What is acceptable accuracy in a 9mm?

[targetshooter22]

Hi all,

I have a question about what you consider "acceptable" accuracy in 9mm pistols. Without naming names, I have a couple (major brands, no sub-compacts like an LC9 or Keltec), and I do wonder, how well am I doing, and how well do the guns shoot?

So for your "typical" self defense ranges of say 7, 10, and 15 yards, what do you consider a good group for controlled, aimed fire? Do you differentiate between "full size" and "compact" doublestack models (e.g. Glock 17 versus 26)?

Thanks!

TS22

 

[armoredman]

If I can consistently hit within the 8 ring of a B-27 target, standing two hand hold, at 25 yards, it will do. I try to do much better than that, of course, but a combat pistol is hardly a target pistol.
JoeL has posted MANY videos over at czfirearms.us of him using a full size CZ P-09 at 50 and 100 yards hitting paper plates consistently, shots I could never do!

Try this out - measure the longest distance in your home. Set that as your longest shot. There's step one.

 

[FearNoWind]

On a bullseye target
Slow fire, off hand (two hands)
7 yards - 5 inch circle
10 yards - 7 inch circle
25 yards - 10 inch circle

On a B-27 Target
Slow fire
7 yards (unsupported - two hand) X ring
10 yards (unsupported - two hand) 10 ring
beyond 10 yards, barricade supported, sitting, kneeling, prone 9 ring.

No, it's not impossible. Just takes lots and lots of practice.

 

[C0untZer0]

Yes I differentiate, my R9 has plain black sights with a sight radius of 2.75 inches that is not as easy to shoot accurately as my Glock 17L.

 

[JoePfeiffer]

As long as the gun is reliable and shoots better than I do, I'm happy with it. It's hard to describe what gives me that sense that the gun is better than me, but once I shot a few that were worse there was no mistaking it.

 

[Outlaw Man]

My goal is something similar to armoredman, with a pretty rapid (not talking repeated double-taps) rate of fire. Most of mine are capable of better accuracy if I slow down and take deliberate shots. I just don't practice that way very often.

I'm confident that with practice I could hit a man sized target at well over 50 yards with great consistency using my Hi Power...but I also can't think of a situation where that wouldn't be risking crossing the line into murder. If I were shooting competitions, on the other hand....

 

[9mmepiphany]

So for your "typical" self defense ranges of say 7, 10, and 15 yards, what do you consider a good group for controlled, aimed fire?

From 3-7 yards, I'd expect the shots to be on top of each other.

Moving out to 10-15 yards, I'd expect to put all my shots into 2"

This is standing, using two hands and taking the time to align my sights...1-2 rounds per second. Speeding up to 4 rounds per second, I'd expect all my rounds to fall into 6" (center of an 8" paper plate)

what you consider "acceptable" accuracy in 9mm pistols.

From a bench off a bag, I'd expect any good 9mm pistol to be able to stay inside 4" at 50

 

[LiveLife]

what you consider "acceptable" accuracy in 9mm pistols ... I have a couple (major brands, no sub-compacts like an LC9 or Keltec) ... for your "typical" self defense ranges of say 7, 10, and 15 yards

It's been my experience when shooting factory ammunition, accuracy can vary quite a bit. Some pistols are more ammunition sensitive than others. For many years, I have used 1" at 7 yards, 2" at 10 yards and 3" at 15 yards shot offhand as accuracy reference for various factory stock pistols using different factory ammunition.

what do you consider a good group for controlled, aimed fire? Do you differentiate between "full size" and "compact" doublestack models (e.g. Glock 17 versus 26)?

Using "known accurate" factory or reloaded ammunition for a particular pistol, I would consider sub 2" groups shot slow offhand at 15 yards to be good.

At 7-15 yards, I found G17/G26 and G22/G27 to produce comparable shot groups with full-size models producing slightly smaller shot groups. I used Pearce +1 mag base extensions on subcompact models for full 3 finger grip and perhaps that makes a difference.

 

[huntershooter]

"Acceptable accuracy" is quite subjective.
For me; <2" @ 25 yds. from the bench.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

My standard is to be able to put 3 rounds in one second into a 4" circle at 21'. Generally, standing slow fire at 21' I'd expect most rounds to almost touch each other.

All the 9mm pistols I have ever owned will out shoot me - if rested at 21' - 30' I expect all rounds to land in a 1" circle or so...a magazine full, fired from the a sand bag with unlimited time between shots, should make one big hole at 21' for me.

VooDoo

 

[mavracer]

Any good service 9mm should be capable of 2" @ 25 yards and 4" @ 50 and the closer you can get to that the better you're doing. Sure you have to diferentiate between compacts and full size when shooting free standing.
Myself I regularly put 12 or 15 out of 20 in the 10 ring of a B27 and very seldom do my strays get outside the 9 ring.

 

[gym]

That's very good shooting, I shoot a 3" Kahr at 25 yards I am inside the circle, about half in the 8-10 and half still inside the circle usually 7 or 6, Last time I hadn't fired it for 6 months, I still was inside the target at 25 yards, so for me at 66 years young today, it means I am still going to hit what I am aiming at. I also shoot faster than normal, never did have patients. If I really aim, I can stay inside the black, especially with my Glock 26, that one I can just turn and fire and split the 10 with at 25 feet. That's about all I will ever need to do hopefully.
I do shoot a 1911 more accurate.
I just don't shoot as much anymore to be cosistant. Also my guns are all small carry guns, I am getting a walther or a P30, can't decide which. Also still always looking at 1911's. I expect a larger gun will improve my groups, a 4 inch barrel minimum.
In my 30's I was the best shot in my club, but along with age goes the eyes.

 

[BSA1]

For general shooting my goal is most (90%) of them in a 3 - 4" hole. I start at 7 yds and place most of my shots in the 10 and X ring. It depends on my attitude that particular day and the number of rounds I want to shoot. Usually a mimimium of 12 revolver and 14 -15 rounds of 9mm or 45. I then back to 10 & 15 yards working on shooting through the same hole.

Last Monday I took a 9mm and shot it the way I described. 7, 10 & 15 yards. I probably shot about 60 rounds and shot a couple of mags with 1st round double action followed by two rounds single action (like a real world self defense situation). I have not shot this gun in a very long time so I probably shot 30 - 45 rounds first to get use to the differences in trigger pull and where the sights printed. Once I figured that out and adjusted to the trigger pull I shot the remaining 60 rounds standing two handed unsupported. I kept all the rounds in the black (bullseye target). Two were a little above the hole and two were a little low. The remaining 56 rounds chewed a out the 9, 10 & X ring in a nice round hole.