Accuracy question

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 04:12 AM

Just wondering as I'm getting my first revolver for deer hunting should be here this week. and plan to shoot every week, twice a week until this fall. I'm trying to put a 6 shot group inside a 4 inch circle at 25 yards if I can't do that then I probably won't use it this year. It'll be open sights 6 inch barrel. How long did it take you to accurately shoot well enough you trusted yourself to take a deer with or other game? I got 400 rounds of specials to practice with and after those 400 I'm gonna start shooting magnums

1stmar · June 17, 2018, 07:31 AM

I shoot alot. Virtually every week but not always the same thing. Sometimes i go months shooting handguns, sometimes i go months shooting rifles. When i am shooting pistols regularly, and the same type of handgun (semi/revolver) , i generally shoot 2-3” off hand at 25 yds. However, when i an away from it for awhile the transition back is usually a couple of range sessions.
My point is, Be mindful, 1 or 2 good days at the range may not be inidicative what what you can/ will do after an interruption. 4” at 25 yds is good, not great but good. How many shot groups you talking and what caliber/gun?
Do you have a good background in shooting, a good understanding of how to shoot iron sights and trigger control?
What size groups are you shooting now?

rodfac · June 17, 2018, 08:22 AM

A lot of dry fire at home can significantly improve your range performance if...and it's a big if...you concentrate on the fundamentals: consistent grip, focus solely on the front sight (not the target) during sight alignment, sight picture (sights aligned with hard focus on the front sight, and the sights centered on the desired impact point) & lastly, trigger control (allowing the trigger to break the shot as a surprise, without 'helping' it when the sights are perfectly aligned).

This last is a mental exercise that you can practice by balancing a dime on the front sight while dry firing, then attempting to SA press the trigger to a hammer fall without dropping the dime off the sights. You MUST ACCEPT YOUR WOBBLE area...[that's the figure eight wobble in the sights due to muscle tension etc.] If you allow the trigger to break the shot, as a surprise, while in that wobble area, you will get the accuracy you need to hunt. Years of NRA Bullseye competition that an uninterrupted trigger press once the sights are aligned will give me a surprise break without a flinch...a mental exercise to be sure.

Dry fire will teach you that. There is no such thing as too much dry fire. HTH's Rod

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 09:06 AM

6 inch s&w 686 deluxe. I have shot guns for about 21 yeayears. Mostly shotguns, and .22 rifle. Hunting. I have about 400 rounds I've shot total through a handgun. It's a game changer going from that to a handgun. I thought I sucked real bad when I was getting 6 inch groupings at 10 yards my first day and i was used to shooting 50 shots with a 22 at 25 yards and a quarter would cover the hole and sometimes a dime. I'll probably shoot twice a week for the next several months. At least 50 shots a session. Hopefully I can get to where I can shoot a good enough group. I won't risk wounding an animal because of my lack of experience with a firearm.

1stmar · June 17, 2018, 09:32 AM

If you are covering a quarter or a dime at 25 yds with 22, you shouldn't have a long curve.

mete · June 17, 2018, 11:23 AM

Some, myself included , found that when we went to a 45acp Our 22 scores increased !
That's an excellent proof of how important grip is even for a 22. A firm consistent grip is important .

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 11:43 AM

how long did it take you to shoot 4 inch groups at 25 yards?

Japle · June 17, 2018, 01:32 PM

As a long time competitive shooter and Army firearms instructor, I can tell you that the most important factor in accurate handgun shooting is trigger control.
Stance, grip, sight picture and sight alignment are all vital and all can be taught to virtually anyone, but none of that means diddly if you can’t get the shot off while the sights are where they should be.
You can learn the basics through dry-fire. You need a smooth, uninterrupted trigger pull, the ability to call your shots and a consistent follow-through. Tape a 2” black disk to a blank wall. With an empty gun and no ammo in the room, stand 15’ away, get your stance and grip set up, get a good sight alignment/picture at 6:00 on the disk and concentrate on pulling the trigger straight back with no hesitation. When the hammer or striker falls, don’t move. Don’t blink. Where was your front sight in relation to the target? Practice this over and over. Call your shots and work on keeping the sight picture as close to a perfect 6:00 hold as possible.
No one can hold still, so don’t get frustrated when the gun moves. Strive for a “surprise break” and always keep your eyes open. A perfect hold isn’t necessary to a good group. The gun’s going to be moving. That’s to be expected. As you practice, the movement will be less and less.

