Accurate Handgun?

[KRC]

Accurate handgun?

I’m not so much a handgun guy, so some informed help and education would be appreciated.

I would like to purchase a highly accurate handgun. Either a wheel gun or semi-auto would be acceptable, but not a TC contender type. It would be suitable for mounting an optical scope. I already have an accurate 22LR, so it should be a more powerful cartridge. I’m an experienced handloader, so (once shortages abate) I can roll my own. I don’t want something with ridiculous recoil, so cartridges/guns like a .454 Casull would not be acceptable. This would not be a personal defense or hunting weapon, just a target toy. I would not anticipate use in any type of pistol competition, just small groups at distance. Price range is open, but likely capped at ~$2000-ish?

What is a good, highly accurate handgun cartridge and style/make/model???

 

[BurtonRW]

The majority of precision target shooting is done with .22LR, but I assume you don't intend to hand load those. If I assume incorrectly, a S&W 41 or quite a few Hammerli models would fit the bill.


Otherwise, I'm a Sig guy, so I'd say a Sig P210 Target would be a good choice and have other potential uses since it's a 9mm, or the Hammerli 240 (comes in .32 and .38, I believe).


-Rob

 

[bibitor]

Pick one of the major manufacturers whose ergonomics fit you. At the end of the day a 4"-5" barrel is...a 4"-5" barrel.

 

[John from MD]

Accurate handgun?

I’m not so much a handgun guy, so some informed help and education would be appreciated.

I would like to purchase a highly accurate handgun. Either a wheel gun or semi-auto would be acceptable, but not a TC contender type. It would be suitable for mounting an optical scope. I already have an accurate 22LR, so it should be a more powerful cartridge. I’m an experienced handloader, so (once shortages abate) I can roll my own. I don’t want something with ridiculous recoil, so cartridges/guns like a .454 Casull would not be acceptable. This would not be a personal defense or hunting weapon, just a target toy. I would not anticipate use in any type of pistol competition, just small groups at distance. Price range is open, but likely capped at ~$2000-ish?

What is a good, highly accurate handgun cartridge and style/make/model???

It is easier to mount a scope on a revolver than a pistol and, for distance, the revolver will be more accurate. Freedom Arms makes one of the most accurate revolvers for out of the box.

http://www.freedomarms.com/files/pdf/catalog.pdf

They can probably chamber it in any handgun caliber you want.

 

[Trumpet]

Realistically, unless you’re an experienced competitive shooter, most factory guns these days are capable of better accuracy than the average shooter. Pick what fits you best, and go with that.

 

[jimbobborg]

You can scope just about any new revolver. My question is how far out are you planning on shooting?

 

[grimnar15]

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Manurhin M73 revolver.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/gun-review-manurhin-mr73-sport-357-revolver/

-

 

[TheOriginalMexicanBob]

Gotta agree with what's already been said...pick one that fits your hand and feels natural to you. The rest will follow.

 

[lazarus]

Define accurate.

Most handguns these days can manage 2” groups off a rest at 12yds if you are mildly careful. If not better. A fixed barrel handgun better than that.

IMHO, that is plenty accurate for me. That’s a torso target out past 50yds. Could ring steel most of the time on a 16” target at 100.

Off hand, unless you are pretty exceptional, the limitation of accuracy is going to be you. Very, very few people off hand, even with a scope can manage better than that with a handgun. Sure some can. Especially competition shooters who have twenty and spend a lot of time practicing.

Few people with optics off hand and a RIFLE can shoot smaller groups than that.

Anyway, I’d personally go revolver if you really want a platform that is accurate and easy to mount optics. Probably a .357. Recoil is modest at best with a scope, even with fairly hot .357. Perfectly capable of reaching out to even 100yds. Can load with 38spc or just reload your .357 to 38spc levels for plinking. Lighter bullets and case capacity are going to make it significantly cheaper to shoot than say, 44.

You said reloading, which also argues for a revolver. No chasing brass and the brass gets beat up less than a semi-auto. You mentioned you have a target 22, so I’d assume you’ve done some handgun shooting.

