Pistol Accuracy

[kyratshooter]

How accurate do you excpect your carry pistol to be?

Since I got out of the military I have only been called on to draw my carry gun twice. Both were hostage situations with a POS holding someone in front of them. One had a knife to the victim's throat and the other had a knife pressed in their victim's back.

In one situation the BG was about 6' and holding a small kid in front of him. I had his whole head and a foot of chest/shoulders to work with. In the other incident I had only a few inches of "fringe target" around an adult victim.

Will your gun put all its shots into an inch at 10'?

Sounds easy, but will it happen every time?

Both of my incidents ended without bloodshed or a shot being fired with an arrest of a child molester (who had peed his pants) when the police arrived in the first, and the other BG probably still running down alleys somewhere in Memphis.

I consider myself fortunate since I had less gun than I should have in both incidents. I wonder to this day if I could have dropped the big guy with the Ruger .22 auto before he cut the kids throat. Fortunately I did not have to find out.

[Justin Case]

Do you have any links to the news stories, surly something like that made the news ? That would be an interesting read,, I think a 22 bullet in the head will drop just about anything,,, I watch a butcher kill a cow with one 22 short between the eyes,,, it dropped like a stone...

[crashdive123]

How accurate do you excpect your carry pistol to be?

Since I got out of the military I have only been called on to draw my carry gun twice. Both were hostage situations with a POS holding someone in front of them. One had a knife to the victim's throat and the other had a knife pressed in their victim's back.

In one situation the BG was about 6' and holding a small kid in front of him. I had his whole head and a foot of chest/shoulders to work with. In the other incident I had only a few inches of "fringe target" around an adult victim.

Will your gun put all its shots into an inch at 10'?

Sounds easy, but will it happen every time?

Both of my incidents ended without bloodshed or a shot being fired with an arrest of a child molester (who had peed his pants) when the police arrived in the first, and the other BG probably still running down alleys somewhere in Memphis.

I consider myself fortunate since I had less gun than I should have in both incidents. I wonder to this day if I could have dropped the big guy with the Ruger .22 auto before he cut the kids throat. Fortunately I did not have to find out.

Thankfully I have never been in a situation where I had to find out. Range is one thing, real life, with your heart racing 100 mph is quite another. Your Army training was quite a bit different than my Navy training. One of the things I taught was anti-terrorist shipboard tactics where we were safeguarding nuclear weapons. The saying "the life of the hostage shall be considered, but should not influence your decision to shoot or not" is why we carried M-14's aboard Submarines. You could shoot through the hostage to kill the bad guy.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I don't shoot to well with small handguns that would fall into that catagory. 10 inches? I guess that would depend how close I was, at 15 feet most likely. Now with my 44 I can keep them in 10 inches at 25 yards.

[Camp10]

I'm pretty accurate with my 22s but I dont shoot my other handguns enough to be that confident. I'm more of a long gun, shotgun guy.

[2dumb2kwit]

I've never really thought about it that way. I guess, in the back of my little mind, I always thought that if I ever had to shoot, it would be a case of split second point and shoot, with no time to really aim.
Without a lot of effort, I can knock down bowling pins, at 25 yards. It's not exactly something to brag about, but I feel like it is good enough to know I can basically hit what/who I have to, if the need to ever happens. I just hope the need never comes.

[Pal334]

At 15 yards, I am happy with a grouping that approximates the area from the solar plexus to the shoulders everytime. To me the nail driving accuracy is not as important as near 100 percent functioning (of course, nothing is truely that reliable, but as close as possible). I obviously favor the .45, but any hit with a .22 is better than having to standby ringing ones hands in frustration.

[LowKey]

I don't carry. Yet.
With my .22 I'm within 3" at 50' aimed. But the range officer is always saying, if you're shooting at someone from 50', there better be a damned good reason...

With the 1911, about the same at 10' fast-raise (not allowed to draw at the indoor range). But that's with a 5" barrel. Not exactly an easy carry weapon. I've tried rental 3" snubs and can keep em on the paper but yeek, can't get a good group even at 10'. Mostly cuz I don't like the action. Same with Glocks and M&Ps. Nice guns but that first shot is always a flincher for me. If anyone has a cure for that flinch, I'm all ears.

