Define Handgun accuracy?

[Bennettjh]

IBTL. Just in case.

 

[sloughfoot]

Yeeaaah, dude.......whutever you say, huh?.........dunno whut'cha do fer a live'n....desk job prolly.....but can tell ya this......I'm better'n 50......an' yer azz'll be suk'n buttermilk try'n ta stay with me in a day.......

I am on my 5th lifetime Harley Davidson motorcycle. It is a 1999 Classic. It is about to click over 100,000 miles. It is the best machine I have ever owned. I use it to visit my grandchildren in Denver on a two day weekend. That is 2200 mile in 3 days.I ride hard. And often.

There is a bunch about me you don't deserve to know, but I am at least 10 years older than you. And I understand diction.

But I do understand that it takes special effort to type, "whut'cha" "azz'll ""suk'n "Congratulations on your typing skills.

 

[1861navy]

Handgun accuracy to me is just like bennetjh said. If it hits what I'm aiming at, it's good to go. Though I could see where there would be variations of what this means. If i was training for competitions or something, I would probably do it 20-25 yards, without the shooter to eliminate as many variables as possible. Overall there are a lot of variables, and accuracy is subjective, and varies more shooter to shooter than handgun to handgun IMO.

Sidenote for those picking on Harleyrider, take it easy, . And don't read the Foxfire books, heck the whole books are written that way.

 

[Rob377]

As long as I can keep rounds minute of man at 7 yds, it's COMBAT accurate.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

7 yards isn't really ideal to see accuracy. That's sort of like judging a car's top speed by seeing how it runs at 20mph. Any decent machine can do it, and at 20mph you can't tell a Fiesta from a Ferrari. The question becomes, what's good enough for what you want to do. If you want to shoot bull's eye competitions, you aren't going to run a Glock if you expect to win. However if your purpose is carrying daily with the intent to protect yourself, the ability to shave 1" or so off your 50y groups is suddenly much less important. That doesn't mean they are equally accurate, it just means they are both accurate enough for the purpose at hand.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Ignore list is your friend......

+1 Works for me.

I am on my 5th lifetime Harley Davidson motorcycle. It is a 1999 Classic. It is about to click over 100,000 miles. It is the best machine I have ever owned. I use it to visit my grandchildren in Denver on a two day weekend. That is 2200 mile in 3 days.I ride hard. And often.

There is a bunch about me you don't deserve to know, but I am at least 10 years older than you. And I understand diction.

But I do understand that it takes special effort to type, "whut'cha" "azz'll ""suk'n "Congratulations on your typing skills.

+1 Not to threadajck, but I have to agree. Harleyrider, the need to project your "real life persona" does more to harm your credibility than you realize. I'm sure you would end up on far fewer ignore lists if you would cut out the crap and type normally. I've seen quite a few coherent people here that cant spell (if you cant, download Google Chrome... it will spell check your words and help correct them) but I dont mind reading some goof-ups and errors. We are all human. Nobody is expecting proper "Queen's English" but what you spew is a caricature (hint: I had to rely on Google for that spelling... we arent all perfect ) of yourself and is detrimental to your reputation. But continue on as you please, its a free country. I'm not going to try to stop you as thanks to the ignore option, I get to pick and choose when to read your incoherent style.

Back on track...

I havent had a chance to shoot compact or aluminum 1911s, but for me I think the weight and the increased sight radius has a bit to do with it. I've driven tacks with two handguns: my Kimber 1911 and my Ruger P91. Both were heavy and had a relatively long sight radius and had stock triggers. I dont shoot as well with any other guns, and I dont think its a coincidence that they have shorter barrels and are much lighter. But I think OP has a firm grasp for the most part.

 

[VERT]

I figured out I lurk on INGO too much when I began to understand Harley's typing. Now I kind of enjoy it as a different sort of internet persona.

Trigger, trigger, trigger. Other then that most pistols (outside of dedicated bullseye guns) have similar practical accuracy. But a 1911 is a 2.5 lb gun with a 4 lb trigger. Compare that with a modern polymer pistol.

 

[VERT]

Good example using shorter guns. Shorter barrels are not mechanically less accurate. They are just less forgiving because of the shorter sight radius. If your sight alignment is off it has more affect on where the bullet lands.

I have a lightweight 1911 with a 4" barrel that is wonderfully accurate. But the nut behind the trigger really has to work at it to see the results.

 

[PRasko]

Center mass at 25 yards is good enough for me.

As for Kimber? Never owned one, but my Dan Wesson is 1" accurate at 25 yards. From a machine rest that is.

I'm nowhere near that good of a shot.

 

[ModernGunner]

No longer compete in bullseyes, so being able to 'ragged hole' 5 or 10 rounds at 100 yds. or whatever becomes irrelevant (for my purposes). IMO, there's "inherent accuracy", "bullseye accuracy", and "combat accuracy". I judge based on combat accuracy, save the .22 pistols owned (don't carry those for self-defense).

Inherent is what the gun will do, slow fire, from a clamped down benchrest w/ a remote release, no 'human contact' with the firearm.

Bullseye is what the gun will do, slow fire, from a benchrest by the shooter (even if he's shooting off-hand, etc.)

