sighting in a revolver

[sw28]

hi all, I'm looking for some input on shooting. i have been practicing with my .357 at 25 yds ,about 200 rounds so far.hitting anywhere from 6" to 10" too the left. finally decided it was the gun more than me so i moved the rear sight an got within 2" of bulls-eye. to figure this out i had to lay on the ground an shoot before i moved the sights lol. more to my first question do you generally sandbag the gun off a table too sight in? i would like too be accurate around 75 yards by November which leads to my 2nd question do you shoot cheap loads or only practice with the same ammo you hunt with? I'm about too order reloading stuff an roll my own too save a bit on ammo. but i could save a little powder if it made no difference. 3rd is there a "proper" grip on the revolver high low or personal preference? thank you for any input, Ive had a high standard double nine for 20 years i used to shoot small game all the time with then never used it for a long time not hitting well with that one now either lol. kids say im too old had my 9 year old boy out last week rippin off 158gr 357 mags out of the smith he says it dont kick at all.then he proceeded to try the 1911 i picked up since i got this handgun disease, he loved it. im trying too gain the cash an nerve too get a s&w 500 so i look tough too him.he is trying for straight a's in school for a 357mag.. i had offered a .22 revolver to any off the three who could  do it, he wants a real gun lol.
 

[GRIMJIM]

I'm sure you'll get answers from people with more experience than me but I would develope my load first. As long as you're on paper you can see how they group and your point of aim will change with different loads.

I usually sand bag my guns to adjust the sights and check loads, it helps for me to take some of the human factor out of it. After you find out which load your gun likes best, adjust your sights to that load.

I personally like to practice with the load I'm going to hunt with. Powder is made to be burned.

As for the grip I've never really noticed. I've read that on semi autos the closer you are in line with the barrel the better but I can't say from experience. I guess it depends on what works best for you.

Careful with the reloading. My friend is an addict. I used to reload when I shot every week, not so much lately. He will try endless primer, case, powder and bullet weight and style combinations to tweek his groups. I guess you can be hooked on a lot worse things.

Good luck,
Jim

[Graybeard]

If you really want to be ready to hunt this fall buy a rimfire revolver and a case of 5000 rounds of .22LR ammo. By the time you have fired all 5000 of those rounds you'll be an accurate shot and ready to move on and gain the same level of precision with your centerfire. You'll find that getting the accuracy needed from it will come pretty easily after you've run those 5000 rounds thru the rimfire.

[Ole Man Dan]

SW28

Good Morning.

If you are shooting a DA revolver it is important to grip it high on the back strap.  A consistent grip, with the support hand gripping the gun hand (fingers wrapped over fingers) and your thumbs on the sides of the revolver, give the best results.
Check to see if you are not 'Cross-Dominant'. (I was)  Meaning:  your dominant eye and dominant hand are not on the same side.  Example:  Right handed shooter with a dominant left eye, will shoot about 8-10 inches away from point of aim.
I solved my problem by shooting with both eyes open.  (My groups moved back to point of aim when I kept both eyes open)

The elementary check for 'Cross dominance' is to extend your arm and make an OK sign.  Look thru the circle with the right eye if you are right handed, then close the right eye and look thru the circle with the left eye.  Nuff said. Got to get going.

[Ole Man Dan]

SW28

I forgot to ask if the SW28 refers to the 'Highway Patrol' model 28 S&W .357?  They are great guns.  Heavy enough to help dampen recoil too. 
I would recommend that you shoot someone else .500 before you buy one.  They are not for the faint of heart.  I've found that .44s & .45s kill most everything that needs killing.  (100 year record of accomplishments)

I'm late now.. really have to go...

[GRIMJIM]

The elementary check for 'Cross dominance' is to extend your arm and make an OK sign.  Look thru the circle with the right eye if you are right handed, then close the right eye and look thru the circle with the left eye.  Nuff said. Got to get going.

Okay my wife is looking at me like I lost my mind. After trying it I found if I look at something through the okay sign with both eyes open and then close each eye, one at a time my left eye is the one still on target. I am right handed so I guess that puts me in the same boat. I do shoot with both eyes open but at least now I know.

[buck460XVR]

SW28

I would recommend that you shoot someone else .500 before you buy one.  They are not for the faint of heart.  .

+1........I too considered the .500 before I acquired the .460. Cost of ammo and the ability to shoot .45LCs thru the .460 initially made my decision. Unless the primary use will be for Grizzlies or other dangerous game, the .460, IMHO is much more versatile. Felt recoil in my PC hunter with  Hornady factory loads is less harsh than my old .44 magnum  Ruger.......but then it fits my hand better than the old Ruger.

