How do I get good?

Madmardigan

Madmardigan

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Alberta
I'm pretty green when it comes to pistol shooting. I just got my first pistol last week and I made it out to shoot it the first time on Sunday. I watched a ton of you tube videos on proper grip, stance, trigger control, ect. I did a lot of dry firing before I went out. And as far as I could tell I was doing everything right, it didn't seem like I was moving off target when I squeezed the trigger. But sure as sh!t, when I was at the range about 60% of my shots went either left or low left. Any tips on how to get past that?
Like I said, I've been practicing dry firing like crazy. Other than that I'm not sure what else I can do.
I've thought about one of those laserlyte target practice doodads. Has anybody tried one? Is it worth the investment? Or would that money be better spent on ammo?
 
Training - find a course in your area and take it. Sounds like you're making a classic new shooter's mistake, an instructor will spot it in a second and show you how to avoid it. After that, shoot a lot, then shoot some more, then take another course. Repeat as necessary.
 
From how you describe where the holes are,looks like you are too much in a hurry to get the shot off in the right moment. Aka, trigger jerking. ( google pics for " pistol group analysis", "target pistol shot Analysis" or just "pistol group chart" ...lots of helpful info there)
First of all, focus on your front sight! Rear and target might appear blurry,but your brain will adjust to that. Then, when you start to squeeze the trigger,don't let off, still focus on the front sight! You hit where you intend to when the shot comes as a "surprise"... all of a sudden the thing goes boom and you made it into the ten or even into the X ring.Concentrate on that. Speed will come with confidence after you get the feeling you can't miss anymore.Take your time to get the initial steps right.
If you're shooting with a two handed grip, lock wrist, elbow and shoulder.Let your upper body take care of the recoil. Tight grip! About 60-70% with the supporting hand.
Should get you there...
CG
 
Oh...and i have a Laserlyte. Good for the winter...sucks batteries like there is no tomorrow,but well worth it to stay in shape. There is still a difference to real life shooting. the laserlyte and .22's are forgiving, but the bigger your caliber, the more important is the " follow trough".Means stay focused on sight and target...then do next shot or look.
Hope that helps.
CG
 
Shooting a pistol is a learned skill. Dry firing is good and watching videos helps but the only way to get better is live fire practice. It'll take a few hundred rounds to be consistent.
 
enefgee said:
Training - find a course in your area and take it. Sounds like you're making a classic new shooter's mistake, an instructor will spot it in a second and show you how to avoid it. After that, shoot a lot, then shoot some more, then take another course. Repeat as necessary.
Click to expand...

An excellent piece of advice!!!

TW25B
 
like the other reply implied, you also need patience. one tiny adjustment at a time. pay special attention to ALL the fine details on what you are doing during the shoot. I am green too, 8 month in now. No any dry fire train at all. only real ammo at range, from 100 to 200 p rounds per week which would take me 1-2 hours to finish. It was even much slower when I started, it could be as long as 2 minutes per shot because I wanted to make sure my breathing, grip, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control are all correct. then pause in between to check the result, make tiny adjustments, and then repeat over and over again. It sounds boring, but the efforts pay off so far. I can shoot 12.5 meters with tight enough group. Don't aim to become a good shot in a short time, aim to become a good shot. :)

Madmardigan said:
I'm pretty green when it comes to pistol shooting. I just got my first pistol last week and I made it out to shoot it the first time on Sunday. I watched a ton of you tube videos on proper grip, stance, trigger control, ect. I did a lot of dry firing before I went out. And as far as I could tell I was doing everything right, it didn't seem like I was moving off target when I squeezed the trigger. But sure as sh!t, when I was at the range about 60% of my shots went either left or low left. Any tips on how to get past that?
Like I said, I've been practicing dry firing like crazy. Other than that I'm not sure what else I can do.
I've thought about one of those laserlyte target practice doodads. Has anybody tried one? Is it worth the investment? Or would that money be better spent on ammo?
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like a double action problem with your left shooting. You have put way to much of you finger on the trigger. Should be just the tip of the finger and when you pull the trigger try to pull it out while pulling back.
 
Thanks for all the great info. I'll definitely seek out some training, but that'll have to wait a bit. This is a busy time of year for me and its hard to commit to anything. Hopefully in fall I'll have a chance.
So what dose training entail? Is something you can pay the trainer buy the hour (like music lessons)? Or is it a class that you take over the course of a weekend?

Oh. And the pistol is a Hk USP 9. I'll likely get a .22 pistol as well. But a AR-15 is next on my list.
 
What distance are you starting out from? I started out at 25 yards and couldn't hit anything, then I started at 5 yards checking my sight picture etc...As I got better and more confident I went to 10 yards and now back to 25 and my accuracy has improved a hundred percent...
 
