accurate pistol .45 auto

Which is out of the box the most accurate pistol .45 auto for target shooting ?

Define “out of the box”

I know a fellow who bought a Rock River Wadcutter. He machine rest tested it at 50 yards with the Nosler load. He showed me the 10 shot group that measured under 1". I'm not saying that all Rock River pistols will shoot that good, but they are accurate. Any pistol that will group inside the ten ring at 50 yards will do, in my book. Shootability, that is, having a good trigger and good sights makes mechanical accuracy more achievable in one's hand.

Price is important too. Typically, the most accurate are custom builds, but at a significantly higher cost and lead time. For a more basic "can be purchased at a local shop", in my personal experience a Springfield Range Officer provides acceptable accuracy, typically ~3" at 50 yards. It is easy to get caught in the trap that you "need" a .45 that is at least sub 2" but the difference that realistically makes for most is small.

If we define "out of the box" as meaning name brand/purchase at an gun store, then there's a big variance in guns of the same model. A new gun may shoot 2" groups and the next one off the line may shoot 5".

If your underlying question is "what should I buy?", then here are some thoughts:

Option 1: Springfield Armory Range Officer because it often shoots well right out of the box and the gunsmiths who specialize in Bullseye seem to like it as a base for customizing.

Option 2: Same as a above but send it out (either now or in the future) for a fitted match barrel, bushing and a trigger job. With some work, it can be made great and still less expensive than option 3.

Option 3: If budget is not a concern, then you can't go wrong with a custom gun from one of those gunsmiths. KC Crawford, Jon Eulette, Steve Huff (Accurate X) and others (listed alphabetically). Not cheap and wait times can be long but worth it.

Rock River, Accuracy X and Les Baer have bullseye guns in their regular catalog. The Springfield Custom Shop can make you a gun to order.

Also there are used guns in the for sale section.  Some are good, some are great.   

David

If I'm not mistaken, the original poster is in Italy, which makes his options a bit more limited. A Pardini GT45 is a good choice. 

Dave

If I was in Italy, I’d also look at the CZ97.

https://youtu.be/jiDZDmU_8Fo

Wobbley wrote:If I was in Italy, I’d also look at the CZ97.

https://youtu.be/jiDZDmU_8Fo

Man I have seen some videos of the 97 all done up for bullseye and that thing is beautiful and shoots super tight groups!