Real world average 25 yard grouping.

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Keith G

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Seen lots of posts/threads showing a “best” grouping with a hand gun at 25 yards, but not as many with an average grouping for the shooter. Walked out into my woods today and figured I’d give it a go. Shot 5 rounds as a warm up, then three 5 round groups. Everything counted. True 25 yards, 2 handed, standing, unsupported. Looks like my groups average right at 4.75”. Consider myself an average shooter. Kind of fun and nerve racking knowing there are no throw away shots/groups.

I know there are serious shooters that do amazing things, but I’m just a guy that lives in the country and use my firearms as tools and for some fun. That’s the type of shooter that I’m interested in hearing from.

5.5” 357 SA
Shooting 158 grain LSWC 38 hand loads.
The top hole on each target is for hanging it.
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Average groups offhand at 25 yards with iron sights on a pistol?

That depends on the day, the gun, the load, how much coffee I've had, how much food I've had, my general mood, etc. I'll now butcher a quote, "A man isn't even equal to himself, from one day to the next."

If I were to put a number on it, I'd guess about 6 inches.
 
I'll now butcher a quote, "A man isn't even equal to himself, from one day to the next."

Agreed. We all have days where we can’t miss, and we all have days we can’t hit the inside of a barn with a 12 gauge loaded with bird shot. I’m interested in the rest of the days. I’ll admit I likely focused a little harder this morning knowing I was gonna post the results, no matter what they looked like, than I do when I’m out making cans dance for fun.
 
Most shooters on the internet can get 2" groups at 25 yards with ease... Most shooters I see at the range have a hard time getting a 2" group at 7 yards...

I would consider a 4 to 5" group at 25 yards reasonably good for standing and unsupported. On some days, with real accurate guns I've done much better than that, but on other days I've done worse. Here's some of the best shooting I've done at 25 yards. It was with a S&W 929. The bottom group was double action without any rest. The 3 groups at the top were single action with my wrists on a sand bag. I'm not certain of the exact group sizes, but the target is 12"x18" for reference. This was open sights. I've got similar groups with a scope at 50 yards.

If you go to the range on a weekly basis and practice this type of shooting you can improve at it pretty quickly. Conversely, if you don't practice much over a cold winter the skill disappears pretty quickly.

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Most shooters on the internet can get 2" groups at 25 yards with ease... Most shooters I see at the range have a hard time getting a 2" group at 7 yards...

No truer words could be spoken. I’m interested in what an average days shooting results in. I could pull out a couple of targets where I felt like I was the best gun in the south...until the next day I shot. But I don’t think that’s a true representation of my skills.
 
The guy who shot this is a two times Bullseye Champion. This is the composite 22 lr stage of a 2700 match, fired at 25 yards. This group contains 30 slow fire shots and 60 rounds which were fired timed fire (20 seconds for five shots) and rapid fire (ten seconds for five shots). We just tore off all the top targets before stapling the next set of targets for the centerfire stage.

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These are some of his targets with the 1911.

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These are good groups for me, with two hands!

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I know there are freaks like this guy that shoot lights out, but I’m interested in what us average joes do when we walk out in the woods and shoot for fun.
 
Note the dates on these targets, nearly twenty years ago, and they were typical groups for me at that time:

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Each of these targets were shot standing, using a two-handed hold. I was on a range with a partition between firing points, which helped block disturbing winds.

During this time, I shot at least weekly, and shot often at 100 yards. I could hit a foam coffee cup on the bank at 110 yards with some regularity, like maybe three shots out of five.

Since that I time, I no longer can practice as often as I'd like, nor do I have a long range to shoot on. And, well, I'm in my eighties now, and that makes a difference.

Bob Wright
 
Very fine shooting, sir. I hope to get there some day. But even if I don’t, I’m going to have a lot of fun trying.
 
During this time, I shot at least weekly, and shot often at 100 yards. I could hit a foam coffee cup on the bank at 110 yards with some regularity, like maybe three shots out of five.

Since that I time, I no longer can practice as often as I'd like, nor do I have a long range to shoot on. And, well, I'm in my eighties now, and that makes a difference.

Bob Wright

Bob,

I used to do a lot of shooting but since leaving the Department, my range time is limited. What helps me is dry firing. At 64, I am not the hotshot I was in my 40s but the 10 ring is still on alert when I tape up a target.

Kevin
 
I'm just a country boy too. My handguns are tools as well. For me it depends on how much I've been shooting and which firearm I'm shooting at the time. I definitely have a preference to SA revolvers.

I have an old beat up Uberti 4 3/4" .44 Special that I shoot most and when I've been shooting a lot, days or weeks at a time when I get in from work, things like quail and lemon-size rocks, offhand, are no problem at 25 yds. 2 or 3 years ago I was piddling around on the ranch next door and happened upon a couple of sows with litters of babies. I snuck as close as I though was practical, stood up and shot at one off-hand, bowling her over. It turned out to be 44 long, hamstring stretching paces. I don't shoot just a whole lot at 25 yds. I have an 8" square piece of AR500 on hanging from my 50 yd. target stand and putting 5 rounds into it offhand is pretty easy, again, if I've been practicing.

