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spacecoast · November 19, 2010, 09:26 AM

Hello, welcome to TFL.

I started shooting bullseye a few months ago and have watched the (serious) veterans carefully at the range where I shoot. Most of them shoot bullseye with a .22LR pistol like the Ruger Mark II/III or the S&W Model 41, with a red dot sight on top. Some have very fancy target grips, in my case I upgraded my Mark II with some inexpensive Hogue target grips and they make a difference over the stock grips. A significant advantage of the .22 over a heavier cartridge is light recoil for the timed and rapid fire part of the competition.

In the centerfire competition some prefer the S&W Model 14 (a.k.a. K-38) with a 6" barrel and light wadcutter loads. I just acquired one of these revolvers, equipped it with Hogue rubber grips and am looking forward to trying it. Almost any 6" .38 spl or .357 mag revolver should work well as long as you can hold and aim it comfortably with one hand.

A good 1911 (.45 ACP) is also a favorite of many centerfire competitors.

This page has some good info, and there are many other good online resources -

http://www.bullseyepistol.com/equipmnt.htm

Best of luck... keep us posted on your progress. Bullseye is a lot of fun and will make you a much better shooter because it improves concentration and fundamentals of smooth trigger pull while maintaining sight picture.

Don't feel like you have to have a "target gun" or a lot of fancy equipment to compete and enjoy it. Last time I shot with a 4" fixed sight S&W revolver, had fun and still shot a decent score. The gun you use will make a bigger difference at 50 yards than at 25 yards. With my Mark II I use the cheap Federal bulk pack ammo and it works great, the more expensive ammo doesn't always make a better match for your pistol.

One other thought - it's helpful to have a binocular or small spotting scope with you for the slow fire part of the match so you can see where your shots are going in between shots.

Targets - the black part of the target is 8" wide at 50 yards and 5.5" wide at 25 yards. Any such targets of similar size adapted to your target distance will be good practice, i.e. at 15 yards it would be like shooting at a 3" target.

November 19, 2010, 09:26 AM	#2
spacecoast Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Location: Sunshine and Keystone States Posts: 4,461	Hello, welcome to TFL. I started shooting bullseye a few months ago and have watched the (serious) veterans carefully at the range where I shoot. Most of them shoot bullseye with a .22LR pistol like the Ruger Mark II/III or the S&W Model 41, with a red dot sight on top. Some have very fancy target grips, in my case I upgraded my Mark II with some inexpensive Hogue target grips and they make a difference over the stock grips. A significant advantage of the .22 over a heavier cartridge is light recoil for the timed and rapid fire part of the competition. In the centerfire competition some prefer the S&W Model 14 (a.k.a. K-38) with a 6" barrel and light wadcutter loads. I just acquired one of these revolvers, equipped it with Hogue rubber grips and am looking forward to trying it. Almost any 6" .38 spl or .357 mag revolver should work well as long as you can hold and aim it comfortably with one hand. A good 1911 (.45 ACP) is also a favorite of many centerfire competitors. This page has some good info, and there are many other good online resources - http://www.bullseyepistol.com/equipmnt.htm Best of luck... keep us posted on your progress. Bullseye is a lot of fun and will make you a much better shooter because it improves concentration and fundamentals of smooth trigger pull while maintaining sight picture. Don't feel like you have to have a "target gun" or a lot of fancy equipment to compete and enjoy it. Last time I shot with a 4" fixed sight S&W revolver, had fun and still shot a decent score. The gun you use will make a bigger difference at 50 yards than at 25 yards. With my Mark II I use the cheap Federal bulk pack ammo and it works great, the more expensive ammo doesn't always make a better match for your pistol. One other thought - it's helpful to have a binocular or small spotting scope with you for the slow fire part of the match so you can see where your shots are going in between shots. Targets - the black part of the target is 8" wide at 50 yards and 5.5" wide at 25 yards. Any such targets of similar size adapted to your target distance will be good practice, i.e. at 15 yards it would be like shooting at a 3" target. Last edited by spacecoast; November 19, 2010 at 09:35 AM.