the same way you would lock your elbows to prevent it from moving.
How do I get good?
- Thread starter Madmardigan
- Start date
the same way you would lock your elbows to prevent it from moving.
Rotate your elbows inward. Force them together. This locks not just your elbows but your wrists too.
Grip is as high as you can go with the 40-60% ratio of strong and weak hand on the pistol grip squeezing your palms together. The thumbs are interlocked on the frame, making sure they do not touch or interfere with the slide. this also expedites use of the locking lever and safety.
I don't give much thought to a few things people here have suggested are essential; stance?, meh sometimes stance is flat on your ass, gun in your off hand. Grip? - might be 70/60, might be 'need to get this shot off at 10 yards RFN, hands are sweaty, angle is bad, draw sucked' (it happens, but doesn't exclude the necessity to make an accurate shot) - also the requirement to 'lock your wrists' - if you can, that's great, again not the difference between a hit and a miss, how about breathing? I try to do that but honestly, if I can I do, but it's not essential that you have perfect breath control to hit a target. So what is essential? The front sight is essential beyond 5 yards, trigger control is essential beyond 2 yards. Follow through is essential anytime you use the sights. So we're down to essentials, sight alignment and trigger control and follow through. An instructor can see when these things are done properly and fix the bits that are out of whack, it's very hard to do by yourself.
I recently shot my first pistol in many years.
Didn't get one round on the paper. Didn't even bother shooting any more, just asked for some help.
Asked a guy at the range to show me how to get a good sight picture and for him to shoot the gun just to put it on paper.
He then put the target vertical and discovered I was shooting perfectly centered but way low.
He watched me shoot and determined I was pushing the gun in anticipation of the recoil and over compensating.
He provided some great instruction and tips and I was good to go. Next mags were all in the bull (in spite of a horrible trigger...).
Start at 5 meters if you aren't already.
Just five minutes of one-on-one with an experienced shooter saved me many hours of frustration and wasted rounds.
Now for that trigger job...
Didn't get one round on the paper. Didn't even bother shooting any more, just asked for some help.
Asked a guy at the range to show me how to get a good sight picture and for him to shoot the gun just to put it on paper.
He then put the target vertical and discovered I was shooting perfectly centered but way low.
He watched me shoot and determined I was pushing the gun in anticipation of the recoil and over compensating.
He provided some great instruction and tips and I was good to go. Next mags were all in the bull (in spite of a horrible trigger...).
Start at 5 meters if you aren't already.
Just five minutes of one-on-one with an experienced shooter saved me many hours of frustration and wasted rounds.
Now for that trigger job...
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- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Agreed, for me sight alignment and trigger control were more imperative than stance and grip. Stance and grip come more naturally once you have the idea in your head and figure out what's comfortable, sight alignment, trigger control and follow through were easier to apply once I was taught it in class. My groups got smaller instantly.
It was apparent right away when I wasn't paying enough attention to my sight picture and trigger pull, my grip and stance was still the same but groups opened up a lot.
Good point. You may suck at first but you’ll be in the company of other shooters of varying skill levels who may offer some instruction and tips to help you. Not sold on the training course idea. Yes an instructor can tell you what to do and not do, but you still have to build on the skill through practise. There’s hundreds of training courses and everyone states their shooting technique is the only way to go. Next week there will be a write up in some gun magazine that states the “Monkey fling poo stance and baboon grip” is the ultimate way to fire a handgun. BS they’re all based on sound fundamentals that have been around for ever, and are available in books, on the web and in posts in this forum.
The best part of the post is having fun. Isn’t that what this is all about? Yes it’s frustrating to have your shots not go where you aim, and more frustrated you become the worst it can get. So try to work on your technique but have some fun. Put a target on the closest back stop on the range, relax and goof around.Try to shoot a happy face on it. Try shooting a vertical line from the top of the rings to the bottom. Don’t worry about the shots that go left, right, high or low, just take your time and enjoy yourself.
It will come. At some point you’re going to tweak your grip a little, slightly change your sight picture and you’ll be running around showing your target to everyone you know. No one on this sight can say they were ‘Dirty Harry’ when they walk to the line the first time. If they do their pants are going to burst into flames.