[sw28]

thanks for the replies. yup the .357 is a highway patrol model 28. greybeard good idea on the .22 i was thinking of getting good with the .357 more than learning how too shoot a handgun again,  i have that old double-nine  gonna have too drag it out.most often i buy a brick off .22 an let my boys burn them up. fun gun too shoot, i have years ago shot many red squirrel, partridge, rabbit an a few ducks with it. also coons and porkypines. i was joking about the .500 i know my kids are tougher than me they tell me so.also i am left handed but i shoot right handed im also right eye dominant. only thing i do left is write,and type. i get that look from the wife several times a day , i just look at her an say "hey baby you married me " that gets ya left alone for a while lol.

[Mikey]

sw28 - I am definitely going with the Boss on this one.  Dust off that old 22 and get yourself a brick of new ammo and get back to basics. 

By laying on the ground before shooting you, in effect, benched or rested your revolver.  This helps you to determine the accuracy of the gun and where it is shooting.  Before I start practicing with any of my hunting loads I bench my guns to make certain the gun is still shooting straight and I didn't knock the rear sight out of alignment (which I have done a couple of times necessitating a return to the range). 

Cheap loads may neither give you the accuracy or consistency of quality ammo/reloads or your own handloads.  I prefer to use my hunting handloads when I shoot and practice with my S&W M28 and if I go to using other loads I will leave the sights as they are for the hunting loads and use Kentucky windage until I am ready to go back to my hunting loads.  Switching loads often means switching sight settings which can lead to trouble hittin' what you are shooting at in the field. 

One bit of advice please - be very careful with your 9 yr old and full house 357s, or any handgun for that matter.  Young children get injured on gun ranges all the time especially when they are doing what they have no business doing and 9 y/o children have no business shooting powerful handguns.  Shooting powerful revolvers at age 9 is not some 'Right of Passage' - and please note how I spelled that, and neither is it a 'rite of passage' for a 9 y/o'.  'Ripping off' 158 gn 357s by a 9 y/o kid, who tells you that you're too old to shoot the gun, would get you all thrown off my ranges, and there is absolutely no way I would ever allow a 9 y/o to put his hands on my 1911, period.  Any 9 y/o who says full house 357s don't kick at all is either the size of a professional linebacker, or probably about ready to lose control of the handgun.  They have no business handling handguns of that power level - there was a slightly younger child killed by the recoil of a handgun when it kicked back and hit him in the head.  Those children I have seen receive 'S&W Hammer Bites' to the forehead don't usually go about wearing those scars as badges of honor.  If he wants to shoot, let him develop his skills with that old 22 while you supervise him into absolute boredom.  When he can get to the point where he can hit as accurately at 75 yds with that 22 as you want to be with the 357 then you can let him hunt with that 22 while you remain in full supervision, which means full control of him, the handgun and the situation. 

It is simply far to easy for younger children to have, or cause accidents while shooting, especially if they are under less control and supervision than they should be.  Firearms instructors who teach adults how to properly shoot a handgun often start with mid-level revolvers and one round at a time.  Those instructors also stand or sit right next to the newer shooter so as to maintain full control over that handgun at all times.  'Ripping of 357s' does not make it sound as though you are in full control of that handgun......, or your 9 y/o son.   

500 - naw!  Mikey.

[buck460XVR]

 

One bit of advice please - be very careful with your 9 yr old and full house 357s, or any handgun for that matter.


 Young children get injured on gun ranges all the time especially when they are doing what they have no business doing and 9 y/o children have no business shooting powerful handguns.     

I mean no disrespect here Mikey, and altho I agree wholeheartedly with the first part of that statement, I have to disagree just as wholeheartedly with the last part. I don't think one can really put an "age" on when a person becomes mature or responsible enough to do certain activities. Even tho I don't agree with the practice, many states allow children younger than the age of 9 to legally hunt deer and turkeys using guns that are more awkward and much more powerful than factory loaded .357's.......and many of us here at GBO have witnessed folk well past the age of adulthood that we wouldn't dare go into the woods with. My youngest started shooting my ported .357 at the age of eight using .38s. He quickly moved up to shooting factory loaded .357s. At the same time he learned to shoot deer calibers and shotguns. At all times he was closely supervised at a range environment with us being the only ones there. He began at the age of 6 with a BB gun in the back yard before moving up to a .22 at 7. He first shot my .460 at the age of 14, first with .45lc loads, then once he was accustomed to it with Hornady factory .460 loads. He has never been the size of a "professional linebacker", nor has he ever came close to losing control of any gun.   He is now going on 16 and just yesterday, we spent 2 1/2 hours at the range shooting only handguns. Never in all those years did he ever lose control of a handgun, nor has he done anything to endanger me or himself, not only on the range, but in the woods while hunting also. 4 years ago when we took the state hunter safety course, he scored higher than me on the final exam. I cannot put a value on the pleasure and fun we have had together over those years at the range, and wouldn't trade the memories for anything in the world. Again, he was always fully supervised with no horseplay and was started with light loads in ported handguns. Again..... I agree that care and close supervision is needed, but feel done correctly, that sw28's 9 year old son can properly and safely shoot along side him.

