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TIPS FOR SHOOTING THE .45 AUTO AT 100 YDS...
Posted By: Dick Culver
Date: Saturday, 31 July 1999, at 3:57 p.m.
Dick Culiver was the creator of CSP (Culiver's Shooting Pages) that became Jouster. This is one of his posts in CSP.
100 YARD .45 SHOOTING…
OK folks, here's how I do it…
The Sights:
The neat thing is that it seems to work with literally ANY .45 sights (GI, accurized OR issue, Commander [either kind], commercial or whatever…). The sights can be the original M1911 sights issued in 1912, the later commercial sights, WWII issue sights, the new enhanced Colt sights, or Bo-Mars sunk into the slide… The only proviso is that the gun should be "approximately" sighted to hit the black on a Standard American Pistol target at 25 yds… Center-hold or 6 O'Clock sight picture doesn't seem to make any appreciable difference. Don't forget, the idea here is to hit a man-sized target "somewhere" at 100 yds (the x-ring ain't relevant in this case). The better your zero is, the tighter your groups will be of course, but first we've gotta' get you simply "hitting" the target! Tighter groups will come with practice.
The Target:
My "practice" 100 yd. target is based on a metal target cut out of 1/2" boiler plate using an old time IPSC target for a pattern. The standard military "E" target is just as good however. The dimensions of the military E target are 40" high by 20" wide and are supposed to represent the silhouette of a "kneeling man"… The metal silhouette make a very satisfying "bong" when it's hit and only needs an occasional touch of white anti-rust spray paint to keep it serviceable. Mine is just outside the back door, and I can step out and "bong" the target to my heart's content just to keep my hand in…
Ammunition:
Standard GI Ball works just fine, and that is one of the true beauties of this system. Hotter loads as described by Leatherneck are even easier to use of course, but issue "Hard Ball" is sufficient. Incidentally, GI Ball specs call for a 230-grain projectile leaving the muzzle at approximately 820 fps. I have chronographed issue GI Ball at velocities that ranged from 802 fps up through 900 fps over the years, but the system seems to work equally well with any of the tested velocities…
Now that the preliminaries are over, here's how I do it:
Simply use the old standard sight alignment as taught to our grandfathers down to the present day… place the front sight in the rear sight notch so that there is an equal amount of light on either side of the notch, and assure that the top of the front sight is even with the top of the rear sight… No need to use the "ladder method" as used by Keith or others (don't forget, this is one that you can take with you mentally, and works with almost any .45). Once your sights are aligned, simply place them in the middle of the silhouette and bring them up to the point that they stop with the sights perfectly (well, as perfectly as possible) just even with the top of the silhouette's head (obviously obscuring the view of the target). The trajectory of the .45 is such that it will drop into the center of the chest area of the target. It works!
Now a couple of refinements:
As you know, the standard rifling of the .45 has a left hand twist… I have found that if you perform the drill as assigned above, but "shade" the target slightly to the right (if you think of the target as a person facing you), you "favor" the sight alignment slightly towards the silhouette's left ear - (VERY slightly) and it will center your shots a bit more on the chest area of the target. It isn't really necessary, but it is a refinement that will center you up a bit by taking into account the slight drift of the projectile to the left at 100 yds.
As a "quick and dirty", if you are shooting a .357 Mag (with .357 loads of course) or a 10 mm (a great cartridge in the Colt Delta Elite with a Bar-Sto Barrel - the issue barrel sucks), you can hold about shoulder high or even a bit lower depending on the load.
The 9 mm seems to work at about shoulder height, but I haven't screwed around with that one too much as it seemed to be something of an affectation to try to hit your opponent with 9 mm ball at 100 yds… Better you should throw rocks!
At any rate, there it is, Culver's method of "Long Range .45 Employment" - no real tricks, and no trick sights or ammo… just what you have in your holster. If you don't hit 'em dead center, you can certainly make 'em dive for their holes!
