Ok so here is the sittiation. My gun is a tc contender in 357 max, 10 inch MGM barrel, Burris 2x scope in leupold dovetails.

I was trying to compare some loads today at 50 yards and was playing hell shooting consistent groups. I can hold my own with a rifle, but long eye relief, only 2x magnification.. It's just strange for me. I don't have a good rest.. I'm shooting from a sturdy table with a home made front rest (just a flat, padded rest about 6 inches off the table top) an a rear sand sock. I'm gripping the pistol as lightly as possible and doing my best to be steady with it, but my results are inconsistent.

For example with the same load I shot three consecutive 3 shot groups measuring .568, 1.303 (pulled first shot, .502 for the other two) and exactly one inch.

Another load gave groups of .977, .586, and 1.589.

I don't get it. Do I just need to buy a good rest and shoot enough to get familiar or are there any little tips and tricks i dont know?

Thanks guys!!

As you've discovered, shooting a handgun is very different than shooting a rifle but a 1" group at 50 yards with a straight-walled cartridge isn't too bad. Whether you grip the gun lightly or firmly doesn't matter as much as consistency. To get good groups the gun has to recoil the same every time and you'll find that it has a different POI from the bench than it will if you're shooting off-handed, for example. Interfering with the grip in recoil will usually string the shots vertically as will resting the front of the gun on a hard surface. Don't rest the butt of the grip on the rear bag, instead rest your wrists on the rear bag and let the gun recoil more freely. You have to be cognizant of putting downward pressure on the front of the gun too as that will also give inconsistent groups.

I usually use the bench for checking inherent accuracy of the load and to get it "roughly" zeroed. After I'm satisfied, I start shooting from field shooting positions to fine-tune my zero and perfect the field shooting. You may find this article of interest Field Shooting Positions. There is rarely a bench available when you're hunting.

The contender can also be a little sensitive to where you rest the forearm. Sometimes it's better to rest on the front of the frame instead of the front grip. Like Gary said bench accuracy is only good when you have a bench to shoot from. Another thing I found when trying to shoot groups is to shoot from the distance the parallax is adjusted for. I had a hard time shooting at standard targets with the low power scopes at 100 yards but started printing some myself with a large diamond and I could aim at the tip of the diamond a lot better than a circle bull. All that said those aren't bad groups and should only get better as you get more experience shooting a scoped handgun.

Thanks guys. I suppose the thing to do at this point would be... Just load up as many rounds as I can and shoot the crap out of it for the next month and a half before hunting season.

Iv hunted all my life (im only 20 so I have nothing on a lot of you) and my longest shot to date was a wopping 82 yards, with nearly all the others being at or inside of 30 lol.

So I believe il just take your advice and get to practicing from field positions.

The above answers are good solid advise with respect to your technique, however have you considered your ammunition? Maybe you simply haven't found the sweet spot and the varying group sizes are partially the result of your Max not liking the particular bullet/powder/primer combo you have.

Do you have access to a chrono? this will help tell the story with the ammo. Wild spreads in speed and a large SD tends to cause groups to open up....not always but more often than not.

Also what load(s) have you shot so far. There are a number of guys on here that either have or had .357Max guns and may be able to shed some light on some more stable loads for your max.

I don"t know what accuracy you are looking for, but the groups you listed are not bad at all, practice and a good handload will have you cutting the same hole at 50 yards, don"t give up you are in good hands.

Thanks for the replies guys.

In reguards to the loads iv used, I believe the flaw there is my bullets. I'm loading 158 grain JHPs with IMR 4227. I believe it will do better with 180 grain pills. Iv tested from 20.5-22.5 grains in .5 incriments with about the same results for all, with 21.5-22.5 doing maybe slightly better.

I thought if the problem was with my loads I'd just get bad groups rather than inconsitant groups?

I prefer a firm grip. The grip is the weak link in handguning, and must be exactly the same from shot to shot. I use the same hold on the bags as off.

I have been doing some experimenting the last year with different holds on my contender for accuracy. Two things I have found that had biggest change was my grip and trigger pull. I find a firm grip is best because it is more consistent. The placement of my finger on the trigger helped. Try different finger placement on trigger. Another factor with shooting better groups to me was the target. A plan black round center target was not as good as the sight in targets with the one inch squares and open area in middle to line up cross hairs. One more help is adjusting the trigger pull to light but safe weight. Good luck.

The best way to tighten your groups and improve your shooting skills is too shoot alot under field conditions as Gary suggested. I suggest you buy a 22 rimfire barrel and shoot as often as you can. Iron sights or scope it will help you.

Practice Practice Practice! It will all come together one day. But as was said your groups aren't bad. Your almost there!
Rupe