Longer range pistol shooting?

[Hatterasguy]

Does anyone shoot at longer ranges? I'm not a very good shot but I find it to be a lot of fun. Last weekend I set up at 50 yards and managed to get on paper with about half my rounds with my 1911. I'm thinking about pushing it out to 100 yards next to see if I can even get rounds on paper.

I'm not a very good shooter but I do like the challange. Any tips from the more experianced guys? I find the sights on my mil spec to be lacking a bit, they are simply not fine enough. Maybe this will be the perfect excuse for me to get another 1911.

 

[David E]

I'm thinking about pushing it out to 100 yards next to see if I can even get rounds on paper.

Just know that the GUN can do it !!

Get some decent sights on your existing 1911 and you'll hit more often.

 

[gardhack]

I am shooting a 1911 gold cup at 50 yards regularity. I have thought of trying to figure the ballistics and shooting at 100 but have not made that jump yet. As David said. . . make sure the GUN can do it Once you are confident with the gun, you have something to work on. Example is I would not even try to shot 50 (or 25) with my Mauser even though it is a good carry gun.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Does anyone shoot at longer ranges?

One of my favorite things is shooting compact size handguns, like S&W J Frames, at 50 yards. The two targets are a white foot square and black 2 foot square steel plate.

52 yards. This is the first time this girl shot beyond 15 yards and she was tearing up that 12 inch target.


I don't shoot at 100 yards much anymore but the compact pistols will do well at that distance.


With the small guns I call anywhere in the silhouette a "hit".


With the 2 inch 38 I don't get but about 50 percent hits.


My preferred distance sight picture.

 

[1SOW]

My 124gr 9mm drops about the same as a .22 rimfire rifle at 100 yds--about 9"--one pie plate.

It's either the Hogdon or Winchester site that gives some longer range pistol charts.

Threads here say the .45's bigger mass carries better for longer distances---some were cited as a lot longer distances.

Listen to David E.

P.S. At 50 yards, my 4.72" barrel 9mm shoots almost flat with light loads/minor PFs.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Example is I would not even try to shot 50 (or 25) with my Mauser even though it is a good carry gun.

Don't sell the little guns short.
The only reason this Micro Desert Eagle put two shots under the target is I wasn't allowing enough for bullet drop.

52 yards. Standing, two hands.

 

[9mmepiphany]

don't think of 50 yards as a longer range...it used to be part of every qualification course when i first started in LE with a revolver. they only shortened qualification requirements when we changed over to semi-autos. about 1/4 of our rounds were shot at 50 yards.

at 100 yards, the 9mm makes it much easier to get on target than the .45ACP. when you get to longer ranges beyond that, the .45 requires more holdover but is a bit more consistent when there is much wind...remember to rise the front sight in the rear notch rather than your aligned sights

 

[kd7nqb]

if you decide to take this as a hobby. I strongly recommend calling Cope at SW Shooting Authority in New Mexico. He teaches a long range handgun class that is limited to ONLY duty style hand guns with open sights and they shoot out to I think 400 or 500 yards.

I could be wrong but I am pretty sure he sells a dvd of the course.

 

[Nasty]

Back when I was still active duty as a SAMTU, we used to fire at targets on the full range M60 course just for fun with our duty S&W M15's. From a braced (sitting, kneeling or prone) position (and with much younger eyes), man sized targets were not safe out to 500 yards.

The inherent mechanic accuracy, even with the PGU13 ball ammo, was amazing. We were all in high level competition of National Match, PPC, early IPSC and so on...but still, the firearms themselves were very impressive.

 

[schmeky]

Years ago, I shot with some guys at long range on a regular basis. We had a 7.5" Ruger BH .45 Colt, 4" M-29, and a 6" K-38. We made some crude 18" tall X 24" wide silhouttes.

At 200 yards, we could typically hit the target 3-4 times out of 6, from a two-hand, standing position. This after weeks of practice, but once you have the hold-over dialed in, it's a matter of trigger control.

Yes, it can definitely be done. And talk about fun

 

[flipajig]

I shoot a TC contender now that is fun when i do my part 1/2 " at 100 what a thrill
I was shooting Rock chucks at 2 to 3 hundred now that was a chalange.

 

[Rembrandt]

I regularly practice out to 100 and 200 yards with .44 mag. I try to be proficient at under 100 yards with open sights and use a scope for distances beyond that. Always want to have that confidence of hitting the target should a nice buck appear at those ranges.

Elmer Keith wrote extensively about long distance shooting and took a deer at 600 yards. The problem arises that pistol cartridges have a trajectory that resembles a rainbow. One almost has to study artillery elevation techniques.....fire for effect and adjust elevation.

