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Post by tek4260 on Aug 5, 2012 22:08:20 GMT -5
Im getting a Linebaugh EXTRA Long.... AKA 500 Smith ;D |
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Post by Stump Buster on Aug 6, 2012 8:58:29 GMT -5
The 44 Mag should only be used to a maximum of 50 yards by a skilled marksman, and most people can't shoot well enough to qualify for it's use. I have to admit, I agree with the second part of this statement. I don't think the comment was referring to dedicated handgun nuts who regularly visit this site (and others) and who regularly practice to become competent enough to get rifle like groups with their handguns. I think the comment was in reference to the MUCH larger percent of the handgun shooting population who struggle to shoot the shortguns well. Add to this, the comment was regarding "hunting" where the handgunner is intentionally shooting at something to take its life (with open sights I'm assuming). After watching thousands of people shoot handguns in classes, rental ranges, in the forest, etc., I can see where the first half of his comment was coming from. Can it be done by a skilled marksman/hunter? Absolutely... as regularly witnessed here on this forum. BUT I would argue that the folks who post the incredible hunting shots and pictures of tight groups are the exception rather than the rule... especially "away from the bench" when shooting in the field. These folks (along with legends like McGivern, Keith and Jordan etc,) are ones to be looked up to and are my motivation to become as proficient with my sixguns as I possibly can. Mr. Keith was telling us it "could" be done. The gentleman above was probably just trying to say it "should" be done only after learning how to do it well. Like the late Col. Cooper wrote... "If you can get closer, get closer. If you can get steadier, get steadier." As far as the comments regarding the effectiveness of the 44 magnum (when in the hands of a competent user), well I can see why you took the rest of his comments with a grain of salt.  Good Shooting and All the Best, Stump |
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Post by dlhredfoxx on Aug 6, 2012 11:24:03 GMT -5
My 18 year old son killed a jack rabbit with a Ruger SBH 44 mag, shooting 44 spl cowboy loads at 30 paces on Saturday with open sights (OK he has Bowen rough country rear sight)... He's been shooting almost every weekend for the past year and can nail the 10 ring at 50 yds with regularity (off a sand bag). The level of shooting accuracy he is at today came only with practice, lots of practice... over 1,000 rounds in the past 12 months... he started off sand bags, now he shoots two handed off sticks, and his goal is to achieve same level of accuracy one hand/off hand. He prefers 44 spl to 44 mag for small game, and rarely shoots 44 mag, and when he does it's with less accuracy. I share this story only to reiterate what other posters have said, accuracy takes time and practice... practice shooting for quality, not quantity. Shooting a lot with bad form only makes bad form worse... and I can say first hand that as recoil levels increase, my tendency is to shoot less accurately... I am a dead eye with a 44 mag with heavy loads at 50 yds all day long... but I'm struggling at half that distance to get tight groups with my 475 Linebaugh and my 510 GNR... but as I practice more, my groups are getting tighter, and one day I hope to be able to shoot groups tight enough at the range where I feel confident enough to take these guns into the field with the intention of taking a big game animal with a clean and ethical shot. Until then they are both confined to the range. As one last reminder of why proper practice is important... I was able to hit 45/50 rounds in the 10 ring at 25 yds off a sand bag with my Ruger Vaquero 45 Colt 4 5/8" barrel this last weekend. I know this is not likely to impress anyone on this forum, and for good reason, but for where I started with this gun just a few short months ago, that's great progress for me and where my shooting ability is today... but I'm getting better by practicing and using the advice I pick up at this forum, trigger control, grip, breathing, focusing on the front sight, etc...
Elmer was right back then, and he's still right today.
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Post by Markbo on Aug 6, 2012 13:39:31 GMT -5
What?? Practice more with an accurate gun with good sights and good ammo and you become a better shot?  What??? You mean... I wasn't BORN a good shot? ? Heretic!!!!! |
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Post by whitworth on Aug 6, 2012 15:01:18 GMT -5
What?? Practice more with an accurate gun with good sights and good ammo and you become a better shot? What??? You mean... I wasn't BORN a good shot? ? Heretic!!!!! Are you kidding? Could this be true? Practice?? ;D ;D |
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dan
.30 Stingray
Posts: 112
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Post by dan on Aug 6, 2012 15:51:41 GMT -5
They say practice makes perfect I try to shoot about 400rds per week.
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Lil Dudey
.327 Meteor
I'm out there watching you!
Posts: 639
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Post by Lil Dudey on Aug 6, 2012 17:17:59 GMT -5
What?? Practice more with an accurate gun with good sights and good ammo and you become a better shot? What??? You mean... I wasn't BORN a good shot? ? Heretic!!!!! Are you kidding? Could this be true? Practice?? ;D ;D MORE TIME IS REQUIRED to master the handgun than any other type of firearm. To become an expert sixgun shot, one must live with the gun. Only by constant use and practice can one acquire a thorough mastery of the shortgun. You must work and play with it, eat with it, sleep with it and shoot it every day¬¬----until it becomes part of you and you handle it surely and easily as you would your fork and knife at a table. Muscles and nerves must be trained for the job in hand. Elmer Keith: 1899-1984 |
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Post by whitworth on Aug 6, 2012 20:01:58 GMT -5
Lil Dudey - I was kidding! ;D
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Lil Dudey
.327 Meteor
I'm out there watching you!
Posts: 639
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Post by Lil Dudey on Aug 6, 2012 20:59:30 GMT -5
Lil Dudey - I was kidding! ;D Whitworth I knew you where kidding ;D I couldn't resist posting a quote by The Grand Master. To me Mr. Elmer Keith will always be "The Man". |
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Post by subsonic on Aug 6, 2012 22:56:48 GMT -5
You can bang away all day and not learn a thing, or shoot a couple of cylinderfuls and improve a lot. It all comes down to focus and technique.
Dry-fire is good too - cheaper and easier on the hands!
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Post by tek4260 on Aug 6, 2012 23:26:05 GMT -5
You can bang away all day and not learn a thing, or shoot a couple of cylinderfuls and improve a lot. It all comes down to focus and technique. +1 I am thankful that so many are good at explaining the right things to do. |
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Post by nolongcolt on Aug 6, 2012 23:32:39 GMT -5
Pure tongue in cheek, firmly planted. I love it!
Keith did say one thing in one of his books that I still find hard to swallow. It was I believe in Big Game Hunting where he claimed to have hit a moose or caribou, cant remember which, and had the bullet "bounce" back all the way to where he was! I still cant quite swallow that one. But he swore by it.
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Post by maxcactus on Aug 6, 2012 23:48:42 GMT -5
What?? Practice more with an accurate gun with good sights and good ammo and you become a better shot? What??? You mean... I wasn't BORN a good shot? ? Heretic!!!!! I'm still a firm believer that if I watch enough Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, John Wayne movies, etc that I'll become a good shot. Especially with my revolvers. Learning by osmosis really works! In fact, you don't even need to READ Sixguns. Just sleep with it under your pillow and all that knowledge will be absorbed while you sleep! |
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Post by whitworth on Aug 7, 2012 5:51:39 GMT -5
You can bang away all day and not learn a thing, or shoot a couple of cylinderfuls and improve a lot. It all comes down to focus and technique. Dry-fire is good too - cheaper and easier on the hands! I agree completely. |
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Post by whitworth on Aug 7, 2012 5:52:32 GMT -5
Learning by osmosis really works! In fact, you don't even need to READ Sixguns. Just sleep with it under your pillow and all that knowledge will be absorbed while you sleep! This is the technique I used in college. ;D ;D |
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