[Batch]

I was shooting at 12" steel plates at 30 yards today and was kind of disappointed I missed the plate as often as I did. But, most indoor ranges are what 15 to 25 yards? At least most are down here.

KY, you are asking if you would have been better off with a 10/22 or simular rifle? Would the situation allow you to have a long gun? How did you carry and deploy your firearm in the two situations you mention above? Were you a first responder or what?

I carry a handgun because I can't carry a long gun every where I go. Course this question can change around too. If I had a more substantial caliber than .22LR could I have punched throw that cover and got the kill.

You get to fight with what you got and not what you wish you had.

[Batch]

Actually, the targets were at 50 yards... We started one target out at 30 yards and then moved them all back to 50 yards.

[woodsman86]

I carry a .380 and shoot it at least once a month. At 10' I would have no trouble pulling a trigger. Head shots are still tough, but a .22 in the head would put anyone down. In civilian life I have only drawn once but never fired at anybody. It was on two teens trying the break into my car, I came outside with a Ruger .45 long colt, they ran, and my buddies and I had a good laugh. Never had another problem in that apartment complex after that.

[klkak]

With my .44 629 I can hit a spruce hen in the head out to 25 feet or so, and I've done it in front of witness's.

[crashdive123]

How is the witness recovering from his wounds?

[klkak]

How is the witness recovering from his wounds?

I have people lining up somewhere just waiting to be my friend. So you can be replaced......eventually!

[kyratshooter]

Do you have any links to the news stories, surly something like that made the news ? That would be an interesting read,, I think a 22 bullet in the head will drop just about anything,,, I watch a butcher kill a cow with one 22 short between the eyes,,, it dropped like a stone...

The first was in Jackson, TN back in '75 or '76. I am sure the arrest was recorded and court records exist. The guy got a sizable prision term if I remember right. No computer to link from that era.

The other incident was not reported by mutual consent of all survivors. The BG was not the only one that would have been in trouble. Memphis was not real acceptable to concealed carry back then. I would have gotten more time for carrying a gun than the BG for attempted abduction.

I used to kill hogs with a .22. Usually they were not dead, just stunned. We cut their throats before they hit the ground and bled them out. That was what actually killed them.

To the question about the rifle, no a rifle would not have been appropriate, and very difficult to conceal down my pants leg, in a resterant in a small southern town.

The range I was speaking of was 10 feet, not ten yards, and not 50 feet. But I do think that if it were a hostage situation a 50 foot shot would not be unjustified, but you better hit what you are aiming at.

Judging from the responses, If that ever happens to me, when one of you guys are around, just let them cut my throat, it will be an easier and quicker death.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

Judging from the responses, If that ever happens to me, when one of you guys are around, just let them cut my throat, it will be an easier and quicker death.

That goes with out saying...why should I care if your throat is cut? I thought the question was about accuracy with carry handguns.

[klkak]

If someone is accurate enough to hit a 1 inch target at 10 yards or 50 feet or whatever distance beyond 10 feet it stand to reason they can hit that same target at 10 feet.

[SARKY]

I expect 1/2 MOB (minute of body) from 20 yds out and 1/2 MOH or better from 20 yds and closer

[Ole WV Coot]

I've never drawn a firearm in the good ole US of A and I guess for me that would be a quick call. I know I can but don't know if I would. I shot qualifying with some LEOs last week and had no problem qualifying with a Glock 40cal that I had never fired before, just hated the muddy mags I had to drop during changes. I then went to my carry 45 and smoked them so I know I still can.

[lucznik]

How accurate do you excpect your carry pistol to be?


Will your gun put all its shots into an inch at 10'?

If your handgun won't keep all its shots into an inch at a mere 10 feet, then you need a new gun.

The only gun I have ever owned that wouldn't reliably do that was a little PT22 by Taurus. You could look down the barrel and actually see the nicks in the rifling from the horrible machining job.