Reasonable accuracy expectations from a BB gun?

[BackyardAirgunner]

Hi everyone! And happy new year!

I have quite a few BB pistols which I use mostly to plink. I used to shoot mostly at water bottles, sized about 2.5 inches wide by about 6 inches tall (~6cm x 15cm). Those I could hit consistently at a distance of about 15 ft (5 meters) up to like 25 ft (8 meters) with some of the higher powered ones.

Now I decided to invest in proper metal targets since I kept running out of bottles. I got a couple of those self-resetting swing targets. One has two target sizes, about 0.8 inch (2cm) and 1.2 inch (3cm) in diameter, and the other has a 1.8 inch (4.5cm) target diameter.

At the same distances as before, I fail to hit almost every time the 0.8 and 1.2 inch targets. The 1.8 inch one I can roughly hit about half the time. A few things make it hard, for example the iron sights start obscuring the targets almost entirely. If I stand closer at about 10 ft (3m) then it becomes a lot more consistent.

So, with that context in mind, here's the question. Assuming, in an ideal world with very good BBs, air pistol and perfect aiming, is it a realistic expectation that out of a BB pistol I'd manage to hit any of the target sizes mentioned above consistently at a range of 15 or even 25, 30 feet? Or that's just beyond the capabilities of a BB pistol?

I want to hear from the experience of people here, since some have many years doing this. While me, on the other hand, have like a year of not very consistent shooting 

Thanks everyone!

[Frank in Fairfield]

BBs or pellets?
If BBs, the first thing you need are good quality safety glasses and try not to shoot at surfaces where the BB can rebound..
BB competitions are normally shot at 5 meters by youth in the USA.
At that distance they will exactly at point of aim.

Pellets are a different story.

[BackyardAirgunner]

BBs or pellets?
If BBs, the first thing you need are good quality safety glasses and try not to shoot at surfaces where the BB can rebound..
BB competitions are normally shot at 5 meters by youth in the USA.
At that distance they will exactly at point of aim.

Pellets are a different story.

Yes, the question is specifically about BBs and BBs only. I've been using Air Venturi's Dust Devils since these targets are solid steel.

That's very interesting to hear, though. What kind of BB airguns are used for competitions? The only I recall having seen in a store at least was a Daisy rifle, but I am curious about BB pistols, specifically.

Now, I am not interested in knowing which BB pistol is the most accurate, or their use cases, or things like that. Mostly in theory, if you grab a shooter that has good aim, good quality BBs, and a good BB air pistol, not something you'd order for $10 bucks on a dubious online retailer, what are reasonable target sizes and distances you could hit them from consistenly?

[Iowa airguner]

Safety glasses are no joke. When I was a kid a BB hit me in the face about an inch below my eye. I got lucky. I was shooting a Coke bottle and it came right back.


I have found BB going s ti be pretty accurate. Out to 20-25 feet past that they go wild. But from 15 feet I can hold a one inch group with a Red Ryder.

[SILENT SQUIRREL]

What part of "broadside of a barn" don't you understand?

If you are close enough, that is.

[farrlarr]

Safety glasses are no joke. When I was a kid a BB hit me in the face about an inch below my eye. I got lucky. I was shooting a Coke bottle and it came right back.

Note that he is using frangible BBs (Air Venturi's Dust Devils as OP noted in reply #2, above) so safety glasses are probably not absolutely essential.  It is still a good idea to use them anytime one is shooting anything, however.

[eeler1]

“accurate bb gun” is an oxymoron.  For the most part.

[Back_Roads]

 Anything better than a 2" group is a tack driver

[Van]

  The most accurate BB pistol I have is this Daisy 1200 CO2 gun I bought at an estate sale for $12.  I shot it again today at 15' and this was my best target group of 8 shots.  Inside the garage at 60 degrees seated from a rest.  I pulled a few on two other targets that was on me.  Even then most were in the center ring.  The thing shoots over 500fps in warm weather and 480 today in a cool garage. The adjustable target style rear sights really help. Further out it never fails to tear up a tin can for plinking fun.  I don't know if all of them shoot this good, but this old one was in like new condition. It feels in the hand like my Ruger Mark 1 .22 Long Rifle with target sights.

[Xun]

The Umarex S&W M29 8-inch barrel is probably one of the most accurate BB handguns, thanks to its great build quality and the fixed sights, which aren't mounted on a moving slide.

Shooting from a rested position at a distance of 6 meters (~20ft), my groups were about 1 inch. Keep in mind, that this was with a 12-shot group; a 5-shot grouping would be significantly tighter.

[Doug Wall]

I have tested a LOT of BB pistols for Hard Air Magazine. You can go through the reviews there to see the 5 yard test targets. Inch and a half is good accuracy for 5 yards. Don’t even think of shooting regular BBs at hard steel targets at close range!!! They WILL bounce back! The power of BB pistols is so low (about 2 FPE at most), that even the frangible BBs might not reliably break apart. Make yourself some lightweight targets out of something like milk jugs, and make sure that your backdrop doesn’t have anything hard .

[Van]

   I like to shoot at a cardboard box filled with old rags that I tape a shoot and see target to.  You can recover the BBs and reuse.