125 yard pistol accuracy?

[Rifleman1776]

I am currently reading a fiction adventure novel. Now, I am a writer of fiction novels and understand that really anything goes. It is make believe. But, I personally prefer writing that is plausibile.
In the book I am reading, the hero is shot at but only grazed by a rifle bullet from a sniper, laying prone, 125 yards away. He and his wife each pull their model 1911s and fire back, two magazines each. Of aproximately 30 rounds, the sniper is hit 25 times.
I'm glad the bad guy got is due but, to me, this is not plausible and simply ridiculous. Oh, well. The good guy is OK.

[2ndsojourn]

I get a laugh at those western movies where guys make a 200+ yard shot with their six guns. Usually on the first shot too.

[jnichols2]

I have read two magazine articles about 100-150yard pistol shots.

Can't vouch for them 'cause I can't do it.

[Merad]

Remember this story from last fall? 165 yd shot with a .357 Magnum - http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/i.../t-670777.html

I'd argue that it's as much luck as skill at that range, but hey it's possible.

[2ndsojourn]

What's really remarkable is making those long shots while riding at a full gallop on a horse at another guy on a horse. Wish I was that good.

[NoSecondBest]

It's absurd to even think that two shooters with semi-auto 45's would take thirty shots under duress and make 25 hits at that distance. It just CAN'T happen. Now, as to the citizen making a 165 yard shot at a bad guy and hitting him....that can easily happen. I used to shoot silhouette and was pretty good at it. I shot it for ten years and won seven state titles, two regional titles, and placed third in the Internationals. I shot all five classes at that time in the International Class and that included standing. One of my very goo friends won the Internationals in the Standing class twice. He and I could both shoot man sized targets all day long at 165 yards and hit them with monotinous regularity. I've taken over 50 whitetails with the 357mag and the furthest was a measured 167 yards. I've shot several over 100 yards. I don't know who the citizen in Texas was but it's very believable to think he shot at and hit someone at the distance stated. I believe the article said he hit them in the leg. I don't know where he was aiming but to think it was center of mass and hit the leg isn't even a remarkable shot. He was off by several feet if that was the case. I was at a local shooting range one day and bumped into the new police chief of a small nearby town. I mean SMALL. They had two full time and one part time cops. This guy had just graduated from the acadamy and was shooting at man sized silhouettes at seven yards. He was missing with just about every shot. He said he never shot guns before going to the acadamy. He said the shot over 2,000 rounds in training but it was all with wad cutters. I asked why so many shots so close. He said that they were trained that anyone over that distance wasn't to be considered an immediate threat! He asked what I was shooting at. I pointed to the ram target I had set up at 200 yards (it was a swinger). He didn't believe I could hit it with a handgun. I shot it seven out of ten times. Made him an instant believer in the fact that seven yards isn't a safety barrier.

[osbornk]

I get a laugh at those western movies where guys make a 200+ yard shot with their six guns. Usually on the first shot too.

And they never have to reload.

[Willie Lowman]

The best I have managed was to hit a 12" gong three shots for seven at 100 yards with my 1911. I was shooting Remington green/yellow box ammo on a sunny windless day.

In my defense, the gong did fire the first shot but it only grazed me.

[vito]

Personally I would never even try to hit something 100 feet away, let alone 100 yards. I know some of you might be able to do it, but with my eyesight and increasingly unsteady old hands I feel lucky to be reasonably accurate at 30 feet. If I even thought I might need a firearm to hit something at 100 yards it would be a rifle with good sights, not a handgun of any kind.

[HiBC]

I would not suggest I know of any two people who could get 25 hits out of 30 on a "sniper" at 150 yds with 1911's.

I assume our "sniper is not sanding erect,exposedin the open.And,he likely could return some more rifle fire while the 1911's were shooting thirty rounds.Yep,hollywood scenario.

But you can't make the shot if you don't take the shot.I suggest next timeyou are shooting handguns,if you have a 100 or 150 yd range,see what you can do.It might surprise you.

I have forgotten,its been a while...how big is the 10 ring on a 25 yd handgun target?About 2 1/2 inches,isn't it?Thats not far different than a paper plate at 125 yds.

I'm not saying this to make great claims about being a good shot,I'm not that good of a shot.But I'd be happy to shoot at a paper plate at 125 yds with a 1911.I might even hit it a couple of times out of a magazine.

Younger days with better eyes,the yellow qt pennzoil cans,when oil came in cans,were hit pretty often with a Ruger Super Blackhawk at 100 yds..two handed,sitting,forearms on knees.

I'll shoot cross canyon at a rock way out there just for fun.Do it enough,you get good at being real close,most of the time,and hits do happen.

[armoredman]

I tried it at 50 yards, slow fire standing, and the best I could do was 4 out of 5 on a 14"x9" steel IDPA target...I don't think I'd do very well at 125 yards!

[45_auto]

I can easily keep all the rounds from my 1911 in the chest area of a standard B-27 target at 100 yards. Put the chin on the target right on top of the front sight and they drop right into the chest area.

