Hello

I am a rifle hunter converting to handguns. Please enlighten me as to the size of groups most handgunners try to achive at 25 yards. My rifles usually have to be able to shoot a 1" group or I send them down the road. I have a Ruger Bisley SS 5.5" barrel 45 Colt that I am shooting a 335 CP hardcast bullet at 1250fps. It will routinely shoot 1 3/4" to 2" groups. Thank you in advance for your opinions!

I have never hunted big game with a handgun, but I shot silhoutte for years, with revolvers as well as single shots. In my big bore revolver guns...SBH 44 and a DW 357 super mag, I wanted 3/4 " or less at 25 yards....and got groups down to half an inch...thats with a scope and sand bags ( just to tell me what the gun and ammo will do) in a hunting situation those groups probably would never materialize, maybe they would double, but want to be able to put every shot in the kill zone( which is pretty big if you dont rush the shot) if you could lean against a tree and put three shots in a 4 inch circle at 50 yards, you should be able to hunt deer with the gun.....but better advice may come from the handgun hunters.....BJ

To hunt with a handgun you should be able to hit a paper plate every time you shoot from field style positions. This is you maximum range to shoot at. As for groups it sound like you are getting a good group. With a handgun it has to do with how the shooter can shoot it off the bench. Some loads are hard to shoot off the bench with a handgun. Practice is everything. Shoot and keep shooting. It doesn't have to be with the loads that leave you burned blind and deaf. Just good fun loads. When season gets here for deer I take a bow hunting carboard target and shoot off hand and leaning agaist something, kneeling, etc. Make practice fun

Hcliff

I agree with the others, practice!! I want my "big game huntin rigs" to shoot sub 1" @ 25 yards for 5 shots, shooting offhand. I always practice shooting at 50 & 100 yards also. If you can maintain rested (not bench rested) or offhand groups @ 100 in the 6" range, you got "minute of deer". Good luck and have fun!!

Except for Contenders and other single shots, I am generally disappointed if I can't find a load to group close to an inch at 25 yards off the bags. I have had far more luck getting this kind of accuracy from stock revolvers than autos. Because my eyes are nearly 50 years old, I find I just can't do as well with the shorter barrels and iron sights. One of the most accurate and pleasant shooting revolvers I have owned was a SS Super Blackhawk with the 10.5-inch silhouette barrel. Easy to shoot well and easy on the hands and elbows. I know others swear by the .38s for accuracy, but I have had my best luck with .44 Magnums and the occasional .45 Colt, usually in Ruger single actions. I hvae never gotten a Ruger DA revolver to shoot as well as the SAs for some reason.

I've been doing alot of load work with my Taurus 454 lately. The best I've gotten is 1.4" at 50yds. There was a couple of others that had 4 closer, but the 5th put it just under 2". This is with a scope. My eyes are getting alittle tired for open sights I'm afraid. With my 10" BFR 45-70, I can get around 2" +- at 50yds.

I'm afraid you won't be happy with that SS Bisley. You should sell it to me
lar.

Having hunted deer and shot silhouette with hand gun ,I would say max from a rest 1 1/4" at 25 yds.Then you have to limit your shots to the max range that you can consistantly hit a 10" circle under field conditions. If you're going for deer you don't need more than the standard weight bullet. And remember usually max velocity doesn't give max accuracy drop it down a couple of grains.

Not intending to gloat, but from 25 yards, if you are using a scope, you should be able to bore one hole, 1/2" max.

All of my pistols (contenders) will bore one hole to 1/2" groups at 50yds and most, not all will hold well under an inch at 100yds. That's with a whole lot of range time.

This is why it has been possible for me to make head shots on deer and turkey out to 125 yards.

Most of the time my rest comes at the expense of a fork in a tree and the butt resting on a jacket. This gives me benchrest stability in the field.

Good shooting and good luck this next season,

HBL

My Ruger Redhawk .44mag 7 1/2" will do 2.5" at 100 yards, with sandbags. it has a 2 1/2 power scope on it.

