My shooting sucks. Could use some advice!

[MS Hitman]

I'm just glad my Red Hartebeest didn't know I wasn't supposed to kill him at 300 yards with my handgun.  It's a scoped Contender in .309 JDJ, yes I know the firearm and the trajectory well and can make the shots.

My advice for someone wanting to improve their shooting ability is to shoot.  Take a revolver in .22LR and burn through some rounds, bricks of them to be exact.  At first your misses will be many and hits probably few, but after a while, you will be surprised how things turn around.  This is of course presuming one can see to 50 yards.

[45454]

Hi Guy !
I cain't shoot squat at a paper target at 100 yards,open sights,44 mag.
Get a white cup,or pop can,and I'll do my best to hit it. Some years ago,my spread at 100 yards, was about 12".
Since the 100 yard range is limited to full members,I can't check my handguns at 100 yards. Won't be going back to that range again.
I'm a handgun hunter.
This is what you might do: get some balloons, fill 'em with air and or water. Set them at 25,30 up to 50-75 yards. See what happens. Or, get
some small paper cups, same thing with the balloons.
Cheers bud ! :-D

[jeager106]

I'm just glad my Red Hartebeest didn't know I wasn't supposed to kill him at 300 yards with my handgun.  It's a scoped Contender in .309 JDJ, yes I know the firearm and the trajectory well and can make the shots.

My advice for someone wanting to improve their shooting ability is to shoot.  Take a revolver in .22LR and burn through some rounds, bricks of them to be exact.  At first your misses will be many and hits probably few, but after a while, you will be surprised how things turn around.  This is of course presuming one can see to 50 yards.

Please understand that you can use the single shot T/C all you want.
To me it's a sawed off rifle.
Period.
I had a T/C .44 mag with scope, 14" barrel, sling, etc.
It carried like a locomotive. A carbine would have been easier to tote and get into action for me.
By all means use what you want and like. Blessings to you.
I want a handgun. A revolver, easy to carry, no scope, handy, ergo handgun.
My T/C sawed off rifle would shoot 1" groups and I was dutifully impressed.
My buddy carries his T/C 14 or 16" abortion in .357 Maximum.
He hunts from a tree stand because the thing is a pain to lug around with the carbine type barrel , bi-pod, sling and variable scope.
It will shoot 1" all day at 100 and should be deer worthy at 150 but it's still a sawed off rifle to me.

[jeager106]

What does a dedicated handgunner have to do in order to get proficient enough to ethically sling lead at game animals at 200 yards and further with a hunting revolver?

This is an easy one...buy a decent rifle!!! :shock:   Seriously though, if due to terrain, prey, or lack of hunting ability, you are unable to get closer than 200yds. to the animal, why even carry a handgun???  

Kinda' like gettin' into bowhunting and then wanting to know how to be able to stick a deer at 80yds with an arrow...kind of misses the whole point of bowhunting.

As I get off my soapbox, let me say that the guy who leaves powder burns on the deer's hide impresses me a whole lot more than the guy who gets one at 300yds.  It's called hunting....not shooting.

Jim

I agree completey that 200 yards is in the realm of the rifle.
The long barreled, scoped, single shot 'pistols' are handguns only by legal defintion.
As a bow hunting I fully understand that 40 yards is  loooooooooong ways off with archery equipment of anykind.
That said my first bow kill ever was at 40 yards but I practiced a lot and archery shooting comes naturach to me and I had/have very good equipment.
Even with the best equipment archery is still a short range proposition.
I feel the same way about shooting the open sight revolver.
50 yards is a loooooooooooooong shot in my not so humble opinion.
Please everyone remember I'm speaking clearly of the revolver with open sights only.
My the hunting gods bless the hunter that can cleanly harvest game at extreme range with a revolver.
To me long range is still 50 yards at my present skill level.
By the way. I shot the Ruger 45/22 today offhand at 50 and all shots were within 8".
That still sucks and the Ruger has a red dot optic but it's an improvement.

[Redhawk1]

What does a dedicated handgunner have to do in order to get proficient enough to ethically sling lead at game animals at 200 yards and further with a hunting revolver?

This is an easy one...buy a decent rifle!!! :shock:   Seriously though, if due to terrain, prey, or lack of hunting ability, you are unable to get closer than 200yds. to the animal, why even carry a handgun???  

Kinda' like gettin' into bowhunting and then wanting to know how to be able to stick a deer at 80yds with an arrow...kind of misses the whole point of bowhunting.

