new sig p226 stainless elite .40 shooting like crap.. what do i do?

yup. the gun is defected. send it over to me and I will use it as door stop. :p

just kidding.. try to lock your wrist, hold a perfect isosceles stance AND #### the hammer to shoot single action first. squeeze the trigger evenly AND slow down.

since you said at 20 yard is low and left, 10 is off paper, I think you shot fast and flinched

I put quite a few rounds down range today with miserable results. At first I thought it was shooting way down and left at 20 yards, so I moved it to 10 yards and no joke, out of a full box, I had 9 on the entire 16"x16" target, supported on a bench.

For a $1400 gun, it seems like it should at least be able to group at 5 or 6 inches from ten yards, even with blazer brass.

Anyone got any idea what's going wrong here? Should I be trying to get my money back or something I can adjust somehow. I'm pretty set on keeping it if there's something I can do. Thanks
 
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My experience was P226's in .40 are very hard to shoot well {as an inexperienced shooter}. High bore axis combined with snappiness of the .40 makes for a very difficult gun to control without pushing. How many pistols have you owned and shot extensively? I ended up getting a Grand Power in 9mm that I shoot groups half the size of the both my P226 and Norinco NP40 (in fact, the NP40 shot better for me strangely). It also allowed me to develop my skills more successfully than with the .40.
 
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My experience was P226's in .40 are very hard to shoot well. High bore axis combined with snappiness of the .40 makes for a very difficult gun to control without pushing. How many pistols have you owned and shot extensively? I ended up getting a Grand Power in 9mm that I shoot groups half the size of the both my P226 and Norinco NP40 (in fact, the NP40 shot better for me strangely). It also allowed me to develop my skills more successfully than with the .40.

I prefer the high bore axis of the P226 in 9mm, but for 40 I prefer the HK USP or a Beretta 96. I had an Xchange kit for my P226 and didn't shoot badly but I shoot much better with my USP in 40.

If anyone is recoil sensitive, I can't stress enough the light recoil of the Beretta 92/96. If you don't have med/large hands, all of the pistols I mentioned probably aren't a good fit for you.
 
It's my first handgun, but I understand how to line up sights and breathing, moving slow etc. As soon as I load it's in the light cocked trigger pull so I'm not squeezing too hard. I'll toss another few boxes down range and try some different things I guess. I'm a pretty big strong guy and the recoil feels like nothingz so I'm not too sure that's a major factor here
 
Print and hang this.

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you're welcome!
 
First problem is you bought a sig should of got a CZ75.. All jokes aside 40 isn't the best choice for a first handgun maby if you can afford it get a 22 and work on some fundamentals you can develop some bad habits starting on a snappy pistol.
 
Learning to shoot a pistol is not easy. It is the most difficult of the firearm arts, and you have crippled yourself by going to a high powered cartridge and expecting to do well immediately. Put the Sig away, find a 22, learn the basics, and when you can average 70% on the NRA target at 25 yards, you may be able to go back to a centerfire gun. Forty years of competition experience tells me there is no one on this planet who could pick up a 40 and shoot an excellent score without having put in the time to achieve competency. When the brass is hip deep around you might be there.
 
If you are shooting a 6'oclock hold you will be hitting low. POI is the front sight dot....put it over what you want to hit.
Also let someone experienced shoot it...
 
^Well maybe you are not a newb to handguns like me :) I should've included that disclaimer. The 226 platform in .40 was also my first handgun, and I realized that I personally will do better in the long run with a different caliber/platform to learn fundamentals instead of trying to pound through it with it. I didn't care for a .22, so I went to 9mm. Others' experiences may not be the same.

OP, it's not about how strong you are or the perceived recoil, believe me I'm not a little guy. I was in the exact same position as you, getting frustrated after months and even buying a second one (norinco and a sig). The best thing I did was sold them off for the time. Maybe someday if I become a better shooter I will pick one up again, but I couldn't be happier with my choice to switch. I now own a GP 9mm, an Armco tuned Norinco 1911 .45 and a S&W 586, and Im confident and competent @ 25 yards with any of those.
 
^Well maybe you are not a newb to handguns like me :) I should've included that disclaimer. The 226 platform in .40 was also my first handgun, and I realized that I personally will do better in the long run with a different caliber/platform to learn fundamentals instead of trying to pound through it with it. I didn't care for a .22, so I went to 9mm. Others' experiences may not be the same.

OP, it's not about how strong you are or the perceived recoil, believe me I'm not a little guy. I was in the exact same position as you, getting frustrated after months and even buying a second one (norinco and a sig). The best thing I did was sold them off for the time. Maybe someday if I become a better shooter I will pick one up again, but I couldn't be happier with my choice to switch. I now own a GP 9mm, an Armco tuned Norinco 1911 .45 and a S&W 586, and Im confident and competent @ 25 yards with any of those.

Thanks for that. And everyone else as well. I'll have to come out to idpa at my range and get some help before I make any decsions about selling such a beauty gun
 
learning to shoot a pistol is not easy. It is the most difficult of the firearm arts, and you have crippled yourself by going to a high powered cartridge and expecting to do well immediately. Put the sig away, find a 22, learn the basics, and when you can average 70% on the nra target at 25 yards, you may be able to go back to a centerfire gun. Forty years of competition experience tells me there is no one on this planet who could pick up a 40 and shoot an excellent score without having put in the time to achieve competency. When the brass is hip deep around you might be there.

this!!
 
It'll take a while to master that gun, in that caliber - however the odds are overwhelming that it's you and not the gun. Shooting a handgun is not a particularly easy thing to do.

I took a guy from work to the range - he said he had military experience in the former Yugoslavia. He shot extremely well with the rifle, when it came to the pistol - all he got back was targets he could reuse again :p He never shot a pistol before, only his issued rifle.

It's not easy. Whole different ball game.
 
I took a guy from work to the range - he said he had military experience in the former Yugoslavia. He shot extremely well with the rifle, when it came to the pistol - all he got back was targets he could reuse again :p He never shot a pistol before, only his issued rifle.

It's not easy. Whole different ball game.

Yep :)
 
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