When you take your gun to the range, put all this into practice. When the gun fires, it’s going to move, but you still need to know where that front sight was, which means you have to keep your eyes open. Try to hold the gun on target after it fires. You can’t, of course, but trying to do it is what I mean by “follow-through”. Call every shot, then check the target to see if you were right.

I shoot in a Thursday night pistol league, shooting my 9mm XD Mod.2 5” Tactical. My load produces a nice flash and I want to see my sights against that flash on every shot. If I don’t see the flash, that means I either blinked or wasn’t paying close enough attention.
My sight alignment/picture is almost never perfect, but it’s good enough that I can keep all my shots well inside the scoring rings.

If you’re going to hunt with your handgun, I strongly recommend that you get some experience in competitive shooting. Don’t worry if you think you’re not good enough. There are some pretty terrible pistol shooters in my league (and even on my team), but no one gives them a hard time. We do the best we can and help each other get better.
The experience of competition will get you used to shooting under pressure, which will help when you’re lining up on that deer.

HighValleyRanch · June 17, 2018, 01:52 PM

Quote:

how long did it take you to shoot 4 inch groups at 25 yards?

For comparison's sake from the NRA rule book:
The NRA 25 yard timed and rapid target is...
x ring=1.69 inches
10 ring=3.36 inches
9 ring=5.54 inches

expert class is 90 to 94.99 and master is 95 to 96.9 percent, so someone shooting 4 inch groups at 25 yards is doing pretty good. Of course slow fire on a 25 yard course would be much smaller.

Quote:

and i was used to shooting 50 shots with a 22 at 25 yards and a quarter would cover the hole and sometimes a dime.

You must be referring to rifle shooting? Otherwise you would be a National champion class shooter. (see above for the x ring dimensions)

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 03:00 PM

Yes rifle shooting I said above I have a .22 rifle. I'm not looking to rapid fire. I'm just trying to get accurate enough to take one clean shot at a deer at 25 or 30 yards tops. But if I can't shoot a group of 6 in a 4 inch circle, to me, that just doesn't seem like smart hunting. Thanks

reddog81 · June 17, 2018, 03:06 PM

400 rounds will be a good start. I shoot a couple 1,000 rounds per year through revolvers at 15 to 25 yards and still get 1 or 2 flyers at 25 yards even with my best groups. My average group size might be 4" and that's only because I only shoot the most accurate combinations at 25 yards. If a gun and bullet combo won't shoot well at 15 yards I typically won't even try it at 25 yards.

The problem with asking questions like this on the internet is that almost everyone can shoot 2" groups at 25 yards, yet some how every time I go to the range most people have trouble with 2" groups at 5 yards.

ThomasT · June 17, 2018, 03:12 PM

Post#8 was excellent advice. I used to practice at small squares on a wall before I shot in the monthly falling plate matches. But what really taught me to shoot handguns was using a pump pellet pistol. I used a Crosman model 1377. I shot that gun to the point I just wore out the first one. Bought another and shot it till the seals leaked. I ordered the parts to rebuild it and bought a third one before the parts arrived.

Those didn't have very good triggers like a S&W or my Ruger GP-100. So if you can shoot one and hit your target shooting a centerfire pistol is a piece of cake. Practice is cheap and can be done in your backyard or even inside your house if done safely.

Also buying a good quality 22 will allow you cheaper practice.