Thank you for being the only one offering sound advice. My problem with the technique you've described is that the gun is slipping off my support hand, and my wrist (trigger hand) is still limp wristing....somewhat. This causes too much vertical oscillation, which in turn ruins any quick follow-up shots when I ramp up the speed - due to the sights bobbing up and down before it settles for my eyes to see proper sight alignment again. I'm going to try Ron Avery's approach to "sticky hands" on the next range visit. His technique seems to vary quite a bit because shooters don't look like they're rotating their elbows a lot - unlike Travis Haley or Bob Vogel.
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
A lot of great points here in this post for the OP. The follow through and controlled reset are paramount to accurate pistol shooting. It's a lot more to it than a simple six o'clock sight picture like with a rifle. Remember the pistol does not have three points of contact like a long gun. A very short sight radius and everything is controlled in the hands. This is why the press straight through the centerline of the pistol and the controlled reset is very important. Next is the grip, it's all about the grip. Having a good grip(decent strength in hands) will never hurt you, allowing you to hold that package in-line while your trigger is pressed rearward properly and reset properly.
Don't ever get discouraged. I don't know what experience you have shooting besides pistols, but my rough estimate to compare handguns to long guns is that it will take 10 rounds in a pistol to every one in a rifle to move to the next level of consistent marksmanship. For example if I could make you a decent basic marksman level consistentrifle shooter with 1000 supervised rounds, I'd need to see 10,000 from you with the pistol.
I've never tried the laser pointer, guess I've paid for it in sweat, years of frustrations and lots of ammo, but that's an excellent tool for your dry fire practice, and may save many rounds and frustrations to show you were the muzzle is going during firing. It may not be as magnified as the laser would indicate because remember recoil and flip will be starting a millisecond afer your pointer starts to drift in any direction, but it still will point out definite trigger control weaknesses to work on.
lots of good tips here.
my tip that really helped me with trigger control: i stopped thinking i was "pulling the trigger" and mentally switched to "releasing the hammer(or striker)" this mental change made me press more smoothly and consistently through the break, which helped me with accuracy.
when i shoot the two things i work on are 1) i focus (really focus!) on the front sight and 2) i try to release the hammer with a smooth pull through the break.
this is mainly because ive overcome issues more common to beginners such as flinching and jerking the trigger. dunno if this helps but this approach helps me.
oh yeah practice helps too
my tip that really helped me with trigger control: i stopped thinking i was "pulling the trigger" and mentally switched to "releasing the hammer(or striker)" this mental change made me press more smoothly and consistently through the break, which helped me with accuracy.
when i shoot the two things i work on are 1) i focus (really focus!) on the front sight and 2) i try to release the hammer with a smooth pull through the break.
this is mainly because ive overcome issues more common to beginners such as flinching and jerking the trigger. dunno if this helps but this approach helps me.
oh yeah practice helps too
It's extremely difficult to visually describe the method and technique on here.
Everything starts at your base (the point of contact between your body and the ground) whether your standing, kneeling, sitting or prone. Your body absorbs the felt recoil but it dissipates into the ground regardless of your choice of firearm. Now stance and position is a luxury, however anyone who disregard it in training is an idiot. In training, if you strive for perfection in shooting discipline, build that muscle memory over and over and over and over (approx 12000 repetitions) then when it matters most you'll automatically adopt a position and stance that mimics what you've practiced in imperfect circumstances.
Roll your shoulders forward, this automatically causes you to roll your elbows inward naturally. You need to squeeze your palms together on the grip, using your overlapping fingers as a pivot point, force your palms together. At the same time, using a push/pull force to counter act the vertical climb of the muzzle. This is where as high a grip as possible on the pistol is essential as the closer and lower the bore of your barrel is to your locked arms, the less you perceive the felt recoil.
With pistols, ppl have a tendency to push OR pill the trigger. Use the first pad of your trigger finger to squeeze that trigger into your hand. If your right handed, if your hitting low and left your pushing the trigger, if right your pulling the trigger.
And remember: sights, sights, sights. The front sight is your focus point.