Take a weekend class, it's night and day when you have an instructor beside you giving you input on what to do and what not to do. I just took my first handgun class and I learned a lot, nothing wrong with reading and watching YouTube videos about pistol shooting fundamentals but you hit a point that you're just guessing and wasting ammo. At least that's what I was doing, taking a class made a world of difference. Two day program, day one in class going over the fundamentals of marksmanship and practicing these points by dry firing/ laser simulator shooting etc etc. day two was all live fire at a local range. Looking forward to working on the fundamentals I learned and taking a few more classes to improve my shooting even more. I really enjoy shooting handguns, especially the timed accuracy drills and course of fire we did during the class. Sight alignment and trigger control were my biggest issues and where I will continue to work on.

Here's an ageage pic from the range, targets were out around 5m or 15-16 feet max.

Here's some from the class at about the same distance.


 
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If you are not going to get a .22 handgun soon, see if you can borrow one from your range. Then shoot at 10ft!! Yes, 10ft.
Continue to use all the principles of stance, grip, breathing, trigger pull, aim. Don't shoot impatiently. Fast shooting at the training stage is a waste of ammo and leaves training scars. It will set back your marksmanship skills for sure!
If you really want to improve, use Dot Torture targets at 3m (10ft). It may look easy but try it! Try and put 5 rds within the 2" diameter circle. If you can do this consistently, you will have the basics of handgun shooting. The next thing is to speed up your pace, you will find you are back to square one again! Shooting handguns is a perishable skill. You need to keep at it to be really good.
May I suggest you up the limit of your credit card?
 
Green Skull said:
Shooting a pistol is a learned skill. Dry firing is good and watching videos helps but the only way to get better is live fire practice. It'll take a few hundred rounds to be consistent.
Click to expand...

Tell my wife its a learned skill, first time out with my 9mm and she out shot me. Does every time now, she has natural steady hands, never flinches and always has tight groups... I sleep with one eye open :D

But you can learn as I have had to
 
Madmardigan, try focusing on a clean pull fully to the rear stop. And don't snatch at the trigger.

You want to pull fully to the rear so you're focusing on the pull and not the upcoming BANG!. And don't let the trigger go right away. Pull it back and hold it fully back all through the recoil. Only when things are settled again THEN ease up on the pressure to let the trigger move forward.

A lot of folks tend to snatch at the trigger too. And that makes the rest of your hand move in sympathy. So work on a slower and smoother pressure build of your trigger finger instead of actually trying to move it. Instead work on the pressure build and let the trigger moves as and when it wants to move. You just follow it will continuing to build pressure until the trigger is fully at the rear limit and won't move any further.

And of course do not even THINK of trying to fight the recoil. If you do that it'll never shoot right. You'll always be out of time and ruin the shot Other than your trigger finger the only thing moving on your body should be your heart. It's hard to tell that to stop. But that's IT! Nothing else moves at all but that trigger finger. Work on building up the pressure smoothly to where the trigger is fully at the rear within about 1/2 to 3/4 of a second.

When you release it after the recoil kick settles don't just let it go. Continue to use the pressure thing. But this time ease up the pressure and let the trigger push your finger forward as and when it can.

Focusing on the pressure build and holding it at the rear limit takes your focus off the big BANG! And it's that BANG! which makes you flinch. Dry firing is easy when you know it's not going to do anything. Your mind knows and when there's live ammo it wants to make your body react to it. So the idea is to take your focus off the actual BANG! and put it into moving your finger and the trigger with control and a proper follow through.
 
enefgee said:
Training - find a course in your area and take it. Sounds like you're making a classic new shooter's mistake, an instructor will spot it in a second and show you how to avoid it. After that, shoot a lot, then shoot some more, then take another course. Repeat as necessary.
Click to expand...

This. Take a two day course from a respected trainer. Then structure your training to improve on your fundamental skills. Dry fire does nothing if you are doing it wrong and can instill bad habits.

A fundamental dry fire drill for new shooters is the wall drill. Make sure your gun is unloaded, visually inspect the chamber to ensure it's clear, rack it several times and visually inspect the chamber again. Pick a wall in your house that provides the most amount of safety. Raise the pistol so that the muzzle is about an inch from the wall. Focus on the front sight, align it in the rear notch and press the trigger to the rear. You should retain a pinpoint focus on the front sight throughout your press and ensure that the front sight does not move in the rear notch. Don't get sloppy with your press, insure perfection with each rep. Focus on pressing the trigger without moving the front sight. Don't worry about speed right now, just focus on a smooth press, clean with no hesitation straight to the rear.

Don't worry about lasers or other gimmicks, right now it's just you and the front sight, always the front sight.

Do this every day for 3-5 minutes.

Go to the range, set up a target at 3 yards, then press the trigger like you have been practicing at home. Report your results back here.
 
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Grip and stance is the most important things to know. You can practice as much as you want, if you don't have either you won't improve much.
Sounds like you have a bad grip and are flinching in anticipation of the shot.

Stance should be forward with yiu dominant foot slughtly rearward. Keeping your center of gravity slightly forward to absorb recoil. Practice yoyr stance without a pistol in hand and have a friend push your hands, do you fall back? If not then good.

For your grip, your trigger hand should not be holding the gun with an iron grip, it should be loose with your other hand cupping it tighter. Trigger finger should be towards the tip of the finger.

Always can be a chance of the pistal also, have someone else try the pistol, same resalts? What is the pistol?
 
This helped me....


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