I’m still learning, and I’m at the stage of “ok when I’m on my game, terrible when I’m not”. I’m still trying to never miss at 20 feet before moving back to 50 feet.
I can’t afford to practice much but when I do 50-100 rounds a month on a regular basis I can shoot about 4-5 inch groups at 25 yards.
.40 Glock 22
Similar to runner pat. I could pin-shoot with a Colt Peacekeeper using .38. But I haven’t been that proficient in a while.
I used to shoot actively in competition and was pretty durn good at it. When I qualified with firearms in the police academy, I walked onto the line with a weapon I had just bought the day before and never fired. Shot 99.6, highest score in the class.
These days, I’ll say that I’d be adequate. I haven’t fired a round in over 10 years.
I’ve always been a rifle shooter, and have never really done very well with a handgun. I’ve owned a 9 mm for a couple years and (rather arrogantly) said to myself, “Ah, heck, I can figure out how to shoot this thing on my own.” I was wrong… I learned you must have good instruction in order to shoot a handgun well.
The good news is that I’ve made drastic improvements in my handgun shooting abilities over the past 6 months. Two reasons:
- I bought a Walther P22, which is super cheap to shoot.
- An LEO buddy (who is a great shot w/ a handgun) has given me some one-on-one lessons.
The lessons were invaluable.
As you can see from the posts, it depends upon the gun, and most of all, practice.
Centuries ago when I as in the army, I was given a lot of training with the Colt .45, but never was all that good although I qualified. I had my own .32 automatic and a .38 revolver with a long barrel, and was quite good with the latter.
I knew a Sergeant who used to be in the cavalry (this was back in 1945) who had a lot of “mounted firing” training. I bitched about the .45 and he had me drive a jeep while he fired at a bunch of bottles we had placed on the ground. He hit about 8 out of ten at about 20 mph on a bumpy road. Boy, was I impressed!
I haven’t used a handgun for years, and a while ago on a hike, my buddy brought a good .22. We started plunking at cans, and i can’t believe how much I accuracy I lost. After about a dozen rounds, began to get better.
I can shoot the ass off an ant with my Buckmark .22. But I have trouble hitting the broad side of a bard with my Beretta Vertec .40. I have a Chuck Woolery opinion when it comes to handguns. Sometimes there just isn’t a love connection. I feel that way about my Vertec. I’ll prolly sell it and try something else soon.
My LEO buddy has a suppressed Buckmark .22 with red dot sight. It’s super sweet.
Here’s the backstop. See the clay pigeons hanging on the RR ties? We can hit them from 25 meters using his Buckmark. Amazing. 
You’re shooting at Shakespeare silhouettes?
I’m like that with my Ruger .22.
But I’m a terrible shot with my Rossi .357 mag.
Not a current gun owner but in the past when I’ve owned handguns I was always a terrible shot. Give me a rifle and I’m above average, switch me to a handgun and I’m god-awful.
MeanJoe
I am pretty far out of practice, but I can usually manage a five to six inch group at fifty feet using a Smith and Wesson model 19 .357 magnum with a four inch barrel.
My wife is a much better shot. Using her Browning HiPower 9mm, she can consistently put three shot group on a playing card at fifty feet. Once, for the money, she hit a US quarter taped to a black target at fifty feet with a single shot.
My shooting is in direct proportion to the amount of $$$ (ammo) and time (practice) I put into it and I don’t practice target shooting with my CC weapon, nor do I practice combat shooting with my target weapons. I am not a ‘natrual’ shot and have to practice for all gains in ability.
YMMV
I don’t shoot handguns competitively anymore, but 25 yards I can usually keep my shots in the 9’s. Oh, a couple flyers into the 7 isn’t too unusual lately.
Of course, that totally depends on which gun I’m shooting. I’m fairly miserable with a wheelgun (still on the paper, but 7’s aren’t flyers anymore), but I like SAA shooting. A 1911 on the other hand… No, my 1911 (the full size accurized by Milt, not the commander) is X’s through 9’s. Not good enough or consistent enough for competition even if I had the time. But since I carry a 1911 I feel obliged to be semi-accurate with the thing.
I hunt squirrels and rabbits with a 22 pistol (ruger) its challenging. I got a crow in flight at about 100 ft, pretty much the best shot I ever had. Don’t do targets much.
As a teenager I hunted squirrel and bunny with my fathers Ruger MkI 6 7/8" bbl, no way in hell I could do that now.
Damn good gun, that.
Dammit, sorry for the doublepost, but I think I told an untruth in post #14. Make that 15 meters rather than 25. I knew something was wrong as I was typing.
I could probably never shoot competetively, but I am a decent shot.
Years of shooting for fun at a range that had a lot of cops and gang members convinced me that I’m a better shot than 90% of the cops and 100% of the gang members. Therefore, I surrendered any hope or plan or calling the cops if I had problems with gang members. No way I ever wanted to be anywhere near those two groups having a firefight. It’d be like the KitH bit with the cops checking out the houses in the middle of a gunfight. “Of course, the value goes right down after a firefight like this”
Depends on the pistol, as others have mentioned. With the Buckmark .22, I can regularly shatter clay pigeons at 50 yards. With the .357, I have cut playing cards in half at 15 feet. With the 9mm or the black powder Remingtons, I’ll punch the black at 50 with some regularity. Sometimes. The .45s are another story. I can hit a man-sized target at 25-30 yards, but beyond that I’m iffy.
I shot for the first time the other day with a .40 cal HK and a .22 rifle. It was easy to keep a tight group together with the hand gun at 25’ and 50’. Using the rifle sights I had trouble focusing on a 3" target at 75’. It took 3 groupings of 8 rounds to dial in a tight pattern and I had to draw the gun horizontally get a visual feel for the target. It was just too small for me to see.
What I couldn’t do with the hand gun was fire multiple rounds. I had to fire and then re-sight. I’d like to try a 9mm to see if it’s any easier to stay on target.