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- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I haven't read all of the posts, so I apologize if this has already been mentioned. A cost free exercise which will improve your scores can be done in the comfort of your own home. Pick out a target on the wall, a light switch will do, keep the range short, then as you progress choose a smaller target before increasing the range. Assume your best shooting stance and begin dry firing, while paying extremely close attention to your trigger control and sight picture.
Here's the learning part, what the sights cover when the hammer falls, is what your bullet would have hit in live fire. Try making small changes to your grip on the gun and your contact with the trigger. You'll quickly see what makes things worse and you'll just as quickly find what allows you to press the trigger without disrupting the position of your sights on the target. If you find that your sights are floating around the target, small adjustments to your position that produce your natural point of aim will minimize the unwanted motion. See what happens now when you tense your stomach muscles. You should find that this momentarily causes your sights to go rock solid on the target, so now all you have to do is arrange that the sights and the target are in coincidence during this pause, then make a surprise trigger break in that compressed time frame. Your trigger press cannot be tentative, it must be deliberate, and you must train your index finger to move independently of the rest of your hand. Notice that I've said trigger press and not trigger squeeze. When a baby squeezes your finger, he does so with his entire hand, your trigger finger must move independently, with as much force as is necessary to break the shot.
Hope this helps.
Here's the learning part, what the sights cover when the hammer falls, is what your bullet would have hit in live fire. Try making small changes to your grip on the gun and your contact with the trigger. You'll quickly see what makes things worse and you'll just as quickly find what allows you to press the trigger without disrupting the position of your sights on the target. If you find that your sights are floating around the target, small adjustments to your position that produce your natural point of aim will minimize the unwanted motion. See what happens now when you tense your stomach muscles. You should find that this momentarily causes your sights to go rock solid on the target, so now all you have to do is arrange that the sights and the target are in coincidence during this pause, then make a surprise trigger break in that compressed time frame. Your trigger press cannot be tentative, it must be deliberate, and you must train your index finger to move independently of the rest of your hand. Notice that I've said trigger press and not trigger squeeze. When a baby squeezes your finger, he does so with his entire hand, your trigger finger must move independently, with as much force as is necessary to break the shot.
Hope this helps.
One shot at a time!
At home, practice dry firing at a white wall. Just focusing on the sight!! Squeeze the trigger. If you see the front sight move in the rear sight, you jerked. If the front sight didn't move you did it right. Most of the guns out there have quite a bit of over travel.Especially double action pistols.
With them you will have always a bit of jitter on the front sight. But it will be less with some practice. With a good trigger in single action mode there will be no noticeable movement.
When you go to the range take a letter sized note pad along. Staple 3 sheet in landscape format above each other. You will have a white target area,about 10 x 24 inches. Don't start at just 7 feet that just gives you a false feel of accomplishment. You don't want to really see the holes. Just have a look at the whole group after 10 or so rounds.
Always keep in mind, that all the targets down range are just a guide to point the pistol in the right direction.
Now aim at the center of the white area. FOCUS ON THE SIGHTS!!! KEEP your sights aligned. You will notice that your gun will be swaying around on the white area.
That's normal. Just SQUEEZE until the hammer drops.As you get more proficient the sway will be less and less. At your first outings your groups will fill the 2/3rds of the area.
As you progress you will find that your groups will shrink. Once you shoot into a 8" circle, you can start shooting at a "target". Be it a bulls eye, a Idpa or ipsc target.
When you do the above practice , DON'T empty a magazine. Shoot every shot deliberate. Lower your gun after every shot and take a few deep breaths. Raise the gun, focusing on the sight picture, and squeeze the trigger. You will safe a lot of ammo and will be a better shooter faster.
All that you can apply whether you shoot single handed or double handed.
Since you are in Calgary I would recommend to join the Calgary Rifle and Pistol Club. There is some accomplished hand gunners around who can help you.
WW
At home, practice dry firing at a white wall. Just focusing on the sight!! Squeeze the trigger. If you see the front sight move in the rear sight, you jerked. If the front sight didn't move you did it right. Most of the guns out there have quite a bit of over travel.Especially double action pistols.
