More Accurate at different distances?

[mcmmotorsports]

I know this is a NOOB question, but could my XD9 be more accurate at 40 feet than 30 feet? I had more success today at the longer distance.

[Wren-Ro 'V']

Evidently, the accuracy, issortof dependnt upon the length of the barrel because after that bullet leaves the first 5 inches of the barrel it's free air.

Nonetheless,

Accuracy is very dependant upon ones personal skill though a 5" barrel will be beneficial for those long range shots.--

Unfortunately, after unloading 14 or so full 9mm magazines very, slowly at an outdoor range eventually, I realized that the #18 was useful when shooting, well rapid firing 9mm shots when it can to recoil with my tac, and it definitely was worth spending the extra $25 on ammunition to realize this.

Dangerously,
John

[malkore]

were you high/low? or right/left?

because high/low can be attributed to distance, but left/right is the shooter (assuming your sights are centered correctly on the slide)

10 feet isn't alot of room for the tragectory to change...so I am inclined to think its you, not the gun.

[Tempest]

No.

Bullets leave the barrel in a more or less cone shape pattern. This is physical law. The further away you are from the target, the larger the pattern will be. This is of course assuming that a machine is holding the gun, not a human with flawed perception (like we all have).

I have found that sometimes I do better at longer ranges, also. This has nothing to do with the gun. Rather IMHO, I perceive a more difficult target, so am concentrating harder to make a shot. Add to this the possible confluence of sights/lighting/target/color/etc. that might make sighting at a particular distance easier.

It's you, not the gun.

[JD McDorce]

Originally Posted by Tempest

Bullets leave the barrel in a more or less cone shape pattern. This is physical law. The further away you are from the target, the larger the pattern will be. This is of course assuming that a machine is holding the gun, not a human with flawed perception (like we all have).

While I do not disagree with what you are saying, you may be venturing into the age old difference between accuracy and precision. It is certainly expected that the pattern generated by a series of shots increases with distance. However, this is reflective of a decrease in precision. It largely depends on what mcmmotorsports means by accurate. If it is shooting 4 inch groups at 30 feet and 3 inch groups at 40 feet, it is most likely reflective of a shooter anomaly (and is technically indicative of precision). If the groups are centered 3 inches high at 30 feet and centered on the center of the target at 40 feet, the point of aim versus point of impact relationship comes into play and technically falls into the category of accuracy.

[Wren-Ro 'V']

I try to shoot tight groups of 3 at 30 feet with my 3" sub compact though I haven't been sucessful lately unless I really concentrate and ignore the others noise which disturbs me rather easily.

Precision and Accuracy are interchangeable words although they do have different definitions which are defined by a persons own understanding of the words though accuracy seems to deal more with measurements that match the actual value of the quantity being measured.

[btadamsdvd]

Originally Posted by Wren-Ro 'V'

I try to shoot tight groups of 3 at 30 feet with my 3" sub compact though I haven't been sucessful lately unless I really concentrate and ignore the others noise which disturbs me rather easily.

I understand what you mean. I was having difficulty placing the shots correctly, but that was partly due to a shooter next to me using a M1 Garand. It definitely did not help the concentration level any. As far as a target that is farther being easier to hit, it's certainly possible but as was said earlier is most likely due to concentrating harder. And even so, 30-40 feet is not very much in the scheme of things.