probably 7 yards and under, and to be perfectly honest, I don't know that at 7 yards I could hold them all into a 4 inch circle. I am certain a 6 inch circle would do it, but the fact is that I am just not a particularly good DA shooter. Better than I was, worse than I should be. I also have to add that Cosmoline made a good point about rapid fire. I would be able to hit at 7 yards (because I have done some drills doing just that), but the shot placement would likely be fairly erratic.

Interestingly, this general topic is one of the main reasons why I buy into the fact that the rifle is better that a pistol in SD. I know for certain that I can pump 10 shots into a 4 inch circle at ranges much exceeding 25 yards reliably, consistently, and at speed. I am no super rifle shooter, but I am simply a much better rifleman than I am a pistolero.

Edit to add:

For all that, my carry piece is a 2-inch revolver. I prefer the power of the .357 over the general compact auto caliber offerings, and I simply trust a revolver more than I do an auto in a high stress situation. I know anything can go wrong, and I know autos are great, but thats how it is for me.

Also, M2, I envy your DA shooting.

 

I'm exactly as accurate as I want to be, including hitting the fleas on a dogs back without hitting the dog.

Just so long as I'm sleeping.

 

With good ammo np.

My grandfather can hit a 8" ballon at 100yds 5/6 times with a his older smith snubby.

 

I'd say out to 15 yards only because I haven't tried at 25 yards though I suspect I could get a few in the black.
This is at 7 yards.

 

I'm no Lewis Erskine (from the 60's TV series the FBI, he could hit a flea at 200 yards with his snub) but I'm pretty proficient to 7-10 yards...

 

I oughta add that I can't think of many situations that I might try for a head shot. I wouldn't try in da.

If I can hit a moving target at 15 yards da center of mass with consistentcy then I'm pleased. Shooting at smaller tagets at longer ranges improves skills and lets a shooter know their limitations.

tipoc

 

Heres 20 yards, double action, with my Taurus


Shot at 2007-05-19