Real world average 25 yard grouping.

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If I would have to guess, typical groups at 25 yds will be in the 6" range for the average shooter who shoots more than once every couple of months. People shoot at 7 yds which always amazes me as to how poorly they shoot. 7 yards is typically "across the room distance" in an average home. My close shooting is usually at 10 yds. A lot depends on the gun, the caliber, the shooter's experience, and how much they actually care.

For hunting applications on medium sized game, you need to be able to place most shots inside 6" at 50 yds. When you consider 7 yd targets, this is fairly hard to achieve.
 
My average 5 shot 25 yard group is probably around 4.5" but I hardly ever actually shoot a 4.5" group lol. About 1/2 the time I'll shoot a 2.5-3" group the other half will have a flier that opens the group to 5.5-6".
 
35 Whelen and the rest, are you guys shooting loads that you have worked up that specifically shoot well out of your revolvers? It looks like some of them are moving along pretty fast, not your typical “target” loads.

I shoot basically three loads out of all my revolvers; a cast RN (150 +/- gr. in 38/357, 248 +/- in .44 Special and 250 gr. in 45 Colt) running 750-825 fps for target practice; a cast SWC (158 gr. +/- in 38/357, 255 gr. in .44 Special and 260-265 gr. in 45 Colt) @ 850-900 fps for general field use and a cast RNFP, SWC or SWCHP (165-180 gr. in .357, 258-260 gr. in .44 Special and 288-290 gr. in 45 Colt) running 950-1100 fps for dedicated hunting.
I've found with well made revolvers, especially my Uberti's, finding accurate loads is not at all difficult so long as one uses well made bullets and the proper powder for the velocity sought.

35W
 
35 Whelen and the rest, are you guys shooting loads that you have worked up that specifically shoot well out of your revolvers? It looks like some of them are moving along pretty fast, not your typical “target” loads.

For my revolvers, I rarely shoot factory ammo. I have 3 tiers of loads.

Plinking: Lower velocity, with more affordable bullets. Not terribly accurate, but good enough.

Woods Defense/Hunting: Higher end bullets, slow burning powders, and charges around the max. These are worked up carefully, and I've found data scarce. They are as accurate as I can get them, but with the bullet quality and the slow burning powders working best at higher pressure, these loads are potentially very accurate.

Mimics: Slower powders, close to max charges (one way or the other), but with the same bullets as the plinking loads. These are worked up to mimic the woods loads as close as possible for POI and recoil, but still aren't as accurate. Partly because of the projectiles, and partly because I haven't focused on the work up so closely. Yet they're still often more accurate than the plinking loads.

The most accurate loads are moving the fastest, have the most recoil, and are the most likely to get me flinching after a couple cylinders (shame on me). But that seems to be how it is. The potential for very good accuracy is there, but I have to work harder mentally to get it.
 
I’m curious about slow burning powders and if/why you find them more accurate.

I’m been reloading for less than a year and have used Bullseye almost extensively for my 38 special loads out of my 357 SA with a 5.5” barrel. I’ve loads 158 grain LSWC with 3.2, 3.4 and 3.8 grains of Bullseye. Shoot them all fine without a noticeable drop off in accuracy in any of the loads. But none of them seem magical to be honest. Am interested in other powders with different characteristics to see if I like them better (not that I dislike BE.) I do have some Trail Boss that I have loaded a handful of rounds with, but haven’t really experimented with it. My shooting mainly consists of target shooting 25-75+ yards, and small games/pest control on our farm. So no need for super high velocity stuff. On the nightstand it’s loaded with factory HP’s.
 
I’m curious about slow burning powders and if/why you find them more accurate.

I think I may have written that in an ambiguous way. It's not that the slower burning powders inherently provide better accuracy than faster burning powders.

It's that for woods defense and hunting, I want velocity. Slower burning powders like 2400 and 300-MP provide that, over say, Unique. However, those slower burning powders work best at higher pressures. In my experience, 300-MP has consistently proved to be most accurate in .41 and .44 mag with the max charge. 2400 has given me notably better accuracy at charges I estimate are over 32K PSI (but that's a guess based on load data charts, and accuracy testing).

I could likely get very good accuracy from the higher end bullets and a tuned charge of Unique, but the velocity wouldn't be there.
 
My average 5 shot 25 yard group is probably around 4.5" but I hardly ever actually shoot a 4.5" group lol. About 1/2 the time I'll shoot a 2.5-3" group the other half will have a flier that opens the group to 5.5-6".

...and that's exactly what I got yesterday. I found that first off, I'm not all that great at 25yd shooting. I ran my 627 -w- 38 special only and double action only...I could muster a a 3-5" group...but those flyers...right down the toilet. I find that I do not shoot my Super Redhawk all that well standing, the thing is just heavy and holding it on target is difficult. I can shoot within a 10" circle with the thing, I guess that's good enough to "get the job done" should I need to.

It's funny, I know it sounds dumb saying this, but 10 and 25 yds are a totally different ballgame.
 
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It's funny, I know it sounds dumb saying this, but 10 and 25 yds are a totally different ballgame.

No doubt about it. I find I actually shoot about the same at 50 yards as I do at 25, but see a pretty significant drop off at 75.

When my dad comes up for a visit and we shoot for bragging rights, we generally shoot a round at 10 yards and 25 yards, and add the score. He’s more of a self defense type guy, so he always starts at 10, then hopes for the best at 25. I start at 25, then move to 10. 10 feels like the barrel is almost touching the target after 25. I need to start shooting more often at 75. It will likely drastically improve my 50 and 25 yard shooting.
 
