What kind of splits are you talking about when you say "just time enough to come down out of recoil and get the sights aligned again"? A 4" group with .30 second splits at 15 yards would be phenomenal, but very very few can accomplish that kind of accuracy and speed together. Getting a 4" group with .75 splits is very attainable, but not really the kind of shooting you would be doing in a defensive situation.Crash wrote:vjallen75,The Annoyed Man wrote:I would give some consideration to a bullet's terminal ballistics performance too. Hypothetically speaking, if I were getting 3" groups from FMJ and 4" groups from Federal HST, I'd carry the HST.Crash wrote:vjallen75,vjallen75 wrote:Crash,Crash wrote:Thanks to all for your input--I appreciate it. I will have the bore slugged, try some more types of ammo, and shoot it off a rest (which will have to be at 25 yards at our range) and see what happens. And yes, reliability trumps pinpoint accuracy every time and that's what I really like about the gun.
Cheers,
Crash
I have the same firearm and have the same "issue." The more I use it the better I know I will become.
I am curious as to how you like the Hornady 124 gr, I bought some a while ago but have yet to test it at the range.
Actually, the Hornady was the most accurate of the group. And, as I stated, I've had no reliability problems with any ammo, so now I'm trying to choose a carry ammo based on accuracy.
Crash
From the research I've done on shots fired into 10% ballistic gelatin, I believe the best terminal ballistics are from Gold Dot 124 gr HP +Ps, Federal HSTs in 124 gr, Hornady 124 gr XTPs, Winchester Defend 147 gr HP, and Corbon DPX. I don't have any of the Winchester Defends or Corbon DPXs right now, but as soon as I get some I will try them. Whichever of these gives me the best accuracy will be my carry load. I would really like to have a group no bigger than 4" shooting unsupported (not off a rest) at 15 yards shooting quick fire (just time enough to come down out of recoil and get the sights aligned again).
Thanks for your help,
Crash
IMO (which is worth exactly what you paid for it), the ability to get 6" groups at <.30 splits would be much more valuable than tack driving with slower splits. A threat with three holes center mass in one second is much less likely to be a threat after that one second than a single hole in it over the same time frame.
To answer the title question in the OP "How accurate is defense-accurate?":
I want my EQUIPMENT to be capable of making a single ragged hole at 15 yards. The only way to test the accuracy of my equipment is to take as much of "me" out of the equation as possible. Shoot from a bench, go very slow, let the shot surprise you, etc.
Once I have the equipment that can perform without "me", now training to be "defense accurate" is all about me, I have eliminated inaccuracy of the equipment from the equation. From your posts it seems that you are possibly trying to evaluate the equipment in a manner that does not take human error out of the equation.