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35W
 
That’s a good looking revolver, 35 Whelen. I enjoy reaching out to 75 yards myself, but my land is so wooded that I really can’t get an open lane much beyond that. At 50 yards I’m not bad, 75 yards and some targets start to mock me.
 
With my craptacular eyes I typically come in between 5 and 6 inch groups at 25 yards on good days. I'm fine with that using iron sights. If I was hunting I'd use a scoped gun anyway. On bad days, my groups are more of a pattern.

If I come in at 3", I'm really happy and consider the load I've worked up to be magical.

If I get a group less than 3" at 25 yards, I pack up and go home.

I'm swimming in ammo, but my work schedule only allows me to get out maybe two or three times a month any more. That's not enough to significantly improve accuracy at distance IMO, as time limits slow shooting, which limits accuracy. It's ok to keep defensive skills adequate though, and I'd even say to improve, but bullseye type shooting, no I don't think so. I usually shoot 300 to 450 rounds per session. Maintaining skills is more important to me right now than bullseye groupings.

I consider myself a more speed defensive type shooter, and distance is usually popping my steel swing targets more than anything.
 
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I have an old beat up Uberti 4 3/4" .44 Special that I shoot most and when I've been shooting a lot, days or weeks at a time when I get in from work, things like quail and lemon-size rocks, offhand, are no problem at 25 yds. 2 or 3 years ago I was piddling around on the ranch next door and happened upon a couple of sows with litters of babies. I snuck as close as I though was practical, stood up and shot at one off-hand, bowling her over. It turned out to be 44 long, hamstring stretching paces. I don't shoot just a whole lot at 25 yds. I have an 8" square piece of AR500 on hanging from my 50 yd. target stand and putting 5 rounds into it offhand is pretty easy, again, if I've been practicing.

35W

Great shooting 35Whelen!. I love the 44 Special. I know people who pay extra to have a pistol that looks like yours! Call it stone ground! LOL.
 
Thanks for the kind words guys.

Last weekend I picked up another .44 Special, a S&W 21-4. I'm still getting used to the different feel of a DA.

35W
 
I shoot mostly 3"-4" barrels now and my average groups at 25yd with my 3" Shield isn't very good standing, off hand.
With a man sized target I can get 2 head shots and 4 body shots with it out of 6 shots.
With my 6" barreled guns like my Model 57 I can almost always squeak out a 3-4" group at 25 with the high powered stuff, standing, unsupported.
On a bad day, well, let's not go there.
 
I would say that the “average Joe” handgun shooter is lucky to hit a target at 25 yards; a proficient handgun shooter (one with experience and skill) will do around 6” at 25 yards consistently. Then there is exceptional skill due to mucho range and dry firing time - these are people that compete or are skilled enough to compete.
Shooting a handgun at 25 yards with consistent accuracy is much harder that it looks - my perspective is that if you can consistently shoot 6” unsupported at 25 yards, you are a good handgun shot.
 
I talked the ROs at WAC into letting me see what I could hit with my S&W 17 on the 50 yard line. Well, they insisted on my sitting and supporting the gun on a sandbag. After a couple of cylinders to determine my sight picture I was hitting all on the black of a "shoot-n-c" six inch stick on target.
I am hardly the best shot but the RO was impressed.
 
I have a bud who works at an indoor range as a Range Officer. Unskilled individuals barely, if ever, shoot a firearm. Those people cannot keep their shots on a two foot by two foot target at seven yards, sometimes with a rifle.
 
[QUOTE="BobWright, post: 11186639, member: 216282”]


During this time, I shot at least weekly, and shot often at 100 yards. I could hit a foam coffee cup on the bank at 110 yards with some regularity, like maybe three shots out of five.

Since that I time, I no longer can practice as often as I'd like, nor do I have a long range to shoot on. And, well, I'm in my eighties now, and that makes a difference.

Bob Wright

Bob,

I used to do a lot of shooting but since leaving the Department, my range time is limited. What helps me is dry firing. At 64, I am not the hotshot I was in my 40s but the 10 ring is still on alert when I tape up a target.

Kevin[/QUOTE] I have to go along with Strawhat, my best shot was a Jackrabbit at 129 yards with a 38 special. It's nice to see another long range pistolero.
 
I hunt with my revolvers and seldom ever even shoot at 25 yards anymore. 40 is about the shortest I go, and 70 is the norm. Still, I've found, since the advent of the internet and gun forums/social media, my shooting has improved drastically........:rofl::rofl::rofl:


Just sayin'.
 
Maybe where I am from there are a lot of lousy shooters. At the 3 ranges I regularly go to there is only 1 shooter that can put every shot from his 9mm Glock into the head area ( -o ) of an IDPA target at 45 feet and only about 90% of the time shooting free hand. He is a range officer and a firearms instructor that spends a good part of the day practicing. Seems like a lot of imagination and bragging going on here. Or like I said , there are a lot of lousy hand gunners at the ranges I go to. IMO.:)
 
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