Accuracy Question

[Str8himalaya]

I am curious to see the opinions of you all to find out what you think is a better gun for accuracy at the 50' mark. I have been shooting for a short time now, and have been thinking about picking up a glock 23. I currently own a kimber compact 1911 chambered in .45. Which gun is more accurate at that distance in your experience? I can shoot my Kimber pretty well, but I have always liked the glock as well, and I like the .40 round as well. I don't mean to fan the flames of this ongoing feud, but I do want some opinions on what you all think is the more accurate firearm.

 

[leftsock]

Accuracy with those firearms and calibers probably has more to do with the shooter and less to do with the firearm. It doesn't hurt to use quality ammo either.

 

[rockhopper46038]

No way to give you a definitive answer. Whichever you shoot best. The sight radius of the Glock is longer, which will be more forgiving of imperfect sight alignment; but the quality of the sights themselves, and which type of sights you run better will have a large impact on your accuracy. Both cartridges are capable of plenty good accuracy, so whichever recoil impulse you are more comfortable with will also weigh in on which you will be more accurate with. The Kimber trigger is likely much "better" than the Glock trigger, but if you hate single action triggers and love the glock psuedo DA trigger, you'll likely shoot the trigger you like better, too. There really isn't a good answer to give you. Ransom rested it probably would be a toss-up. If the Kimber weren't a compact model, I'd probably be inclined to say the Kimber.

 

[ZS84]

I am curious to see the opinions of you all to find out what you think is a better gun for accuracy at the 50' mark. I have been shooting for a short time now, and have been thinking about picking up a glock 23. I currently own a kimber compact 1911 chambered in .45. Which gun is more accurate at that distance in your experience? I can shoot my Kimber pretty well, but I have always liked the glock as well, and I like the .40 round as well. I don't mean to fan the flames of this ongoing feud, but I do want some opinions on what you all think is the more accurate firearm.

Where are you located? I have a glock 23. Maybe we could go to the range sometime if you are not on the other side of the state. We could both shoot the guns and get a feel for another gun which we do not own.

 

[Str8himalaya]

Where are you located? I have a glock 23. Maybe we could go to the range sometime if you are not on the other side of the state. We could both shoot the guns and get a feel for another gun which we do not own.

I live in Muncie, which is a little ways from where you are in Columbus. I am definitely considering the G23, mostly because I would like to carry, and the G23 has twice the magazine capacity as my Kimber does. I love the way my Kimber shoots though, so its something I want to be able to shoot well, hopefully as well as the Kimber.

 

[cbseniour]

Most guns are more accurate than the shooter. You need to worry about combat accuracy not moa especially with a handgun. You will always be more accurate with a gun you feel good with.
I'm an old fart and cant shoot a Glock to save my A** but I am deadly with a 1911.
If it feels good and works well go with it.

 

[Fullmag]

Most accurate are the guns with longer barrels like the tactical model's for example.

45acp and 38 special rounds are know for their accuracy.

 

[Tombs]

Buy a ransom rest and see for yourself.

Single shot accuracy is mostly mechanical, group accuracy depends mostly on the ammunition and the barrel's ability to remain stiff as it heats up.

With combat handguns you might as well forget trying to make comparisons, with the same quality of ammunition they'll all be roughly the same. The only way to improve on it is to have an oversized barrel custom fitted to the slide with the tightest tolerances possible. That's only going to improve the accuracy of the upper end of the gun, and won't change the ransom rest test much. For that you will need to tighten slide to frame fit.

And to the above, longer doesn't generally mean more accurate. I've had quite a few snubbies that would outshoot their 7+" barreled counterparts. A shorter barrel is a stiffer barrel, as long as it's long enough to stabilize the bullet, and the crown is right, it won't make a difference. Unless we're talking about velocities and effective range, then of course if you're pushing 100+ yards a longer barrel with aid in that.

 

[Hammer]

Accuracy is up to the shooter and what they are comfortable with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_b3dAbKoJ0

 

[cbseniour]

Check out Hickock45's views on accuracy.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UVzSAm5VhfE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[WebSnyper]

... Single shot accuracy ...

I'm not quite sure that I would define accuracy as anything you could measure with a single shot. Shooting to point of aim, is not accuracy. Accuracy has to do with precision and being able to group hits.

I've never heard anyone quote accuracy when evaluating a gun in terms of single shot.

As far as the OP's question, it is going to depend on individual gun, and the load that is being shot, etc unless someone has done an evaluation of these 2 gun models with a significant enough sample size of guns, loads, etc the best you are going to get is anecdotal info.

 

[kawtech87]

I also have a Kimber Compact. I can (if I do my part) ring my 75yd gong pretty regularly. I had a G23 awhile back and I could ring the gong with it too but not as often. I will say it had more to do with me than either gun bc my friend can ring the gong all day long with the G23 I sold him.

 

[Tombs]

I'm not quite sure that I would define accuracy as anything you could measure with a single shot. Shooting to point of aim, is not accuracy. Accuracy has to do with precision and being able to group hits.

I've never heard anyone quote accuracy when evaluating a gun in terms of single shot.

As far as the OP's question, it is going to depend on individual gun, and the load that is being shot, etc unless someone has done an evaluation of these 2 gun models with a significant enough sample size of guns, loads, etc the best you are going to get is anecdotal info.

A group depends on the ammunition more than the gun. Everything happening the same exact way under the same exact conditions. Now of course there's always an exception, and an exception to that exception, but I'm trying to keep this simple.

A single shot can keyhole, or demonstrate other accuracy issues that are usually mechanical.

 

[mrortega]

The Kimber.

 

[Wolfe28]

Most guns are more accurate than the shooter. You need to worry about combat accuracy not moa especially with a handgun. You will always be more accurate with a gun you feel good with.
I'm an old fart and cant shoot a Glock to save my A** but I am deadly with a 1911.
If it feels good and works well go with it.

In a nutshell, this is it for most of us. Now, if you are into some type of precision competition, then things are different. Bulls-eye competition autoloaders are incredibly accurate, but they are also very picky on ammunition. Hence the high price tag. The bulls-eye autoloader has been tuned to shoot a 1-2" group at 50 yards, because the X ring is only 4 inches in diameter. So to score well, you need to have a gun that practically shoots one-hole groups at 50 yards. By tightening the gun up that much, you lose the ability to shove whatever you want in ammunition into it. So, its a trade off.

Construction also comes into it. At the same price, revolvers are usually more accurate than autoloaders, because of the fewer moving parts.

Hope that helps,

D