[sw28]

Mikey, i appreciate the concern you have over my 9 year old shooting my pistols.  but he does in fact have plenty of business shooting my handguns with me. when he says he doesn't feel 158gr loads hurt he means it. i have no idea if they are full house they are American eagle factory loads. we in fact did start with light .38 special reloads an work up. he also has been shooting for 4 years often with a 22 revolver. I also should mention I'm not a total fool myself, i know enough to make sure he can handle the recoil an keep a firm grip on the weapon. he loved my .45 but i also had told him he fought it too much an made me nervous so he had to wait till his hands were bigger. as far as the linebacker size not even close, but i do find him too be very strong in upper body strength.I'm also sorry i offended you by typing "he was ripping off .357 mags" next time i write about my son shooting I'll be sure an specify how i was standing over his shoulder while he very cautiously cocked aimed and squeezed the trigger, should i mention all 6 shots were in an 8" circle?like i said i appreciate the concern but please don't assume I'm not in control of or careless with my sons.I'm 37 been hunting and shooting since i was 8, started my sons with a .22 single at 5. I've been asking advice on handgun hunting big game because its new to me. safety, guns, and shooting are not. the father thing well lets just say i learn a little more every day and just keep getting better.

[Mikey]

sw28, I don't want to come off sounding like a purist or spouter of evangelical handgunning and when you clarify your earlier posts with:  "next time i write about my son shooting I'll be sure an specify how i was standing over his shoulder while he very cautiously cocked aimed and squeezed the trigger, should i mention all 6 shots were in an 8" circle" and 'he loved my .45 but i also had told him he fought it too much an made me nervous so he had to wait till his hands were bigger'; and buck460 adds his way of teaching his children with 'At all times he was closely supervised at a range environment with us being the only ones there. He began at the age of 6 with a BB gun in the back yard before moving up to a .22 at 7',  and 'Never in all those years did he ever lose control of a handgun, nor has he done anything to endanger me or himself, not only on the range, but in the woods while hunting also', my concerns are resolved and it sounds very much as if you two parents have 'done it right'.  And that's the way it should be. 

Unfortunately I don't see too many of you around.  Mikey.

[Catfish]

I started my boy shooting a .22 rim fire form the bench at the age of 5. He was shooting .22 revolvers before he was 7. By the time he was 9 he was shooting full house loads in my .44 mag. Super Black hawk from time to time. That was his reward for when he did well with the .38 plinking. loads, he wanted to shoot them all the time. He took his first deer at the age of 12 with a .357. Different kids develop at different speeds and like different thing. We have had a neighbor boy, who is now 11 yrs. old, more than his mother. He like to act like he`s playing with gun, but has never shot 1. He knows that I`ll teach his to shoot any time he wants, and watches me shoot, but he just don`t want to handle guns. I did get him a bow and he takes it out from time to time.

[sw28]

I wont know if i done it right for a good many years i guess but we can only try. i dunno if you have kids or not but its way more fun too try and figure out ways kids "can do" instead of saying no. my youngest can hit skeet with a .410. no idea how he does it. 5 of us shooting an he the only one. he can hit a large coffee can at 50 yards with a 30-30 open sights, so far the only thing he cant do is clean his room. my 11 year old is very cautious about shooting a different gun. he had a 20ga pump for 3 months before he decided too shoot it. took him duck hunting a few months later he was hitting bufflehead on the wing over decoys. my 14 yr old will shoot anything. he would love too try my .338 win mag, that's not happening anytime soon. he has been stopped at a 30-06 for now. he is not as good a shot as the other 2. he expects a hole in the bulls-eye if the gun goes bang.yet him an i have tracked an jumped deer together an excellent woodsman for his age. he had an excellent chance at a small buck that day he never fired. when i asked why he said the deer was behind a tree an i told hem never ever shoot through trees an brush. unfortunately  the tree was single in a clearing about 3" dia. but he saw the tree  an held off. sometimes we teach too good i guess.point is all are very diffrent. but none learn anything if we dont teach them.why just this weekend i taught all 3 how too make a woodfire and cook burgers on it. next morning they started the fire an made eggs and coffee they even let me have some of the coffee. then i showed them how too dig clams me an the wife had a great lunch an the clams only cost me a buck a pound.now we better get back too the gun stuff before greybeard makes us all go to the corner for gettin off topic. have a great day

[m-g Willy]

Graybeard nailed this one.
Learn to shoot with a good 22 rimfire .
Sighting and trigger control is what good shooting is all about.
Since you have a S&W 357 a good 22 would be a model 17 S&W (Same action and trigger pull)



Willy