LineStretcher · June 17, 2018, 03:19 PM

Any handgun, I don't care how long you've been shooting, will need to be learned. It just takes time on the range to figure out where it needs to lay in your hand and that lay becomes natural. Other than practicing the only other advice I strongly recommend following is that you don't go chasing after the moon. Shoot a few rounds and then take a break and look at how you're doing. Set yourself a limit on the number of shots you're going to take that day and quit when you hit the limit. If you try to reach your goal of 2-4 inch groups in one day, you'll probably just get really disappointed because the longer you shoot the worse you will shoot.

Try to keep in you mind when setting your goals, that when you shoot that deer, it should be one well placed shot at a distance that's within your practiced skills. That means that your first shot with a cold barrel is going to need to be your best shot.

Drm50 · June 17, 2018, 03:51 PM

I shot a Iver Johnson sealed 8, sitting on my dads lap before I could hold the gun up by myself. I didn't shoot any big bores until I was 12 and then no mags.
I was 14 before I got a SBH 44 mag. I was probably 16 before I was consistent.
If your goal is 6" at 25yds, split the difference and shoot 1/2 distance at target
with plenty surface area to see your misses. Then go out to 25yds and practice.
I have many pistols and revolvers, when I was younger won a lot of matches.
On my best day I couldn't shoot a dime or quarter size group at 25yds. Most
people can't do that with a rifl,

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 06:25 PM

Thanks everyone. Much appreciated. I can't wait to get out there this week. I'll probably start at 10 yards with a 6 inch barrel. Once I'm comfortable there I'll keep backing up 5 yards until my goal is reached by november. I also own snap caps I can practice on my down time.i know the first year I got a bow. I shot it every single day i could and it took me a few months to shoot well at 35 yards. I got a crossbow now and that took me about 10 bolts to shoot better than I could with a compound bow lol. Ready to shoot my first revolver. Just waiting on the phone call to pick it up

LineStretcher · June 17, 2018, 06:29 PM

Best of luck and remember, that cold barrel first shot needs to be your best shot.

Japle · June 17, 2018, 07:15 PM

Justin, you don't need snap caps with any centerfire handgun.

The advice from Ratshooter to practice with a good pellet pistol is correct. I've rebuilt my Daisy 717 three times and the seals are starting to go bad again.

HighValleyRanch · June 17, 2018, 07:16 PM

Since your desire is accuracy for hunting, you're shooting it single action, right?

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 07:21 PM

Yeah, I'll be shooting single action. I'm sure I'll shoot it as a double action at some point but i need to focus on single action for now.

NoSecondBest · June 17, 2018, 07:26 PM

Put a red dot on it and the learning curve will increase dramatically. Also, they're a great aid in deer hunting in early morning and late afternoon lighting conditions. My favorite deer handgun is a S&W 686+ (also a 686 and 586) all with 6" barrels. You'll find that putting all your shots in a 4" circle by hunting season with your practice regimen will be very attainable. I've taken over fifty whitetail with the .357mag over the last forty years and other than my Bill Davis custom guns, the 686 is by far the best .357mag handgun I've ever owned.

Justin62882 · June 17, 2018, 07:48 PM

I may put a red dot on it. However, I want to use this revolver to learn to be just to be a somewhat decent shot with open sights since I'm a novice with handguns. What red dot do you use?

HighValleyRanch · June 17, 2018, 07:50 PM

Since you are already familiar with rifle shooting, I suggest also using some similar techniques with your revolver such as kneeling positions for lower base stability and sitting with the arms locked around your knees, Elmer Keith style for long distance shots while leaning against a tree or rock. No one says that you have to shoot standing offhand while hunting.

And also if you are familiar with using a rifle sling for rock steady stability, one can also achieve the same support with a lanyard ring on the revolver and a lanyard used as a one point sling wrapped around the shoulders. Bowen make a screw on lanyard ring that replaces the bottom grip screw on a Smith and Wesson Hogue grip:
http://parts.bowenclassicarms.com/in...391b105f3f8d05

HERE IS A GOOD VIDEO SHOWING THE USE OF A LANYARD/SLING FOR HUNTING REVOLVER SUPPORT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBrEsSDLQxA
THIS VIDEO SHOWS A GOOD SITTING POSITION AND SHOOTING STICKS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1LldTvkcCA

NoSecondBest · June 17, 2018, 10:26 PM

Quote:

I may put a red dot on it. However, I want to use this revolver to learn to be just to be a somewhat decent shot with open sights since I'm a novice with handguns. What red dot do you use?

