Handguns Calibers at 100 yards?

[RickB]

A 45acp only drops about 6 inches at that distance

Well over a foot at 100yds with .45 hardball.
The toughest part is not being able to see the target; if you haven't adjusted the sights for long distance, the gun is completely obscuring the target.

[TimSr]

The ten chickens were less than 1.5" high and obviously were not square or round, they were shaped like a chicken. Actual size was just about 1sq.in. of total target to shoot at. I used a Browning Buckmark 10"bbl with factory open sights. I missed the first target, made a minor adjustment, and proceeded to shoot the next nine targets.

Most pistols are capable of tighter groups than shooters. I certainly can not sight a 1" target with open sights at 100 yards. Never could when my vision was what I thought was excellent. Congratulations on nailing 9 out of 10 1" targets with a rimfire pistol at 100 yards. I've never had a rimfire, even a rifle that was capable of that.

I guess accuracy is relative to purpose, and I won't feel bad that my pistol range for deer is only a little over a hundred yards, and my rimfire range for squirrel is less than that, even with the aid of a scope.

[mavracer]

Well over a foot at 100yds with .45 hardball.
The toughest part is not being able to see the target; if you haven't adjusted the sights for long distance, the gun is completely obscuring the target.

Depends on where you have the gun sighted in. And the trick is learning the sight picture you need for long range, long ago I read Elmer Keith and adopted his method of putting the front sight proud of the rear.

[RickB]

Obviously, if the gun is sighted at 100 yards, it won't drop at all.
I think most "service pistols" are sighted at 25.

[45_auto]

Originally Posted by rickb

Well over a foot at 100yds with .45 hardball.
The toughest part is not being able to see the target; if you haven't adjusted the sights for long distance, the gun is completely obscuring the target.

We regularly shoot IDPA targets at 100 yards with .45's.

Aim at the head and they'll drop right into the chest area.

[Bake]

Quote:
Does a Remington "XP" in 7mm count?

One of the original 7mm BR's ?
__________________

Yea my was an 7mm BR Remington. I knew a guy that had his chambered to 7-08 Winchester. At first the gunsmith just ran a reamer into the old 7mm BR chamber. That didn't work to well, had to pull the barrel and cut some barrel off and then he got a clean chamber...

[scsov509]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 10mm yet. I routinely shoot my 10mm out to longer distances for fun, but know a number of guys who hunt with the round and have taken deer and other game at longer distances. So I would definitely trust the 10mm to do the job asked about in the OP.

[Doyle]

Speaking of 100 yd shots, the lastest theory on the 2 cops shot in Ferguson yesterday is that they were shot from approximately 120 yards out. If true, I seriously doubt that kind of hit was an "aimed" shot. More likely just pointing in the general direction of the line of officers and managing to connect.

That could also make tracking down the perpetrator more difficult.

[Bake]

Delete, wrong thread.

[psalm7]

Anyone seen fotage of the former DELTA Operator Larry Vickers making 100 yard hits with a hand gun ? Miss his show Tac TV .

[buck460XVR]

I hunt with .357, .44 and .460 revolvers. Thus I practice with them regularly @ 100 yards with open sights. It's not that big of deal. The .460 X-Frame is every bit as accurate out to 100 yards as my handgun caliber carbines.

[bamaranger]

When I was 17, my eyes were much more capable than they now are near 40 years later. Resultantly, I cannot shoot handguns, and many carbines, near as well as I used to.

The firearm is indeed capable of more accuracy than my eyes can get from it, with conventional iron sights. A paper plate would be a challenging target for me, at 100, so to my old gallon jugs.

Thank heavens for optics of all kinds.

[Mike / Tx]

I have been hunting with handguns since back in the mid to late 80's. There are plenty of revolver loads in calibers from 357 through as big as one can handle that will reliably put a medium sized deer on the ground if the shooter does their part. The "shooter" part of the equasion is the biggest pitfall though.