I believe shooting 2 inch groups at 25 yds with stock sights is very good
I can barely see the bull at 25 yds
when adding a scope and shooting without a rest I believe 1 inch groups are good enough to take game
I've rarely got a chance to actually shoot game from a prone or supported position,I usually have some tracking to do and take my best shot when it comes open

I have to agree with some others. Good groups off the bench will tell you what the gun & load will do. Get them as small as possible... 1 to 1 1/2 inch at 25 yds is acceptable, less is better. BUT, field positions dictate the maximum range, given enuff gun. ALL your shots in the kill zone (I use a 6" circle), from field position, is the criteria for a group, at whatever distance. NO other standard is acceptable.

I can shoot even better groups with my SRHK 454.

Coloradoyaler
Thoose groups you shot are not bad, seeing you got a hot and heavy load being thrown out of that Bisley 5.5". If you back off on it a little you'd probably see better groups. Seeing that you can't scope that Bisley you'd be hard pressed to go beyond 80yds. So backing of that load a little you will not see any differnce in killing ability say 1100 FPS. You'll be surprised at how much less recoil you get which helps to get thoose groups tighter! I would try to get this type of grouping at 50 yds then move out to where you can't keep all 6 on apie plate then subtract 10 yds and that's your Max range

[ 02-24-2003, 22:34: Message edited by: Gunnut45/454 ]

LAR45, I have a Taurus RB .454, 6.5" and I want to scope it. Enlighten me to your knowledge of yours! I have decided so far on Taurus's own scope mount so far. No decision on scope or red dot. Mind sharing you experience?

thanks, Rick

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I don't have to touch the same electric fence you did to know when it's on, I can learn from others and I do ask for directions.

No arguement. What you can do with your pistol from a field position is what counts. Same with rifles. Even the military snipers find 1 MOA will work for even their work.
I suggest you find something lighter for your .45 Colt, unless you want grizzly protection. I wouldn't rey on a handgun for that. Deer and black bear don't need a hard cast 300 gr. bullet. The 250 gr. soft points kill better.
When testing the gun's potential, I wear my reading glasses for group testing purposes. I shoot just a touch better when the sights are sharper. Or use a low magnification scope.
Have fun. E

Any piece woth its salt should be able to achieve 6MOA, with 4MOA being quite possible for most, and borderline for IHMSA. My fellow silhouetters shoot 2MOA out to 200 meters, 90% of them with single shots in a creedmore position. My Raging Bull seems like it should be a 4MOA gun from a vice, plenty good for me because I have to measure my shots in hours of angle

One thing I've realized is that if you can keep your load from slowing down to subsonic it will greatly improve the consistency. Likewise, if you can keep it fairly subsonic they shoot well also, but 200 meters is a little difficult without at least a 1200fps muzzle velocity. It seems that when they start out fast and then slow down past the line, they do strange things that I cannot seem to compensate for. Maybe its the bullets I use, I dunno.

I am a piss-poor shooter, and I shoot standing with iron sights, but even then I would feel comfortable taking small game at 25 meters. I could see myself taking a 50 meter shot at a hog given the right conditions.

Vol, I used the Taurus Scope mount. I ordered it from them and it arrived in about 4 days. It seems to be a very robust piece with placement for several rings. I used the rings from my 309JDJ TSOB mount until I order more. My biggest problem is I have the 6.5" gun and I put on a Simmons 2.5x7x28 scope on it. The front of the scope is just behind the ports, so I get some powder fowling on the lense. I've emailed Simmons to see about a sunshade or screwon extension. But haven't heard back from them yet. I may have to see if I can find one from another maker or go with a smaller scope. Having the scope on definately helps my, not as they used to be, eyes. I'm getting much better consistency now. The balance of the gun is fine with the scope on. Now I just need to find a good holster for it. I used to use my Bianchi X-15 and would like to find something of similar quality.