A really nice red dot for this gun would be a Burris FastFire3 or Vortex Venom. Both are a quality sight, small enough to fit in an Uncle Mikes type holster, and adjust nicely for brightness and sighting in.

warnerwh · June 18, 2018, 01:44 AM

If you can keep the exact same grip and pressure of the grip every shot it will make your groups smaller. However as stated above trigger control is key and is the reason I do trigger jobs on my guns. A good trigger makes accurate shooting easier. The consistent grip makes the gun recoil the same way every time as the bullet is traveling down the barrel.
To be honest I don't think 400 rounds is enough to get good enough for 4" groups at 25 yards unless you are shooting from a rest. A couple of thousand is more like it if trying to shoot offhand if you include dry firing practice too. Dry firing helps immensely and doesn't cost a dime.
With that caliber it wouldn't take long to pay for a reloading setup if you shoot much at all. Reloading for the .357 makes the guns more versatile and fun. It is my favorite round and the one I spend the most time shooting however 95% of my shooting is with medium loads because myself and many others enjoy the lighter loads more. I would also like to thank you for making sure you are competent enough for a humane kill before going out and shooting an animal that feels pain.

Justin62882 · June 18, 2018, 10:24 AM

Thanks, I'll look into those red dots. And I prolly won't shoot off a rest since I'll be hunting in a deer stand. There is a railing on it that I might be able to shoot off of I haven't been up there or received my revolver yet to check. if it takes another year for me to be good enough then that's fine. I just don't want to wound a deer. I'll do my best to 25 yards with practice until november. If I'm not comfortable I'll just use my shotgun. Until then I'll just have some fun learning and shooting and gaining knowledge to one day pass along like you guys are helping me. Thanks

June 17, 2018, 04:12 AM	#1
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	Accuracy question Just wondering as I'm getting my first revolver for deer hunting should be here this week. and plan to shoot every week, twice a week until this fall. I'm trying to put a 6 shot group inside a 4 inch circle at 25 yards if I can't do that then I probably won't use it this year. It'll be open sights 6 inch barrel. How long did it take you to accurately shoot well enough you trusted yourself to take a deer with or other game? I got 400 rounds of specials to practice with and after those 400 I'm gonna start shooting magnums

June 17, 2018, 08:22 AM	#3
rodfac Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2005 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,624	A lot of dry fire at home can significantly improve your range performance if...and it's a big if...you concentrate on the fundamentals: consistent grip, focus solely on the front sight (not the target) during sight alignment, sight picture (sights aligned with hard focus on the front sight, and the sights centered on the desired impact point) & lastly, trigger control (allowing the trigger to break the shot as a surprise, without 'helping' it when the sights are perfectly aligned). This last is a mental exercise that you can practice by balancing a dime on the front sight while dry firing, then attempting to SA press the trigger to a hammer fall without dropping the dime off the sights. You MUST ACCEPT YOUR WOBBLE area...[that's the figure eight wobble in the sights due to muscle tension etc.] If you allow the trigger to break the shot, as a surprise, while in that wobble area, you will get the accuracy you need to hunt. Years of NRA Bullseye competition that an uninterrupted trigger press once the sights are aligned will give me a surprise break without a flinch...a mental exercise to be sure. Dry fire will teach you that. There is no such thing as too much dry fire. HTH's Rod __________________ Cherish our flag, honor it, defend it in word and deed, or get the hell out. Our Bill of Rights has been paid for by heros in uniform and shall not be diluted by misguided governmental social experiments. We owe this to our children, anything less is cowardice. USAF FAC, 5th Spl Forces, Vietnam Vet '69-'73.

