I'm such a rookie at pistols . . .
- Thread starter Grouse Man
- Start date
Depends on the kind of shooting you're doing. Bowling pins and IPSC/IDPA are mostly shot at 7 yards. Bullseye target shooting at 25 and 50 yards.
If you're completely new at it, shoot bullseye at 25 yards. You need to learn sight picture, breathing and trigger control first.
If you're completely new at it, shoot bullseye at 25 yards. You need to learn sight picture, breathing and trigger control first.
first starting out would be whatever range you can see where your shots are going- typically 7-10 yards- once you gain trigger control, feel, and proper sight picture then you can move back- if you start out at 25 or 50 , you're going to miss a lot and any you do get you won't be able to duplicate with any regularity, which is the name of the game- in other words, plain lucky- there are exceptions to this of course- some are natural shots, just as therre are some that play piano by ear well, but for the rest of us that have to learn the notes and timing, this is the way it's done- short yardage, stance, sight picture, breath control, trigger, recoil if there's any, repeat
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Start at a distance where all your shots land on the target paper. Practice at that distance until all of your groups get small, how small depends on how accurate you want to be. Once you think they're small enough, move the target further back. Repeat.
Well they're all on the 8-1/2 by 11" paper at 25 yards, and almost all are in the black part of the '100 yd military target' I'm using. I guess that is as good a range as any to stay at and work on my marksmanship. Does anybody have any scans/photos of what kind of accuracy they're getting with their CZ-75s?
I remember the Level I Handgun course I took (a while back). I had shot some on my own at 20 yards at an indoor range where you couldn't get closer. It was ok but I didn't have consistency and I wasn't sure if the good shots were a fluke or planned. My instructer had me start at 10 feet. Yes, that close. When I had confidence that I was hitting where I was aiming he moved me back until my shots were grouping well at 25 yards. Not always on the bulls eye but the groups were good. That is the only way to start. Build confidence, know that you are hitting where you aim and move back. Tight groupings are good, then it's just a matter of moving them nearer the center of the target. Experienced shooters will always appreciate that you are working on the basics and likely be helpful (but hopefully not overly so).
Mike
How old are you?
I used to do all my shooting at 25yds. The front sight is getting hard to see these days.
I still try at 25 but 10 yards is fun for multiple target shooting.
How old are you?
I used to do all my shooting at 25yds. The front sight is getting hard to see these days.
I still try at 25 but 10 yards is fun for multiple target shooting.
Are you talking about me
Same as you, I only shoot 15 yards. Nothing can beat a pair of ageing eyes.Trigun
start by shooting at a one inch circle from 3 yards. if that's too easy, move back to 5, then 7, then 10 and so on. if you choose to start at 20-25 yards and can't hit ####-all, it may be tough to diagnose the problem (which will likely be you to some extent).
start close. and slooooooooow.
start close. and slooooooooow.
I find that shooting at 50 yards is really good for letting me reuse targets over and over again. I'd stick with 25 yards.
uhhhhhhhhh ok. you do know that paper is far cheaper than ammo right? if you shoot at 50 yards just to save targets (which indicates some accuracy troubles you need to deal with), you are definitely in a different league.
i think he was making a joke about not hitting the targets often enough
The only problem with starting close enough that you can see the holes in the target is..people have a tendency to stare at the target instead of the front sight when they shoot.
This creates all kinds of problems.
The distance you shoot at isn't that important. What is important is grip, sight picture, trigger control and breathing.
If you master those you will shoot consistent good groups.
The range you shoot at will affect where that group is on the target if you are shooting at a distance.
I'd start at 15 yards. You shouldn't be able to see where the rounds are hitting but it's not that far to walk to check your target.
Plus at 15 yards you should be able to hit paper regardless of how you are shooting.
This creates all kinds of problems.
The distance you shoot at isn't that important. What is important is grip, sight picture, trigger control and breathing.
If you master those you will shoot consistent good groups.
The range you shoot at will affect where that group is on the target if you are shooting at a distance.
I'd start at 15 yards. You shouldn't be able to see where the rounds are hitting but it's not that far to walk to check your target.
Plus at 15 yards you should be able to hit paper regardless of how you are shooting.
That was before my coffee kicked in.
What I was trying to do is point out the problems that will occur if you start shooting at a close distance when you are first learning to shoot a handgun.
If you apply the basics of shooting a handgun (grip,sight picture, trigger control/ follow through), it won't matter what distance you shoot at. Although when you are back at 25-50 yards then other factors will come into play regarding your group.
That is why I suggested 15 yards. Not close enough for you to see where your rounds are hitting and cause you to stare at the target and not far enough away that bullet drop or poor trigger control, grip etc will cause you to miss paper completely.
I've been an small arms instructor for going on 15 years and it's provided me with the opportunity to observe a lot of shooters and what works and what doesn't.
Our recert course of fire starts at 7 yards and every time I run the course there is at least 1 shooter that stares at the target instead of their front sight because they can see where their rounds are hitting. So instead of applying the above mentioned principles, they use "Kentucky windage" to try and hit the x ring.
That is one thing a lot of people have a hard time getting their head around...the purpose of applying the "marksmanship principles" is to shoot a tight group consistently, not shoot the center out of the target.
Once you can shoot tight groups consistently in the same spot on the target, then you adjust the sights to bring the MPI onto the x ring.
