MOA

[J. Yuma]

I've tried all kinds of hand holds on my SRH with the 9.5" barrel. As you all well know, the thing is heavy, with heavy springs.
I have moved on from shooting from a rest, and I'm really enjoying double action shooting, but that revolver is a handful.

But today it occurred to me that I was never going to hold that front sight PERFECTLY STILL and shoot double action, or even single action.
I postulated that maybe I was being unrealistic.
I vaguely understand minute of angle, so I did a little search and came up with these charts.
Next time I shoot the SRH, I'm gonna go for excellent trigger press and front sight focus, but not perfection.

I've also read a bit about Anaconda sights, how they're hated.

To me, it's easier to fill that notch with the fat front sight of the Anaconda than to keep the skinny SRH front sight centered.

Any thoughts?

 

[hittman]

I’d divorce it.
Sell it or trade for something I enjoy or don’t have to work at.

 

[Bad Barlow]

Long distance handgunners swear by a v-notch rear and bead front for the most precisely repeatable sight picture.
Or a scope!

 

[J. Yuma]

divorce?
never.

 

[J. Yuma]

Long distance handgunners swear by a v-notch rear and bead front for the most precisely repeatable sight picture.
Or a scope!

I just shoot at 25 yards,
A bead sight is a possibility.
Wilson?

 

[hittman]

If you only going 25, a 7.5 inch Redhawk might be in your future …….

 

[seasterl]

IMO, heavy handguns just need to be fired from a rest of some sort. I draw the line with 7.5” and hand hold those, but I do have an unusual S&W 629PC with a fluted 8 3/8” barrel with Pachmayr grips that balances very well hand holding. I like all-black front and rear sights with a square notch, and 0.090” front / rear if I can get them. Alternatively, I like red fiber optic fronts.

Getting back to your setup, I think you’d like a 7.5” Redhawk and there are aftermarket sights for it, too. Use an aftermarket grip that helps position your trigger finger so you’re pulling straight back when it breaks. I like to have a “straight back” thought in my head which seems to yield better groups for me. Lighter trigger helps, but transferring more of the grip holding pressure to your support hand frees your trigger hand up to pull the trigger without also having to support the heavy weight.

 

[J. Yuma]

after shooting the 4.25 barrel Anaconda, I agree.
I bought the 10.5 SBH because it was available for a good price.
I bought the 9.5 SRH because I thought it was similar to the SBH.
After discovering a simple folding pistol rest I was getting pretty good results.
My right eye started giving me trouble and I figured I'll stop trying to hit tight groups and just hit the target.
DA became a bit later, the challenge appealed to me.

Not going Redhawk, but maybe a 4.62 SBH? The short barrel Anaconda feels so much "lighter?"

I enjoy standing up now, and the skill required for DA has been a learning experience.
I shoot my Single Six at 25 with a 7.5 barrel at 25 yards too, with basically the same issue, I can't hold it rock steady, the Anaconda is the same.
I always "sight in" from a rest to make sure it's me and not the guns.
It’s not the guns

Anyway, much food for thought.

 

[Mobuck]

You have a monster of a revolver that you don't seem to shoot well? Seems the answer has been offered--get a lighter, lower recoiling, easier to shoot handgun.
I just sold all of my 44 mag revolvers except one simply because I no longer shoot them much and not very good if then.

 

[thinckley]

IMHO, it comes down to what the gun is for. If you plan to shoot competition with it, then it is not the right gun for that. If you plan to use it for woods walking, it might be a little long, but as long as you can hold it to "minute of charging bear", then that is good enough!!!

You could try lightening up the springs, which will help take that out of the equation, but as far as I am concerned, a gun needs to be great for it's intended use, not great at everything.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Long distance handgunners swear by a v-notch rear and bead front for the most precisely repeatable sight picture.
Or a scope!

Before I moved on to optics on my hunting handguns the v-notch w/gold bead front was my favorite to use.

divorce?
never.

Sometimes it's a must but it is costly both financially and emotionally. The Great Mistake (AKA X-wife) decimated my first gun collection. With exception of only two which were left on purpose to fit her divorce agenda. But I digress, that post was about you divorcing yourself from a revolver you don't care for anymore.

I just shoot at 25 yards,
A bead sight is a possibility.
Wilson?

Why not Ruger? They can still be found.

 

[J. Yuma]

You have a monster of a revolver that you don't seem to shoot well? Seems the answer has been offered--get a lighter, lower recoiling, easier to shoot handgun.
I just sold all of my 44 mag revolvers except one simply because I no longer shoot them much and not very good if then.

IMHO, it comes down to what the gun is for. If you plan to shoot competition with it, then it is not the right gun for that. If you plan to use it for woods walking, it might be a little long, but as long as you can hold it to "minute of charging bear", then that is good enough!!!

You could try lightening up the springs, which will help take that out of the equation, but as far as I am concerned, a gun needs to be great for it's intended use, not great at everything.

plinking at the 25 yard indoor range, for fun.

but my question was: should I expect to hold any handgun rock steady?
I can't hold a single six rock steady.
this is the best I can do with my Anaconda.

