Handgun shooting distances, What are yours?

I used to begin and end each practice session with the same "drill" - 25 yards holding center mass on an IPSC target....... 6 shots slow fire. Focus.... press, focus.... press. Looking for 2" or better groups.

The beginning string would show me what I was capable of doing that day - if I paid attention. If I found, during my other shooting of various drills or mini-stages, that I was getting really sloppy hits I would know I was pushing too hard, forcing it too much.

The ending string would give me that last memory when driving home - a nice, tight group. It would kind of over write any bad shots of the day.
 
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"My guess is the hard part will be getting everyone to agree on what "serious" means. Is USPSA serious? Does a serious handgun hunter need to be able to hit one handed? Are you a "serious" hunter if you are hunting with a handgun? Are you being serious about self defense practicing at 100 yards or just looking to get into serious trouble? Which one do you want to see us get more serious about?"

Again,, excellent thoughts.

No one totally right answer. But to come close,, a person needs to look at what they prefer, & challenge themselves to be the best they can,,, withing their own personal limitations,, and in my humble opinion,, that's being a serious handgunner.

Example; a fully healthy, young person, say 15-20 yrs old,, vs a 75 year old,, with aging eyes,, and shaky hands.

You mentioned USPSA,, and they have a skill level grading system, or, classifier if you will. You choose your preferred firearm, and shoot classifier stages. You are now judged by your abilities, with that category of firearm, against all the others in USPSA doing the same thing. The only caveat not considered is age & physical limitations. But in matches,, they do have a Senior and a Super Senior division. But it give a person a way to judge their skills against others in a similar fashion.
Working to move up a class is the challenge.

Now,, I've read all the stuff on the LEO qualifications etc. My son is LEO. And I'm associated with many LEO's. Sadly,, only about 15% of the LEO's are actual gun people & take that part of their job seriously. The other 85% barely shoot anything except quals. And many fail that more than once. For LEO's a firearm is one of the tools they need to know how to use for their job. Unfortunately,, many never really do learn marksmanship.
 
I guess the more and more I shoot the less and less I care about other people's criteria for accuracy, skill or ability. I work on mine within the context of my own personal goals so what others are capable of really does not matter much to me. That does not mean I do not appreciate others skills or recognize others lack of skill it just doesn't end up meaning much to me. As long as people are being safe it really doesn't matter to me anymore.

 
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Newt said:
If the shooter wants 3" groups and the gun is only capable of 5" groups do you blame the shooter? Bench rest it then shoot to meet your ability.
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I’ve never owned a pistol that was less accurate than I am, but again I agree with you.
 
When I shoot 3-4” groups, I’m pretty satisfied (at 3-4”). 🤓
 

Handgun shooting distances, What are yours?​


Mostly, I practice at distances from 3’-50’. Yeah, I’ll shoot at 25 yards, but I don’t shoot with the same “urgency” at that distance as I do from 1-15 yards.

My “window” is 30’. At that distance, someone with a knife, a crowbar or a ball bat can be on you like white on rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm, so at that distance, I place a huge focus on putting as many rounds as possible, as quickly as possible, into the absolute smallest area as possible.

On a 27, instead of aiming for the middle of the shirt, I aim for a button on the shirt. Instead of aiming for just the head, I’ll draw on dot where the tip of the nose should be and aim for that.

My dad always taught me to never “waste” a round....fire it with a purpose, because every shot counts.
 
Newt said:
I had one. A Heritage 32 Mag 3" with Birds Head grip. I barely kept it on paper. 7" group 7" right 50 feet. Traded it the next day.
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I too had a BAD firearm...a Henry .22.....would Not stay on a 6 inch plate at 25 yards with Any ammo.
 
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