Big change in my views of handgun effective ranges

[mjbskwim]

We went out shooting Thursday.Up at slab camp.I always check the exact distance (for no real good reason) just to see how close to 100yds we are.Drive way is about mid point from the berms.
We were at 96 yards

Set up my table,Bought a computer desk with banquet table ,folding legs,and a scrap piece of plywood (oak) for 13 buck.And the ply was cut perfect for a shooting table!
I digress.

So we shoot the rifles a little,then get out the handguns.
A Buckmark,G22,and a Charter Arms 38 snub.An old gun.

I was amazed at how flat they shot.Never really paid much attention before I guess.Or just didn't try longer distances

I held the buckmark to the top of the berm and hit just below. Held the Glock22,40s&w of course, above the berm and missed.Held it to the center and hit the center.Put about ten rounds in an area the size of a fat guy.

Then the most amazing one was the 38 snubby shot about the same as the 40.Don't know if my friend had hot loads or not.He's cheap so I'm guessing they were the cheap ones.
Never would have though that gun would group good at almost 100 yards

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[NoAim]

Typical drop of pistol rounds at 100 yards is between 6 and 8 inches.

 

[The B]

you have to remember that "effective range" includes terminal ballistics, which plummet drastically with pistol loads fired from pistols from an already anemic platform at distance. expanding loads will likely not expand, and penetration will suck. by how much depends on the load and what it's fired from, but it's a good general concept to be aware of.

 

[NoAim]

you have to remember that "effective range" includes terminal ballistics, which plummet drastically with pistol loads fired from pistols from an already anemic platform at distance. expanding loads will likely not expand, and penetration will suck. by how much depends on the load and what it's fired from, but it's a good general concept to be aware of.

Pistol loads only lose about 100-150 fps in 100 yards.

 

[mjbskwim]

Oh I understand the energy part of this,but even at 100 yards,if you can repeatedly hit a bad guy,he's gunna think about the out come.
Maybe not a one shot stop,but a game changer,for sure.

 

[deen_ad]

Oh I understand the energy part of this,but even at 100 yards,if you can repeatedly hit a bad guy,he's gunna think about the out come.
Maybe not a one shot stop, but a game changer, for sure.

Especially if he's running away!!

8 US Presidents have been NRA members. They are: Ulysses S. Grant,
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

80 MILLION law abiding gun owners didn't shoot anyone today, a few criminals did!!

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The "Feedback Score" is low by 4, not everyone posts it I guess.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
Washington Arms Collector member
Arms Collectors of South West Washington member

 

[Stomper]

Oh I understand the energy part of this,but even at 100 yards,if you can repeatedly hit a bad guy,he's gunna think about the out come.
Maybe not a one shot stop,but a game changer,for sure.

Any of you ever been hit really hard with a rock as a kid? It'll back thugs off just fine, because I remember getting hit with a few rocks in my day and its something I'd go WAY out of my way to avoid.

 

[motoman98]

Well, a few years back we played handgun silhouette. Steel targets(chicken/pig/turkey/ram) at 50,100,150 and 200 meters. You have to knock them down to score a point. Great way to see what a handgun can do and challenge your skills for sure. Oh, long bbl. .357 was absolute minimum.

 

[Capn Jack]

I own several semi-auto pistols, but my Go-To gun will always be my .38Spl. S&W Combat Masterpiece. 4 3/4" barrel loaded with 145GR. Keith HP's w/ 3.5GR of BullsEye. Those bullets may drop about 8" in 100 Yards, but I've never had a Jackrabbit carry one away.

Jack...

 

[chemist]

Hickok45 made a believer outta me...
YouTube - ‪Glock 27 at Long Range (230 yards)‬‏
Baby Glock versus gong at an eighth of a mile!

 

[coop44]

In most cases at a hundred yards a "bad guy" is not a threat, as an academic exercise you are right on. In reality, homicide charges would most likely be filed.

I used to love hitting a hanging pie tin at a hundred with my model 14 S&W

 

[The B]

In most cases at a hundred yards a "bad guy" is not a threat, as an academic exercise you are right on. In reality, homicide charges would most likely be filed.

I used to love hitting a hanging pie tin at a hundred with my model 14 S&W

but this is just a point of argument. the fact of the matter is, if any of us law-abiding citizens are taking a shot at 100m, we're justified in doing so, no? while there are very rare and few circumstances when any of us would need to shoot somebody, and rarer and fewer within those rare, few circumstances when doing so at 100m would be appropriate, the skill set is still good to have.

society will NOT always be the way it is right now. this country WILL fail, and we (mankind) WILL experience yet another period of lawlessness and chaos. Rome will fall again. and when that happens, the '86 machinegun ban won't mean jack, nor will knife laws, nor carry laws of any kind, and we won't be worrying about the sentiments of uneducated prosecutors.

in our lifetime? i seriously doubt it.. but i still want to have the broadest variety of skillsets i can. 'cause i've been wrong before.

 

[mjbskwim]

in our lifetime? i seriously doubt it..

I'm 53 and not so sure I won't see it.I am sure my grandson will.

 

[Stomper]

but this is just a point of argument. the fact of the matter is, if any of us law-abiding citizens are taking a shot at 100m, we're justified in doing so, no? while there are very rare and few circumstances when any of us would need to shoot somebody, and rarer and fewer within those rare, few circumstances when doing so at 100m would be appropriate, the skill set is still good to have.

society will NOT always be the way it is right now. this country WILL fail, and we (mankind) WILL experience yet another period of lawlessness and chaos. Rome will fall again. and when that happens, the '86 machinegun ban won't mean jack, nor will knife laws, nor carry laws of any kind, and we won't be worrying about the sentiments of uneducated prosecutors.

in our lifetime? i seriously doubt it.. but i still want to have the broadest variety of skillsets i can. 'cause i've been wrong before.

I'm sure most of the ancient Romans, the Germans, the Chinese, the Cubans, the South Vietnamese, the Burmese, the Cambodians, the Iranians, the Iraqis, and the Afgani's thought the same things too.

 

[jer fly]

I grew up reading Elmer Keith's books, and articles in other publications, So long range pistol work is something I started out with. I've noticed that getting good at long rang really improves my shooting at more feasible ranges. There is the added benefit of shooting targets at long range with an audience. people never fail to be amazed.

 

[bruzer]

You lucky guys with your good eyes. I'm having a hard time seeing my plate of food clearly. If I ever have to really use my gun the cops are going to ask me what I was doing laying on top of the BG. All I can say is, "I had to see what I was shooting at!".
Mike

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Oh I understand the energy part of this,but even at 100 yards,if you can repeatedly hit a bad guy,he's gunna think about the out come.
Maybe not a one shot stop,but a game changer,for sure.

Beer cans at 100 yds should be very afraid when they see me with my Ruger MkIII slab-side and Red-dot. I hit them pretty consistently.

 

[rodell]

Let's not forget the hunting aspect, too. If you are going to hunt at longer ranges with a handgun you should practice at those ranges. The choice of a load is critical, though, because there is a significant change in terminal performance as you reach way out there.

I've hunted whitetails with a .357 magnum at all kinds of ranges. I regularly practiced on small targets at 100 yards to gain proficiency at closer ranges.

Shooting at any target that's moving (assailant, game, etc) with the adrenaline running is a different thing that punching paper or cans!