As I get off my soapbox, let me say that the guy who leaves powder burns on the deer's hide impresses me a whole lot more than the guy who gets one at 300yds.  It's called hunting....not shooting.

Jim

Hunting is hunting no matter the distance. So get off your soapbox and quit preaching. No need to put your way of thinking as the only way it should be done. I bow hunt and 95% of my shots were under 25 yards.  Just because someone can't get so close to a animal that they leave powder burn on the animal, does not mean they have a lack of hunting ability.

So I guess in your opinion hunters like myself that have hunted in Alaska and the closet anyone in our hunting party could get to Caribou in the Arctic circle was a little over 200 yards, that we lack hunting skills?
Sometimes a long shot is all you are presented with.

[S.B.]

Check this thread out, if you can get it to come up? "Long range varmiting", it's about a page back on this forum. Very interesting conversation.

[xphunter]

S.B.,
It won't come up, I tried it again.
I don't approach varminting (PD's at least) in the way I do big game.
I don't mind reposting what I said, but it may be OT for this thread.

[jeager106]

What does a dedicated handgunner have to do in order to get proficient enough to ethically sling lead at game animals at 200 yards and further with a hunting revolver?

This is an easy one...buy a decent rifle!!! :shock:   Seriously though, if due to terrain, prey, or lack of hunting ability, you are unable to get closer than 200yds. to the animal, why even carry a handgun???  

Kinda' like gettin' into bowhunting and then wanting to know how to be able to stick a deer at 80yds with an arrow...kind of misses the whole point of bowhunting.

As I get off my soapbox, let me say that the guy who leaves powder burns on the deer's hide impresses me a whole lot more than the guy who gets one at 300yds.  It's called hunting....not shooting.

Jim

Hunting is hunting no matter the distance. So get off your soapbox and quit preaching. No need to put your way of thinking as the only way it should be done. I bow hunt and 95% of my shots were under 25 yards.  Just because someone can't get so close to a animal that they leave powder burn on the animal, does not mean they have a lack of hunting ability.

So I guess in your opinion hunters like myself that have hunted in Alaska and the closet anyone in our hunting party could get to Caribou in the Arctic circle was a little over 200 yards, that we lack hunting skills?
Sometimes a long shot is all you are presented with.

Gee-whiz Redhawk he has a right to his opinions just as you and I do.
We do don't we?
I want to go for Caribou one day.
Just three years ago I missed a chance to go with three hunter buddies of mine.
It was a black powder hunt, flintlock only. The groups rules, not law.
The longest shot was 80 yards. All three took bou with flinters and the smallest bore size was a .54.
Nice mounts too I might add and bou is very tasty.
I too appriciate hunting, not long range sniping.
I knew a retired fireman from Akron who shot elk at over 1000 yards.
he and his crew went up on a mountain top and sniped elk.
At least he admitted it was elk shooting not elk hunting.
There is a difference between long range shooting and hunting.
Time was when I sniped groundhogs at 400 yards.
I quit. I walk fence rows with a .17 hummer or .22 mag rifle and take shots as they present themselves at under 100 yards.
THAT is varmint hunting. The other is varmint shooting. Big difference. And nothing wrong with either.
Nothing wrong with the long range single shot 'pistol' either but it's a pistol by legal definition only.
I appreciate getting close, the closer the better.
That is hunting to me.

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wasted bandwith...

[Redhawk1]

Gee-whiz Redhawk he has a right to his opinions just as you and I do.
We do don't we?
I want to go for Caribou one day.
Just three years ago I missed a chance to go with three hunter buddies of mine.
It was a black powder hunt, flintlock only. The groups rules, not law.
The longest shot was 80 yards. All three took bou with flinters and the smallest bore size was a .54.
Nice mounts too I might add and bou is very tasty.
I too appriciate hunting, not long range sniping.
I knew a retired fireman from Akron who shot elk at over 1000 yards.
he and his crew went up on a mountain top and sniped elk.
At least he admitted it was elk shooting not elk hunting.
There is a difference between long range shooting and hunting.
Time was when I sniped groundhogs at 400 yards.
I quit. I walk fence rows with a .17 hummer or .22 mag rifle and take shots as they present themselves at under 100 yards.
THAT is varmint hunting. The other is varmint shooting. Big difference. And nothing wrong with either.
Nothing wrong with the long range single shot 'pistol' either but it's a pistol by legal definition only.
I appreciate getting close, the closer the better.
That is hunting to me.

Sure there are places you can go and get close to Caribou and there are places the you can see Caribou 3 miles away like in the Arctic circle where there are no trees or anything to hide or even make a stalk. There for a long shot is almost always called for.

