[danf6975]

accuracy is a combination of ammo gun circumstance and user not just caliber.

so you will have to narrow things down a bit or you will get a lot of situational info

 

[wbrow173]

I say 40SW or 45ACP

at further ranges the 40sw an 45acp where found to be highly inaccurate compared to the lower recoil rounds... it also had a much heavier bullet drop

 

[wbrow173]

I haven't heard much about them, but I would bet that those 5.7mm FN's are pretty accurate. Other than that, i would say .22 LR fired out of a match pistol.

5.7x28mm was rated number one at further ranges and had lower bullet drop then any of its competitors... it is a rifle round in a pistol platform to be fair though

 

[reverendg]

How about a semiautomatic like the desert eagle with a fixed barrel. Chamber and barrel are identical for every shot.

 

[neophyte]

wbrow173: Sir; stop by Introduction

share a few words about yourself

Thanks,
Craig

 

[mouser868]

WOW, this is a zombie thread, but going with the OP's question, the answer would depend on a lot of things. Number one being the person doing the shooting. Two matching the ammo to the gun, seeing what the pistol likes best. Three, training in stressful situations, just to name a few.

As an example, Dad and I shooting his contender using the load he worked up for it. He can shoot 1/8 inch groups at 25 yards, and the best I can do is 1/2 inch groups with it.

 

[Captain O]

The .32 S&W Long in an Olympic self-loading pistol was (and is) still "king-of-the-hill" in target circles. They can still shoot rings around the .38 S&W Special. Shooting wadcutters, these pistols are still exceptionally accurate.

 

[Dutch]

Unfortunately the 9mm is just not an inherently accurate round. It's primary advantage is being compact, yet powerful enough to be a man stopper. As such it was picked up by the police force to replace the 38 special (the 9mm is considered to be ballistically superior to the .38 as well).
Almost any necked cartridge will be more accurate then a strait-walled, so the 9mm is still going to be beat out by better designed cartridges.

I picked up a Colt Officers in 9mm a few years back and it's extremely accurate. It might be my most accurate pistol right now. So...maybe I should walk my statement back some.

Or maybe I'll make an incredibly bold claim and just say my .50 AE MKXIX is the most accurate pistol I own, and therefore the most accurate pistol cartridge available. Period. Hands down. Unquestionably. Granted, it groups like crap on paper, but it rings steel like a boss...

 

[RetiredFreedomfighter]

Mine is 38 Super.

 

[PaleHawkDown]

Most accurate? I'd think 7.63 Mauser, 7.62 Tok, or 5.7 x28 would be the most accurate. I don't have personal experience with the 5.7, but the other two are accurate enough to score consistently on a rifle clanger at 100 yards out of semi-auto pistols.

Most effective is a little subjective, and would really depend on the gun and the circumstance. An SAA in 45 Colt was government-tested to take a man off a horse at 50 yards, or a horse from under a man at 100. At the other end, various mouse guns were common for government assassinations in the Cold War. Dead is dead, and, circumstantially, neither is more effective than the other. Neither is a great idea for most normal circumstances.
As of right now, I think the CZ75 and its derivatives is the most effective combat pistol in operation today. Even if we were to all agree on that point (and I doubt we would), there's still the argument of caliber. A CZ97 or 75B in 45 ACP for "knockdown" or one of the 9x19 ones for capacity - argue among yourselves. You could also split the difference and go with the 9x21 IMI version, but good luck finding ammo.


Best performing? That's a combination of the two , so there's no real one answer...but now that I think about it, a CZ platform firing the 9 IMI sounds pretty cool.
The platform is pretty accurate, the 9 IMI is a good compromise between the submachine gun-esque cartridges at the "blazing speed and accuracy" end of the spectrum, and the knockdown end of the spectrum.

Practicality is the biggest negative.

NOTABLE MENTIONS:
SIG P210 in 30 Luger Carbine: That typically ranks among the world's most accurate semi-auto pistols. And it is basically a scaled-up MAS 1935 which is typically ranked among the elite of historical combat arms. It is unweildy, that spec ammo is practically unobtainable, and even in 9mm it is not practical.

Tokarev TT-33 or CZ-52 - Plenty of power, good accuracy, but all sorts of limitations