What is considered "good" accuracy?

reflex99 · Mar 16, 2015

Just started shooting and with a Glock 19. I am very new so excuse my ignorance. I try to aim for the center of a typical target and usually hit around the "x". If I'm lucky ill squeeze one or two in there from about 12 feet away. What is considered "good" accuracy? Is it just landing all of your bullets directly in the white center or is there room for error.

Jaybeez · Mar 16, 2015

shooting 9mm out of a glock, with cheap ammo from wally world, center mass hits at self defense distances is "good 'nuff".

practice different shooting stances and trigger control and you may improve on that. my shooting improved when i transitioned from iscosolese to weaver. my shooting improved more when i started shooing better ammo, and even more still when i started reloading for my glock.

GHETTO BLASTER · Mar 16, 2015

Most of the time accuracy is measured with a 5 shot group. For me a 3" group at 30 feet is a pretty good day with my 9mm Ruger p95. With my wife's 1911 at the same distance using hand loads I can get about 1 1/2-2" groups with one flyer. If you want to be accurate just work on basic fundamentals and shoot a lot. There is a great article by Massad Ayoob titled "how to accurately shoot a handgun" that helped me a lot or take a basic pistol course,there are many members and Industry Partners here that offer training.

GUNSnROTORS · Mar 16, 2015

Welcome!

Agree with Jaybeez, good accuracy is "good enough", relative to what you're shooting at, why you're shooting at it, and whether or not it's shooting back.

12 feet is pretty close quarters. Assume you're asking about good accuracy as it pertains to self defense?

alucard0822 · Mar 16, 2015

With decent ammo, it's probably capable of 4" at 25 yards slow fire from a machine rest. You could see how close you could get to that offhand, it's good to build foundational techniques, but doesn't translate well to defense. Of course it helps build accuracy you can trade for speed, where too many people want speed without much to trade. I get the most out of practicing drills that help balance speed and accuracy. Use targets of various sizes at various distances, I use plain sheets of paper, full, or folded in 1/2 or 1/4 anywhere from 5 feet to 50 yards, simply shoot as fast as you can while keeping all shots on the paper. Slow down for small targets further away, shoot faster for big targets closer, work on getting to the point you can look at it, and intuitively time your shots, especially moving between targets speeding up, and slowing down as needed.

jimbobborg · Mar 16, 2015

Which target are you using? With that pistol at the range you mentioned, keeping a full magazine inside a 6" target is good accuracy for a beginner. The more you practice the better you will get. However, I'd suggest you get some basic training on it if you've never shot pistol before, so you don't get any bad habits. Just a suggestion.

j_h_smith · Mar 16, 2015

My guess would be that you, like many, many others, own a firearm that will shoot better than you. It takes thousands of rounds to become accurate with your shot placement. Unless you are one of the "freaks" that can pick up a firearm and start parting the hair on a fly, it will take some time getting used to your firearm before you can shoot the eyes out of a fly.

Seems like you are doing well. Keep practicing and those groups will get smaller.

Good Luck!

Boom Boom · Mar 16, 2015

j_h_smith said:
Unless you are one of the "freaks" that can pick up a firearm and start parting the hair on a fly, it will take some time getting used to your firearm before you can shoot the eyes out of a fly.

Even then, depends on the person, hand/finger size, and specific handgun. My accuracy sucks with some handguns no matter what I do or how many rounds I put through it. With other handguns (22/45, Buckmark, .357 Blackhawk), the first time I ever shot them I was chiseling out a tiny hole at 25 feet with ease.

md123 · Mar 16, 2015

We would need to know more about your firearm use to answer that. I'm in the home defense camp, so my idea of "good" is much different than some competitive shooters.

Try to get the fundamentals down (stance, grip, sight alignment/picture, trigger press and follow through). Hiring an instructor is option #1 but you can also learn some things w/magpuls "art of the tactical pistol" DVD or some of the better YouTube channels. I find dry firing to be very helpful as well.

Welcome to md shooters. Be safe out there- never forget the safety rules!

Pinecone · Mar 17, 2015

It depends on your needs.

If shooting USPSA, good accuracy is all hits in the A zone, which is 11" by 5.9". This could be from point blank out to 50 yards.

For bullseye shooting, the X ring is 1.695" at 50 yards (proportional for shorter range targets). So you need a gun and shooter that is in the 2" at 50 yards to do really well.

If you are looking at home defense, the USPSA A zone is a good place to be, but factor in, low light, just woke up, adrenaline pumping, etc.

Shift · Mar 17, 2015

New to shooting, keeping it on the paper. Sounds like a good start to me.

First time I shot a pistol I was trying to hit a gallon milk jug with a friends .45, started out at about 25 feet away. Couldn't hit it to save my life. With each missed shot I stepped closer, even at 5 feet I couldn't hit it. Once I bought my own, after much practice and a lot of YouTube studying I can take a lid off at 25 feet now. And still plenty of room for improvement.

Welcome to MDS

Sundazes · Mar 17, 2015

I have been asked why I always shoot at 8.5x11 paper with some sort of target printed on it with handguns. I politely will retrieve the target and hold it up to my chest. They usually get the idea.

Mooseman · Mar 17, 2015

reflex99, you are shooting good. With practice and maybe a little instruction, you can shoot better.

rob-cubed · Mar 17, 2015

As others have said, "good" accuracy depends on the application. The best slow-fire pistol shooters can produce a ragged hole, but self-defense is rapid rounds on center mass.

If you are already shooting consistently around the center, you are doing great and will only get better, and faster!

Welcome to the forum!

justiw · Mar 17, 2015

Like all good questions, the answer is always "it depends."

No time limit. About 1" per 10 ft is decent. Half that is very good. Quarter that is probably as good as you can reasonably shoot with factory ammo.

General defensive practice. 3 shots center mass in 3 seconds or so is good enough.

IDPA or USPSA. Anything in the A zone is good. No time penalty. Time depends on the stage, but 3 shots from low ready in 3 seconds is good enough.

Bullseye is a 10 shot string in 30 seconds or so. Same accuracy as slow fire, (5" at 50 yds is pretty darn good) but the timer adds some stress into the situation.

Jason21237 · Mar 17, 2015

I figure if your shots stay within a space about the size of a human head you will be fine in a self defense situation.

rico903 · Mar 18, 2015

The RSO at my local range must be one of those freaks. Whenever I'm having accuracy troubles with a gun I'll ask him to shoot it. He'll ask if he can dry fire it, I say yes, he then proceeds to put 3 rounds in a quarter sized sticker no matter what type of gun I have. May be off on first shot but next 3 will always be on the money. He does shoot competition regularly.

j_h_smith · Mar 18, 2015

rico903 said:
The RSO at my local range must be one of those freaks. Whenever I'm having accuracy troubles with a gun I'll ask him to shoot it. He'll ask if he can dry fire it, I say yes, he then proceeds to put 3 rounds in a quarter sized sticker no matter what type of gun I have. May be off on first shot but next 3 will always be on the money. He does shoot competition regularly.

That sir is more than likely the results of 1000's upon 1000's of rounds of practice. If he competitively shoots, he's spending a great deal of time putting lead downrange.

reflex99 · Mar 18, 2015

Wow! Thanks for all the awesome answers! I'll try to keep this forum updated and maybe post some my targets. I go every Sunday to the range and will keep you all posted.

Mooseman · Mar 18, 2015

reflex99 said:
Wow! Thanks for all the awesome answers! I'll try to keep this forum updated and maybe post some my targets. I go every Sunday to the range and will keep you all posted.

That is a very good way to help improve your accuracy.

What is considered "good" accuracy?

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