I can't shoot my glock for ####....

ShaneN.

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Went to the range tonight and just can't seem to get a nice group with my g17. It's fairly new to me, the sport is too actually, but I usually seem to shoot down and to the left a bit. Then my friend rented a 1911 .45 and I picked it up and shoot right in the centre for a decent group out of the mag. It drives me nuts.

The one thing I notice about the 1911 is the front thick sight fills up the rear sites cut out section nicely, so you know when you've got the sights lined up real good and on my gun I have the trijicon night sites but when you line them all up there is still space on each side of the front sight. So basically the front sight doesn't fill up the whole width of the notch in the rear sight.

My first thought is sell the gun and find something else as I've read that lots of people are hit or miss with the glocks but I reallllly like the glock for the looks, functionality, realibility, simplicity, etc. I just love the glocks - plus going out and spending more money on a different gun when clearly it's just MY own accuracy issues with the gun seems stupid. So I'm toying with the idea of lightening up the trigger a bit with one of those 3.5lb trigger (is that what i want?) and perhaps trying the XS big dot sights to see how I like them.

Last time I was at the range and was getting frusterated I had one of the r/o's try out the gun and he put all 10 rounds on spot for the most part.

What do you guys think I should do? I guess it doesn't hurt to change up my combination with this gun a bit to see if I get better results before trying something else in 9mm. But now I know I want a 1911 in .45 too.
 
Very common problem with people unfamiliar with Glocks. I don't know the solution, others will come along shortly to help, but I've heard this particular one ALOT. Typically down and left is a flinch, though. But if you shot a 45acp 1911, you shouldn't be flinching with a 9mm Glock.

For Me, all I did was slow down everything, concentrate on a clean trigger pull while maintaining my sight picture. Now, I can 6inch plates at 15y almost every time fairly quickly, and out of a magazine of 10, I'll usually break 2-3 clays at 50, when I really work on it. This is with a Glock21sf 45acp
 
Yah I'm thinking I could probably just guns and get a better result quicker but I really like the glocks so maybe I'll try and remedy the problem because afterall, it's clearly my fault, not the glocks. I think a change in sights might be a big step. But then I start thinking is it because the gun is so light, or is it because the trigger, etc.

Anyone know where I can get xs big dot sights in BC, or who has them online?
 
But then I start thinking is it because the gun is so light, or is it because the trigger, etc.

Anyone know where I can get xs big dot sights in BC, or who has them online?

A heavy trigger + a light pistol will not do you any good in the accuracy department, dryfire it a few times towards a t.v screen, see where it points.
 
Went with a spring kit - about $20 (Bits of Pieces) and have ~3.5# trigger and a set of spare springs (safety, striker, trigger IIRC). Though it is not to be mistaken for a target trigger in terms of feel. Different trigger bar also an option.
 
Went with a spring kit - about $20 (Bits of Pieces) and have ~3.5# trigger and a set of spare springs (safety, striker, trigger IIRC). Though it is not to be mistaken for a target trigger in terms of feel. Different trigger bar also an option.

looks like you're in white rock, BC.. where did you get those parts from?

i'm not looking for a "target" trigger, I just think some different sights and a nicer trigger feel would help
 
Get a friend to load a mag for you with an unknown number of rounds. you'll find out pretty quick how bad your flinch is. I didn't believe it till I videotaped it.:D

I believe that, I've noticed myself do it when I thought there was more rounds, but it's not like my technique changed when I shot a mag or two through the 1911.
 
I had similar issues with my G17, and I still have a hell of a time landing lead exactly where my eyes are expecting the holes to show up. I get much tighter groups out of my CZ Shadow, and with my shadow I can drop lead exactly where my eyes expect the holes to show up. My Shadow has a tuned trigger, and I believe that has a lot to do with my better groups relative to my bone stock G17. Before giving up on your G17, maybe you can borrow another G17 with a modified trigger. If that works for you, drop a few bucks into tuning up your G17's trigger.

Or, if you love Glocks and you want a 9mm, how about trading your G17 for a longer G34? I was impressed with how much tighter my groups were with my buddy's G34 relative to my G17. I still do best with my shadow, but I put many thousands of rounds through my shadow last year and much less than 1,000 rounds through my G17(and only a few mags through the G34) over the last two or so years, so it's not a fair comparison.

Anyway, if your groups are consistently off center(yet tight) while veteran shooters are getting bulls eyes with your G17, it is likely related to your trigger skills.

I see that you are in BC. If you are in the lower mainland, you can try hitting DVC out in PoCo and renting some of their pistols to see if there is something better suited to you. Or, if they aren't too busy, you should be able to ask Kelly or one of the other fellows for some pointers with your G17(They are all IPSC shooters). Or, if you frequent the PoCo District club, if it isn't too busy and Colin's working the line, he might be able to give you some pointers.(It was Colin's advice on how to more securely hold my pistols that cut my groups sizes in half.) A lot of practice along with some good tutoring will do wonders for your groups. I didn't get heavily into pistol shooting until 2008 even though I've been shooting since the 80's, and in less than 1 year I shrank my pistol groups from 12 inches at ~7 yards down to 1 inch. There's no secret to improving your skills, it's just requires a few lessons(grip, aim, trigger pull, etc) and then a lot of practice, practice, practice.

If you sign up for anything like PPC, IDPA, or IPSC, I'd expect your skills to improve dramatically as there will be plenty of experienced shooters to help you work through your accuracy issues. Plus, it'd force you to practice more:)

Good luck!
 
