Long Distance Pistol Shooting. Do you practice and what ammo do you use?

[Hootiewho]

I am extremely lucky in that I have a 200 yard range at my house and about 500 yards I can shoot 5 minutes away. LAV's walk back drill changed my way of looking at handgun capability. Something kinda clicked in my head when I learned, "damn, I can use this thing for a lot more than blastin at 10 yards". Without a doubt the best money I ever spent was having him teach me how to pull a trigger. I tend to do a lot of my pistol shooting now at 50+ yards. I look at it like dodgeball. If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. If you can run a drill at 50 and keep A and good B zone hits then you will be a rock star at 7 yards.

I generally only run HK's. I usually set my sights at 50 and check my windage out to 100 as you can have offset at that range that doesn't show up well at 25.

That said, I have personally tested most major mfg's defensive ammo out to 200 in my pistols. I have found HK pistols consistently shoot 124 grain ammo the best with 124gr HST and 124gr HST+P and the same in Gold Dot to be heads above the rest. I have noticed over probably a sample of probably 15 HK 9mm pistols from a P7M8, USP, USP Elite, P30, P30L, & VP9. Once you get back at 50+ yards 115gr and 147gr just doesn't group like the 124 for me.

As a point of reference, I can stack 124gr HST +P in a B8 all day standing at 50 and if I have a rest I can keep most on a B8 at 100. Helps to run a USP Elite

I am curious if any of you practice at distance with your carry pistols and if you notice any difference if how tight your groups are with one weight of bullet to the next. If so, which ammo/pistol combos have you noticed work well precision wise? My personal goal is to be proficient enough to keep rounds on the upper chest at any distance you may encounter in a wal-mart, cosco, mall, parking lot. At the very least stay proficient enough to pin an attacker down until help arrives.

[Eurodriver]

This is so weird. I was literally, literally typing out a thread on this very subject and thought "nah, people don't even use sights at 15 yards why bother". I'm glad you did.

I have also shot my carry pistols regularly to 100y. I've also shot my RMR equipped G19 with 147gr Gold Dots to 200. 100 yards with an RMR on a stock G19 is literally cheating, and it isn't that much harder with open sights. Everyone should be able to hit a 1/2 IPSC at 100 yards with their carry pistol. It isn't hard, just that nobody does it.

I use 147gr Gold Dots for carry ammo, and thus only practice with that ammo. 1) It's accurate out of my Stormlake and factory barrels. 2) It's quieter out of my suppressor than 115gr, 3) If I'm shooting something at 200y with my carry gun it's always going to be with carry ammo. I am not out plinking at 200 or 300 yards with 115gr ever.

I regularly do this with my Gen4 w/ RMR. As said, it is quite easy to do so. From the prone on a bag I can get 100% hits at 200 yards. From the kneeling it's about 1 out of 5. Standing is 1 out of 10 maybe. It's hard. The target is small

[CDR_Glock]

Absolutely.

I used to push out to 50 yards but 75-100 yards have been my distances with a 2/3 IDPA target.

I use all sorts of guns from Glocks, to 1911s, to revolvers.

For hunting I use a red dot, smaller plate.


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[Hootiewho]

The one that has really surprised me is the P7M8. It is just a very accurate pistol. I have not had it long, and the other day I was doing a walk back drill standing. 50, 65, 75, 85, and 100. One shot at each distance, applying what hold I had found the pistol to have. I was shocked when I walked back down range and all but one were 10 ring hits, the 5th was well into the 9.

I will be buying a RMR06 from Grant next week after I get back from Knob Creek to go on my Expert. That pistol is like cheating, just like Euro said.

[Straight Shooter]

Ive shot 100 yds with a .45acp a decent bit. That beautiful arc trajectory really tickled my fancy as a young 'un, & still does.
I still do 50 every now and again. Last range trip I did a "walk back...".hell I didnt even know that had an official name..on a small 8" popper with my G19,G17 & G41.
Laser range finder. Was making fast two handed, and decent one handed hits out to a tad over 50yds. Loved the difference in target reaction between the nines & 45. The 45 would literally move the whole target around, the nines just barely moved it.
Gonna try 100 this week with the nines, anxious to see for myself.

