200 yard pistol shots

[FlyinRock]

I'm bored and wanted to stir the pot. Many years ago I was introduced to long range pistol shooting by non other than Elmer Keith. Shooting on a steel plate at 600 yards with .44 Magnum. Consistant hits. I followed that with shooting on targets with my 1911 at shorter ranges of 100-200-300 yards and can still do it with alarming regularity at 200 yards.
We often chided the long gun shooters as animals who had to grovel in the dirt while atempting to place hits in the center of their targets using every device known to man while we gentlemen, stood upright and one handed placed the shots in the center of the target with elan and serenity, shot after shot. Of course, competition pistol shooting seldom goes past 50 yards and especially for national match shooting and unless you are doing silhouette shooting.
Ahhh, the gauntlet is thrown down.......
Semper fi
Rocky

 

[Flugelman]

We often chided the long gun shooters as animals who had to grovel in the dirt while attempting to place hits in the center of their targets using every device known to man while we gentlemen, stood upright and one handed placed the shots in the center of the target with elan and serenity, shot after shot. Of course, competition pistol shooting seldom goes past 50 yards and especially for national match shooting and unless you are doing silhouette shooting.
Ahhh, the gauntlet is thrown down.......
Semper fi
Rocky

That was a given and a constant theme when the Navy shooters taught and trained at Annapolis. The best part was when one of the "Belly Shooters" loaded a pickup with the day's ammo, noticed the left rear tire was low, and proceded to air it up by sight rather than use a guage. It worked until the internal pressure exceeded the material strength of the tire. They liked to have never lived that down that summer.

I did a little long range pistol silouette but mostly Hunter's Pistol and rifle. Still got all my equipment but don't shoot anymore. I need to go through my safe.

 

[A4sForever]

I've never tried > 200 yards w/ a handgun ... the best I've done is 'sustained hits' on a man-sized target @ 150-200 yards w/ a Match 1911 or an HK P9S Target. That's good enough for me ...

I still 'like' NAVY bullseye shooting in all its constipation and restrictions ... there's just somethin' about it that appeals to me ... mebbe tradition .. ??

"ALL READY ON THE LEFT, ALL READY ON THE RIGHT, ALL READY ON THE FIRING LINE .... ??? COMMENCE FIRING !!! "

Good stuff.

 

[eas7888]

I've had very good luck shooting at ranges in excess of 200M with my FN Five Seven. That being said, anyone who can't hit a 200M target with that pistol should probably have their eyes checked.

Kudos to those of you who can consistently hit at that range with ordinary pistol rounds. I've tried hitting targets at that range with my .45, and I can, but not consistently. For those long range shots, I do enjoy shooting my Mosin-Nagant. I've been able to hit 900M targets with that, open sights ... once I find out where I'm supposed to be shooting

 

[FlyinRock]

I loved to shoot the matches and with some of the very best like Offit Pinion, Gaspar DeFino, Bill McMillan, and many others who were world class shooters in the 50's 60's when I was still active duty USMC. The names of others will pop into mind along with fun stories and some incredible shooting that is nearly unbelievable now. God they were great. And we had so much fun doing it....
Semper fi

 

[Flugelman]

Funny story, Rock. The Navy took a team from Pax River to the Delaware State Indoor Championships in '74. It was a 2700 with team matches. Quantico also had a team there. I had not shot an indoor match in a couple of years so I still had my Expert card and registered as such. I wound up shooting a 2624 and winning the match. The Marines challenged my classification and lost. Fast forward 3 weeks and we go to Quantico to shoot another indoor match. The NRA hadn't gotten around to sending me my Master Indoor card so I again registered as an Expert just to piss off the Marines. They went ballistic but there was nothing they could do.

 

[FlyinRock]

Wow a 2624 - my hat is off to you! I only broke 2600 once in a match @2608 a regional in San Diego. I miss the shooting and the people and the genuine characters. As for cards and getting challenges, I did that a few times against the Army with rifle and trounced them in the Utah State as an independent. they figured they had the match sewn up until the scores started showing up on the board. About 2 months later same happened in AZ and they were challenging me and my classification. They had never heard of me and it grated them that I was cleaning up. MTU from Camp Matthews had a team there and they were giving me some coaching. Jim Hill was team capt, and I can't recall the specific names Zahm, Pietroforte (cerebreal malf) of the rest of the team. I was a DI at MCRD SDiego at the time and paid for the matches out of my meager salary. The team saw that and made it a point to make sure I had plenty of good match ammo. In fact, I had to drive over late and parked in front of the range gate so they had to wake me up to get in and I didn't miss anything. I wonder if being so tired didn't damp down my adrenelin flow and helped me shoot better?

 

[Boomhower]

Impressive, Rock. With my Glock 22 .40 I can hit the broad side of a barn at 10 yards...if I'm lucky.

I may very well be the worst pistol shot on the planet. I just didn't grow up shooting them and they feel weird to me. I've always preferred rifles and shotguns and I'm pretty decent with both. But, pistols are a different story.

Maybe I should get a lesson before I fire 15 rounds at an intruder that all go into the wall behind him, ceiling over him and floor in front of his feet.

