Handgun Forums > Smith and Wesson Handguns

how good are you

(1/9) > >>

hoggunner:
O.K. people lets get real here, I am a long gunner from way back and I shoot a pretty tight group with a rifle. now we have all heard the internet marksman that can shoot a 1/2 inch group with any rifle they own, oh I almost forgot they do it all day long. now that I'm getting into the pistol stuff I read about the 3 inch groups at 15 yrds all day long with my 2" pocket pistols. Well the best I have been doing with a M&P 40 compact is to hit the flat of a paper plate 7" is my guess as to the group size and this is at 7yrds. I do have two group of maybe 3'' and those are my best to date. Also I have put 1300 rnds thru it and while the groups are shrinking they are still big compared to the 3" groups I read people shooting on the internet.
 My ? is how small of groups should I be expecting out of this gun?
 

anachronism:
I play a game called "chase the bullet hole". At 7 yards, I snap shoot the first shot into the approximate center of the target. My subsequent shots are fired with the intent of putting every shot through the same hole. I shoot it both single & double action. My 649 will only slightly enlarge the original bullet hole at that distance, if I'm doing my job correctly. I've only found one factory load it really likes, and that's Federals 158 gr Hydrashock .357 magnum load. This is with the original "4 finger" factory rubber grips. Compact wood grips open the groups considerably, like to 1-1/2 inches and the full power load causes fatigue really quickly.  At 15 yards. I shoot at a 1 inch black target paster. Single action groups are around 2 to 2-1/2 inches with the big grips, and totally disheartening minute of pie plate with the compacts. At 25 yards, I can place every shot on a man sized target, I just can't guarantee exactly where on the target I'll hit. For a two inch J frame, I'm basically satisfied with this performance, but in reading this, I feel the need to get a set of wooden grips that will allow me to get that important fourth finger on the grip. I do much better with my larger revolvers, probably because recoil isn't so tiring with them. My 649 won't hit the broad side of a barn at ten paces with soft loads. It only seems to like the hot stuff. My XD9 Sub does about 1-1/2 at 7 yards, a little worse at 15 yards, and minute of man at 25. For what it's worth, I heavily favor revolvers, and can't get excited about shooting my plastic 9s.

BUGEYE:
to hit the broadside of a barn, I go inside and shut the doors.  this gives me a 50/50 chance.

Gene R:
Well, you know how stories go.....Big fish stories, the one that got away stories, ect ::)
 
Here is my story...and I do actually shoot alot, maybe 3k - 7k rounds a year with the .22 and maybe 1500 - 2k rounds with all others combined a year, thats about 150-200 rounds every week, some weeks less and some weeks more. Some people shoot 1000's and 1000's of rounds a month, some only think/say they shoot that much. Most shoot alot less than they think :o
 
With the 3" S&W model 60 I can get 1 1/2 and smaller groups at 7 yards, but I almost never shoot at 7 yards. My shooting is usally at 25-35 yards with the 3" and the groups will range from 4"- 10" depending on the day.
From 25-35 yards with my S&W 629 6"bbl and my 617 4"bbl or my 686 5"bbl I get 2-3" groups depending on the day. And at 50-60 yards I keep them in a pie plate 99% of the time :) . But with the 3" at that distance I might hit the pie plate 1 or 2 times out of 10 shots :-[
 
I read stories all the time about small groups at distance with snubbies ???  and a bunch of my friends really brag about their shooting ability but never seem to duplicate when we shoot together. Now Im sure that some people can shoot small groups at 25+ yards with their snubbies but not most.
 
Everyones abilities are diffrent, one thing is for sure. The more you shoot the better you get and look at all the fun. All I try to do is be a little better next time and keep my hunting distances down to the distance I can reliably hit a pie plate.
 
Gene

TeamNelson:
I'm a better shot now having shot IHMSA with stock revolvers standing unsupported with open sights. Never won against the unlimited scoped creedmore guys. For me it was learning to shoot slow in a hurry, using my sights correctly and knowing how to adjust sights for range, etc. Also learned about loads, and still getting smart on that. Hearing the ping and watching them drop at 200 yds was cool. My accuracy on paper went way up, tighter groups at all distances. I'm not a ragged hole shooter unsupported, but I feel like I know my firearms better now, and could place a shot near enough to where I want it with a .44 to 200 yds, 357 to 150 and .22 to 100. My buddy Major Golden (Iron Man IHMSA) had us shooting playing cards edgewise one day with .38s. Took him 2 or 3 sighters before he got it dialed in; took me considerably more sighters and I only did it once, but I learned alot in the process. He's never had a drop of caffeine in his life, double distinguished, Navy shooting team, BP shooting team. I'm fairly certain the only reason he had us do that was for my sake, not his.
 
Nice thing about Smiths though, they all shoot better than we do - the trick is to remove ourselves from the equation.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page