I can promise you are going to be the weakest link for a long time. I am no competition shooter and I have not been shooting for decades. But I’ve got a fair amount of practice in me and my two most accurate guns are my Colt Official Police, though the sights aren’t great, and my Cz50. Both fixed barrel guns. Not great sights on either of them, but if the light is good and I am being very careful I can shoot about 2” groups at 17yds off hand with them. My Glock 17 and 21 I can manage about 2” groups at 12yds.

Off a bench the Cz50 and Colt OP I can manage about 1.5” groups at 17yds. The Glocks are still about 2” groups at 12yds. It is just a heck of a lot easier to do. Much better sights on the Glocks and it’s easier to shoot somewhat accurately and in much lower light at a much faster rate. But mechanically they just aren’t as accurate.

Hand loads I can get the Glocks to shoot a bit tighter, but not much. Sure not target guns, but I’d still consider that pretty accurate. I can shoot bowling pins at 25yds with them and connect most of my shots.

 

[trickg]

Realistically, unless you’re an experienced competitive shooter, most factory guns these days are capable of better accuracy than the average shooter. Pick what fits you best, and go with that.

This. I don't consider myself to be a particularly accurate shooter, possibly because I grew up with a Dad who was a competitive shooter and was uncanny with any kind of firearm, so I have high standards, but I've gone to the range more times than I can count flanked by people who are lucky to hit the PAPER at 25 feet. Meanwhile, comparatively, I'm Annie Oakley.

I'd say that anything up to 44 magnum will be fine. You have to figure that if you're going to mount a scope, you'll add weight, so the more weight on the pistol, the more it will affect the recoil, and to me, 44 magnum isn't that bad, although for the OP, .357 Magnum might be a better choice if they are worried about recoil, although if they are experienced at handloading they'll know that 44 mag can be reloaded to be fairly mild and pleasant to shoot, while maintaining the ability to be loaded pretty stout for hunting loads out of something like a Ruger Redhawk or Super Redhawk.

 

[Mark75H]

Realistically, unless you’re an experienced competitive shooter, most factory guns these days are capable of better accuracy than the average shooter. Pick what fits you best, and go with that.

I’ll go farther and say most factory guns are capable of better accuracy than above average shooters up to maybe the 95 or 98 % range. A scope isn’t going to help at all. A red dot may help if you have some kind of vision problem with iron sights.

 

[SkiPatrolDude]

A few that come to mind are:

- Sig p210
- CZ Shadow 2
- Stacatto 2011
- Beretta 92 Elite LTT
- Walther Q5 Match Steel Frame Pro
- Sig P226 Legion SAO

 

[alucard0822]

"accurate"is a relative term in handguns. Have a few autoloaders that can put round after round in the A-zone of a target as fast as you can pull the trigger, and can be topped with a mini RDS, can make hits out to 50 yards, most 5" or better and long-slide, my Sig 320 X5 and HK USP are probably the most accurate out of the box, but even my Gen 4 GLOCKs can put up small groups if I find ammo they like, and take my time. If you want a magnified optic, then autoloaders are practically ruled out, and a 6" or longer barreled revolver is the way to go, 357mag, or 44 mag would be the best all around, of course cost, recoil, and power are greater with the 44, both are accurate and capable of 100+ yards. Don't be afraid of the X-frame S&Ws either, the 460XVR is EXTREMELY accurate with a wide range of ammo, from 45colt to 454casull up to 460S&W, it will fire it all, the interchangeable comp many of their models have is very effective, and it's easily a 200 yard gun. Once you have brass, just use whatever 45cal XTP bullets you want, and load it up, hot 45 colt feels like nothing, 460 can be anything from a grin inducing, but comfortable BOOM, to ZOMG!!!

 

[Magnumite]

Realistically, unless you’re an experienced competitive shooter, most factory guns these days are capable of better accuracy than the average shooter. Pick what fits you best, and go with that.

I would respectfully disagree with this. There are some, not a few, models from each manufacturer that is not particularly accurate. I tried them and sold them off. If its inaccurate and unreasonable costly to improve, I dump it. Learning shooters need at least a pistol with good accuracy so they can determine what they need to do to improve their shooting skill.

