Long-Range Handgunning

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Desertscout

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I posted this first on another thread but they were talking about .45's so this may not have been relevant. I removed it and re-posted here.

The subject frequently comes up about the max range of handgun shooting. We teach a class here that takes shooters out to 200 yards with service-style handguns but one day, we decided to push it just a bit further...

We just went out a few weeks ago and pushed a G35 out to 500 yards. 500 yards?! Yeah and it's not really as hard as one might think. No sandbags or machine rests, just leaning over the toolbox of the truck, I was able to put 7 of 14 shots in 39", on target. Which, if you figure that out, only boils down to less than 2" at 25 yards which is not bad in itself. Actually, it may be a little better than that considering the breeze.

The pic below is the actual range. A measured 500 yds. The target is a 4x8 sheet of wafer board

500yds.jpg

The 7 hits with the heavy circles around them are the G35 hits. The 5 hits with the circles and the little arrows under them are, believe it or not, a .22 rifle. We were relaying information by radio and when Jason told me that I had 3 consecutive hits with the .22, I quit. The other hits are from a .40 caliber Kel-Tec Sub 2000.

500ydtgt.jpg

This video clip is a standing, unsupported shot with a different G35 at 200 yds.
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And here's a G27 at 200 yards...

th_G27.jpg

The point of all this is not to demonstrate MY shooting ability but rather to show that extreme long distance accuracy with a service-style handgun is attainable. The guns were nothing special and have stock barrels in them. Damn inaccurate Glocks!

Does the .40 S&W still have any ass left by the time it has traveled 500 yards? I don't think I would care anything about trying to catch one of them! All the bullets went through the wafer board and went 7-9" deep into a loose sand bank behind the target. 2 of the .40's went through the wafer board, the 2x4 frame and still buried themselves 5-7" into the sand.
The first time we tried this, we used 55-gallon drums for targets. The .40 bullets went through both sides with no problem at all.

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020109_barrelhits.jpg
 
Looks like a lot of fun. The penetration of the .40 at 500 yards is kinda surprising. Im assuming 180grn FMJs right?
 
I LOVE this stuff!

I used to go out near Edwards Air Force base to shoot. I would set up a few license plate on the side of a hill, pace off 200 yards and let 'em have it with a .22 AMT Lightning.

At that range I'd get: Bang... 2... 3... tink!

Fun, fun fun!
 
I have never attempted a 500 yard shot with a pistol, but I regularly shoot at a 200 yard steel silhouette with my 10mm auto. It is not too hard to land 6-7 out of 10 on target.

So, what was your hold-over at 500 yards with a 40 SW?... about 200 feet?
 
C-grunt: Yes sir, those were PMC 180 gr. FMJ's. We'll try it again soon with handloads and see if the results are any different.

KB: Not quite that much. A hair over 50 feet is what I need with my G35's and about 65 or so with a G23. I haven't tried my G20 yet.
 
Once one learns the rainbox trajectory of their specific load and bullet at a given distance, one can also expect the same group size ratio downrange (2" @ 50 yds., = 4" @ 100, 8" @ 200, etc.

The bullet is gonna go . . . exactly where it is gonna go . . . you just have to learn how much to "hold over," then do YOUR job of accomplishing the good handgun technique.
 
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