As far as DakotaElkSlayer, my post was intended for a replay from him not you. Sure he can have an opinion, but why do people think there way is always right. I don't hunt like everyone else, but that does not make their way wrong or unethical. Hunting is hunting no matter the distance, weapon or way it is done as long as it is legal. You are just passing judgement on others because you don't see them doing it like you do. I don't know why I even entertain the thought of having a decent conversation with you even if we disagreed.

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more wasted bandwidth...

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delete delete

[MS Hitman]

jeager106,

Apparently the use of paragraphs is as much a problem for you as is shooting offhand past 25 yards.  My first was my chiming in on the "200 yard" discussion.  My second was my resonse to your original question as to how to become proficient with a revolver.  When you have a different thought or subject, start a new paragraph; simple as that.

As for my T/C "abortion" when in practice, 200 yard offhand shots are possible.  I know, I've done it.  Not bragging, just facts and I had witnesses to the event.  As for hunting with revolvers, I've taken many head of game on two different continents and several states.  If conditions were in my favor, I've made clean kills out past 150 yards with my revolvers.  Stunt, not hardly; I was confident I could make the shot good and did so.  Likewise, I've passed on shots within 50 yards because conditions did not favor my making a good shot on the animal.  I also shoot groundhogs with my open-sighted .475 Linebaugh out to 75 yards just to warm up for the deer sized game.  This paid off when I took a cow elk at 70 yards off-hand.

As Redhawk stated, handgun hunting is handgun hunting regardless of the distance or equipment.

[slink]

The fact that you worded it "as far as I know" is clue enough. Load the cylinder with 2 live rds and 4 empty cases. Spin the cylinder before each attempt at firing. When you get a click, see what the sights do. it takes only a TINY amount of twitching to get 10" or worse groups at 50 yds.

Also, the slow locktime and heavy hammerfall of the SA revolvers makes them very difficult to use well. Ditto the plow handle grip. You could try making a "saw handle" hump at the top of the rear backstrap, to properlyl position your hand for each shot. Also, use the weak hand forefinger in front of the triggerguard, witht the weak hand second finger pressing up against the bottom of the triggerguard, to counteract the hammerfall.

Better yet, get custom grips on a good DA revolver, for faster locktime and lighter hammerfall. Be sure to get an overtravel screw adjustment for your trigger, so that it stops moving the instant that it releases the hammer for firing. All this will help you. Tell yourself, with each shot, that: "it's going to be an empty rd under the hammer, and on the empties, that front sight is NOT going to move, at ALL".  Front sight, front sight, keep increasing the trigger pressure in a steady manner, let the shot break as it will, not when YOU will it to.

[PaulS]

There are two complemetary aspects that I see as "the answer" to the question posed by jeager:

1. practice shooting at the MAXIMUM successful range

2. relive the basics

These two aspects are the "secret" behind success in any kind of shooting. Practice the basics because if you flinch, milk the grip, "snap" the trigger or don't see the site picture the same each time you shoot you won't shoot accurately and the longer the range the more inaccurate you will be.

Practice shooting at the longest range you are successful at will give the positive feedback that is necessary to grow. With good practice and an effort toward keeping the basics under control you will get better at shooting at longer ranges. It won't guarantee that you will be able to shoot deer at 200 yards off-hand ever - not everyone can. I feel that anyone who has a desire to do it should be able to with the proper amount of effort. I don't believe that my feelings are correct. There are some who will never shoot a revolver past 20 feet and there are others who can pick up a pistol the first time and shoot 2 inch groups at 50 yards.

[myronman3]

i have sat back and watched this thread since it has started.   i dont post alot anymore, lately i just sit back and watch.  

that being said,  there have been some real helpful things offered up to the original question posed.   there has been a whole lot of unnessary banter back and forth about appropriate range.  
    all i can say about that is that most people cant shoot worth beans with a rifle at 200 yards.  and even fewer can do it consistantly with a pistol at that distance; especially offhand.    as for who can and who cant do it, i am one of those guys that needs to see a  person do something before i know they can.   i know some can,  but they are few and far inbetween.   alot more peole can type than shoot like that.  
   one day next year i am going to try to plan a get together for guys in the surroundding states,  share some food and some shooting.  i think that will go a long way to cool some of the banter back and forth.  
   just know what your personal limit is,  and stay within it while hunting, and everyone will be happy.  best wishes to all.

[slink]

and Xp100's, iron sights, until you'd get bored of watching it. A few, with a scope, can get more hits than misses on clay pigeons at 200 yds, standing unsupported, too.