With them you will have always a bit of jitter on the front sight. But it will be less with some practice. With a good trigger in single action mode there will be no noticeable movement.
When you go to the range take a letter sized note pad along. Staple 3 sheet in landscape format above each other. You will have a white target area,about 10 x 24 inches. Don't start at just 7 feet that just gives you a false feel of accomplishment. You don't want to really see the holes. Just have a look at the whole group after 10 or so rounds.
Always keep in mind, that all the targets down range are just a guide to point the pistol in the right direction.
Now aim at the center of the white area. FOCUS ON THE SIGHTS!!! KEEP your sights aligned. You will notice that your gun will be swaying around on the white area.
That's normal. Just SQUEEZE until the hammer drops.As you get more proficient the sway will be less and less. At your first outings your groups will fill the 2/3rds of the area.
As you progress you will find that your groups will shrink. Once you shoot into a 8" circle, you can start shooting at a "target". Be it a bulls eye, a Idpa or ipsc target.
When you do the above practice , DON'T empty a magazine. Shoot every shot deliberate. Lower your gun after every shot and take a few deep breaths. Raise the gun, focusing on the sight picture, and squeeze the trigger. You will safe a lot of ammo and will be a better shooter faster.
All that you can apply whether you shoot single handed or double handed.
Since you are in Calgary I would recommend to join the Calgary Rifle and Pistol Club. There is some accomplished hand gunners around who can help you.
WW
Here is a great way to work on Grip + Sight picture issues. One of my favourites with new shooters.
Find a friend, take him to the range.
"Ghost pulls"
-have your friend stand close you as he will be doing the trigger squeeze.
-Grip the gun how you feel is firm and comfortable (youtube proper pistol grip). DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGER IN THE TRIGGER GUARD
-once you are in the shooting position, get your sight picture and hold.
-have your friend use one hand as needed to squeeze the trigger until it goes bang (he will use his trigger finger and thumb only, over top of your firm grip, touching your hands as little as possible)
This will teach you proper grip and how to steer the gun during operationg, lets you focus on sight picture before, during, and returning from a firing sequence. Remember, focus on the front sight and get it to drop back into a healthy sight picture after each round before resting.
Do a full reset in between each of the first 5 rounds (it will tax your shoulders until you get used to it), then start doing 2,3,4+ rounds without lowering the firearm. Still a pause between trigger pulls, but learn to keep that sightpicture and prepare for the next trigger squeeze.
This drill forces you to ensure your grip remains firm throughout the firing process and that you are steering/driving the firearm.
This will quickly determine if your grip and sight picutre are the weakspots, or if your trigger pull is the primary culprit.
Once you determine which is the leading factor, then you know where to focus before moving to the other.
Oh, and have fun and take some lessons. You'll learn enough from a few group lessons to practice for months!
Find a friend, take him to the range.
"Ghost pulls"
-have your friend stand close you as he will be doing the trigger squeeze.
-Grip the gun how you feel is firm and comfortable (youtube proper pistol grip). DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGER IN THE TRIGGER GUARD
-once you are in the shooting position, get your sight picture and hold.
-have your friend use one hand as needed to squeeze the trigger until it goes bang (he will use his trigger finger and thumb only, over top of your firm grip, touching your hands as little as possible)
This will teach you proper grip and how to steer the gun during operationg, lets you focus on sight picture before, during, and returning from a firing sequence. Remember, focus on the front sight and get it to drop back into a healthy sight picture after each round before resting.
Do a full reset in between each of the first 5 rounds (it will tax your shoulders until you get used to it), then start doing 2,3,4+ rounds without lowering the firearm. Still a pause between trigger pulls, but learn to keep that sightpicture and prepare for the next trigger squeeze.
This drill forces you to ensure your grip remains firm throughout the firing process and that you are steering/driving the firearm.
This will quickly determine if your grip and sight picutre are the weakspots, or if your trigger pull is the primary culprit.
Once you determine which is the leading factor, then you know where to focus before moving to the other.
Oh, and have fun and take some lessons. You'll learn enough from a few group lessons to practice for months!
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Now that you're totally confused- let us know how it works out
This totally made me laugh, thought the same thing pages ago!
