What's your preference pistols or long guns?

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I used to be a riffle guy when I lived close to a range that a 1000 yard area and also had tons of vacant logging roads with beautiful vistas where we could shoot from one hill to the next at over 1000 yards if we were feeling cocky and wanted to.

My local shooting spots are now 100 yard max and I have been more into hand guns. My selection of hand guns has also expanded. The variety makes for a lot of fun.
 
Hmm, punching holes in paper by sitting as still as possible (boring) or mounting from low hold, aiming and tracking a moving target only to vaporize it in a puff of clay dust. Which is more exciting, challenging and interesting? Shotguns are by far the most fun for me. I love shooting my rifles and pistols but if I want to have fun, shotguns all of the way. I will say shooting rifles and pistols while moving is pretty fun too but I have not had the time to get into 3 Gun, IDPA, etc. type stuff yet, but I will be. Someone told me to try Steel Challenge also with a .22.
 
Handguns.

I can't hit squat with a rifle or worse yet a shotgun.

Stick a handgun in my hand though and it's a whole different story.
 
I have more experience behind a rifle/long gun than I do a pistol. That isn't to say I won't buy a pistol, but I prefer to get stuff I'm more proficient with.
 
Good Ol' Boy said:
My home range is only about 50yrds and I have an IDPA background so pistols are what I shoot the most.

In a theoretical gunfight? I want a rifle.

However I'll certainly settle for a pistol.
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A rifle would be a good call if you saw the opposition in advance but pistol for close combat is my vote iMO
 
I really enjoy a mix and shooting different firearms. I enjoy my semiauto mil surplus rifles more than I enjoy the bolt action mil surplus rifles but enjoy both.

I enjoy my semiauto pistols more than I enjoy the revolvers but enjoy both.

There is a hollowed out hill that is a vacated gravel pit about two miles from my house which makes shooting pistols easier than rifles so I am more into my pistols presently. I do miss the days of having easy access to a 600yd range where I could shoot my bolt action target rifles.

As my eyes get older more and more of my pistols wear fiber optic sights and red dots.
 
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Ignition Override said:
Hal:
If you have trouble at (ie), say 50 yards with

a Rifle, then how does a handgun improve one’s shooting from 50 yards?
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It's complicated and very difficult to understand (it will make little sense - but - I'll try to explain).
I'm right handed/right eye dominant.

I also have damage to the retina in my right eye and I only have very, very, very limited sight in that eye. There isn't enough sight for me to focus on anything. I have peripheral vision, but, even that is limited

As a result, I have zero depth perception & I am forced to shoot left-handed using my left eye.
Having zero depth perception means the longer sight radius of a rifle works against me. It also makes hitting a moving target (or baseball or catching a football, etc) next to impossible.
I only experience 3D sight when I concentrate and blur my vision and work at it very hard. It's taxing beyond words to do that. As a result, I have no depth perception. I know what it is, I just don't have it.

When shooting with a rifle, having to use my left shoulder, it throws me off for some reason. I think it's because I'm more prone to flinch using my weak arm.
When shooting a shotgun at a moving target - it's a pretty useless exercise. I can't lead or follow worth a crap.

However - with a handgun and a stationary target, I pretty much own it.
Distance is just a matter of size. A dime at 10 feet or a 55 gallon drum lid at 200 yards look the same to me. All I need is to figure out how much holdover I need. Once I have that, I can hit pretty much whatever I want whenever I want.

I believe that is due to my brain not having to do anything "complex" (for lack of a better term).

In all honesty - I really don't know the whole reason why I am the way I am - with regards to shooting handguns & how uncanny accurate I shoot them - and - how bad I am with a rifle.
I just go with it and don't bother trying to figure it out.
Like I said - it's difficult.
 
Hal said:
Handguns.

I can't hit squat with a rifle or worse yet a shotgun.

Stick a handgun in my hand though and it's a whole different story.
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Really? For most people even beginners it’s exponentially easier to hit targets with a rifle than a pistol..
 
So, weird thing, but the Army ruined a lot of things for me, and I while I enjoy shooting just about anything, I have a particular hatred for cleaning long guns and mildly enjoy cleaning handguns. I enjoy shooting handguns a lot more, but the hatred I have for cleaning long guns is the decisive factor.
 
Autodidactic said:
Really? For most people even beginners it’s exponentially easier to hit targets with a rifle than a pistol..
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Yes. Really. I made noise with rifles and shotguns, but, once I got my hands on a S&W M19, it was a match made in heaven.
 
Hal said:
Yes. Really. I made noise with rifles and shotguns, but, once I got my hands on a S&W M19, it was a match made in heaven.
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So you are saying at 25 yards it’s easier to hit the x ring with a handgun over rifle?
 
Wham Bham said:
Shotguns are in my opinion over rated for indoor use. You get limited ammo capacity in a heavy, cumbersome weapon with 300 WM recoil levels. At inside the home ranges you get no pattern, all the shot pellets are in a single 1-2" cluster that has to be aimed just like a rifle. And they are more likely to over penetrate and injure family members in other parts of the home. Where a shotgun has an advantage is outdoors at ranges between 10-50 yards where you get some pattern making it easier to hit moving targets.
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I think it depends on the type of shotgun you are using. For a long time the only firearm my disabled wife could use was either my short barreled shotgun with mini shells or my Shockwave with the same mini shells. I certainly would not use one of my hunting shotguns with a long barrel if I could help it.
Later I built a couple of side-charging, silenced 7.5" AR pistols in subsonic .300 blk that were the bees knees for her for home protection.
 
citizenconn said:
I think it depends on the type of shotgun you are using. For a long time the only firearm my disabled wife could use was either my short barreled shotgun with mini shells or my Shockwave with the same mini shells. I certainly would not use one of my hunting shotguns with a long barrel if I could help it.
Later I built a couple of side-charging, silenced 7.5" AR pistols in subsonic .300 blk that were the bees knees for her for home protection.
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The mini shells make a difference for sure. I shot mini shells and full length side by side yesterday.
 
Autodidactic said:
So you are saying at 25 yards it’s easier to hit the x ring with a handgun over rifle?
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Yes.
(More so right now than ever before.
I f*ed up my shoulder somehow and I really doubt I could even stand shooting a .22 rifle.)
Even without that though - with my eyes and how I see things, that long site radius of a rifle works against me.
 
Both, at one time or another. You could say the same for revolver vs semi-auto, bolt vs lever-action, etc, etc. I get in my moods... and I have favorites.
 
I guess it depends. I generally prefer rifles over pistols for both hunting and target shooting but like and use them both. I used to like shooting shotguns a lot. I have used them more for hunting than either, as I am an avid bird hunter. They all have a place.
 
Trap and skeet guns, but, I have competed successfully in black powder rifle, pistol and shotgun at national level, handgun in pin shoots, and rifle in cast bullet matches. Trap (96% ave), skeet (94%) are my preferred sports at my advanced age.
 
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