June 17, 2018, 11:23 AM	#6
mete Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2004 Location: NY State Posts: 6,575	Some, myself included , found that when we went to a 45acp Our 22 scores increased ! That's an excellent proof of how important grip is even for a 22. A firm consistent grip is important . __________________ And Watson , bring your revolver !

June 17, 2018, 07:16 PM	#18
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,066	Since your desire is accuracy for hunting, you're shooting it single action, right? __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"

June 17, 2018, 07:50 PM	#22
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,066	Since you are already familiar with rifle shooting, I suggest also using some similar techniques with your revolver such as kneeling positions for lower base stability and sitting with the arms locked around your knees, Elmer Keith style for long distance shots while leaning against a tree or rock. No one says that you have to shoot standing offhand while hunting. And also if you are familiar with using a rifle sling for rock steady stability, one can also achieve the same support with a lanyard ring on the revolver and a lanyard used as a one point sling wrapped around the shoulders. Bowen make a screw on lanyard ring that replaces the bottom grip screw on a Smith and Wesson Hogue grip: http://parts.bowenclassicarms.com/in...391b105f3f8d05 HERE IS A GOOD VIDEO SHOWING THE USE OF A LANYARD/SLING FOR HUNTING REVOLVER SUPPORT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBrEsSDLQxA THIS VIDEO SHOWS A GOOD SITTING POSITION AND SHOOTING STICKS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1LldTvkcCA __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail" Last edited by HighValleyRanch; June 18, 2018 at 08:36 AM.

June 17, 2018, 07:31 AM	#2
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	I shoot alot. Virtually every week but not always the same thing. Sometimes i go months shooting handguns, sometimes i go months shooting rifles. When i am shooting pistols regularly, and the same type of handgun (semi/revolver) , i generally shoot 2-3” off hand at 25 yds. However, when i an away from it for awhile the transition back is usually a couple of range sessions. My point is, Be mindful, 1 or 2 good days at the range may not be inidicative what what you can/ will do after an interruption. 4” at 25 yds is good, not great but good. How many shot groups you talking and what caliber/gun? Do you have a good background in shooting, a good understanding of how to shoot iron sights and trigger control? What size groups are you shooting now?

June 17, 2018, 09:06 AM	#4
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	6 inch s&w 686 deluxe. I have shot guns for about 21 yeayears. Mostly shotguns, and .22 rifle. Hunting. I have about 400 rounds I've shot total through a handgun. It's a game changer going from that to a handgun. I thought I sucked real bad when I was getting 6 inch groupings at 10 yards my first day and i was used to shooting 50 shots with a 22 at 25 yards and a quarter would cover the hole and sometimes a dime. I'll probably shoot twice a week for the next several months. At least 50 shots a session. Hopefully I can get to where I can shoot a good enough group. I won't risk wounding an animal because of my lack of experience with a firearm.

June 17, 2018, 09:32 AM	#5
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	If you are covering a quarter or a dime at 25 yds with 22, you shouldn't have a long curve.

June 17, 2018, 11:43 AM	#7
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	how long did it take you to shoot 4 inch groups at 25 yards?