Semper Fi,
Dick
Posted By: Dick Culver
Date: Saturday, 31 July 1999, at 3:57 p.m.
Dick Culiver was the creator of CSP (Culiver's Shooting Pages) that became Jouster. This is one of his posts in CSP.
100 YARD .45 SHOOTING…
OK folks, here's how I do it…
The Sights:
The neat thing is that it seems to work with literally ANY .45 sights (GI, accurized OR issue, Commander [either kind], commercial or whatever…). The sights can be the original M1911 sights issued in 1912, the later commercial sights, WWII issue sights, the new enhanced Colt sights, or Bo-Mars sunk into the slide… The only proviso is that the gun should be "approximately" sighted to hit the black on a Standard American Pistol target at 25 yds… Center-hold or 6 O'Clock sight picture doesn't seem to make any appreciable difference. Don't forget, the idea here is to hit a man-sized target "somewhere" at 100 yds (the x-ring ain't relevant in this case). The better your zero is, the tighter your groups will be of course, but first we've gotta' get you simply "hitting" the target! Tighter groups will come with practice.
The Target:
My "practice" 100 yd. target is based on a metal target cut out of 1/2" boiler plate using an old time IPSC target for a pattern. The standard military "E" target is just as good however. The dimensions of the military E target are 40" high by 20" wide and are supposed to represent the silhouette of a "kneeling man"… The metal silhouette make a very satisfying "bong" when it's hit and only needs an occasional touch of white anti-rust spray paint to keep it serviceable. Mine is just outside the back door, and I can step out and "bong" the target to my heart's content just to keep my hand in…
Ammunition:
Standard GI Ball works just fine, and that is one of the true beauties of this system. Hotter loads as described by Leatherneck are even easier to use of course, but issue "Hard Ball" is sufficient. Incidentally, GI Ball specs call for a 230-grain projectile leaving the muzzle at approximately 820 fps. I have chronographed issue GI Ball at velocities that ranged from 802 fps up through 900 fps over the years, but the system seems to work equally well with any of the tested velocities…
Now that the preliminaries are over, here's how I do it:
Simply use the old standard sight alignment as taught to our grandfathers down to the present day… place the front sight in the rear sight notch so that there is an equal amount of light on either side of the notch, and assure that the top of the front sight is even with the top of the rear sight… No need to use the "ladder method" as used by Keith or others (don't forget, this is one that you can take with you mentally, and works with almost any .45). Once your sights are aligned, simply place them in the middle of the silhouette and bring them up to the point that they stop with the sights perfectly (well, as perfectly as possible) just even with the top of the silhouette's head (obviously obscuring the view of the target). The trajectory of the .45 is such that it will drop into the center of the chest area of the target. It works!
Now a couple of refinements:
As you know, the standard rifling of the .45 has a left hand twist… I have found that if you perform the drill as assigned above, but "shade" the target slightly to the right (if you think of the target as a person facing you), you "favor" the sight alignment slightly towards the silhouette's left ear - (VERY slightly) and it will center your shots a bit more on the chest area of the target. It isn't really necessary, but it is a refinement that will center you up a bit by taking into account the slight drift of the projectile to the left at 100 yds.
As a "quick and dirty", if you are shooting a .357 Mag (with .357 loads of course) or a 10 mm (a great cartridge in the Colt Delta Elite with a Bar-Sto Barrel - the issue barrel sucks), you can hold about shoulder high or even a bit lower depending on the load.
The 9 mm seems to work at about shoulder height, but I haven't screwed around with that one too much as it seemed to be something of an affectation to try to hit your opponent with 9 mm ball at 100 yds… Better you should throw rocks!
At any rate, there it is, Culver's method of "Long Range .45 Employment" - no real tricks, and no trick sights or ammo… just what you have in your holster. If you don't hit 'em dead center, you can certainly make 'em dive for their holes!
Semper Fi,
Dick