What is accurate? If a handgun can only hold 2” at 12 yards off a rest, to me, that is inaccurate. My standard is 3.5” at 25 yards for adequate service grade guns. I’ll take a 4” precision in a service grade pistol if it does it with any make blasting grade ammo. For an accurate pistol I need to see 2” or tighter at that distance.

My Super Blackhawk will shoot consistently into 1” at 75 yards with well prepared handloads and good glass. Same with my Redhawk. My accurized 1911’s will do the standard of 1.5” at 25 yards, some measurably better.

Starting out with accuracy training, buy a Ruger Mark series 22 handgun. 1” at 25 yards is typical. None other than Al Marvel said they all shoot well with the ammo they prefer when I inquired about him fitting a Douglas barrel to my Mark II. The Ruger and S&W medium frame double actions will deliver good accuracy with good ammo.

 

[JohnnyE]

Realistically, unless you’re an experienced competitive shooter, most factory guns these days are capable of better accuracy than the average shooter. Pick what fits you best, and go with that.

Agreed.

This 50 yard, six shot group came out of a bone stock, iron sight S&W 686-1 with a 4" barrel, shooting Georgia Arms 148 grain wadcutters. IIRC it was about a 3 1/4" group. Granted it's an "older" Smith, but it's not one of their Performance Center guns, just a standard production item circa 1988 that saw no gunsmithing.

It was evening twilight, just after sunset. My forearms were on the bench, and all shots were fired SA. God I love this revolver!

 

[MaxVO2]

*****I agree with the above post (Magnumite) in terms or accuracy for a service grade gun, with a 4" or greater barrel. Several models from well regarded manufacturers are not that accurate.

I have had experience shooting out to 200 yards with a pistol at silhouette targets and IME several wheel guns have met my expectations for accuracy. Longer barreled Ruger Redhawk, Ruger Super Blackhawk, longer barreled S&W models 586 and 686, and S&W model 29. Most of my shooting at that range has been done with and without optics and IME revolvers lend themselves well to having optics installed. Do NOT scrimp on the optics as it makes a significant difference in your accuracy with a pistol versus the pistols accuracy per se. I've used mostly factory ammo, and have had hand loads made for me with particular bullets that were required for a particular event, etc..

Any of the above models, out of the box, have been quite good IME. A good gunsmith can do magic on a revolver that is already accurate to get that last bit of performance with the right hand loads for longer distance shooting.

Good luck whatever you decide on.

 

[KRC]

Lots of great advice here to think about. Thanks guys.

 

[Bob A]

S&W Model 52 is an interesting pistol, semi-auto that shoots .38 wadcutters.

Its only real use is as a target pistol. It would be a shame to modify it for optics; I dunno if something could be mounted without modification.

 

[Mack C-85]

When I want cheaper practice, Junior comes out

When I want more umpf, Senior comes out

Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk

Junior is a 6" barreled S&W Model 17 in .22 cal.

Senior is a 6" barreled S&W Model 19 in .357 Mag.

Both are accurate as all get out, but neither is readily available anymore and they are not inexpensive when you find them. They are identical except for the size of the holes and the sights. Junior's are black, Senior's are white outline rear/red post front.

 

[Melnic]

Agreed.

This 50 yard, six shot group came out of a bone stock, iron sight S&W 686-1 with a 4" barrel, shooting Georgia Arms 148 grain wadcutters. IIRC it was about a 3 1/4" group. Granted it's an "older" Smith, but it's not one of their Performance Center guns, just a standard production item circa 1988 that saw no gunsmithing.

It was evening twilight, just after sunset. My forearms were on the bench, and all shots were fired SA. God I love this revolver!

That is impressive with that sight radius and iron sights.
I don't have much to add but I watched a guy warming up before the AGC tuesday night pistol shooting and he had a 1911 shooting 25 yards one handed with iron sights. It was impressive.

I can't imagine shooting one handed with a scoped revolver. I don't think I have the arm strength to do that accurately.