Combat (for me) is keeping all the rounds from a given handgun, slow or rapid fire, on one of those cheapie (100/$1 type) 9" paper plates at 25' yds., or tighter. I like the 'scalloped' kind as I forgo the scalloped edges and just focus on the 'flat' (about 6" +/-). Haven't found a gun (so far) that won't do that, IF I do my part.

Those are just MY definitions, of course. YMMV.

With rare exception, haven't seen too many handguns that aren't capable of greater precision than the person holding it, particularly when not benchrested.

 

[Dean C.]

My definition is consistently hitting a 7in steel plate at 30 yards IE (12/15) at least to qualify considering I do my part and do not jack up the trigger squeeze.

 

[Gluemanz28]

 

[bjenkins]

My hats off to Harleyrider he believes strongly in his views and not scared to share them. I also love my Glocks just as much as he does his and have met the man and can tell you he doesn't talk at all like he types. With that being said I also love shooting my Kimbers and really appreciate all the feed back, I guess its a lot like trucks some love a Chevy and some love a Ford! Thanks

 

[Harleyrider_50]

I am on my 5th lifetime Harley Davidson motorcycle. It is a 1999 Classic. It is about to click over 100,000 miles. It is the best machine I have ever owned. I use it to visit my grandchildren in Denver on a two day weekend. That is 2200 mile in 3 days.I ride hard. And often.

There is a bunch about me you don't deserve to know, but I am at least 10 years older than you. And I understand diction.

But I do understand that it takes special effort to type, "whut'cha" "azz'll ""suk'n "Congratulations on your typing skills.

?......My reference ain't about 'ride'n' dude..........only thing keeps me from'em kind'a rides.....is my dogs......can be gone 12 hrs , no problem....

Obvously.....the other dude thinks I'm some.....stoopid, woozy phek'n weak-tit o' some sort.........an' I can assure ya.......'at ain't the case.....

 

[Harleyrider_50]

Center mass at 25 yards is good enough for me.

As for Kimber? Never owned one, but my Dan Wesson is 1" accurate at 25 yards. From a machine rest that is.

I'm nowhere near that good of a shot.

On my list.......a Bob-tail.......at's a gun worth it salt, IMO......

 

[churchmouse]

If I can drill sporting clays at 25 yds. off hand my day is complete. Not "Every" rd. on target but darn close. Ring 18" steel 8 for 8 at 50 yds I am all smiles. Ring the gong at 100 yds......grins and giggles.

Off hand with Gov. size 1911 stock out of the box springer Loaded.

 

[unshelledpilot]

For me, practical accuracy is more important in a handgun. It's meant to be be an up close gun. As long as I can keep center mass around 10 yards, with a mag dump, from a draw, I'm a happy camper. Accuracy with rifles? That's a whole 'nother ballgame.

 

[NHT3]

My personal goal is to be able to cut a ragged hole, slow fire at 7 yards (on a good day).. My reasoning is, at that point my pistol is as accurate as it needs to be for any shot I might consider with a pistol. I know I'll most likely slap the trigger in a stressful situation but I'll still be in the area I need to be in, center mass. Bottom line is I never want to doubt my equipment when a shot doesn't go where I expect. I want to know the fault lies completely on my end. First step in solving a problem is admitting you have one.
Actually a mag dump at 10 yards in center mass might be a better gauge, or at least 3 shots. Many of us don't have the luxury of working from the holster but that would be much better practice.
Just my thoughts but it's really interesting to hear what others think.

[FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]-- [/FONT][FONT=&amp]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]Ruger MK III, M&P & 1911mechanic
NRA Basic pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] –[/FONT] Certified Glock armorer

 

[unshelledpilot]

My personal goal is to be able to cut a ragged hole, slow fire at 7 yards (on a good day).. My reasoning is, at that point my pistol is as accurate as it needs to be for any shot I might consider with a pistol. I know I'll most likely slap the trigger in a stressful situation but I'll still be in the area I need to be in, center mass. Bottom line is I never want to doubt my equipment when a shot doesn't go where I expect. I want to know the fault lies completely on my end. First step in solving a problem is admitting you have one.
Actually a mag dump at 10 yards in center mass might be a better gauge, or at least 3 shots. Many of us don't have the luxury of working from the holster but that would be much better practice.
Just my thoughts but it's really interesting to hear what others think.

I train like I fight. I don't shoot competitions, so all my guns are considered SD guns. Sure, I can take my sweet time and get sub 1/8 MOA with my pistols at 1000 yards, but I'd like to shoot more than 6 rounds in a 10 hour range session. I think the stress of trying to dump a mag as fast as possible is as close as I can get to simulating a real life situation.

 

[Slawburger]

Accuracy to me means how well the handgun in MY hand will group shots at the range at which I intend to use it.

For a handgun 7-10 yards, maybe a little more.
Sure its fun to shoot 50 yards with a handgun just for grins but that is outside the range at which I would apply that particular tool.

Accuracy when fired from a bench rest with a mechanical aid is interesting but doesn't always equate to actual use.

Oh, and I understand Harley just fine. His posts are just in 3D, they have more depth and color than a 2D colorless post.