Is 2.3 in off a sandbag good enough to start bullseye?

I am thinking of trying to get into world of Bullseye, however my equipment is not the best and on average group I shoot off sandbags is about 2.3 inches. Obviously it's much more difficult to shoot free hand then on sand bags. Do you think my equipment will be a limiting factor? How well can people shoot off sandbags with a nice 1.5 inch Ransom rest gun?
Thanks!
Wayne VanDeGraaff

What yardage?  At 50yd it's plenty good!
- Dave

Yes it's at 50 yards, I do use a diopter as I'm using irons.

I can usually get within 1/4"-1/2" of my ransom rest groups, BUT I use a 2-7x scope to do it and that is only on guns with very good triggers.
- Dave

The Ranson Rest will forgive a poor trigger, In my hands even on a sandbag a poor trigger will show up.

You will have fun.  Bullseye has the best competitors who will happily offer suggestion if you ask and listen.

Chip

Your fine on accuracy. The trigger 'pull is the elephant in the room.

Yes, I definitely got to work on my trigger pull. So you would say a very good custom Bullseye Gun should be able to shoot about 1.75-2.0 inches at 50 yards off a rest? Does anyone use irons now days?

Wmvdg123 wrote:Yes, I definitely got to work on my trigger pull. So you would say a very good custom Bullseye Gun should be able to shoot about 1.75-2.0 inches at 50 yards off a rest? Does anyone use irons now days?

Good Custom gun should be right around 1.5"  I'd say about 15-25% use irons.  Many start with irons.  Irons are required in EIC matches.  Most use Optics (red dots) the bulk are either Ultradots or Aimpoints.
- Dave

Thank you for the info!

Wmvdg123 wrote:........Do you think my equipment will be a limiting factor? ......

From my little corner of the world, trying to get into Bullseye, it's the shooter, not the equipment, that is the "limiting factor".  If you enjoy it, and like hanging around with a bunch of super people who are more than willing to help, why not just jump in, and upgrade later, once it has taken over as the limiting factor?  

To enjoy it, the only person you really need to beat, is your own scores from "last time".  

Cunard Lines used to have a saying "Getting there is half the fun!"  Sometimes I think that "Getting there" is most of the fun!  Not only that, but "Getting there" never ends, because the closer you get to "there" the further you see you can go.   

Wmvdg123 wrote:Does anyone use irons now days?

I know a guy who shot 2620 with iron sights as recently as 2014.

Wmvgd, I'm jealous.  I'm basically a tinkerer trying precision shooting and cannot get all 10 rounds to group well off a manual rest at 50 yds. 6 to 8 rounds stay under 2" but 2 to 4 have a mind of their own and I'd classify them as "wild".  And I'm using red dots!

Lot's of shooters are shooting irons.

Quite a few of the records have been shot with Iron Sights.

Wm. 2 inches is plenty good enough to start. Don't give it another thought.

When I first joined a gun club, I was shooting a revolver  (40 yrs. ago ).

A couple guys there suggested that I try shooting the bullseye pistol league. I said I wasn't good enough,
  but after a coupe invitations I decided to give it a try anyway.

Wow, I enjoyed it so much that I wished I had started sooner.

I could not beat anyone there. Absolutely everyone there shot better than me. Old, young,man,woman,or child,
it did not matter. But it was still fun.

I shot a single action .22, a double action .38, and a single action .45. And I stunk with all of them except sometimes
in the slow fire match I would beat a person or two.

Eventually I got an auto-loader or two, and started shooting better. And I started beating some of the folks that used to beat me.

That is when I discovered that I wasn't shooting against other shooters at all. Other shooters come in all levels of skill,
 and determination, and time to devote to shooting, and money. So beating someone who doesn't have time to train,
or money to spend is no win at all.
   But beating your own previous high score, or X count, ahh, there is the thrill. Or knowing that you just shot as well as you possibly can.

So get started. No matter how good, or bad your skill, or equipment is. It is all going to change.

Lots of responses thanks, very helpful community!

Go do it.  I started with my dad's pistol before I even knew if it could hit the broadside of a barn - from the inside.   

You didn't mention the caliber that is giving you that spread.   Most production 22's can be a good starting gun - definitely start with 22 and then when ready add a centerfire.

I am still using an old Browning Buckmark for .22 and it is not the pistol (nor ammo) which is holding me back 

For years and years, Clark Custom guaranteed 3" groups at 50 yards. A lot of shooters, using those pistols, shot 2600+. I doubt if most bullseye shooters, shooting their own reloads can really reliably get much better groups out of their 1911's (we used to call them Government Models). You are the limiting factor.

