NRA outdoor Bullseye matches.....
An NRA 2700 match has three gun divisions with 90 shots fired.....each gun division follows the same format: slow fire at 50 yards, a National Match course, timed fire at 25 yards, and rapid fire at 25 yards. All shooting is done using only one hand.
The gun divisions are .22, Center fire of choice, and the .45acp division. To my knowledge, there has never been a restriction on using a 9mm for the centerfire division in Bullseye, but the 9mm was not very accurate until they started making barrels that allowed the 9mm round to headspace on the case mouth....which greatly enhanced accuracy.....a well built 1911 9mm has the potential to shoot tighter groups than a 1911 .45acp round at 50 yards.
I don't bench handguns since that's pointless in my mind and ammo used doesn't matter at these close of distances unless it's absurdly horrible then it would induce ammo related errors. At only 25 yards it's all user error, at 100 I switch to +P 185g ammo with low velocity spread round to round since it's hard enough at that range without the ammo screwing up holdover.
To each their own, however, I always test my reloads for accuracy at 20-25 yards using some type of rest to eliminate human error..... I shot NRA Bullseye for over ten years and having very accurate ammo for 50 yard shooting was essential.....so we tested various .45acp loads and powder choices at 50 yards in a Ransom Rest to find the best shooting powder and bullet combination. It was not uncommon to find different lot numbers of the same brand of powder that did not shoot as well as a different lot # of the same powder. Once we found an accurate 50 yard powder choice we ordered 8 lb. kegs direct from the factory.....
My .38 super self defense gun will shoot a 5-shot group just under three inches from a sandbag rest at 50 yards. I have no idea what distance I may need to shoot to defend myself, however,
I would rather have a very accurate handgun for ANY distance!
I once tested my .38 super using 125 gr. JHP bullets at 1,300 fps from the muzzle compared to my 1911 5" .45acp using 230 gr FMJ (hardball) ammo at a 100 yard USPSA target. All shots were fired from a sandbag rest and both guns had iron sights. Using the middle of the torso as the aiming point, the shots using the .38 super were at the bottom of the target, and the .45acp rounds did not hit the target.....so I stapled up two targets stacked on top of each other and repeated the test. The .45acp loads were on average 18" lower at 100 yards than the hot .38super loads.....the good news was the flatter shooting .38super loads all hit the target at 100 yards using a center torso hold..... If I were ever faced in a self defense situation, and the distance was greater than 50 yards, I would seek cover and use ANY rest available to prevent human error.....I know my gun and ammo is capable out to 100 yards......if I am up to the task! :rock: