Posted: 4/28/2009 7:52:33 PM EDT
| Everyone I see at the indoor range shoots their handguns at the 7-10 yard line. I can see any caliber being accurate here. What if I wanted to shoot 25-50 yards? Is the 9mm, .40, or .45s trajectory flatter than the rest. I have heard (maybe inaccurately) that the .45 drops quickly at some distance. Any input? |
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imo, it doesnt necessarily matter on the 'drop'...its up to you to know your firearm/caliber and what it and you can do w/ it (ie; compensate for the drop) at distance
FWIW: .45acp does have a little more drop vs the other calibers, but not so much that you would still miss a humanoid target w/ the same POA |
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I've qualified on Washington's course for armed security guards, and it goes up to 25 yeards. Every round has to impact on the target, and my company at the time required a much higher score than the state. We just aimed center mass, and with my .45 and the 9's that most people carried we were hitting in the "10 ring" everytime.
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With any full-sized 9mm auto I've tried, you hold a few inches up at 100 yards. Havent tried with the 40, but the .45 only requires slightly more holdover at 100 yards. We're talking inches, not feet. Another member and I shoot everything from .22LR and up out to ~400 yards, and one member last year posted pics of himself shooting (and hitting) a 55 gallon drum out to 500 yards. Now THAT'S when you need to know your holdover. |
I do most of my handgun shooting at 25-50 yards. Never saw a lot of use in shooting any closer, except to check the difference in POA/POI. Most people just flat out can't shoot. I've seen 3 and 5 yard targets that looked like they'd been hit with buckshot from ~20 yards. 
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I do most of my handgun shooting at 25-50 yards. Never saw a lot of use in shooting any closer, except to check the difference in POA/POI. Most people just flat out can't shoot. I've seen 3 and 5 yard targets that looked like they'd been hit with buckshot from ~20 yards. I guess I'm a shotgun! 
I do most of my handgun shooting between 7-15 yards. I can get nice and tight at 7 during rapid fire, and can get them all on a silhouette at 15 rapid. I don't get how guys can shoot so fast and accurately at 25 yards though. My best group ever at 15 yards was probably 4 inches with a HK45C. That was really slow shooting too. As far as shooting a handgun at 100 yards I don't see the point. Benching a glock I managed 2 shots out of 15 and they were 18" apart. |
| I think the difference begins to be seen aroun 50+ yards (maybe closer to 70). At 100 yards, the 9mm is held pretty much dead on (maybe the slightest hint of elevation), while the .45 most certainly needs some elevation. Past 100, the .40 and .45 are much more challenging to hit with than the 9mm. |
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.45 zeroed for 25y...(assumes 230gr., .451" RN bullet @ 850 fps with .625" sight over bore)
50y - 2.52" low 75y - 8.32" low 100y - 17.52" low 9mm zeroed for 25y...(assumes 124gr., .355" RN bullet @ 1150 fps with .625" sight over bore) 50y - 1.21" low 75y - 4.42" low 100y - 9.81" low 7.62x25mm zeroed for 25y...(assumes 86gr., .309" RN bullet @ 1450 fps with .625" sight over bore) 50y - .59" low 75y - 2.59" low 100y - 6.22" low Calculated with this tool. |
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...trajectory flatter than the rest...
Trajectory is a very small part of accuracy, and in most cases can be easily corrected for (sight adjustment, holding over (AKA 'Kentucky windage'). Repeatability, the ability to put shots to the same point when aimed at the same point, is what determines accuracy. I do most of my handgun shooting at 25-50 yards. Never saw a lot of use in shooting any closer... Most SD shootings are at closer range. |
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At 25yds, even 50yds, trajectory doesn't matter. The vertical deflection will be within your group size. At 100yds, it is really difficult to hit anything with a service auto, but it is fun to try.
Shooting 45ACP at 100yds can be a lot of fun. Your spotter can see the bullet in the air with even a low power scope. |
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I do most of my handgun shooting at 25-50 yards. Never saw a lot of use in shooting any closer, except to check the difference in POA/POI. Most people just flat out can't shoot. I've seen 3 and 5 yard targets that looked like they'd been hit with buckshot from ~20 yards. I guess I'm a shotgun!
I do most of my handgun shooting between 7-15 yards. I can get nice and tight at 7 during rapid fire, and can get them all on a silhouette at 15 rapid. I don't get how guys can shoot so fast and accurately at 25 yards though. My best group ever at 15 yards was probably 4 inches with a HK45C. That was really slow shooting too. As far as shooting a handgun at 100 yards I don't see the point. Benching a glock I managed 2 shots out of 15 and they were 18" apart. The targets I'm talking about were shot by people taking a bit of time to aim. Not slow fire, but not as fast as they could trip the bang switch either. ETA, you need to work more on consistency in sight alignment, grip pressure, and trigger control if you're going to shoot at 100. The majority of handguns are easily capable of keeping every round on a standard silhouette target at 100 yards. |
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...trajectory flatter than the rest...
