MOST ACCURATE CALIBER
What is the most accurate caliber hand gun ammo and why? This may have been done before. What I want to know is what caliber ammo shots best, not some special hand load or brand name. For example I never hear that 380 ammo is accurate. However it is never fired from a target gun. So, is that fair? Consider both autos and revolvers and assume that the guns are of equal accuracy.
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Too many variables involved to even attempt a reasonable answer. If you defined a specific purpose: type of competition, game, critter hunted, etc. etc. then you could narrow things down a bit, but even then it seems an impossible question to answer; unless the answer is .22 long rifle. Under the right conditions a case could certainly be made.
Not a particularly helpful response, but I'm interested to see what responses come in.0 -
Bamavol,
That depends on a lot of variables, like at what range, and power level. Without any of those addressed, I will say 22LR. If you are talking at 200 yards and beyond, I would say 6mmBR Remington, or 7mmBR Remington.
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quote:Originally posted by Bamavol
What is the most accurate caliber hand gun ammo and why? This may have been done before. What I want to know is what caliber ammo shots best, not some special hand load or brand name. For example I never hear that 380 ammo is accurate. However it is never fired from a target gun. So, is that fair? Consider both autos and revolvers and assume that the guns are of equal accuracy.
Your question can't be answered as stated.
First of all you can't "assume" that autos and revolvers are of equal accuracy, since its not true. The average mass production revolver from a good maker is usually a good bit more accurate than similar grade mass production autos, especially on a cost basis. This isn't about ammo, but about fixed vs. moving barrel design, longer sight radius and triggers.
Second of all, match quality guns simply aren't available in many calibers. So far as I know, there is no such thing as a match grade .25ACP or a match quality 9mm Makarov pistol. That makes it difficult to know how accurate the individual rounds are. Along those same lines, nobody is putting out match grade .25ACP or 9mm Makarov ammo, because there is zero demand for it.
But in theory, almost any handgun caliber **CAN** be made to be fairly accurate *IF* all the basics are covered (ie match quality firearm, consistent brass, consistent loads, match quality bullets, etc). This includes rounds that are generally not thought to be intrinsically accurate (like the above mentioned .25ACP, etc).
In practice, obviously, factories aren't mass produting match quality ammo. Super high-grade accuracy not only isn't necessary for most handgun shooting, its actually a liability since it costs significantly more to achieve.
As an example, most people consider 9mm luger to be "inaccurate", but that's largely a function of wide production tolerances in ammo and guns over the dozens of plants worldwide that have made it over the last 100+ years. If you take a SIG-p210 match pistol and load it with high-quality ammo, it will shoot as well as **ANY** centerfire pistol.
Now to specifically answer your question, believe it or not the most accurate pistols in the world are match grade .177 air pistols (with the caveats that they're necessarily shot at close range at low velocity).
Barring that, empirically, I think the most accurate handgun shooting on the planet is done with a .22LR.
Which brand of ammo? Eley is usually considered among the best, if not THE best.
In terms of common calibers, .45 ACP is probably next, again, just based on what the best shooters on the planet do to turn in the best scores. But pretty much NONE of them are shooting factory ammo. They're usually shooting handloads specifically tailored to their particular guns and of course, they're using expensive hand-fitted match guns.
In terms of revolvers, .38 special is usually considered to be one of the most accurate revolver cartridges, if not one of the most. But again, this is usually with custom loads and match grade guns.0 -
Agree that question (as given) cannot be answered with a simple answer. At what range, and how do you define "accurate". You may want to do some research on "target" calibers from several years back, such as the .32-44 and .38-44 from the late 1800s, the .32 S&W Long- and even the .38 Special Wadcutter. The .38 Colt Super, the .38 AMU, etc, have all had their place in the record books. The Remington .221 Fireball was also noted as a long range precision round. 0 -
They are all good! 0 -
First off as stated I am only interested in hand guns. So 200 yard acccuracy is not the issue. Also I am only concerned with accuracy for punching a hole in paper at 25 yards, not hunting. I mostly wanted to know if velocity or other variables was a factor. Also I was wondering if any knew of a target type gun for for the ammo that is usually fired in small autos. For instance is the 7.62 x 25 ammo accurate if fired from a target grade gun, or is it inherently not very accurate? 0 -
"ACCURACY" is more a function of the firearm, not the cartidge. You can have a VERY ACCURATE .45 acp, as well as one the cann't hit the side of a barn. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Bamavol
First off as stated I am only interested in hand guns. So 200 yard acccuracy is not the issue. Also I am only concerned with accuracy for punching a hole in paper at 25 yards, not hunting. I mostly wanted to know if velocity or other variables was a factor. Also I was wondering if any knew of a target type gun for for the ammo that is usually fired in small autos. For instance is the 7.62 x 25 ammo accurate if fired from a target grade gun, or is it inherently not very accurate?