Me personally, I have shot several big hogs out past 100yds, and a couple of deer under 25 and one doe at 73 steps with my GP-100. I will tell you up front that it takes dedicated practice to hit reliably at distance. With my scoped 44 Redhawk off a rest, I shot many 1 - 1.5" groups at 100yds, and thought I was pretty fair. That was until I watched 5 of the Ruger team shooters come out to the 200yd range using the then new Super RH and do the same with open sights. Then again they were shooting upwards of 300 rounds a week as well, so as the adage goes, practice makes.....

One of the bigest issues with handguns is they usually have sights which do not allow one to draw a fine bead. Most are in the 1/8" thickness realm, are either black or bright orange, neither of which are really good for hunting, and most all of which block out a significant amount of the intended target. Once upon a time Ruger sold V-notch sight sets which fit both the GP-100's and the Redhawks. These had a very small brass bead on top of a very thin front blade making it real easy to get a fine bead on just where you wanted to hit, as well as not blocking out half or more of the game. These are what I used for many years. However like most have mentioned here, when your eyes go south, and your now depending on added magnification simply to see period, the "finer" things in life sometimes have to be adjusted to something a bit larger. Whats funny is I have come to realize, this doesn't just necessarily stop with sights...

I can still reliably hit a nice sized feral hog at 100yds with anything from my 357 to my 454. What I have found is that your bullet weight and profil are what will make that hit lethal if it is put whee it needs to be. In my 357's I will hunt with nothing under 160grs, in the 41, if using jacketed I use the 200gr Remington SJHP bullet over a decent dose of 296, and if using cast, I have now worked up a load using a 220gr WFN bullet over 2400 that has a ton of promise. In the 44, nothing yet but the 240gr Remington SJHP or the same weight XTP. Either of these shoot awesome and both hit with plenty of authority. In the 454 I only shoot the Lee 452300 RF that I cast myself over a charge of 296 or AA-9 either of which runs right in the 1550fps range. This particular load will slap a 200# feral hog right off it's feet at most any range I connect with one and I do not hesitate to reach out on them when I catch them in the open pasture. Granted I miss more often than not, but I just have this stupid stigma in my head that makes me hold over for the longer shots. Trust me when I say, that 454 doesn't NEED hold over till you get out plenty past 100yds.

[NoSecondBest]

For long range handgun hunting I use a post front sight which is rather wide. It's also flat black as is my rear sight. In metallic silhouette, where they shoot out to 220yds, all the best shooters use this type of sight set-up. I use the post and "sit" the spot I'm aiming for on top of the post and centered on the post. I have shot many, many perfect scores using this method and I've shot well over fifty whitetails with my handguns over the last thirty-five years of dedicated handgun hunting. I once shot 9x10 shoot-off chicken targets at 100yds at a regional shoot with a stock Browning Buckmark using these type of sights and the targets were rifle shoot-off targets to make it more difficult (much smaller than handgun targets). They were just about 1.5" high and shaped like a chicken so there was a lot of area missing. Total area was around 1sq.in. I'd avoid any fiber optics like the plague and try to avoid any bead or other type of sight. I'd have no problem using fiber optics or beads if I was restricted to shooting 50yds or less, but they aren't suited to shooting precision at long distance.

[RickB]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 10mm yet. I routinely shoot my 10mm out to longer distances for fun, but know a number of guys who hunt with the round and have taken deer and other game at longer distances. So I would definitely trust the 10mm to do the job asked about in the OP.

Full-power 10mm has a point-blank range of well over 100yds with a 4" target.

[softmentor]

Our steel challenge has a 6 inch plate at 40 yards, lots of folks don't hit it. when they do, there is often a lot of dancing and whooping that goes on.
100, that's tough, but fun to try, I wouldn't recommend it for a hostage situation.
but why stop at 100? here is Jerry knocking one out at 1,000!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ3XwizTqDw

[FlySubCompact]

After seeing what guys like Hickok45 and Jerry Miculek can do with a pistol at long ranges one of my favorite things to do while at the range is trying to pop balloons at 100 yards.

Emphasis on the word "trying".