I also have a G17, and it's the hardest pistol to shoot accurately that I own. As mentioned already, concentration and practice will help.
A friend of mine had a lighter trigger put into his Glock and said it was a great improvement over stock. I'm going to do the same with mine when I get the chance.
That being said, I don't expect it'll ever shoot as well as the 1911.
 
the first think I would suspect wouild be your grip, and your trigger control. of the basic shooting fundamentals, those would be the two things that change most between a 1911 and Glock... I'm not an instructor, but I think these two points serve to reason.

palm should be high on the grip, no pressure should be placed on the sides of the grip.

trigger pull should be smooth, deliberate, and should not cause the gun to move.

practice will tell you more I think. if you can, try having some one seed blanks into your mag for you(tells you if your twitchy).
 
I had similar issues with my G17, and I still have a hell of a time landing lead exactly where my eyes are expecting the holes to show up. I get much tighter groups out of my CZ Shadow, and with my shadow I can drop lead exactly where my eyes expect the holes to show up. My Shadow has a tuned trigger, and I believe that has a lot to do with my better groups relative to my bone stock G17. Before giving up on your G17, maybe you can borrow another G17 with a modified trigger. If that works for you, drop a few bucks into tuning up your G17's trigger.

Or, if you love Glocks and you want a 9mm, how about trading your G17 for a longer G34? I was impressed with how much tighter my groups were with my buddy's G34 relative to my G17. I still do best with my shadow, but I put many thousands of rounds through my shadow last year and much less than 1,000 rounds through my G17(and only a few mags through the G34) over the last two or so years, so it's not a fair comparison.

Anyway, if your groups are consistently off center(yet tight) while veteran shooters are getting bulls eyes with your G17, it is likely related to your trigger skills.

I see that you are in BC. If you are in the lower mainland, you can try hitting DVC out in PoCo and renting some of their pistols to see if there is something better suited to you. Or, if they aren't too busy, you should be able to ask Kelly or one of the other fellows for some pointers with your G17(They are all IPSC shooters). Or, if you frequent the PoCo District club, if it isn't too busy and Colin's working the line, he might be able to give you some pointers.(It was Colin's advice on how to more securely hold my pistols that cut my groups sizes in half.) A lot of practice along with some good tutoring will do wonders for your groups. I didn't get heavily into pistol shooting until 2008 even though I've been shooting since the 80's, and in less than 1 year I shrank my pistol groups from 12 inches at ~7 yards down to 1 inch. There's no secret to improving your skills, it's just requires a few lessons(grip, aim, trigger pull, etc) and then a lot of practice, practice, practice.

If you sign up for anything like PPC, IDPA, or IPSC, I'd expect your skills to improve dramatically as there will be plenty of experienced shooters to help you work through your accuracy issues. Plus, it'd force you to practice more:)

Good luck!

good pointers, we were actually in at DVC today but I've never actually gone by myself or a friend with firearms to work on my technique, like today it was just me and two friends going to bang off a few rounds just for ####s and giggles.

There isn't many other pistols that I like but I guess I should try out a sig or something to see how they shoot. I've also heard that for whatever reason, people tend to shoot the smaller g19 better than their g17s.


I also have a G17, and it's the hardest pistol to shoot accurately that I own. As mentioned already, concentration and practice will help.
A friend of mine had a lighter trigger put into his Glock and said it was a great improvement over stock. I'm going to do the same with mine when I get the chance.
That being said, I don't expect it'll ever shoot as well as the 1911.

Can you find out exactly what he put into his? Also, does anyone know where in the lower mainland they stock glock parts?

I'd really like to keep it if I can get to shooting it better. I think a lighter trigger would do it wonders.
 
I was also just thinking, it wouldn't hurt to get the .22 kit for the glock instead of taking out my ruger mark 3 eh? And call me a noob but how does the advantage arms kit work? is it just a slide/barrel? How does it fire it being as though it's rimfire versus centre fire (same firing pin?)?
 
I believe it was a 3.5lb spring kit that he put in there, made by Glock. He got it at Target Sports(he used to work there). They're a site sponsor, you might try e-mailing them for more details.
I don't know about anyone in the Lower Mainland who stocks Glock parts, but there's plenty of places that'll ship you what you want. :cheers:
 
I was also just thinking, it wouldn't hurt to get the .22 kit for the glock instead of taking out my ruger mark 3 eh? And call me a noob but how does the advantage arms kit work? is it just a slide/barrel? How does it fire it being as though it's rimfire versus centre fire (same firing pin?)?

All you do with the AA kit is change out the slide and magazine. It's fast and easy to do the swap.

Some points to consider: When you are sighting your pistol and about to release the trigger are you focusing on your front sight? I only use the rear sight when I first aim at my target but when I'm about to release the trigger my focus is on the front sight. Also, how much 'finger' do you use when releasing the trigger? I only use enough finger to 'cover' the trigger. FWIW, I shoot a stock out the box G17. FWIW, I tried a 3.5 lb disconnector and lighter springs in it and, yes, it made the trigger pull lighter but I felt it made the gun unsafe for me. I already shot it well enough so I had it put back to "stock" condition (5lb disconnector and factory springs). YMMV....
 
Get a friend to load a mag for you with an unknown number of rounds. you'll find out pretty quick how bad your flinch is. I didn't believe it till I videotaped it.:D

I did that one myself, easy with a revolver, load one give it a spin, load another, give it a spin, close the gate, start shooting.

For a pistol, I like to use snap caps. I can see while I'm shooting if the slide is locked back on an empty mag. Also gives you practice clearing the gun.
 
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