Trajectory is a very small part of accuracy, and in most cases can be easily corrected for (sight adjustment, holding over (AKA 'Kentucky windage'). Repeatability, the ability to put shots to the same point when aimed at the same point, is what determines accuracy. I do most of my handgun shooting at 25-50 yards. Never saw a lot of use in shooting any closer... Most SD shootings are at closer range. That's true, but it's also true that if I can hit at 25, there isn't any reason I can't hit at 7. 
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Herd from more than a few shooter it was so close how could I of missed. Cardboard don't lie. Dad's got a little two shot .22 mag derringer. The last time I shot that gun, I could hit 12 gauge shells at 3-5 paces with boring regularity. I've also done it at ten paces with my 3" barreled Springfield micro compact. I don't shoot nearly as much as I used to, but I have serious doubts that hitting the vitals on a man is going to be a problem at typical SD distances. 3" barreled S&W M31-1, wadcutters don't cut clean holes in unsupported paper 
M&P made in 1941, fliers my fault 
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flatest shooting auto caliber i think would be the .357sig 7.62x25 is flatter. you're right i forgot about that one. but isnt there a lack of SD ammo in that caliber. ive always wanted a 1911 in chambered in this. The Wolf Gold line includes an 85 grain JHP. IIRC, at least one other company makes JHP. |
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flatest shooting auto caliber i think would be the .357sig 7.62x25 is flatter. you're right i forgot about that one. but isnt there a lack of SD ammo in that caliber. ive always wanted a 1911 in chambered in this. The Wolf 85gr JHP performs pretty well and 100gr Hornady XTP performs very well, but that's a handloaded thing, or purchased from a company that will load it for you. |
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While a 1911 in .45 ACP wouldn't be my choice as a long range caliber, when I was a kid I could hit a mailbox (you know, the big stand up kind on street corners that everyone can put mail into) at 200 yards with my Dad's WWII Government Model 1911. I had the exact hold over figured out and could hit it every time. It freaked my Dad out first time I showed him I could do it. 230 grain ball wouldn't penetrate it at that distance, just rang it like a gong and dented it. And before anyone goes ballistic thinking I'm shooting mailboxes on street corners, it was an old mailbox someone had brought to the range and stuck at the 200 yard line. If I wanted a long range target semi auto I'd be tempted to get a 6" conversion barrel in 9x25 for my Glock 20. Other than that I've got a Contender with a 30-30 barrel and a 7-1/2" Super Blackhawk that would work fine. |
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Quoted: 230 grain ball wouldn't penetrate it at that distance, just rang it like a gong and dented it. I'm surprised. The poster here that hit the 55 gallon drum at long range was having the FMJ rounds penetrate at least one side. He had one go through the top (rainbow trajectory). |
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Quoted: Quoted: 230 grain ball wouldn't penetrate it at that distance, just rang it like a gong and dented it. I'm surprised. The poster here that hit the 55 gallon drum at long range was having the FMJ rounds penetrate at least one side. He had one go through the top (rainbow trajectory). A couple of points. First, I was shooting my Dad's reloads, which probably weren't as hot as factory or milsurp rounds of the time. And second, those old mailboxes were pretty stout compared to a 55 gallon drum, I'm guessing they were made from something like 10 gauge (3/16"). I was probably about 13 or 14 at the time that happened, which would make it 1971 or 1972. And that mailbox was probably 20 years old then. But I'll never forget the look on my Dads face when I hit that mailbox 5 times in a row. Priceless! |
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...trajectory flatter than the rest...
Trajectory is a very small part of accuracy, and in most cases can be easily corrected for (sight adjustment, holding over (AKA 'Kentucky windage'). Repeatability, the ability to put shots to the same point when aimed at the same point, is what determines accuracy. I do most of my handgun shooting at 25-50 yards. Never saw a lot of use in shooting any closer... Most SD shootings are at closer range. That's true, but it's also true that if I can hit at 25, there isn't any reason I can't hit at 7. Only if you can persuade the person to stand still, and possibly hold a bullseye. Shooting at traversing moving targets at close range gets progressively harder as the range decreases. At extreme range it is also hard. |
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Quoted: Shooting at 100 yards with a 9mm S&W 5946, I had about 40 degrees of elevation and two guys spotting me. I had to walk the rounds in like a little artillery piece. If you had to walk 9mm rounds into a 100 yard target, you've got more shooting issues than Guns & Ammo. |