Are small lightweight CCW pistols as accurate a full sized handgun? Its part of the trade off for concealability. They are lighter, smaller, thinner, and considered inherently less accurate than a larger gun. I bought a Ruger LCP II last week for lightweight concealability. Thought I would see how it shot compared to a full sized handgun. I chose a Beretta 92FS. Compared to a LCP they are completely different.

Not a lot in common at all. Steel/plastic, 9mm/.380, double/single stack, external safety/trigger safety, large/small, heavy/light weight

Set up at 10 yards. Since the LCP was new I fired 50 rounds to break it in and get used to shooting it,



Then I fired five rounds stacks from each gun, 15 rounds per target. here are the results:






The LCP was not as easy to shoot and recoil after 25-30 rounds wasn't pleasant. I shot a mix of my reloads, factory FMJ and factory hollow points. No problems with any of it. It's not one I'd recommend for a new shooter. The small size, long  trigger, and sharp recoil do not help with accuracy. It was definitely more difficult to keep on target but sure is an easy gun to keep in a pocket.

Definitely harder to shoot well.

The shooter, training, load and barrel have way more to do with accuracy than frame size.

My compact and subcompact are for defense against man sized targets (maybe the occasional ferel animal) at appropriate distance(s). They're not for making tight groups in paper. If I can keep a mag inside vitals at 12yds or less, I'm "accurate" enough.

OP, why the diy forum?

Mechanical accuracy is the same for the same quality of pistol, but light weight and short sight radius make them much harder to shoot accurately.

No idea how it ended up here - will move it.

Thanks

Carry full sized. Problem solved.

In my experience the barrel length isn't an issue.

More of an issue (not looking at the shooter) is the accuracy potential of the pistol and the ammo used in it.

My P07 .40 shoots better/tighter groups than my P09 .40 or even my (great big) Tactical Sport .40.

P07 at twelve yards, off hand, 12+1.  Low/slightly right hole was a surprise as everything looked good when it went bang.  Lower/left hole is me shooting that last round a big bumble bee hovering between me and the target (I missed it.)

Attached File


A P07 is the compact version of the full sized P09.

Wrong forum - moving this to GD -

sorry.

Try a Kahr P series. Just as accurate as any other pistol or revolver I've shot. Ruger LCP not so much.

Mechanically they're just as accurate. Put them into a person's hand and a whole mess of complicating factors arise.

So no they're not less accurate. You're less accurate with them. And that holds true for most shooters. Those pesky ergonomics and laws of physics just make shooting smaller guns tougher.

You can learn to shoot any gun accurately.   Time and ammo is what is needed.  The more time you spend practicing the more accurate you will become.

...



...lol, seemed fitting

This exactly

Less accurate? Nope. Takes more effort to shoot well under pressure though. Lighter/smaller guns will have more recoil and muzzle rise compared to larger/heavier guns in the same caliber.

The real question is: Why would you carry a cheap, poxy little gun?
Unless you are an anorexic midget, you can CC almost any handgun (I might exclude the Desert Eagle .50 from that).

Why would you carry a gigantic hand cannon...for self defense when a small and easy to handle pocket gun can do the exact same thing?