June 17, 2018, 01:32 PM	#8
Japle Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 1,340	As a long time competitive shooter and Army firearms instructor, I can tell you that the most important factor in accurate handgun shooting is trigger control. Stance, grip, sight picture and sight alignment are all vital and all can be taught to virtually anyone, but none of that means diddly if you can’t get the shot off while the sights are where they should be. You can learn the basics through dry-fire. You need a smooth, uninterrupted trigger pull, the ability to call your shots and a consistent follow-through. Tape a 2” black disk to a blank wall. With an empty gun and no ammo in the room, stand 15’ away, get your stance and grip set up, get a good sight alignment/picture at 6:00 on the disk and concentrate on pulling the trigger straight back with no hesitation. When the hammer or striker falls, don’t move. Don’t blink. Where was your front sight in relation to the target? Practice this over and over. Call your shots and work on keeping the sight picture as close to a perfect 6:00 hold as possible. No one can hold still, so don’t get frustrated when the gun moves. Strive for a “surprise break” and always keep your eyes open. A perfect hold isn’t necessary to a good group. The gun’s going to be moving. That’s to be expected. As you practice, the movement will be less and less. When you take your gun to the range, put all this into practice. When the gun fires, it’s going to move, but you still need to know where that front sight was, which means you have to keep your eyes open. Try to hold the gun on target after it fires. You can’t, of course, but trying to do it is what I mean by “follow-through”. Call every shot, then check the target to see if you were right. I shoot in a Thursday night pistol league, shooting my 9mm XD Mod.2 5” Tactical. My load produces a nice flash and I want to see my sights against that flash on every shot. If I don’t see the flash, that means I either blinked or wasn’t paying close enough attention. My sight alignment/picture is almost never perfect, but it’s good enough that I can keep all my shots well inside the scoring rings. If you’re going to hunt with your handgun, I strongly recommend that you get some experience in competitive shooting. Don’t worry if you think you’re not good enough. There are some pretty terrible pistol shooters in my league (and even on my team), but no one gives them a hard time. We do the best we can and help each other get better. The experience of competition will get you used to shooting under pressure, which will help when you’re lining up on that deer.

June 17, 2018, 03:00 PM	#10
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	Yes rifle shooting I said above I have a .22 rifle. I'm not looking to rapid fire. I'm just trying to get accurate enough to take one clean shot at a deer at 25 or 30 yards tops. But if I can't shoot a group of 6 in a 4 inch circle, to me, that just doesn't seem like smart hunting. Thanks

June 17, 2018, 03:06 PM	#11
reddog81 Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,635	400 rounds will be a good start. I shoot a couple 1,000 rounds per year through revolvers at 15 to 25 yards and still get 1 or 2 flyers at 25 yards even with my best groups. My average group size might be 4" and that's only because I only shoot the most accurate combinations at 25 yards. If a gun and bullet combo won't shoot well at 15 yards I typically won't even try it at 25 yards. The problem with asking questions like this on the internet is that almost everyone can shoot 2" groups at 25 yards, yet some how every time I go to the range most people have trouble with 2" groups at 5 yards.

June 17, 2018, 03:12 PM	#12
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,753	Post#8 was excellent advice. I used to practice at small squares on a wall before I shot in the monthly falling plate matches. But what really taught me to shoot handguns was using a pump pellet pistol. I used a Crosman model 1377. I shot that gun to the point I just wore out the first one. Bought another and shot it till the seals leaked. I ordered the parts to rebuild it and bought a third one before the parts arrived. Those didn't have very good triggers like a S&W or my Ruger GP-100. So if you can shoot one and hit your target shooting a centerfire pistol is a piece of cake. Practice is cheap and can be done in your backyard or even inside your house if done safely. Also buying a good quality 22 will allow you cheaper practice.

June 17, 2018, 03:19 PM	#13
LineStretcher Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2018 Posts: 619	Any handgun, I don't care how long you've been shooting, will need to be learned. It just takes time on the range to figure out where it needs to lay in your hand and that lay becomes natural. Other than practicing the only other advice I strongly recommend following is that you don't go chasing after the moon. Shoot a few rounds and then take a break and look at how you're doing. Set yourself a limit on the number of shots you're going to take that day and quit when you hit the limit. If you try to reach your goal of 2-4 inch groups in one day, you'll probably just get really disappointed because the longer you shoot the worse you will shoot. Try to keep in you mind when setting your goals, that when you shoot that deer, it should be one well placed shot at a distance that's within your practiced skills. That means that your first shot with a cold barrel is going to need to be your best shot.

