Which distance to practice from?

I have just bought a 6 inch 686 revolver. I traded in a 4 inch model and have been practicing since. I was surprised at how different my scores were, expecting tighter groups, instead they were spread across the target. Our competitions are shot from 25 yards, then 15 then 10 yards. The latter two distances are reasonable but it’s the 25 yard line that needs fixing. The revolver is zeroed to 25; reasonably, but standing, two hands, is the issue. Would practice from 10 or 15 help or would it be of no help, if 25 yards is where I need the high scores?

A few questions to consider...

• Can you see the front sight just as clearly in focus with the 6" barrel as you could with the 4"?
  
• If you dry-fire at a white wall, do the front/rear sights "wiggle" more than they used to?
  
• Is the rear sight held securely in place, or does it "wiggle" when you try to move it around?
  
• If you're shooting it two handed, where are your thumbs?  Do you grip it exactly the same as with the 4"
  
• The new gun will be heavier towards the front, so now you are holding up a heavier weight.  Does it "feel" heavier?
  
• Is the ammo the same ammo you were shooting before?
  
• Can you post photos of your groups at 10, 15, and 25 yards?
  
• Does your group size increase in proportion to the distance?  How large are the groups at each distance?
  
• Have you tried shooting from a rest?  If so, what part of the gun is supported?
  
• Are you shooting indoors, or outdoors, and if outdoors, could the wind be a factor?
  

Conventional precision pistol is a 50 yard and 25 yard distance event.  50 yard even ar slowfire only and requires the most precision.  However, it only is one-third of the total score.  25 yards is timed fire and rapid fire (which only change 5 shot time limits) but contribute two-thirds of the score.  To that end, I concentrate on shooting at 25 yards.  Rapid-fire paced two shot drills.  Occasional warmups at 25 yards shot slowfire.  I’ll sometimes use a 25 yard slowfire target but almost as often shoot it on a 25 yard T&R center (B-.  If the shot is an X it will score a 10 at 50, a mid 10 will be a 9 and a 9 at 25 will be an 8.  
So almost all of my training is at 25 yards.

No matter the match, generally within ones class, gaining a point at the longer distances is usually more than twice as good for your overall placement than getting getting a point better at the shorter distances.  Look at the scores, most shooters drop more points at the long line (more available points to gain against the total for each target); and the scores are closer together (not than many more point to get against the total points for each target) at the short line.  

Basically you win the match at the long line and only lose it at the short line if you screw up more than average.  

And the better one is at the long line, the better overall shooter you will be, especially at the short line.

CR

I’m getting it. So it’s your score at 25 yards that will win or loose a match. With the 6” barrel it felt good but the score didn’t match up to my expectations. I’m using the same ammo, but the new gun does have a competition hammer and trigger, Target Champion, so maybe it’s my trigger finger. At 25 I use double action.

nagantino wrote:At 25 I use double action.

Why?  If you're better at single-action, which is likely why go to double-action, which makes the gun even more difficult for non-experts to shoot it well?  Try both ways, and see which gives you better results. I suspect that alone will make you better.

There is a method I've heard of- 
Stand at the distance that you shoot 10's consistently- maybe 5 yds, 10, or 15.
Get used to shooting 10's.
Slowly increase the distance until you're shooting 10's consistently.
Sounds easy doesn't it?
Requires:
1) Time
2) Ammo
3) Patience
4) Discipline