[kinoons]

If you're interested in engaging man sized targets a 5.7x28 shoots awfully flat out to 100 yards.

[black mamba]

My S&W 629 Classic 6" will shoot 5-shot groups between 3½ and 4 inches at 100 yards if I'm shooting well, off a sandbagged rest. Given a broadside shot at a standing whitetail, and with a solid rest, I would shoot out to about 110 yards, where I'm confident I could keep all shots inside a 6" circle. The killing power is there for longer shots, but these are my personal limitations. Offhand, cut that range in half.

[jughead2]

7.62x25 will surprise you. my son used to hit 4 in. cinder block consistantly when we practiced. raised a lot of eyebrows in the rifle crowd

[Mobuck]

I shoot a 22lr pistol @110 yards frequently. Consistent hits on an 8" swinger with a rest against a fence post.
At 100 yards my 44 mag is more effective but I can hit better with a 357 mag simply because the 357 is easier to shoot(for me anyway).

[44 AMP]

The toughest part is not being able to see the target; if you haven't adjusted the sights for long distance, the gun is completely obscuring the target.

If the gun is obscuring the target, you are doing it wrong.

Or, at least, not in the most practical manner.

I used to routinely ring the 200yd gone with my Ruger Blackhawk .45 (7.5")
Offhand. One handed.

And I'll do it with any handgun you give me, with some sighter shots (although, maybe not one handed!)

It is a matter of technique, not the cartridge, or even the barrel length, although longer barrels and flatter shooting rounds make it easier. Also the mechanical accuracy of the gun has to be capable of it.

A worn out duty pistol that barely does a 6" group at 50 yds is going to be tough to ring the gong with at 200, but I'll get close, and probably get lucky once or twice.

IF YOU can't do a 6" group, the gun and cartridge won't matter much.

Friend challenged me, handed me a Sig .357 Sig (don't recall the model), looked the same as my BDA .45 (Sig P220), but felt much heavier.
10 rnds in the mag. Never shot the gun before. Never shot the .357 Sig round in anything.
#3 was the first hit on the 200yd gong. #6 was a miss (windage) the rest hit. Offhand.

Don't cover the target with the gun. Don't aim ABOVE the target. Hold up the front sight in the notch the right amount (which you will have to learn), with the target on TOP of the front sight.

On my Ruger, with my handload, the sweet spot for 200 is right where the slope of the front sight blade "breaks" Hold that level with the top of the rear sight and you will hit. (drop. Windage, you're on your own! )

Every gun/load, and range will be a bit different, but the principle can be applied to all.

One Browning Hi Power I had, the sweet spot for 200 was about an inch back on the slide, rearward of the base of the front sight.

When conditions are just right, EVERYTHING has the power to kill at any range it hits. Making a humane, clean kill on a game animal at long range is another matter entirely.

[RickB]

The toughest part is not being able to see the target; if you haven't adjusted the sights for long distance, the gun is completely obscuring the target.

If the gun is obscuring the target, you are doing it wrong.

Not knowing how much front sight to hold out of the notch, and not being familiar with sighting that way, I was keeping the sights aligned and holding over the target.

Hold up the front sight in the notch the right amount (which you will have to learn),

Exactly. I considered the long-range shooting a stunt. If I thought I was going to have to hit at that distance on demand, then spending some time with the technique would certainly be worthwhile.

[amd6547]

It's not a "stunt"...but it is easy, and fun.
Recently, I shot a new to me 1997 Taurus PT92. I mainly shot at the 25yd berm, but looking at the 100yd berm, I noticed a clay pigeon laying there.
I began shooting at it, standing, offhand. I could see close hits in the dirt, and ended up busting it.

[WVMountaineer]

I don't know about a chart but, I do know from first hand experience that a 44 mag Super Redhawk, loaded with 21.5 grains of 2400, pushing a 240 grain Gold Dot Hollow point will flatten a whitetail deer at 106 yards. Like a freight train in fact. Bang!!!!! Flop! God Bless