New HK USP 9mm...what the heck?

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rndmrider

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Ok guys - had a pretty disappointing first outing with my new HK USP 9mm this morning. Keyholes and wild shots....not cool.

The context. I am a new handgun shooter...so please keep this in mind. I have shot pistols before (9mm and .22lr) but only a few times and accuracy, although not superb, was pretty reasonable (in my view). So I was optimistic for what I would see on the target board this morning. For those who know Silverdale, I was on the left side of Action Range 1B which is likely about 10 yards. The target stands were pretty shot up so the actual targets were leaning forward and very loose.

The first three targets below are shooting American Eagle 124gr Total Metal Jacket (1120fps at the muzzle). The last target is shooting Hornady TAP 147gr FMJ (975fps at the muzzle). As you will note - many keyholes and shots are all over the place which is to be partially explained by my inexperience but I really don't think I am this bad (ignore the white center circle shots on the second last target - SR22 Rifle).

Any thoughts on this? The fact that the Hornady ammunition keyholed (albeit less often) leads me to conclude that it may not be the American Eagle ammunition. What could cause this with the firearm? The test target that came with the USP looks great. I accept that the accuracy may be due to my abilities but can someone actually make a bullet keyhole? I assume not.

Would really appreciate some thoughts on this. Frig...I have 900 more rounds of the American Eagle sitting in my closet.

Thanks in advance.
 
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If you want to see if you're getting keyholes, try shooting paper plates or better yet, cardboard.

Paper targets often tend to rip using FMJ (as you can see) and don't give a really accurate indication of POI. If you were really keyholing then you would see tears leading in different directions.

Targets 1,2,4 look like pretty textbook flinching. Don't get discouraged about the ammo or gun. Do some dry fire practice and try not to read into things too hard.
 
Target tears like that will give you a heart attack - use a backer.

To improve accuracy:

First - www dot pistol-training dot com

Second - Wall Drill - stand 5 or so feet from a plain white wall, aim the empty and multiple times safety checked firearm, concentrate only on the front sight, press the trigger while still focussing only on the front sight. If the sight moves, you missed - keep doing this until the sight doesn't move. Additionally, try balancing something small on the top of the slide (empty cases work fine at first) - if it stays there you're good, if it doesn't - keep doing it until it does.
 
keyholing with your HK usp is a result of using plated bullets(tmj) in the .355 range...your fmj likely gave u better results. the usp has a polygonal barrel.
 
It's most always the user, not the gun. Paper will tear differently with another type of ammo. Just go practice and learn the new pistol.
 
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