What is considered "good groupings" for handguns?

[xxxleafybugxxx]

Just recently got into handguns, and I'm not certain whats good and what isnt. I took my xd to the range yesterday and my best grouping was about 2-3 inches from 7 yards. Other groupings were futher away due to me jerking the trigger and my hand shaking.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Five inches at 25 yards offhand will get you by. Go slow and keep at it and you'll surely get better. Keep it up and focus on that front sight!

 

[rondog]

Whatever makes ya happy, I reckon. I shot this one the other day and was tickled pink. But I usually shoot from a bench, and use a pistol rest. I'm terrible at freehanded shooting.



First time I ever fired my new RIA Compact, I was very happy with this group. Standing and freehanded @ 21 feet.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Try to do a lot of dry-fire. Be safe. If you drop the "hammer" with the sights on target, you hit it. You can "call the shot" also. Anyway, good luck.

 

[k4swb]

I used to be able to shoot fairly small groups but now if I can recognize a group instead of a shotgun-like pattern I'm happy.

 

[Weevil]

Yeah that's good for a standard pistol with fixed sights.

If you're just practicing with your SD pistol that's a good grouping at that range.

Now I've got target pistols with adjustable sights that will cut a ragged hole at that distance but most of my "combat" type handguns have that sort of grouping.

 

[LiveLife]

Note that ammunition makes a big difference in the size of your shot groups and your pistol may group better with a particular brand/bullet weight.

With good factory or reloaded ammunition, the reference I use is one inch at 15 yards off hand for full size polymer/striker fired pistols like Glock/M&P and 1.5-2.0 inch at 25 yards for 1911 off sand bags (shot group measured center-to-center, not edge-to-edge).

 

[nathan]

The size of your fist at 25 yds is very very good if shot twohande freetyle. A platesized at 25 yds in combat scenario will suffice.

 

[BCRider]

With time and some training/corrections you'll be able to produce the same size group at around 17 to 20 during slow aimed fire. But for now 2 to 3 at 7 is fine for a newbie.

The key is to work on your grip stability and lose the flinch.

If your hand is shaking while holding the gun out you're likely tensing up and squeezing too hard. You want to hold the gun with the sort of grip that you'd put into a firm but friendly handshake. And you want your arms supportive but not tensed up. Sort of like the amount of control tension you'd have in a baseball bat while waiting for the pitcher to throw.

With your hands try to hold the gun and move nothing but the trigger finger. If you can do this with no gun in your hand it's a good drill for trying to isolate your trigger finger motion from the stable non moving grip of the rest of your hand.

Another useful trick is to focus on building pressure on the trigger rather than actually moving it. You want to simply ramp up the pressure in your trigger finger and allow the trigger to move or not as it wishes under the influence of that pressure.

You want to move the trigger with a purpose. And that purpose isn't to fire the gun. Instead it is to smoothly move the trigger back as far as it can go in the frame. Somewhere along the way the gun will go BANG!. To focus on this sort of motion you want to move the trigger back and then learn to actually hold it there at the rear travel limit for the recoil and as the gun stabilizes for the next shot. If you can do that you are controlling the gun despite the recoil and blast. And that is what you want to do.

At that point if you relax your trigger finger pressure with the same sort of control as you pulled it back you'll feel the trigger travel forward and feel a little "click" thru your finger. That was the reset point. You can now reverse the release and build up pressure to the rear again.

This all sounds very "Zen" like. And I suppose it is. You want to disconnect yourself from the BANG! and focus on trigger pressure and motion. Along the way if you do this well you'll find that you're simply not flinching at all.

With practice this pressure build and release can occur very quickly. But at first so you can concentrate on a smooth pressure build you want to time it so from the beginning of the build to the trigger stopping at the rear travel limit requires about one full second.

Try some dry firing with this trick to get a feel for it. Then do the same thing at the range.

 

[mavracer]

At 7 yards anything outside of a jagged hole is shooter error. Good shooters (not great) should be able to consistantly shoot 3" groups at 25 yards.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

When I started shooting handguns about 4 years ago, I was told to pay attention to my mechanics, shoot slow. Work on your sight picture grip and trigger pull.
Speed comes with lots of practice. 2-3 inches is very good for a newbie. Keep shootin!

 

[Sapper771]

At 7 yards free hand, all rounds should print about an inch or under. I usually use B-27 targets. The score ring numbers give you something to shoot at.

At speed, as long as all rounds on target are hidden by my hand when i lay it over the target.....I call it good.

