What is your distance limit with your open sight handguns? I am noticing the fine sights on my
Single six hunter are a lot better than my Vaqueros or Blackhawks...even my Freedom Arms. Need more practice but couldn't imagine feeling comfy at 75 yards on something mule deer size with one yet

When my eyes were young easily a 100 yards.

Now I would be pushing 50 yards.

Give me a scope and or dot further.

It's been several years now but I used to set up gallon water jugs at 100-150 and would shoot them with my 7.5" Blackhawk 45 Colt. I hit six out of six at 150yds on several occasions. Took me awhile to work up to that distance.
I went Javelina hunting that year but we ended up not seeing any. The guys I went with were more into sitting around and drinking rather than hunting type.

I have fired close to a hundred thousand pistol bullets at my gong targets, and used to think, I was a good shot








Then I got into 2700 Bullseye Pistol.



Want to eat humble pie? Want to find out how badly you suck? Try shooting pistols in competition at 50 yards, and try to keep them all in the black.



Once you have to shoot under pressure, and every shot counts, that's when I decided, 50 yard shots with a handgun are stunts that should not be attempted on game.

I recommend, take a 22 lr, like this,



and go to a Bullseye Pistol Match. If you can shoot Sharpshooter first time, then maybe you are that good. If you can shoot Master Class first time, you are a God. If you were like me, and missed the two foot by two foot target regularly at 50 yards, and 25 yards, then maybe you will conclude, a rifle is more ethical.

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Once you have to shoot under pressure, and every shot counts, that's when I decided, 50 yard shots with a handgun are stunts that should not be attempted on game

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If you were like me, and missed the two foot by two foot target regularly at 50 yards, and 25 yards, then maybe you will conclude, a rifle is more ethical.

Some people should hunt with hand guns some should not.


Some pistol shooting competitions can be related to hunting some are not.

As I have mentioned before, when we were poor college kids but wanted to keep our hand in, we would load primed only cases with paraffin (ala cookie cutter) + put a copy of Moby Dick acrossthe room with a bit of honey on it to attract flies then shoot them with the wax bullets. I couldn't do that again for years but maybe now after laser eye surgery I can. Not that I will, that was young men playing.

I am comfortable shooting big game to 75 yards with my 44 magnum and 150 yards with my 500 smith and wesson. The trick with the 500 is that it has much less drift in the wind and half the drop of the 44 at distance. I commonly plink hitting 10 of 10 on a 2 liter coke bottle at 150 yards.

50 yards is about all I'm good for with open sights. A red dot and a rest takes me out to about 85, but handgun hunting for me is about getting close. The last whitetail I shot was about 6 yards away, and I was on the ground with no blind. She never knew I was there.

Elmer Kieth killed an elk at 600 yards with a 44 mag. So, the answer to your question is 600 yards.
Get real everyone! Every handgun shooter has different capabilities. At what distance can you reliably hit the vitals of whatever game you are shooting? That is your answer. Mule deer; if you can't hit the heart lung area at X distance, then don't shoot them; get closer. Same with any weapon. Guys using spears had to close within ten feet of a wooly mammoth, they tell me. Five was better.

I think the old rule of thumb is how far away you can put all six rounds on a paper dinner plate. If that distance is 35 yards, that's your limit on deer-sized and larger critters. If with your gear, sights and loads you can do it at 125, there you go. Boy, my eyes have changed more than I ever would have dreamed as far as seeing handgun and open sights.

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Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
I think the old rule of thumb is how far away you can put all six rounds on a paper dinner plate. If that distance is 35 yards, that's your limit on deer-sized and larger critters. If with your gear, sights and loads you can do it at 125, there you go.

People deceive themselves that they are better marksman than they really are.

Become a range officer at a public indoor range, and you will see this to be true, time and again.

I was doing a lot of shooting with the Blackhawk and getting the groups down around 8-10" @ 100yds. When the know it all's running the range decided to make a new rule: "NO Handguns on the Rifle ranges." Not too long later I got sick and haven't been out there over a dozen times for anything since Feb '12.

Not having been out since Oct '18, this year I dropped renewing. Figure if n when, I can go with a friend that's still a member and just pay the $5 range fee. Hell of a lot cheaper than the dues.

George

Slam, I am a range officer at an outdoor range run by our county, and I see some really shitty shooting on a very consistent basis. We are constantly rebuilding or trashing our target frames. I'm talking about people missing by FEET at less than 15 yards. And then they want to shoot fast.

George, your groups at 100 are completely reasonable given good ammo, lots of practice and a steady hand. I'd need a scope or a good red dot to do that with my eyes these days.

For me, scoped handgun, 100 is good.

Irons, I’d be impressed if I was consistent at 50.

I do shoot them often, but I don’t tend to try longer ranges (well, as far as handguns in my book).

I’ve got a contender .223 barrel that I shot 5/5 clay pigeons on the berm at 200, but that was rested and ideal conditions. I will not use a handgun at that distance on anything alive willingly.

Some people can used handguns very accurately.

Every body should know their limits.

Just because you can't use a handgun effectively should not mean you should tell anybody else.

What their limits should be.

That true statement covers many facets of life.

It’s a true statement, but with a corollary in that most people overestimate their skill level.

Like the old truism statements about men and women. All women say that they will change the man they marry + all men claim that they are an above-average driver.

WEll lately Im thinking 3 ft. on a good day, I do better these days with a shotgun full of buck or a rifle.

Well actually Id say about 50 yards with most any pistol, not saying I hit every rabbit, I figure they got a 50-50 chance these days, and If I miss, who give a fat rats ass anyway..

There's a great article in the current "Sporting Classics" entitled, "Impossible shots."

Just back to this one.

Bill: I welded up a bunch of 4'x4' frames for our range years ago. Used 1/4" round headed bolts to hold chicken wire. Assholes would purposely shoot the bolt heads off. Frames were made of 1/2"x 2" flat on edge to give less area for bullets to hit. Every frame had quite a few chips and a couple times big bores even broke the flat iron with a direct hit. I charged $25 to $50 per frame to repair them.

You don't need to explain much beyond vandalism on that nonsense. A RO caught two guys shooting the bolt heads and rescinded their membership right then. I felt they should have had to pay my labor bill to repair them too.

George

About 30 years ago a buddy of mine was a corporal in the Round Rock P.D. + asked me if I would give him a hand repairing their range + in turn I was welcome to all the brass I could carry. I would have helped him anyway but several 5 gallon buckets of brass didn't hurt. I swear I have never seen such rampant destruction on backstops.

Elmer Keith WAS a god.

He certainly came up with a lot of great ideas. I love my Keith # 5 in 44 mag. + I use his bullet + load as well.