Several threads over the last few days have inspired me to work a little more beyond 25 yards with a pistol, so I thought I'd start a new thread rather than hijack the existing ones. Maybe we can use this thread to swap ideas and knowledge about shooting service-type handguns at ranges longer than what most folks think is possible, practical, or even a good idea.
I'll start.
Today I did some work with a new VP9 at 25 and 50 yards. Pouring rain on the range, so the targets are wet and it may be hard to see all of the hits clearly. Ammo was American Eagle 147-grain FMJ, S&B 124-grain FMJ, and S&B 115-grain FMJ. All shots fired offhand and (very) slow fire, except for the 25-yard group with S&B 115-grain FMJ, which I shot a little more quickly because people were waiting to go downrange for a target change. Cadence of this group was about 1 shot per second.
American Eagle 147-grain FMJ First Target
Top group was fired at 25 yards. It’s about 3.5” Bottom group was fired at 50 yards. It’s about 5-6”.
S&B 124-grain FMJ First Target
Top group was fired at 25 yards. It’s about 2.5”, with four hits touching. Bottom group was fired at 50 yards. It’s about 5”, with three in about 1.25”. I’m thinking that this load has promise in this pistol IF I can learn not to abuse the trigger. On the other hand, this pistol is new, so a little time should make the trigger smoother and lighter, making abuse less likely.
S&B 115-grain FMJ First Target
Upper group was fired at 25 yards and is about 3.5”. I shot this one a little more quickly than the others. The lower group was fired at 50 yards—the first shot was low and off the paper. Extreme spread for those four shots is probably 4-5".
American Eagle 147-grain FMJ Second Target
50 yards. Extreme spread is probably about 4” or a little bigger.
S&B 124-grain FMJ Second Target
Group fired at 50 yards. Extreme spread is about 8" because of the flyer I threw to the left. Extreme spread for the other four shots is probably 4-5".
S&B 115-grain FMJ Second Target
Still hitting low, but this time I added a clean target backer below the paper so you can see low hit. I called the high flyer. This group probably has four hits in about 4”. The fifth hit opens the group to about 9”.
Let the games begin.
Okie John