I usually practice at 7,10 and 15yrds, I've tried 25 and struggle to stay on the paper plates we use as targets, I guess I need to practice more, I need to get a backer board for the targets so I can measure my "pattern":). I like the idea of shooting farthest targets first then shoot the closer ones.
I will try that next time at the range before we do fast shooting. We have already agreed to try putting hands in ice water then shooting to see what happens instead of running around the tree like we have been doing.
 
Can you claim 2 fliers out of a 5 shot group? If so, I had some pretty good groups today aside from those fliers. :rofl:
 
I almost always get a flier or two at 25yds and longer. I usually shoot 10, 15, and 25 yds with my Shield. It is hard to shoot it accurately at those ranges, It's not really made for that. But it is good practice for making me settle down and concentrate on what I'm doing.
I shoot my revolvers with 4" barrels much better at those ranges. Usually about a 6" group, my 6" barrel revolvers I usually get a 3- 4" group.
With my favorite practice loads, I have hit the 6" plates with my 4" GP100 at 25yds 17 out of 18 rounds.
I doubt I will ever get over having a flier here or there. about the time I start to relax, thinking I'm shooting well today, guess what I get.
The flyer is me not the gun or the ammo. I hope it's not my ammo!
I do load for my specific revolvers, I know what "I" shoot out of them the best. For me it's mid range .357mag, but for someone else it may be .38spl.
I have found certain loads I don't get along with, they aren't accurate for me. So yes I have my favorite loads for each handgun I have.
 
You hit the key to the accuracy thing when you said relax. When you hold the pistol with a death grip it begins to shake, muscle fatigue is to blame. When your grip is kinda loose the shaking is reduced considerably. A retired police detective showed me this many years ago, he used to win a local turkey shoot each month with a snubby revolver. The guy never missed. This has been the thing that has had the best results for me and my success at long range shots.
 
You hit the key to the accuracy thing when you said relax. When you hold the pistol with a death grip it begins to shake, muscle fatigue is to blame. When your grip is kinda loose the shaking is reduced considerably. A retired police detective showed me this many years ago, he used to win a local turkey shoot each month with a snubby revolver. The guy never missed. This has been the thing that has had the best results for me and my success at long range shots.

That would depend on what you're shooting. Hold any of my revolvers loose and the front sight will get imbedded in your scalp. For me, grip tension consistency is critical. I agree you shouldn't put a death grip on your revolver, but I personally shoot with considerable grip tension.
 
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and keep it constant all the way through recoil and back on target for the next shot. my shots start to go wild when I start releasing my grip as soon as the trigger is pulled.

pull up a paul harrel video and watch how he brings the gun back to the target and then down to the ready position. he is very consistent in follow-through.

murf
 
Funny, I was thinking about starting a thread about tightness of grip on revolvers. I use the same firmness whether I’m shooting 38’s or 357’s, or anything else. I find that my grip needs to be relaxed, but not too loose. If it’s too loose, I tend to squeeze my grip right as the gun goes off to control it, messing up accuracy. Too tight and all sorts of things go wrong. I definitely err on the side of relaxed. I think everyone likely need to find their own firmness.
 
I place my right thumb so that the tip is against the recoil shield, that keeps the revolver from flipping up. Also I let it roll slightly in my grip to dampen the recoil. This works for me, may not work for everyone.
 
keith g, if you ever get into the big boomers like maxp is referring, I strongly suggest you take his advise on grip. my friend took one shot with my "boomer", holding it like he holds his 357 magnum, and would have split his forehead open with the front sight if not for his baseball cap. he had a headache for a while.

murf
 
keith g, if you ever get into the big boomers like maxp is referring, I strongly suggest you take his advise on grip. my friend took one shot with my "boomer", holding it like he holds his 357 magnum, and would have split his forehead open with the front sight if not for his baseball cap. he had a headache for a while.

murf

What caliber and load was this boomer?
 
ruger Blackhawk 45 long colt w/4.625" bbl, 325 gn lfnpb, xx.x grains h110, cci 350 primer, heavy crimp. empty weight of the gun is 37 ounces. the load chronographs @ 1275 fps 12 feet from the muzzle. 0228180823b_resized.jpg

murf

p.s. the 325 grain load is the cartridge on the right in the pic. the cartridge on the left is my normal load: 255 gn rnfp @ 1100 fps.
 
I place my right thumb so that the tip is against the recoil shield, that keeps the revolver from flipping up. Also I let it roll slightly in my grip to dampen the recoil. This works for me, may not work for everyone.

I just tried that with one of my single-actions and am having trouble visualizing it. What calibers are you shooting?
 
8B8A4579-CAD3-4F95-B07C-2BD21386F68A.jpeg Found some old Thunderbolts in the shop and figured I hadn’t shot any 22 in a while, so what the heck. Shot some steel at 50 yards just to work on fundamentals. Reminded me why I don’t buy that stuff any more. I swear the charges are all over the place. Checked the barrel because I thought I had a squib a couple of times. But anyway, reminded me how much I like this little revolver, and just how much fun it is to shoot 22.
 
9814D8B6-1C69-4495-8A5C-AFF6DCF6881C.jpeg

Was raining today so went to indoor range. Haven’t been shooting for a couple of weeks. Ruger 7 1/2” Bisley 45 Colt shooting 250 grain Campro plated over 5.9 grains of tightgroup. First time using this load. Started at bottom right corner and shooting with a rest. About the best I can do at 15 to 25 yards with these 62 year old cataract eyes.
However going for surgery on the 21st so hoping I might get better.
 
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