help with long range handgun shooting

[76 FLH]

I am looking for advise on long range handgun shooting. I have a taurus raging bull 454 casull with 8 3/8" barrel. i would like to get a scope or other sight (red dot) to really reach out there and touch something. I have been shooting kinda long range with my FN p45 and am pretty accurate but prefer just to keep the 45 plain. But i have the 454 that i would not mind tricking out and would appreciate any advise.

thanks

[broylz]

ive never used a scoped handgun but i have and do shoot out to 100 yards on occasion with my glock 17. will be trying it soon with my new glock 35 as well. sights make all the difference usually. im sure your 454 will be much more accurate at distance than my glock 17 but it still gets there.

personally, i wouldnt overthink things. maybe a 2-7 hangun hunting type scope or something? might want to look into shooting gloves as well to help make the experience more pleasurable with the heavy hitters.

[RWF]

spend a little money and get a scope that will take the pounding. i hunted with a super red hawk for about 20 years or so. there is a big difference from say Wal-Mart white box (yes, i know this just a exsample) and a premium ammo as much as 6" at 75 yards for the P.O.I. and recoil. so have a good idea of ammo you wish to zero with at your long range. just a fix 2x would be great, after 2x say, 6x a deer at 50-75 yards will fill the scope and only useful at the range.

i had to quit useing a scope because i got where at 75-100 for was no longer looking through the scope the same way each time and would end up having 2 groups next to each other, so went to a fast fire II with weaver winged mount. also pistol scopes have a very small field of view. with the 454 if you can see it and shoot inside a paper plate at that range you can kill it.

also long range what? 454 has the power, but if you are about ten rings, then not the best.

[seez52]

long range can be somewhat relative. In years past we regularly shot out to 220 yards with .44 mags. and no scope. I'm not that familiar with the 454 ballistics, and I'm sure it's more impressive than the 44 mag, but with a spotting scope you could watch the .44 slugs sail through the air at that distance, it looked like someone throwing baseballs.

I've always contended that pistols are just as accurate as rifles just more difficult to aim-- so have at it!

I've got a couple of scoped pistols now, one with a 2x, the other with a 6x. Unless what your shootin at is small or really far away 2x is plenty.

[76 FLH]

thanks for the advice

[DaveTN]

I don’t have a scoped handgun, but I have a handgun scope on an M1 Garand. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money until I found out if it would work. It’s a Simmons Prohunter 2-6X32, you can pick them up new for just over $100. It’s handled several hundred rounds of 30-06.

[onemancoyote]

I own several 'specialty pistols' for long range shooting. They are all contenders and one striker, but I have 44 mags, 30-30win, 243win, 32mag, etc. The 454 will do 200 yds easy with surprising results if the gun and shooter are up to it. Get a good pistol scope. If you can't see it you can't hit it. I dis-like the red-dots because of the lack of magnification and parallax. The Nikon Monarch 2x is a good choice for the price. If you want higher mag look into a Burris. Don't under-estimate the power of a handgun at range. They may be slow but the slugs are still heavy and damaging. Study up on IHMSA techniques.

[Caster]

Second the Nikon. If you don't cry when pay for it, you will cry after you use it. NcStar and Casull do not mix

[76 FLH]

keep the advice coming as far as I am concerned.

thanks

[Classic WBY]

if you are hunting with a wheel gun .....your taurus 454  at the barrel length you have is perfect.   I bought one ...same configuration when they first came out....it sports a leupold 2x8 vari x efr scope.  It is very effective on deer size game out to about 150 in my hands.....great knockdown power .  I shoot it with 300xtp magnum bullets in front of H110 powder.  A good scope mount is essential.  I went with the one taurus made for it.   

 

MY favorite long range handgun for target or deer is a contender with a 14 inch barrel in .35 caliber...I have taken deer out to almost the 200yard range and the gun shoots minute of angle at 100 plus and a solid 2-3 inch group at 200.      It is scoped with a 3-9 burris handgun scope.   Good luck ...if you have any questions or comments let me know.

[Jonnin]

Been using the ultradot for my 45 & 22, but I am not sure if it will handle that recoil or not (?).  The real issue with a red dot is the size of the dot --- most red dots have a largish dot that can cover up 2-3 inches of target at 100+ yards, making them somewhat stupid for long range shooting.  It will hit a man target for defense and might be OK for some hunting, but its *impossible* to see how good a shot you are or do any serious accuracy work when the BEST you can do is a 3+ inch group due to the optic choice..!!

 

The tiny dot on the ultra dot is awesom at 25-50 yards.   There may be other choices.

 

Past 50 yards, for accuracy, I prefer a scope.  I only have 1 pistol scope, a burris that is adjustable power & long eye relief.  It takes me out to 200 yards just as clean as a rifle, its on my 223 pistol which does fine at those ranges.

 

Also, consider your ammo.  A lighter bullet can be a big help for long distance shooting if accuracy is a goal.  A high velocity lightweight can take you farther out than a 350 grain bearbuster; if you use the big stuff the drop compensation will be beyond what the optics can adjust for at long ranges, talking feet of drop rather than inches when you get way out there...

[Dave Shooter]

Second the Nikon. If you don't cry when pay for it, you will cry after you use it. NcStar and Casull do not mix :cool:

Sure they do.  The Casull will mix the NcStar parts and scatter them randomly.  :)