Shooting an M&P .40 Compact at 25 yards

[in_flight808]

Will there be a big difference in my group shooting a .40 cal compact at 25 yards at the range? My target pistols are 4.5" and 5" barrels.
You can say I'm an average shooter hitting my targets  7 out of 10 shots. I mainly buying this pistol for home defense but also want to have fun with it at the range. Haven't shot a compact / 3.5" barrel at 25 yards yet. Can anyone tell me what results if any am i going to encounter. Thanks to all who responds.

[Keith L]

If you are looking for a 50 yard gun don't get one built for defense.  In a defensive weapon you need extreme reliability and relative accuracy within 10 yards.  My two, a 4506 Smith and a Model 19 Glock are sad at 50 yards, but I wouldn't want to face them at the range they were designed to be used.

[Autorim]

I rarely shoot my defensive handguns at ranges over 20 yards. IMHO, if you can be proficient within that distance and the gun is absolutely reliable with the ammo you are using, extreme accuracy is not necessary. I personally like striker fired autos and double action revolvers with fixed sights - simple, reliable and accurate enough for the job required. I have several other more accurate and powerful handguns for other purposes.

Practice, practice,practice and that is not easy to do under current conditions unless you already have your ammo and/or components.

[Bowhunter57]

in_flight808,
I intend to purchase a snub-nosed .357 Mag. for concealed carry, but I won't practise with it farther than 10 yards. If it would prove to be accurate at longer distances, that would be a plus, but it's not the weapon's intended purpose.

I own a Smith & Wesson M&P in 9mm (service model) and it will shoot 1" groups at 20 yards. IMHO, this is very impressive from a service model semi-auto handgun. I was told about the great accuracy of the M&Ps, but was somewhat skeptical...until I shot mine. I was using Winchester (white box) 147gr. JHP ammo.

Good hunting, Bowhunter57

[Autorim]

If you have an M&P9 that will shoot 1 inch 20 yard groups, you need to hang on to it. Every now and then you just get lucky and buy a really good one.

[Bowhunter57]

If you have an M&P9 that will shoot 1 inch 20 yard groups, you need to hang on to it. Every now and then you just get lucky and buy a really good one.

Autorim,
Trust me, I'll be buried with this one. I'd rather be lucky than good any day.

The 9mm cartridge is not known as an accuracy round...rather a fire power round used in a MP5, UZI, etc. So, I was very impressed to see this kind of accuracy. After shooting these groups I stuck 4 corn cobs in the ground, stood at 15 yards and off-hand shot 5 rounds to hit all 4 corn cobs. I missed one... .
Yep...it's a keeper!

Good hunting, Bowhunter57

[in_flight808]

Getting off the subject here but the last post from bowhunter said " The 9mm cartridge is not known as an accuracy round...rather a fire power round used in a MP5, UZI, etc." I have often heard this. Can you or someone elaborate on this....And if thats the case what is the accuracy range for the 9mm?

[helotaxi]

There's nothing inherently inaccurate about the 9mm round.  In competitions where there is no "power factor" scoring curve, many top competitors shoot 9mm.  The inaccuracy stigma had more to do with the firearms in which the round was originally chambered, not the round.  About the only handgun round that I've ever heard referred to as "accurate" is the .38 Special.  Everything is relative though.  If you're looking for a defensive handgun, a saucer sized group at 15 yards is more than accurate enough.

If you're looking for a home defense gun, look at a full-size instead of a sub-compact.  More controllable, more magazine capacity.

[mcwoodduck]

I have a bunch of sercive caliber handguns.
and a couple with the short tubes.
I have no problems shooting at 25 yards and hitting targets. 
When i first got my Sig 2340 in 40 S&w I took it out to the range and one of my friends thought I was joking around when I put a bunch of clay pigeons out at 150 yards on the berm and started to load the pistol.
he said no really what are you going to use to break the clay birds.
I loaded the mag and slowly walked rounds up the hill and into the clay birds.
for the rest of the afternoon we were lobbing rounds into the birds for the rest of the afternoon.
I think of the 40 I put out only two or three ecaped into the wild to breed before we ran out of ammo.
At 25 yards aim right at the target and if you need to, you should not need to then just lift your front sight up a little on the target.
to shoot 150 yards I was putting the front blade above the rear sight and was very close to the target.
You will be amaized at what you can hit with a hand gun and how far.