 

[LFDtoUSMC]

Boomhower,

I have the same problem with Glocks. The first pistols I shot were a Glock 17 and 22, couldn’t hit shit. So I just thought I sucked. Fast forward a few years that had zero pistol shooting… A friend let me shoot his Sig 229…what a difference. The weapon just felt more comfortable in my hands, balanced, smooth; and I was much more accurate. I am giving most of the credit to the weapon, but I will say I have gotten much better with practice, as should be expected. Oh yeah…I bought my own 229 later that year.
If you haven’t shot a Sig I suggest you give it a try.

-(Not a Glock hater)-

 

[Flugelman]

Wow a 2624 - my hat is off to you! I only broke 2600 once in a match @2608 a regional in San Diego. I miss the shooting and the people and the genuine characters. As for cards and getting challenges, I did that a few times against the Army with rifle and trounced them in the Utah State as an independent. they figured they had the match sewn up until the scores started showing up on the board. About 2 months later same happened in AZ and they were challenging me and my classification. They had never heard of me and it grated them that I was cleaning up. MTU from Camp Matthews had a team there and they were giving me some coaching. Jim Hill was team capt, and I can't recall the specific names Zahm, Pietroforte (cerebreal malf) of the rest of the team. I was a DI at MCRD SDiego at the time and paid for the matches out of my meager salary. The team saw that and made it a point to make sure I had plenty of good match ammo. In fact, I had to drive over late and parked in front of the range gate so they had to wake me up to get in and I didn't miss anything. I wonder if being so tired didn't damp down my adrenelin flow and helped me shoot better?

I realized early on that a pistol match was one of the few places where you could walk off and leave a couple of thousand dollars worth of eqipment setting on the bench and not worry about someone taking it. Nowdays, maybe not so much...

One summer at Annapolis the Belly Shooters challenged us that we couldn't hit a rifle target 1 out of five shots at 600 yds with a .45. I was elected to try, took a Kentucky Windage guesstimate on elevation and put the first one in the paper. Blind ass luck but the beer was delicious.

As far as the adrenelin rush, my method was to sit off by myself 30-40 minutes before start time and get myself worked up and excited about the match. That gave me time to calm down, let the rush wear off, and focus on the task at hand. One of the most focused people I knew was Don Hamilton. There was a story going around that the shooter next to him had a gun blow up during a slow fire string and he didn't realize anything was going on until he finished his string.

 

[FlyinRock]

The whole trick is to let him get closer. It has two advantages - the target is getting bigger AND closer. Use him for a recoil buffer..... and shoot until it goes CLICK

 

[HackerF15E]

Impressive, Rock. With my Glock 22 .40 I can hit the broad side of a barn at 10 yards...if I'm lucky.

I may very well be the worst pistol shot on the planet. I just didn't grow up shooting them and they feel weird to me.

Have you tried something other than a Glock?

 

[Rocketman]

With my Glock 22 .40 I can hit the broad side of a barn at 10 yards...if I'm lucky.

That's a pretty snappy pistol for someone that hasn't shot pistols much. Lot's of people buy them but not that many shoot them well. I bet you'd shoot a Glock 19 much better. I know I do. Center punching a target with a 9mm round is much better than missing it with a .40cal. If you feel you need to make a larger hole try a Glock 21 SF. To me that's easier to shoot than a Glock 22. That 19 is a gem though.

Have you tried something other than a Glock?

That's the secret. Glock's mechanical accuracy is very good but to shoot any handgun well you have to find a weapon that fits your hand. It needs to have a good natural point of aim when you hold it. Then you have to shoot it enough to master the trigger.

I grew up shooting 1911's and love them but I can shoot Glocks just as well. The Glock's bore angle (that many people don't like) is perfect for my hand. SIG's are fine weapons. I used to own a SIG P220 but truth be told I can't shoot them rapid fire worth a damn. SIG's just happen not to fit my hand well, plus any double action trigger gives me fits.

 

[FlyinRock]

I recall one national champ who had a straw sticking out of his gun box and in between shots would lean down like looking into his scope and take a sip....hmmm vodka smoothie... and then shoot another X. He is double distinguished (rifle/pistol) and is a tall gray haired guy who teaches school in Canada. Long time match shooters know who that is....<gg>
Don Hamilton was a great shooter, and I had a lot of respect for him, who was calm as could be. I think all of the national champs were pretty calm on the line. Those that I shot with and knew were great guys and were like granite on the line. Nothing disturbed them when they stepped up to the line to shoot.
Kind of in that vein, I remember during a rapid fire string when a piece of 45 brass went down my shirt front and I thought ."Damn that is going to leave a mark" while I kept shooting. The difference is, I guess, the really good shooters didn't even know the brass was there until they saw a burn mark and wondered where it came from?
I was happy to be in the top 4 when shooting against guys like that. There is no doubt that shooting with and against guys like that were responsible for me getting my DX pistol badge.
Semper Fi
Rocky

 

[Boomhower]

I used to have a Sig P228. It did actually feel better to me, but I got rid of it when I got the Glock as a present. I couldn't shoot the Sig for shit, either, but I think I was probably better with it than the Glock.

I have shot several types of pistols, I pretty much suck at all of them. Just need to practice more, I suppose.