What to do about Glock? Or my shooting?

RabbitTeeth

RabbitTeeth

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I picked up a Glock 48 MOS before the handgun freeze, and couldn't shoot it worth #### at 15 yards. Half the time, the shots would be 3 inches to the left and 3 inches down, and half the time it would hit right on target. I've shot a lot of pistols in the last 35 years, and carried one for a long time in the late 90's (legal in the country I lived in at the time). All were hammer fired pistols - Beretta 92FS, Sig P226 and clones, Tokarevs, and many 1911 variants.

For what it's worth, I can easily get all 10 rounds out of a P226 or 1911 into a 3 inch grouping at 15 yards if I take my time, but can't do better than 8 inch grouping with the Glock 48 no matter what I do. Meanwhile my buddies had a go and could shoot it just fine, so it's not a defective pistol. The problem is with me.

So there's something that I'm not "getting", but even 500 rounds later, it's still the same problem. There's a noticeable take-up in the trigger before it fires, and it's not crisp. I figure maybe I'm just squeezing the trigger incorrectly? Also, the trigger somehow pinches my trigger finger in the middle of the recoil phase. I am confused and frustrated.

Do you guys have any tips for shooting Glocks? The only way I can get 3 out of 5 shots on target is by using the second joint of my trigger finger instead of the first joint. Pretty sure that's completely wrong to do but I'm grasping at whatever seems to work.
 
I hear ya. I finally got my 19X out to the range and completely hated it. Put in a Timney Alpha comp trigger. WOW What a difference. I love shooting it now. Worth every penny .
 
Well, seeing as your stuck with it currently I’d start with upgrading the trigger as you already seem to not be happy with it. Have you shot it off a rest/bags to eliminate user error on your part? Coming from non polymer hammer guns it might take some time to get comfortable with the Glock ergonomics and striker fire.

First thing I changed was the sights on mine, I didn’t like the factory sights not to mention they shot 4-6” high even off a bag at 10-15y. New sights made a huge difference.
 
So yeah, Glock triggers suck. Lol. They're heavy and gritty.

You can mess with them and improve the stock parts, or install an aftermarket trigger. Or just try to get used to it, which doesn't seem to be working for you.
 
Glock triggers are an entirely different kettle of fish than what you’re used to. The G48 is also a very narrow frame pistol which means your grip and where your trigger finger naturally sits will be different. The good news is practise makes better. Embrace and enjoy the learning experience. It took a while, but I’m pretty decent with my Glock now.
 
The Glock 48 is a small and light pistol with a bad creepy trigger. Recoil and trigger is my answer to your problem. The pistols you are mentioning are all metal and heavier. I am not a big fan of Glocks myself, plastic POS.
 
bamboo said:
I hear ya. I finally got my 19X out to the range and completely hated it. Put in a Timney Alpha comp trigger. WOW What a difference. I love shooting it now. Worth every penny .
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I've never upgraded any of my pistols, but will definitely look into a trigger upgrade, thanks for the suggestion.

Butcherbill said:
Well, seeing as your stuck with it currently I’d start with upgrading the trigger as you already seem to not be happy with it. Have you shot it off a rest/bags to eliminate user error on your part? Coming from non polymer hammer guns it might take some time to get comfortable with the Glock ergonomics and striker fire.

First thing I changed was the sights on mine, I didn’t like the factory sights not to mention they shot 4-6” high even off a bag at 10-15y. New sights made a huge difference.
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I'll try shooting it off some bags, that's a great idea to eliminate other factors.

As a side note about sights, in my subjective opinion the factory Glock sights are quite easy to line up. I think it's the U-shape rear sight and large spacing. Could be my middle aged eyes, but my Tokarev is like trying to line up fork tines.

I was planning to get a red dot sight for it (Holosun 507k x2), but can't justify the cost unless I can shoot it well.

jacotsmith said:
Glock triggers are an entirely different kettle of fish than what you’re used to. The G48 is also a very narrow frame pistol which means your grip and where your trigger finger naturally sits will be different. The good news is practise makes better. Embrace and enjoy the learning experience. It took a while, but I’m pretty decent with my Glock now.
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Good point about the narrow frame - I've only got medium-sized hands and the G48 feels smaller in my hand than any of my other pistols.

Focus909 said:
https://88tactical.com/how-to-fix-shooting-low-and-to-the-left/
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Thank you, this gives me a lot to work on. I'm 95% sure that my problem is between #2 and #3 on that list, or both.
 
jacotsmith said:
Glock triggers are an entirely different kettle of fish than what you’re used to. The G48 is also a very narrow frame pistol which means your grip and where your trigger finger naturally sits will be different. The good news is practise makes better. ...
Click to expand...

Absolutely, this. Plus the relatively high grip compared to hammer-fired pistols puts your trigger finger in a different position. Plus the grip angle is very different. Plus it's much lighter than the others you're familiar with, so it is more sensitive to trigger pull problems.

OP, can you balance a coin on the front sight of your hammer fired pistols during dry fire practice? With enough effort, you can train yourself to do this with your G48. But it is not at all easy, and may not be worthwhile for you.

As others have noted, you can sidestep the problem and drop in various aftermarket triggers that will make your G48 much easier to shoot more accurately. HOWEVER, you should be aware that the Glock trigger is like that for a reason: The long travel and the heavy pull weight are both part of the safety and reliability features of the pistol.
 