I can generally hit around 50% on a 12" gong at 100 yards.

As for getting hits on someone shooting prone from 125 yards? Not much of a target there. I would be surprised to consistently get one good hit per magazine. Best outcome I could see would be to get a bunch of rounds pretty close that might inspire them to vacate the area.

[HiBC]

OK,thats a good start!

Back when Colorado first allowed handgun big game hunting,you had to qualify by hitting a 10 in bull 4 out of 6 shotsat 50 yds

So,we made a 10 in steel dinger for practice,and we did practice!We were able to hit 6 out of 6 single action rapid fire with Super Blackhawks near every time..not just me,but a few friends,too.


For perspective,I shot a little bullseye pistol league at a local indoor range back then.My score average was someplace in the 270's,they encouraged me with a few trophies.Thats really not that good of a score,but it does take having some of the basics down.

If I had someone shooting at me from 125 yds away,and I had a 1911,I'd prioritize getting some cover or at least moving and getting small over shooting.Running away might be good.

I think its not unreasonable for Joe Average to be able to hit a 5 gal bucket a couple of times out of a magazine at 100 yds with a decent 1911,if he practices a little.Practice some more,get a good idea how to hold the sights,I'd expect more hits than misses.

I'm saying I believe you,or just about anyone who sets their mind to it can do that.Think of hitting a pop can at 50 feet.A five gallon bucket 6 times as far isn't that big of a deal

[mete]

Get involved in metallic silhouette matches .Keep at it and you'll find you'll get better all the time .As for hunting find a table showing distance vs velocity and you see that the handgun bullet with it's poor ballistic coefficient slows down fast and that's an important variable. Knocking down a ram at 200 yds gives you a nice warm feeling but for hunting that should be kept at 100 yds with iron sights After all it has to be a good hit, like the 10" vital area .

[para.2]

I have long ago sold or traded it, but with a 6" S&W M28, .357 Mag, I was able to hit the 125 yd, 14" gong at our local range with enough regularity that it became boring. I have never tried the 1911 past 50 yds.

Hmmmm....

[g.willikers]

One of the local USPSA clubs often has side matches, along with their regular ones.
A popular one is who can hit a standard USPSA target at 100 yds the fastest, with the best score, for two rounds.
Quite a few of the competitors can, more often than not, put two in the A zone, from the holster, in about 2 sec or so.
With a competition grade 1911, usually.
Scary.

[Rembrandt]

There are no doubt better shooters than me, this was the best group I could come up with at 200 yards with a .44 mag. Problem with handgun cartridges is rainbow like trajectory and short sight radius of the firearm.

[BuckRub]

I wouldnt want to be standing in front of myself and my Glock 22 at 125 yards. I will tear something to pieces. I practice that far alot and very very accurate at that distance

[Skans]

I can't wait to see the movie!

[armoredman]

I made a video of 50 yards - I'll try shooting with the camera on at 100 yards sometime, but it won't be pretty.

[BuckRub]

Watch Hickock45 s videos with a glock 23 at 200 yards and tell me it can't be done.

[NoSecondBest]

I love these internet claims of "how good I am". I've seen the best pistol shooters in the world shoot and people on here are making claims that the worlds best can't replicate. Must be true, it's on the internet.

[Gaerek]

One of the longest defensive shooting I've ever heard of from a handgun was the Fairchild AFB shooting. The gunman killed several people at the hospital. The SF that responded, Senior Airman Andy Brown, fired 4 shots at the gunman from about 70 yards with his M9, and hit him twice, once in the shoulder, and once in the head. That is extraordinary. Hitting 25 for 30, in a defensive situation would be nearly impossible at 125 yards I would think, if your name wasn't Bob Munden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tied-t1fFsk

And those claiming you could hit 25 for 30 at 125 with a handgun. Do you think you could do it if you were being shot at? I highly doubt it. Hell, I've hit things out to 200 yards with a handgun before. But the conditions are just right to make it happen, and it doesn't happen all the time. 50 yards is about my maximum with some level of consistancy and accuracy, in a controlled situation. I sure wouldn't want to be more than 20 or 25 yards away in a defensive situation and be able to hit what I'm shooting at.

[Buzzcook]

I couldn't do it, but it is possible. Not very probable though.

My question is, did the sniper just take one shot and then lay there waiting to get hosed?

Also how many 1911s have 15 round mags?

[L_Killkenny]

Well obviously the book is not very well thought out on the gun front for a couple reasons pointed out. Not unusual for I'm actually surprised when books, movies and TV actually get something right. But scoring 25 hits outta 30 on a stationary man sized target is far from impossible. It takes the right shooter, the right gun, a probably a lot more time than the shooters in the book had. But 4" - 5 shot groups are not out of the question with my .357 at 100 yards. Given a decent day and lot's of time. Off hand under stress I'd have a better chance hitting it with a ricochet than my actual shot.