Pistol accuracy questions

[dan d]

I picked up a single shot 6 inch barrel 45 cal pistol. What can I expect for accuracy ? Let's take my flaws out of the equation & pretend Im pretty good with a handgun. What can some of the better shooters here expect out of a 6 inch 45 cal pistol ?

I know it's probably nothing too special with a 6 inch barrel, but I don't have a clue whet to expect. 10 yards on a paper plate ? 20 yards ? Possibly 30 yards ?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Flint311]

With the right load and some practice, I think any one of these is possible. Good luck!

 

[biliff]

Can't really speak to your particular pistol, but at our little monthly shoots you need to break a 90 on the 25 yard NMLRA pistol target to expect to win.
This is shooting one handed and we aren't particularly good.
Off the top of my head the 9 ring is around 5.5" in diameter.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

smoothbore or rifled?
capper or flinter?

 

[aeatwood]

Until we know a little more, can't say for sure. T/C Patriot, for instance, w/ a good barrel and load development will pretty much hold it's own against ANY handgun.

A smoothbore that isn't particularly smooth will be lucky to stay on a half-sheet of plywood at that distance.

 

[M. De Land]

How are you measuring your barrel length? Breech plug to muzzle? MD

 

[George T.]

It would seem to me that the firearm quality will determin the group size. That and shooter skill!

Barrel quality and the trigger pull is a factor as well as ball and patch combo with the powder charge. At 25 yards it seems that 2 inch groups should be doable. Geo. T.

 

[Don]

If you speak of the CVA Colonial type pistols then I have some personal experience. Once you get their crude sights regulated properly then you should have a decently accurate pistol for having a six inch barrel. I have not shot mine past 15 yards from a rest but I have gotten 2 inch groups doing so. Shooting duelist style is not my forte and my groups open up considerably. I wouldn't even try off hand shooting those pistols at 25 yards, it would be embarassing. That is my skill level so others I'm sure could do better. I also have 9 inch barreled pistols that help my accuracy a lot but still can't overcome my shortcomings as an off handed shooter. Maybe after thousands of practice shots I'll get better. At least I hope so. As others have noted, load development is a major factor in achieving accuracy.

Don

 

[crockett]

A lot depends on the load, for example I started with a .010 patch and was getting 6" groups at 25 yards and then went to a .018 patch and the groups shrank to 2 1/2" at 25 yards. I would figure 2 1/2" groups at 25 yards is reasonable.

 

[dan d]

I'm guessing it's a 6 inch barrel (I don't know for sure how you figure the breach into the equation) it is rifled, I'm clueless as to what it is, the only clue is a stamping on the bottom of the barrel saying "Spain" & I know that's not much of a clue. I paid $50 for it & it cought my attention so I bought it.

If you know what it is or what year that would be nice to know.

I realize the shooters form comes into the question, that's why I tried to eliminate that factor by saying a good shooter. I know I will be terrible with it, but I will be wondering how much of it is me & how much of it is the gun. If I don't know what the gun is capable of in good hands I will not know how bad I really am.

Then again if I cannot hit a 4X8 sheet of plywood at 10 yards I could always blame the gun if I don't know what it's capable of. Maybe I don't want to know the answer to my question :hmm:

Ahh....... Who am I kidding, I want to know how bad I am :wink:

Thanks for all the replies !
Dan

 

[Don]

What you have is one of Dixie Gunworks early repros of an overcoat pistol. It is very much like the CVA Colonial only older, yours was probably made in the 1970's. I know of no reason why it shouldn't be a good shooter unless the rifling in those older pistols was not as good as the later Colonial pistols.

Don

 

[rafterob]

Then again if I cannot hit a 4X8 sheet of plywood at 10 yards

I don't recommend shooting at plywood. These pistols don't have a lot of penetration power. I had an incident years ago when My brother and I were shooting our BP pistols. Found a nice scrap sheet of plywood and thought it would be good target. I took a shot and that ball came wizzing back past my head close enough for me to hear it :shocked2:

 

[cynthialee]

I have been shooting targets tacked to plywood my entire shooting life.
If yer bullets are bouncing off wood, you need more powder.
:grin:

 

[crockett]

That sight is far enough back to give a fair shooting radius. On the off hand, there is a longer lock time and follow through is very important but you still ought to get good accuracy.
POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE- OTHERS DO IT- WHY SHOULDN'T I?

 

[dan d]

Thanks for all the replies.

I got a little scared when I read about the bullet bouncing off plywood :shocked2:

Cool to know my gun is from the 70's, it sounds like I might even have potential to hit something with it. :wink:

Thanks again !
Dan

 

[BSchroe]

I've got one of those CVA Colonials . I would suggest taking that rascal apart and cleaning the percussion lock and trigger mech . After that it takes a lot of practice but the pistol gets reasonable 3 inch groups for me.

 

[rafterob]

Well, it was a .69 cal shot out of a Tower pistol, so probably not a lot of fps going on. But the sheer mass of that ball no matter how slow the riccochet probably would have laid me out. It was enough to swear me off plywood for the rest of my life.

 

[Zonie]

IMO, this ball bouncing off of a piece of plywood is pretty serious stuff.

A number of people have been hurt from this happening and it isn't all about low velocity.

The thickness of the plywood comes into it too.
Because of the cross grain layers a piece of 5/8" or 3/4" plywood is pretty tough stuff.

The best idea is to use something that is thin and easily penetrated like cardboard.
Some of the thin paneling also will work pretty good but I wouldn't go any thicker than 1/4" particle board.

Now, even with 1/4 inch, if it is plywood and it's being shot with a short barrel derringer type pistol there is still a real danger.

 

[FishDFly]

Then again if I cannot hit a 4X8 sheet of plywood at 10 yards

I don't recommend shooting at plywood. These pistols don't have a lot of penetration power. I had an incident years ago when My brother and I were shooting our BP pistols. Found a nice scrap sheet of plywood and thought it would be good target. I took a shot and that ball came wizzing back past my head close enough for me to hear it :shocked2:

If the ball will not penetrate plywood, why would any one want to hunt with a M/L pistol for deer and larger critters?

r

 

[Zonie]

I suppose because only Walt Disney makes animals out of plywood? :grin:

Some people want the added challenge of using a handgun to hunt with.

I'm not going to quarrel with them but I expect them to use the same rule that I use when I'm handgun hunting and I use a modern weapon.

Shots taken at 15-25 yards with a large bore blackpowder pistol can be effective but at ranges further than that it can be hard to take a shot that will quickly put a critter down even with a heavy powder load.