I'm building two rimfire benchrest rifles and my own 50 yard range. So I'm thinking I would Ike to shoot a rimfire pistol for bullseye shooting. What would be a good start gun that I could grow with and compete with a budget of 1000.00? Is it better to buy new or a used one from a shooter ? It sounds like the new 41 is a little finicky and the early models are selling at a premium. I am retired and plan on doing nothing but shoot shoot and shoot.

Twobe1 wrote:I'm building two rimfire benchrest rifles and my own 50 yard range. So I'm thinking I would Ike to shoot a rimfire pistol for bullseye shooting. What would be a good start gun that I could grow with and compete  with a budget of 1000.00? Is it better to buy new or a used one from a shooter ? It sounds like the new 41 is a little finicky and the early models are  selling at a premium. I am retired and plan on doing nothing but shoot shoot and shoot.

I started with a S&W Model 41 that I got for $700. Iron sights only. It is an old model. The barrel isn’t drilled or tapped for a scope. Has pin that sticks out the back for cocking indicator. Very accurate. Was not reliable however. Not until I removed the mag disconnect spring, replaced all the other springs, replaced the extractor with a Volquartsen extractor, and cleaned the hell out the chamber. Found CCI shot reliably and accurate and Wolf also shot good too. I put Herrett nationals on mine. The blueing is terrible on the barrel and slide and front of the frame. Looks like it was laid in water. Minor pitting on exterior. But bore is excellent. My recommendation is look for a used one. Not a collectors dream with box and all. Just find a shooter. Cheaper that way. 

Or you could get a Ruger MKII Govermnet Model and have a good trigger job done. Then you’d be set too.

A conversion is a good option but the lower could be costly unless you have a 45 you can put it on already. I shoot a Nelson now with a dot. I also have a spare barrel with the iron sights attached so I don’t have to take the dot off and re-zero stuff. In the long run you could do that with the 41 too. Have two barrels and go from irons to a dot in seconds. You’d have one frame, two barrels and set for 22 EIC and 2700 matches.

I didn't feel like starting a new thread for this, and it does sort of fit in here.

My question:  "What things should one do, to get the best possible result from any gun, when supporting it on a sandbag rest?"

Things I think I know (maybe they're wrong...)

• Support the bottom of your hands, with the hands resting on the sandbag, or with the hands and gun resting on the sandbag.
  
• Do not rest the barrel of the gun on a sandbag.
  
• Look through the sights exactly the same way every time, especially for steel sights, or an optical sight with parallax error.
  
• Make every effort to position the hands, my body, and everything else identically every time.
  
• (...and obviously, use the same ammunition.)
  
• Be smooooooth on the trigger
  

I don't know how tightly you're supposed to hold the gun.

I get nice groups, doing what I do now, but I don't think they represent the precision of the gun.

......or is the only real answer to buy a Ransom Rest, like the ones I keep seeing in these forums for sale....

In my experience it is difficult to get a precision group off sand bags with irons at 50 yards particularly for a beginner. If you have an optic mount on the pistol a higher power scope, 7X or so, will help. A grip mount is fine. Don’t worry too much about function if the scope is too heavy. Adjust the scope so not to damage your aiming mark. Aim as precise as you can.

I have never thought there is any "good enough" requirement to start bullseye shooting.  Although it can be a competitive sport, most of the competition is against yourself. 

Shoot whatever you have.  If you like the events, you will quickly and easily determine what equipment works best for you with your budget.

There are two things you can use a sandbag for. 1. Testing your group. Either testing your pistol or different ammo. 2. Sighting in your pistol. I want to talk about #2. There is an art to sighting in a pistol using sandbags so that you can be confident it will be relatively close to having the same point of impact off the bag or standing up and shooting with one hand. Basically you have to use the bag or bags as a rest only. Grip the pistol with one hand in the same way you would on the line. Set the palm of your hand or the base of the grip on the bag. Set a bag under your elbow to stop it from flapping around. Add enough bags under the pistol so that you don't have to twist your arm or wrist to get a good sight picture. Beat the bag down a little if it is too high. What you are trying for is an arm and pistol that comfortably just rests on the bag and is lined up with the target. Do not use your off shooting hand for anything. When fired the recoil will raise your arm and bend your wrist just like you were standing there shooting. Using this method you can confidently pre sight most pistols. You will still have to fine tune when you start shooting at match or practice. 

Len

That sounds far more useful than what I thought I needed to do.  My goal was to take me out of the picture, and see what the gun can do, as if it was in a Ransom Rest.  You mention things I never thought of, such as supporting your elbow.  You're immobilizing the shooter's body, as well as the gun.  Sounds like a better way than my half-hearted attempt, not knowing any better.  Thank you.

Any feedback on how your groups compared doing what you described, compared to using the same gun, ammo, etc., in a Ransom Rest?  How close were the results?