June 17, 2018, 03:51 PM	#14
Drm50 Senior Member Join Date: November 10, 2014 Posts: 1,382	I shot a Iver Johnson sealed 8, sitting on my dads lap before I could hold the gun up by myself. I didn't shoot any big bores until I was 12 and then no mags. I was 14 before I got a SBH 44 mag. I was probably 16 before I was consistent. If your goal is 6" at 25yds, split the difference and shoot 1/2 distance at target with plenty surface area to see your misses. Then go out to 25yds and practice. I have many pistols and revolvers, when I was younger won a lot of matches. On my best day I couldn't shoot a dime or quarter size group at 25yds. Most people can't do that with a rifl,

June 17, 2018, 06:25 PM	#15
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	Thanks everyone. Much appreciated. I can't wait to get out there this week. I'll probably start at 10 yards with a 6 inch barrel. Once I'm comfortable there I'll keep backing up 5 yards until my goal is reached by november. I also own snap caps I can practice on my down time.i know the first year I got a bow. I shot it every single day i could and it took me a few months to shoot well at 35 yards. I got a crossbow now and that took me about 10 bolts to shoot better than I could with a compound bow lol. Ready to shoot my first revolver. Just waiting on the phone call to pick it up

June 17, 2018, 06:29 PM	#16
LineStretcher Senior Member Join Date: June 14, 2018 Posts: 619	Best of luck and remember, that cold barrel first shot needs to be your best shot.

June 17, 2018, 07:15 PM	#17
Japle Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 2004 Location: Viera, Florida Posts: 1,340	Justin, you don't need snap caps with any centerfire handgun. The advice from Ratshooter to practice with a good pellet pistol is correct. I've rebuilt my Daisy 717 three times and the seals are starting to go bad again.

June 17, 2018, 07:21 PM	#19
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	Yeah, I'll be shooting single action. I'm sure I'll shoot it as a double action at some point but i need to focus on single action for now.

June 17, 2018, 07:26 PM	#20
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	Put a red dot on it and the learning curve will increase dramatically. Also, they're a great aid in deer hunting in early morning and late afternoon lighting conditions. My favorite deer handgun is a S&W 686+ (also a 686 and 586) all with 6" barrels. You'll find that putting all your shots in a 4" circle by hunting season with your practice regimen will be very attainable. I've taken over fifty whitetail with the .357mag over the last forty years and other than my Bill Davis custom guns, the 686 is by far the best .357mag handgun I've ever owned.

June 17, 2018, 07:48 PM	#21
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	I may put a red dot on it. However, I want to use this revolver to learn to be just to be a somewhat decent shot with open sights since I'm a novice with handguns. What red dot do you use?

June 18, 2018, 01:44 AM	#24
warnerwh Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2009 Posts: 329	If you can keep the exact same grip and pressure of the grip every shot it will make your groups smaller. However as stated above trigger control is key and is the reason I do trigger jobs on my guns. A good trigger makes accurate shooting easier. The consistent grip makes the gun recoil the same way every time as the bullet is traveling down the barrel. To be honest I don't think 400 rounds is enough to get good enough for 4" groups at 25 yards unless you are shooting from a rest. A couple of thousand is more like it if trying to shoot offhand if you include dry firing practice too. Dry firing helps immensely and doesn't cost a dime. With that caliber it wouldn't take long to pay for a reloading setup if you shoot much at all. Reloading for the .357 makes the guns more versatile and fun. It is my favorite round and the one I spend the most time shooting however 95% of my shooting is with medium loads because myself and many others enjoy the lighter loads more. I would also like to thank you for making sure you are competent enough for a humane kill before going out and shooting an animal that feels pain. __________________ Portland, Or

June 18, 2018, 10:24 AM	#25
Justin62882 Member Join Date: June 11, 2018 Posts: 45	Thanks, I'll look into those red dots. And I prolly won't shoot off a rest since I'll be hunting in a deer stand. There is a railing on it that I might be able to shoot off of I haven't been up there or received my revolver yet to check. if it takes another year for me to be good enough then that's fine. I just don't want to wound a deer. I'll do my best to 25 yards with practice until november. If I'm not comfortable I'll just use my shotgun. Until then I'll just have some fun learning and shooting and gaining knowledge to one day pass along like you guys are helping me. Thanks