RabbitTeeth said:
... the shots would be 3 inches to the left and 3 inches down, ...
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This is a common impact area with right handed shooters who are making shooting errors. The bullets went there because that is where the gun was pointed when the trigger was pulled.

~~~

DRY FIRE with your eyes closed. Pay attention to the movement of the gun as the trigger is pulled.
When you get to the point where you are not waving the gun all over the place then dry fire with your eyes open. Use a tiny aiming point.

~~~

Use much smaller bullseyes. Turn the target around and use the blank side, put a small circle about the size of a bullet hole on the paper. That is your new aiming point.

Put that circle on top of your front sight. Pay a lot of attention to the sight alignment, pull the trigger, but pay attention to the sight alignment.

When firing only move your trigger finger, don't tighten your grip.
Hold the trigger to the rear until recoil has subsided.
Quit raising your head to see where the bullet went.
 
alpining said:
Absolutely, this. Plus the relatively high grip compared to hammer-fired pistols puts your trigger finger in a different position. Plus the grip angle is very different. Plus it's much lighter than the others you're familiar with, so it is more sensitive to trigger pull problems.

OP, can you balance a coin on the front sight of your hammer fired pistols during dry fire practice? With enough effort, you can train yourself to do this with your G48. But it is not at all easy, and may not be worthwhile for you.

As others have noted, you can sidestep the problem and drop in various aftermarket triggers that will make your G48 much easier to shoot more accurately. HOWEVER, you should be aware that the Glock trigger is like that for a reason: The long travel and the heavy pull weight are both part of the safety and reliability features of the pistol.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I hadn't considered any of this before. I'll try it out, thanks bud.
 
Lodi said:
This is a common impact area with right handed shooters who are making shooting errors. The bullets went there because that is where the gun was pointed when the trigger was pulled.

~~~

DRY FIRE with your eyes closed. Pay attention to the movement of the gun as the trigger is pulled.
When you get to the point where you are not waving the gun all over the place then dry fire with your eyes open. Use a tiny aiming point.

~~~

Use much smaller bullseyes. Turn the target around and use the blank side, put a small circle about the size of a bullet hole on the paper. That is your new aiming point.

Put that circle on top of your front sight. Pay a lot of attention to the sight alignment, pull the trigger, but pay attention to the sight alignment.

When firing only move your trigger finger, don't tighten your grip.
Hold the trigger to the rear until recoil has subsided.
Quit raising your head to see where the bullet went.
Click to expand...

I hear you. I had assumed that with years of shooting and even coaching some new shooters, I'd know if I was flinching or pulling the barrel off-course. But as someone else pointed out, perhaps the striker-fired Glock has a mechanism different enough that it's exposing a bad habit that wasn't noticeable when shooting my other pistols. It'll be back to basics for me. Tough to hear, and humbling, but I'm not above it. Thanks!
 
Also with the glock or M&P the sight picture tends to be a combat hold and not a 6 o’clock hold, if you’re not used to that style it can be frustrating. Line up the sights and cover the bullseye with the front sight dot while shooting from a bag and see if that changes you’re poa/poi issue.
 
Butcherbill said:
Also with the glock or M&P the sight picture tends to be a combat hold and not a 6 o’clock hold, if you’re not used to that style it can be frustrating. Line up the sights and cover the bullseye with the front sight dot while shooting from a bag and see if that changes you’re poa/poi issue.
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Thank you, I did not know this at all.
 
RabbitTeeth said:
Honestly, I hadn't considered any of this before. I'll try it out, thanks bud.
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You bet - It's humbling to see others shoot your "problem" pistols just fine, ask me how I know!

Honestly, balancing a coin on the front sight while dry firing is probably a tall order, at least to start. You can learn a lot about what your trigger press is doing to disturb your aim by using an attached laser during dry fire practice (no need for a proper sight, I just tape a cheap laser pointer to the pistol).
 
RabbitTeeth said:
Thank you, I did not know this at all.
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Took me a bit to get used to it as I generally sight in iron sighted rifles with a 6 o’clock hold, covering what I was actually trying to hit with the front sight dot was odd at first. Now it’s easier once I got used to it and I find it easier if there’s a front fiber optic sight, it really helps you to focus on the front sight and use it as the aiming point instead of looking at the target sitting just above the front sight blade. Very much like a red dot in a way.
 
Being a smaller pistol, it is easy to stick the trigger finger all the way into the guard. As a result, the side of the finger is on the pistol frame and the movement of pulling the trigger gets transferred to the pistol.

Try using just the pad of your trigger finger and see if that helps.
 
Dryfire it until you can control the trigger without disturbing the sight picture. Also when shooting live fire use plugs and muffs to help reduce your tendency to flinch. The glock 48 is a bit more difficult to shoot accurately has a smaller grip and a bit lighter with the same heavy trigger. I am a fairly proficient shooter and I can only get about 6 inch group at 20 yards with mine.
 
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Either invest in the trigger mods which will lead to investing in other mods yada yada yada until you have spent enough to own a Glock 48 valued at $2000, which might help...or just invest in ammo, get out there, figure out what you are doing wrong and practice until you have it corrected. Get an experienced coach to watch and help you correct what you are ding different with the Glock.

When the nail gets bent it is rarely the fault of the hammer.
 
Learn 'trigger reset' ... there's "creep" as you are 'pulling the trigger' vice "squeezing at the reset point" ...

Remember Glocks have 3 internal safeties - safe action pistol.

If you need to Ill do a Zoom and show you.
 
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