[Hootiewho]

Ive shot 100 yds with a .45acp a decent bit. That beautiful arc trajectory really tickled my fancy as a young 'un, & still does.
I still do 50 every now and again. Last range trip I did a "walk back...".hell I didnt even know that had an official name..on a small 8" popper with my G19,G17 & G41.
Laser range finder. Was making fast two handed, and decent one handed hits out to a tad over 50yds. Loved the difference in target reaction between the nines & 45. The 45 would literally move the whole target around, the nines just barely moved it.
Gonna try 100 this week with the nines, anxious to see for myself.

There is a fairly good difference in the drop of the 9 & 45. Relatively speaking the 124gr +P is fairly flat shooting for a pistol. Much more than the Springer Pro I use to carry.

[Ned Christiansen]

Great start to a thread, I think this is important stuff..... my friends and I explore this at every opportunity.

Sticks in the mud would say (preceeded by "Harrumph", and I may be exaggerating just a little for effect)
-Gunfights happen at an average of (insert personal guru's number). It's silly to imagine anything else and downright sissified to actually train for it.
-You can't possibly hit anything at that distance anyway.
-If they're that far away they're no threat and you have no business shooting at them.

I can imagine there would be other reasons given.

My experience in distance shooting is kinda like teaching people Spanish. Stop insisting to yourself that it can't be done. Open you mind and give it a try. If you can't hit at 10 yards, get that fixed and then go to 50 and beyond. If you can hit an Oreo at 25 feet you can hit a clay pigeon at 25 yards and if you can do that you can hit a popper most of the time at 100 and if you can do that and have some idea of holdover, you can make things very hazardous for a bad guy 1t 200!

If you want to talk scenarios, it doesn't take a vivid imagination to come up with a few viable ones, or, just read the headlines. Not everything happens at 7 yards, fact. But I believe some people will be against it almost to the point of "nobody should even know how to do it".

But hell, it's just plain fun. We get to shoot the RETS range sometimes-- pop-ups out to 300. After a few runs of that the 50 yard targets are almost a gimme. And yes, as a matter of fact, two of us (not me) have connected at 300 and it wasn't a wild shot that lucked in. Jeff Chudwin has several 300 yard hits under his belt now, Sweeney a few I think..... I've made hits out to 150, maybe 200, but no 300's.... not yet.

[Straight Shooter]

There is a fairly good difference in the drop of the 9 & 45. Relatively speaking the 124gr +P is fairly flat shooting for a pistol. Much more than the Springer Pro I use to carry.

Im gonna explore this. i just an hour ago got a delivery of Winchester 9mm NATO, MEN 124fmj...and a few hundred Speer 124+P gold Dots & 45 230gr GD's. Gonna play to 100 later this week. Kinda now looking forward to it.

[Straight Shooter]

Great start to a thread, I think this is important stuff..... my friends and I explore this at every opportunity.

Sticks in the mud would say (preceeded by "Harrumph", and I may be exaggerating just a little for effect)
-Gunfights happen at an average of (insert personal guru's number). It's silly to imagine anything else and downright sissified to actually train for it.
-You can't possibly hit anything at that distance anyway.
-If they're that far away they're no threat and you have no business shooting at them.

I can imagine there would be other reasons given.

My experience in distance shooting is kinda like teaching people Spanish. Stop insisting to yourself that it can't be done. Open you mind and give it a try. If you can't hit at 10 yards, get that fixed and then go to 50 and beyond. If you can hit an Oreo at 25 feet you can hit a clay pigeon at 25 yards and if you can do that you can hit a popper most of the time at 100 and if you can do that and have some idea of holdover, you can make things very hazardous for a bad guy 1t 200!

If you want to talk scenarios, it doesn't take a vivid imagination to come up with a few viable ones, or, just read the headlines. Not everything happens at 7 yards, fact. But I believe some people will be against it almost to the point of "nobody should even know how to do it".

But hell, it's just plain fun. We get to shoot the RETS range sometimes-- pop-ups out to 300. After a few runs of that the 50 yard targets are almost a gimme. And yes, as a matter of fact, two of us (not me) have connected at 300 and it wasn't a wild shot that lucked in. Jeff Chudwin has several 300 yard hits under his belt now, Sweeney a few I think..... I've made hits out to 150, maybe 200, but no 300's.... not yet.

Didnt a Texas Ranger JUST this summer, make a one handed shot at either 75 or 100 yards? Am I correct on this, or imagining I heard/read this a couple or three months back?
As for those kinda "sticks in the mud"...I myself dont & wont hang with those kinda Fudd assclowns. I grew up with Elmer Keith and have many of his books. The brother was WAY ahead of the long range game.

[Firefly]

Me.

185 gr SWC .45