Shooting a handgun for fun/hunting

[AL45]

If your not shooting to develop your personal protection skills but more for the fun of it or to hone your hunting skills, what range do you shoot from? I shoot a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt, and don't like to shoot any closer than 20-25 yards. At this range, on a good day, I will shoot a 5 shot 5 inch group. I've tried shooting closer, but the groups really don't tighten up much. Offhand, at 40 yards, I can put 5 shots in a 12 inch wide by 12 inch tall square, on a good day. A lot of experts say to start close, and move back as your groups improve. For whatever reason, it's just no fun to me to shoot any closer than 20 yards. I certainly want to improve. Should I move closer to start with?

[Bezoar]

it depends entirely on you.

if you move in closer, its alot easier to geta consistent sight picture, and you can see issues as they happen. For instance if you start jerking the trigger to fast, youll see those sights start moving,,, or jerking the sight up or down.

however, when you shoot close in, and you take your time to get a perfect sight picture, and gently squeeze the shot off, and DONT see a tiny dot on the bullseye, you can get frustrated easily and that will lead to issues.

[Boncrayon]

You can sure scare a lot of varmints enough that make them move fast. If not a hit on your first shot...they're history!

[buck460XVR]

One needs to practice scenarios similar to what they intend to experience while using the firearm. This is true for both hunting and SD type weapons. For most practical hunting applications, shooting closer than 20 yards with a .45 colt would be rare and if and when it did happen, no adjustments would be needed anyway.


I hunt with all of my centerfire revolvers. I generally practice anywhere from 40 to 70 yards regularly. I also practice @ 100 or more with the .44s and the .460. My hunting range with any handgun is determined by my ability to place every round in an area equal to the quarry's kill zone, not by how far I can see the animal. If one is hunting deer or larger game, I see no reason to practice any closer than 25 yards.

[coldbeer]

I like shooting old milk jugs and chlorine jugs full of water setup in a series of unknown and increasing distances. I'll put one jug at say 15 yards then another a little farther and so on up to I don't know maybe 80- 100 yards. I just do this for fun because it gets to be a little challenging getting those last couple jugs.

[Bob Wright]

I shoot from 7 1/2 yards to 200 meters. It depends on my target.

I had aspirations of being an exhibition shooter many years ago, and did shots like cutting playing cards in two edgeways, cutting strings of helium filled balloons, hitting cans tossed into the air (never got really good at that) and snuffing out candles. Did some NRA bullseye shooting at fifty feet and twenty five yards, shot some steel targets out to 200 meters. Shot varmints at varying ranges, and small game and big game. I just enjoy shooting, and hitting, anything I aim at. I enjoy the .22 r.f. revolver as well as the .44 Magnum.

Any day I don't feel like shooting gives me cause for concern for my health.

Bob Wright

[Bezoar]

perhaps its not best to put a minimum distance on it, if your just trying to hone basic skills.
For years it was common knowledge that you had to lift big heavy weights, many times in a row, many times a week until you couldnt phsyically move your arms in order to build muscle. modern research shows you can lift smaller weights to exhaustion and get the same benefits.

how does that come in? If you use teh same form, and routine of holding, aiming, and firing the gun at 10 yards as you do at 100 yards, your going to get the same development from it.

[AL45]

I'm going to try that, Coldbeer.