 

[murf]

don't worry about the size of your groups. it's like "countin your money while your sittin at the table". just a distraction.

just get into a routine of grip, sight alignment, trigger squeeze and follow-through. make it the same every time, you won't have to worry about group size!

fwiw

murf

 

[Impureclient]

On the internet, 1" @ 25 yards offhand and standing is considered par . With video evidence that will open up to about 6"+ from what I've seen from people that have actual videos.

I never even try at 25 yards in my local indoor range as I can't even see what I'm shooting at. I have a little better than 20/15 vision so I know it's not me. They need better lighting
I guess. In fact now that I think about it I've never seen anybody in there shooting past 15 yards unless they come in and rent a gun, goof around and shoot everywhere except their target.
How any people in here or any gun website for that matter that are older than me and even wear glasses get 1" @ 25 yards is beyond me. I've never seen anybody in there have anything close to
1" groupings at even 15 yards. Inside that range at 10 yards, I'm happy with 3" or less with standing offhand and pulling the trigger every 1.5 to 2 seconds. At 7 yards they stay 1.5-2" and good 10
shot group are under 1" and a few through the same hole.
This is with shooting a CZ75b. With the Kahr CW9 I carry, those will open up a little but out to 15 yards with either gun they are all pie plates and less.

 

[murf]

i shoot one inch groups all the time.......until the second shot.

murf

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I often hear of all kinds of incredible groups that people say they can shoot offhand, but rarely ever get to witness them being shot in person....IMO, if you can hit a paper plate every time at 25 yards with a centerfire handgun of carry length, you are a pretty darn good shot.

 

[CDR_Glock]

I often hear of all kinds of incredible groups that people say they can shoot offhand, but rarely ever get to witness them being shot in person....IMO, if you can hit a paper plate every time at 25 yards with a centerfire handgun of carry length, you are a pretty darn good shot.

That's good enough for me. In reality, your target is moving and can be shooting back at you. One inch groups are best left for competition and bench rests.

I'm happy to keep most of the hits in the circular Shoot N See Targets at 10-15 yards.

Although I will shoot at 7 yards to determine the ability I have to shoot the chest of the little silhouette in the left hand corner of the target. My Ruger Gp100, Colt Python, P238, and Ed Brown Special Forces can do it.

 

[basicblur]

Just recently got into handguns, and I'm not certain whats good and what isnt.

Depends on what you're trying to do - for target competition, etc, tighter is better.
For SD, if you're shooting too tight a group, it's time to speed up.

Training for SD is a balancing act between accuracy and speed.

 

[One_Jackal]

With a small caliber pocket pistol, my goal is to empty it out in less than second, hitting multiple 6 inch targets 4 times at 10 yards (6 shots). On the other hand, with a revolver I expect to hit a 2 inch target at 20 yards every time. The range master at DCWC can hit a 6 inch target with my Super Blackhawk on the rifle range. I have tried it but I can't get accustomed to shooting off a bean bag.

Dry firing really helps me with a new rifle. I am sure it would transfer to a pistol.

 

[Snag]

If I can keep four or five shots in two or three inches at 25 yards I would consider myself having a most excellent day.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Two CZ75's , 5 shots at 25 yards. Two hands resting on the bench, no bags or other support. The flyer was me. Excluding the flyer, the groups are not a lot bigger than the triggerguard area of the gun.

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[jmace57]

I thought I was a decent shot til I read this thread...<sigh>

 

[LiveLife]

Note that ammunition makes a big difference in the size of your shot groups and your pistol may group better with a particular brand/bullet weight.

If you are shooting factory ammo, you maybe at a disadvantage in obtaining smaller shot groups.

I thought I was doing OK shooting S&B/PMC ammo for USPSA matches until I started reloading and my shot groups shrank by about 50%. I have done several factory vs reload comparisons over the years using different brand factory ammo with the same results ... good match grade reloads shoot better than average factory ammo.

 

[aliasneo07]

Who are these people shooting 2 inch groups at 25 yards? I mean it also depends on the type of gun you're shooting. A 1911 with target sights or a ruger mk 2 with a red dot is going to shoot tighter than a glock 19 with standard sights.

If I can make headshots at 25 yards I'm happy...with standard 3 dot combat sights.

 

[LiveLife]

Who are these people shooting 2 inch groups at 25 yards?

You don't know about bullseye shooting competition? - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullseye_(shooting_competition)