 

[JBP]

At the outdoor range I'll shoot my 9.5 SRH (topped with a Leopold EER handgun scope) off sandbags. At the indoor range I shoot it offhand. A couple of months ago for some stupid reason I moved my weak hand under the trigger guard. Big mistake. The recoil made the trigger guard come down onto my thumb's tendon. Hurt like hell and it's still not 100%.

 

[J. Yuma]

so maybe I'm expecting too much out of myself?
In any event, I ain't selling this Super Redhawk.
If I gotta go back to a rest, I will.
But I doubt if I'm ever gonna hold it rock solid steady.

 

[seasterl]

Holding rock-steady for 25-yard targets is tough and takes practice, too. I like to first do load development (hand loading) to see what the gun likes first, and I do this from a rest. Then I move to off-hand standing. Usually the lightest gun with best sight radius and largest grips wins (a delicate balance of this combo!). I’ve owned the original Anaconda and a recent production model and sold both. I sold my recent model since I couldn’t get it to group well with anything (even sent back to Colt), so I don’t have a high opinion of them even though I wanted to love it.

My parting suggestion: get a 7.5” Super Blackhawk 44Mag (or 6.5” Blackhawk 357Mag), and install a hand-filling rubber grip and Wolff 30-ounce trigger spring. These offer good sight radius while minimizing barrel weight, are economical, and the grips and springs are readily available and easy to install.

 

[J. Yuma]

Believe it or not, your answer was what I was looking for.
I'm gonna keep shooting 44 magnum just because I like it, but I'm not going to expect unrealistic results.

I'm gonna keep off the rest, and just stand there like Wyatt Earp for the fun of it!
Thank you very much for your response.

 

[s4s4u]

Nobody can hold a handgun perfectly steady. I learned long ago to just hover the front sight on the target as I slowly press the trigger, not to press the trigger at the moment the target is lined up in the sights. There is always going to be some movement, the trick is to minimize the amount of movement while keeping a steady press on the trigger until she goes bang. Pressing the trigger at the moment the sights are perfectly aligned on target is a recipe for a pull. I have a SRH in 480R with the long barrel and have no problem holding the gun on target, for a "reasonable" amount of time

 

[Mobuck]

You will never ANY gun totally 'steady' except in a machine rest of some sort. The idea is to reduce the size of the wobble. Another factor is recoil--more recoil demands more consistent recoil attenuation.

 

[RoninPA]

As said, when one is shooting a handgun, the sights are never going to be steady like shooting a rifle. But that can be overcome. First you have to know how your sights are set. Are they set so that when they are aligned and are pointed at the center of the bullseye that is where the bullet is going to impact? POA=POI (point of aim and point of impact are the same) Or, are they set so that when the sights are aligned and the sights are at the 6 o'clock position of the bulleye, the bullet impacts at the center of the bullseye (called 6 o'clock aiming point).

When I was shooting competition, I was taught to set my GP100 (modified with a heavy barrel - 1" diameter, 6" long with a heavy sight rib and a 4 position front sight) for a 6 o'clock aiming point. You do this part from a rest for all 4 front sight positions). Then when shooting the slower courses of fire (longer distances) as you're aiming and the barrel is moving, you actually make it move in a capital D movement (either a backwards D or a standard D) starting at the top. As you hit the bottom of the D, and start rising straight up, when the front and rear sight are aligned and at the 6 o'clock position is when the hammer should fall. You are actually pulling the trigger as you are making the "D" movement. It takes some practice but practicing by dry firing is the easiest way to get the muscle memory. The wording makes it seem like it will take seconds to do this but it doesn't. The movement is actually fairly small. The 6 o'clock hold gives you a little leeway if your timing is a bit off.

 

[s4s4u]

You will never ANY gun totally 'steady' except in a machine rest of some sort. The idea is to reduce the size of the wobble. Another factor is recoil--more recoil demands more consistent recoil attenuation.

This as well. Grip consistency (firm) is paramount when shooting handguns that kick a bit

 

[XUSNORDIE]

Maybe getting "Ransom" tattooed onto his hands will help the OP achieve "rock steady" he seeks.

 

[J. Yuma]

Nobody can hold a handgun perfectly steady. I learned long ago to just hover the front sight on the target as I slowly press the trigger, not to press the trigger at the moment the target is lined up in the sights. There is always going to be some movement, the trick is to minimize the amount of movement while keeping a steady press on the trigger until she goes bang. Pressing the trigger at the moment the sights are perfectly aligned on target is a recipe for a pull. I have a SRH in 480R with the long barrel and have no problem holding the gun on target, for a "reasonable" amount of time

thank you for sharing this.
After trying so hard, so many dry firings, it dawned on me that MAYBE I was being unrealistic.
your post helped.

 

[J. Yuma]

You will never ANY gun totally 'steady' except in a machine rest of some sort. The idea is to reduce the size of the wobble. Another factor is recoil--more recoil demands more consistent recoil attenuation.

a range officer coached me up on recoil.
I started loading 5 rounds and one snap cap. Spin the cylinder and don't cheat, it will expose any flinching.
My flinching has improved nicely.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

a range officer coached me up on recoil.

Dry fire at a dot on the wall. It's cheaper. If you want put a coin on the top strap.