As has been stated, accuracy is more related to the function of the firearm than the ammunition. If you put that 7.62x25, or 380 in a good bolt action, with a rigid barrel, that was match grade, you could make it what ever you want. Usually the more efficient the cartridge is, the more accurate it is also.
Lastly, don't tell yourself, or make yourself believe that a "handgun", is just a short range proposistion. With a little practice, a Glock 19, or a 1911 can be 200 yard 12" steel plate gun.
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quote:Originally posted by Bamavol
First off as stated I am only interested in hand guns. So 200 yard acccuracy is not the issue. Also I am only concerned with accuracy for punching a hole in paper at 25 yards, not hunting. I mostly wanted to know if velocity or other variables was a factor. Also I was wondering if any knew of a target type gun for for the ammo that is usually fired in small autos. For instance is the 7.62 x 25 ammo accurate if fired from a target grade gun, or is it inherently not very accurate?
(1) a match grade 22 with ammo the gun prefers.
(2) a DECENT 1911 in 45 ACP shooting 200 SWC's
(3) the 38-357 mag (S&W 686 comes to mind)
(4) the 44 mag-special
MV is a factor for each gun. Most guns shoot best near top speed, but 25 yards is not a far shot for accurate guns.....50 yards really tells the tale.
FWIW my match 45 will shoot 4.4 grains of N-310 with a 200 grain bullet into 1-1/2 inches at 50 yards. At 25 yards the load does not matter. I can use MIXED loads, red dot, N-310 and bullseye of various charges with almost zero impact upon the group size.
Accuracy with any cartridge seems to be more gun and ammo quality dependent than a blanket statement about the round in question, especially in handguns. I am sure the 7.62X25, carefully loaded in a well built gun would shoot great. It is a hot little cartridge.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
Lastly, don't tell yourself, or make yourself believe that a "handgun", is just a short range proposistion. With a little practice, a Glock 19, or a 1911 can be 200 yard 12" steel plate gun.
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I'd say a "lot" of practice there. . .plus a match quality gun. . .plus match quality ammo. . . plus favorable conditions. . .plus a bit of luck.
10 ring on a standard 50 yard NRA bullseye pistol target is 3.3" wide. The X-ring is only 1.7 inches in diameter. At 200 yards, that 10-ring diameter extrapolates to 13.2 inches. . .which is bigger than your 12" target.
Its been my experience that its the pretty rare shooter who can consistently keep all their shots in a group the size of the 10 ring (let alone the X) at even 25 yards. Yes, top level competitive bullseye shooters can. . .but very few non competitive shooters shoot that well. At 200 yards, not only will group size open up even further, you also have to deal with bullet drop, which is not inconsiderable with pistol rounds, ESPECIALLY slow ones like target .22s, .38s and .45s.
Further, you're probably not going to be able to achieve 3.3" 50 yard groups from most stock auto pistols even from a machine rest. With cheap factory ammo? Forget it.
So while I do appreciate the SENTIMENT of trying to hit pie plates at 200 yards with a stock sidearm, and its certainly POSSIBLE to do so, realistically, my money is on a pretty high miss/hit ratio!
Anyway, getting back to the above, as mentioned the "most" accurate pistol cartridges tend to be
a. Efficient (ie they use up ALL or nearly all of the powder before the round leaves the barrel). Fast-burning powders help.
b. Subsonic (bullets going above the speed of sound, then dropping below will hurt accuracy), and.
c. Slow. .45s go under 800 feet per second ,and so do .38 wadcutters, and these are amongst the most widely used competitive pistol rounds.
I don't think the absolute speed has anything to do with accuracy (ie there is no reason why a 600fps round should be more or less accurate than an 800fps one), just that its probably easier to get good efficiency and consistency with slow-loaded rounds.0
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