Shooting AP at 5M Instead of 10M

[JerryX]

I'm getting back into air pistol after 20 years and a house move. At my former house I was able to set up a full 10M range with room to spare. In my new place, I can still squeeze in a 10M range, but it's awfully tight and I'd literally have my back to a wall.

What if I shoot at 5M instead at reduced-size targets? How much of a disadvantage would that put me if I then shoot matches at the regulation 10M distance?

[Rover]

Do you think 32' instead of 33' will make a real difference?

I'd rather do that than mess with 5 meters.

[holmqer]

I was shooting at 7m rather than 10m for 9 months until I changed things around at home a month ago. Once I did, my 10m competition scores began to climb. Not a huge difference but noticeable.

Another improvement is I now no longer have to adjust my sights for distance, I was always adjusting them up and down for distance, I can now just leave them set up for 10m. From a practical perspective it is easier to just buy 10m targets than it is to get/make 5m targets.

I suspect the other poster is right, just shoot at 32 feet and you cant tell the difference.

[Zeddsded]

I shoot NSRA 6 yard targets in the house and 10m targets at the club. My aim point is pretty much identical so there's no need to mess with sight adjustments.

Indeed, following a few days shooting 6 yards, I find that my aim 'appears' steadier at 10m than 6 yards. I suspect that the larger black creates the illusion of less hand movement.

Incidentally my scores at 6 yards and 10m are very similar.

[Andre]

I shoot 5 and 10m AP. USA 50 target, 5.6 meters. Ignore the scoring rings, just shoot tens!

[Neon21]

I have a similar situation currently since I'm just planning my house and in the standard design, I have 8.88m from one wall to the other.
Now 0.9m will be ok for me to stand, leaving 8m to the wall (reducing by the backstop about 10cm) I'll have about 7.5m to 8m disctance to the target.

Will this have any impact? It's only 2meters and I think I'll go with the usual targets since they are very cheap and good..

[holmqer]

I shot standard 10m targets at 7m at home for 10 months from when I first picked up an AP taking my score from 70% to 90% at that range, where I seem to have hit a plateau. I had tried 10m once at the local range range early on and was shooting 50%. Once the 10m AP league started, my scores had jumped to 80% and I ended the AP season with an 82% average with having only shot 10m targets at regulation distance maybe 20 times.

I finally managed to re-arrange things at home and now just a week ago got set up so that standing in my basement, I can shoot a target in my garage at 10m, so I can finally practice at home at regulation distance.

My summer .22 pistol league last year wrapped up with me shooting 33%. With only 7m AP shooting at 10m targets for a couple months until the winter league started, my scores started off in the 60% range, so it had a dramatic good effect on my .22 shooting.

So you can improve a lot shooting standard targets at closer than regulation range.

I am not sure why this is, but some posters indicate that they don't have to adjust their elevation when switching between close range and 10m, while I have to adjust my IZH 46M 10 clicks down when I move from 7m to 10m so apparently my sight geometry has the pellet still rising at 7m, so I shoot high at 10m.

Because of this constant adjustment, I tended to avoid practice at the local range just due to the annoyance to fiddling with the sights and sometime forgetting where I left them.

[3006]

A long time ago an internationally competitive shooter told me;

"If you can't shoot a one hole group at 5m, then you certainly can't shoot a one hole group at 10m."

He was spot on, the execution of the shot is identical regardless of the distance.

So it come down to the standard you set for acceptable group size at the shorter distance. If you can consistently shoot sub 10mm groups at 5m, then you will also achieve respectable results at the longer distance!