One technique I've found helpful was very gently squeezing the trigger so not to pull the gun to the right or left. Couple degrees of movement at the gun is extremely magnified at 200 yards. Another trick is to use a front sight that has horizontal markings that can be used for elevation indicators. File marks on the front sight then fill in cuts with gold wire....works very well.

 

[Hatterasguy]

Cool now I want to try 100 yards. Sadly their are not any ranges around here where I can shoot much further than that.

I'll practice more at 50 before moving the target out to 100. I need to work on my sight picture and making sure I don't move the gun at all when I pull the trigger.

 

[Walkalong]

I often shoot at 100 yards, and sometimes at 300 yards. It's fun.

 

[BWB]

As a change of pace, or an eye-opener for sceptics, the "handguns are hopeless beyond a few yards, or only good to fight your way to your rifle" crowd, we often repair to the 100m mark with various .45's, 9's, and .40's. From sitting or a rest, you can ring an E type steel silhouette until you tire of it. A good day or a better shot than I can torture smaller poppers and milk jugs with astonishing regularity.
I enjoy asking the naysayers after they watch that if they really want to be engaged by a pistol shooter at that range or beyond. Nope is the universal answer.
Try it, you'll be hooked.

 

[gearhead]

I find my Five-seveN to be a very good long-range pistol. My poor eyesight limits the range more than the pistol.

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

50 yards isn't long range. 100 and beyond is where the real fun starts.

I shoot my 1911 regularly at 100, and its not all that difficult. With a 25 yard zero, a six o' clock hold on the head of a full-size silhouette will put all your shots in the center of the torso. I also picked up a long-barreled .44 a while back just for long-range shooting, and that's a hoot as well. I haven't shot it beyond 100 yet, but now that spring is here, hopefully I'll get to try it out at the 225 yard rifle range nearby. I haven't been keeping up with my gun pictures, it has new sights and grips more suited to precision shooting now, but here's a standing 50 yard target I shot with my .44 a while back:

Just stick with it, dry fire a lot, and practice the basics (good target sights help, as well) and you'll find that long range handgun shooting is a boatload of fun. And nothing beats the looks you get from people shooting rifles next to you, especially when they see you making hits. My favorite line so far:

"Does that thing even shoot that far?"

 

[Justin]

Bullseye shooters do it one handed at fifty yards.

 

[HisSoldier]

You guys are making me think again about finding a way to put and adjustable sight on my Razorback, that 10MM round should carry out there flat and straight, especially if I load it up with 200 grain solids.

I don't understand why anyone would shoot any animal with a handgun at 600 yards unless it had stomped their kid to death or something. The odds on the critter suffering for a long time is greatly increased. But then I'm not a hunter, and if I shoot a living creature that two legged creature will definitely deserve what he gets.

 

[Rembrandt]

I don't understand why anyone would shoot any animal with a handgun at 600 yards unless it had stomped their kid to death or something.

Elmer Keith shot it for food. As I recall the story, the critter was either lame or wounded, Elmer finished it off. It was eaten that evening at their camp site. No fast food drive thru's were available.

 

[schmeky]

Rembrant is absolutely correct. In fact, there was an esteamed gun expert that thought Keith was not telling the truth.

If I remember the story correctly, the esteamed gunwriter was there when Elmer made that 600 yard shot.

I used to cast .45 Colt slugs with wheel weights using the 250 gn Keith type mold. This is what I used to do all my long range shooting with and it was very effective.

 

[3845]

If you don't have the room for long range shooting, you can make the targets and guns smaller. Shooting empty shotgun hulls with a .25 or .22 pocket pistol out to about 40 or 50 yards is fun and challenging.

 

[tehweej]

My brother-in-law hit one of the 30-06 rated Do-all spinner targets (bottom plate) with a 357 at 100+yds. Hit it on the 6th shot, I was very impressed. His grouping wasnt too bad from what I could tell, maybe 18"? hard when there is only dirt to kick up as an indicator

 

[mooseracing]

He teaches a long range handgun class that is limited to ONLY duty style hand guns with open sights and they shoot out to I think 400 or 500 yards.

What is duty style considered?

My XD 45 w/4" barrel barely dents an old tin sink at 100yds with standard WWB ammo. Wasn't very impressed at all, but granted I use it as a carry gun and hope to never need it past 25yds.

 

[Hangingrock]

This is at 50yds standing


This is at 100yds standing

Like most people I’m only going to show you my good targets. I’d like to say this happens all the time it don’t but I have enough good days to encourage me to stay with it. I’ve been target shooting for 46yrs starting at Parris Island. I just don’t know how much longer I’ll continue. Simply don’t have the dedication or inclination any more.