What is the range of pistol-caliber rifles?

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fulloflead

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Is there a pistol caliber rifle that will shoot WELL at 100 yards?
What calibers will do it, and will they do it with open "factory" sights?

I don't really shoot rifle, but my gun club has a cool underground 100-yard tunnel for rifle. Since I already own TONS of handgun ammo and reload for a bunch of pistol calibers, I was hoping I could buy a rifle in a pistol caliber I already have and enjoy shooting in "the tube".

What do ya think?

.
 
No personal experience but it seems that some of the .357 lever guns work well at 100 yards.
 
If .357 is one of the pistol calibers you reload for, the Marlin 1894c is a great carbine to go with. You can search for lots of info on it, but I'll tell you mine shoots very close to one inch groups at 100 yards with Hornady XTP FP bullets over a full load of Lil' gun. I've chronoed that load numerous times at 2,000 fps. That's about 90% of a 30-30. Semi-auto rounds get less of a velocity boost than the magnums, whose cases have room for a pile of slow-burning powder (the Marlins are also available in .44 mag and my favorite, the .41 mag).

You CAN shoot it with the factory sights, but they're hardly ideal. I prefer and recommend one of the handy aperature sights from Williams or (if your carbine is an older model that's pre-drilled for it) Lyman.
 
I had a Mech Tech carbine conversion unit for the Glock 17, and it had a 100 yd range. Not bad for a 9mm.
 
I would recommend a Marlin 1894c in 357 and get some reloading gear and load some 158 or 180 jacketed with some Lil' Gun. I have some wild loads that are great to shoot over 100yds.
 
I just finished working up Lil' Gun loads in .357 Magnum. Lil' Gun is like pixie dust in .357 Magnum. Amazing results! If I could shoot my 180gr XTP loads at 100 yards in a rifle, that would be SWEET!

What about the Ruger Deerfield autos?

.
 
If I could shoot my 180gr XTP loads at 100 yards in a rifle, that would be SWEET!
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Oh yeah, not a problem. The Marlin will put those 180-gr. bullets to work for you.

Don't know much about the deerfields, I'm afraid.
 
My Olympic K9GL works quite well at 100yds also.

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the marlins

I have seen the Marlin .41 carbine shoot 2"-4" groups at 100 yards with good ammo.
 
You can shoot 45 long Colt at 100 yards with commercial ammo on 2 1/2" to 4" groups easy.

Czhen
FL
 
This is all second-hand, but I've heard people say good things about the Kel-Tec 9mm carbine (I think they also make a .40S&W version) and also the Hi-Point Carbine (9mm or .40S&W available now, and I think they were talking about making a .45ACP version).

The Kel-Tec folds in half to a size of 18", which fits nicely into small spaces for transport or storage (e.g. truck gun). Another advantage of the Kel-Tec is that it can be made in different versions to accept magazines from Glock, S&W, etc. So, if you have a Glock 17, for example, you can use the same magazines in the Kel-Tec 9mm carbine if you get that version.

The Hi-Point is rumored to never need disassembly or cleaning beyond spraying cleaner down the bore from the muzzle.

Both are rumored to have great customer service. I know Hi-Point pretty much has an unconditional, no-questions-asked warranty that lasts forever (even if you're the 10th owner of the gun and it got run over by a bus and set on fire). So that's a strong suit for them.

But again, I've never shot any of these. I only know b/c I'm considering getting one of these in the future since I can share ammo with my CZ 75.
 
Given that 9mm artillery lugers had sights for 600 y/m (probably m) for area shooting, "well over 100 yards" may be an understatement.

I have the scope on my Beretta Storm 9mm zero'd at 100 yards. Consistently hitting a 6" group isn't a problem and there are folks that do it with 3" groups with their Storms. On a calm day, I can do fairly well hitting an IPSC silhouette at 200 yards, but would probably do better with a full auto and just trying to walk it in to the target. As the round slows, it seems to drift more with the wind, hence making good shots more difficult.
 
I don't sight my Marlin 1894S, .44 mag for 100 yard shots. This is my primary whitetail rifle, and the furtherst I have killed a deer with it was less than 75 yards. Still, when I am shooting from a bench rest, my handloads will group less than two inches at 100 yards. Of a more practical nature, is how well you can shoot standing up, with no rest.
 
Any pistol caliber (even .22LR) should be able to reach out to 100yds. Some will have better trajectories than others though.

A self-made man worships his creator
 
Since you will be reloading, it really comes down to which one do you want to shoot. IMO if you tune the load to whichever rifle you'll be using the .357 Mag, .41 Mag and the .44 Mag should be very accurate, with the .44 Mag being bigger. I'd like to find a .41 Mag rifle at a reasonable price, I've already got the .357 1894C.

One thing about Marlin 1894 rifles -- most have Marlin's micro-groove rifling which doesn't work with cast bullets, so you'll be limited to jacketed.
 
One thing about Marlin 1894 rifles -- most have Marlin's micro-groove rifling which doesn't work with cast bullets, so you'll be limited to jacketed.
Click to expand...

Ah! Thanks for that tip. The Marlins are tempting. I have to look into the strength of the actions on the Deerfields.

I just have to decide .357 or .44.

.
 
fulloflead,
If you buy a NEW 1894 in .357, .44 or .45 Colt, it will be Ballard-cut rifling, fine for jacketed and cast bullets. The .41s use a Micro-groove barrel though.

My 1894PG .44 will shoot OK at 100-yards with my 240 lead SWC practice ammo. Not supremely great, around 4-5" for 5 rounds, using a red dot scope. (I know, I know... :p ) It's a great shooter though, and tons of fun. Loaded with full-house .44s it will be riding along with me when deer season rolls around.

PS: If you want a Ruger Deerfield semi-auto, your caliber choice has been made for you: .44 Magnum only.
 
PS: If you want a Ruger Deerfield semi-auto, your caliber choice has been made for you: .44 Magnum only.
Click to expand...

Ah! Today was my Deerfield research day.;) Thanks for getting me started.

What has greater range in a rifle (say the Marlins), the .44 Mags or the .357 Mags?
 
The .44 definitely starts out with more power and carries more power until it hits dirt. The trajectories of standard loads--say, a 158 gr. 357 and a 240 gr. .44, or a 180 gr. .357 and a 270 gr. .44--will be pretty similar. Start the 158/240 off at 1800 fps, zeroed for a hundred yards, and they'll both drop about 5" by 150 yards, and pretty steep after that--15-16" drop by 200 yards. They're basically ballistic twins; but the fatter, heavier .44 delivers a bigger payload out there (and to your shoulder); almost 1200 ft lbs at 100 yards vs. 750 for the .357.

Either is a capable deer gun out to a hundred yards. The .44 is just a bit capabler. For a handloader planning on just one pc carbine, it would be a reasonable choice.
 
I gotta put in a plug for the Winchester 1892 & clones.

My wife's Rossi 92 .44mag is really handy and I like the 92 action better than any other lever gun I have used.
 
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