Newbie Question - hitting low with new pistol

Devlin

Devlin

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So headed out to the range today with my new toy a Beretta PX4 Storm SD in .45ACP brought a buddy along who shoots as well. We both found ourselves shooting low on the target at 25 yards, were using Wolf reloads which jammed/misfed more often than I expected but that's a side note.

We both were consistently hitting about 6 inches below the center of the target. What I am wondering is whether hitting low like this is because of poor shooting style/stance or could the sights need to be adjusted? Normally I blame poor technique before I blame the gun, but when both of us were hitting low it made me wonder. We're both familiar with iron sights and aware of how to acquire a proper sight picture but I won't rule out poor grip or technique just yet.

Can the sights even be adjusted up/down on a pistol like this? Somewhat new to the pistol world so apologies if that's a rookie question.

I will say that I love the thump of that .45 round though..what a blast to shoot I am truly hooked on it.
 
Stance has the least effect on shooting well. Sight picture, trigger control, and grip come first. Stance is waaaaaay down the list.

What size were your groups at 25m? And what kind of hold were you using?

It will be very apparent if the sights are adjustable or not. But I'll take a wild guess and say they're fixed.
 
Groups were about a pie plate in diameter :-(

And yes they are fixed sights

But they were low on the target about 6 inches below center which was where my point of aim was. I was holding with my thumbs laying over top of one another on the left side of the grip...sounds like more practice at a shorter distance may be in order.
 
Could you be both be looking over the pistol's sights to see where your bullets are hitting?

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NAA.
 
A good friend of mine kept shooting low like that and was so frustrated that he decided to sell both of his .45s and get into something lighter. He had a lot of money invested. I convinced him to go out one more time and that I would scrutinize what he was doing and try to fix it.

After doing this for a while I isolated the culprit - he would bring his trigger finger down at a bit of an angle to the trigger, and the result was that then he would pull the trigger he would slightly nudge the barrel down a little bit - enough to get him 6 inches or more under target. He corrected for this and has been shooting his .45 very well ever since.
 
Pie plate is around 8" I think. At 25m, that's not bad for a recreational shooter (hell, that's good for 'pro' shooters :p)

I would definitely recommend starting at 5m or 7m, working on the basics. Concentrate on your trigger control and sight picture.
 
Could be technique then, I'm a shotgun shooter primarily and while a proper squeeze of the trigger is somewhat important in that world I can see how not paying proper attention to it with a pistol could amplify a bad habit....being totally honest here I just loved hearing that .45 thump away and was having a good old time firing it off.
 
Being at the range and blasting off rounds just for fun is a blast, for sure. I don't think you NEED to go to the range with a plan and a training goal every time. Sometimes you just want to have fun.

Without watching someone shoot, it's impossible to diagnose a problem. But the problem might be slapping the trigger (if you shoot shotgun a lot...), or the thing most shooters deal with, anticipating the shot before it goes off.

That can lead to dipping the muzzle before the shot goes off, which in turns leads to shots being low.
 
If all else fails and your grouping is low, go to a heavier bullet if possible, that should raise your POI and you may not have to mess with your sights.
 
I'm telling Todd on you! you'll never be allowed at an AFHF again dude!
wicked_police said:
Being at the range and blasting off rounds just for fun is a blast, for sure. I don't think you NEED to go to the range with a plan and a training goal every time. Sometimes you just want to have fun.

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Click to expand...
 
What bullet weight? Could be your pistol is sighted for a different weight or velocity. I'm not a pistol shooter but I believe it is a heavier bullet to hit higher because bullet is in the barrel a little longer during recoil. Can't hurt to try a different ammo.
 
I was using 230grain Wolf reloads...not top quality ammo but from what I am told decent enough for putting holes in paper. I want to start re-loading my own to eliminate bullet/load quality as an issue over time.
 
25 yards is a long futzing way away for a pistol. Truth be told most pistols were designed for conversational distances. Aside from pulling out a pistol of his own, I can't imagine the thing that would cause me to want to shoot someone 25 yards away, with a pistol anyway. Try at 5-10 yards, and see where your at. Pistols were largely designed for self defense, even military pistols, were designed to save your ass AFTER your rifle broke, so 25 yards is an extreme distance for a pistol. True some target pistols are inteded for long distance, but ask yourself what the original intended purpose of this machine was, and you'll likely find your answer.

Unless your club is ###er than club ### on half price drink night, and only lets you shoot at 25y, move your target in, before thinking something is wrong.
 
I would say first and foremost that you should work on your accuracy before worrying too much about POA/POI. If your group is 8" and only 6" below point of aim I would say the group is too big and random yet to decide it his hitting low because of the sights or load rather than an issue with trigger control or grip. When you get the group size down to at least half of where it is now you can consider looking at the POI and adjusting if its still low. Start with shooting small groups at a closer distance and then work out from there, if you can push the target back to 50 and see how you do.
At the IPSC Provincials this year we were expected to shoot several target out past 30m and at the US Nationals we had targets at 25yds that were engaged weak hand only. Any decent pistol should be capable of this even if the shooter isn't
 
As a long time long gun shooter, but a new pistol shooter, I was very surprised to find the difference on POI made by changing the backstrap on the grip of my Smith & Wesson M&P. With the large backstrap my pistol was shooting about 6" low at about 10yds. Changing to the medium backstrap corrected this (but now I'm shooting a little left, lol). So from my limited experience I agree that the grip, whether yours or the one on the firearm, makes a big difference.
 
6" low at 10 yards due to changing the grip is more of a sight alignment issue than anything else (as long as the rest of the basics are sound).
 
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