new sig p226 stainless elite .40 shooting like crap.. what do i do?

Thanks for that. And everyone else as well. I'll have to come out to idpa at my range and get some help before I make any decsions about selling such a beauty gun

Show up to skills and drills at AFGC some time and we will get you sorted on the gun so you can make a decision.
 
My experience was P226's in .40 are very hard to shoot well {as an inexperienced shooter}. High bore axis combined with snappiness of the .40 makes for a very difficult gun to control without pushing. How many pistols have you owned and shot extensively? I ended up getting a Grand Power in 9mm that I shoot groups half the size of the both my P226 and Norinco NP40 (in fact, the NP40 shot better for me strangely). It also allowed me to develop my skills more successfully than with the .40.

I would tend to agree with you, except that it is a SS elite. I have this same pistol, and shoot it quite well, however I am quite experienced shooting pistol, and will put 500+ rounds down range in a weekend during a tactical course. The extra weight really soaks up the snappy recoil of the .40, and I don't find it significantly different than shooting a non stainless 226 elite or 229 in 9mm. I suspect a bit of a flinch, but wouldn't blame the high bore axis on the gun. If it was a non stainless version, yes it is a bit more of a snap, but in the ss it is one of my favorite Sigs to shoot.
 
Ahh true, I didn't consider that (haven't handled an SS). They are gorgeous handguns, and I'm by no means telling the guy to get rid of his, only that spending time with another caliber/platform could likely make him shoot it better as well. I absolutely love the 226 styling, service history and everything. I hope to own another some day to round out my collection.
 
A couple of things to keep in mind as a new shooter. Grip the gun firmly but not "white-knuckle" tight, as high up on the grip as possible. Don't worry about trying to absorb all the recoil--the gun will exhibit some muzzle jump but just "go with it". Trying to control all the recoil will lead to flinching. Concentrate on the front sight the whole time while squeezing the trigger slowly all the way in. Finally, keep the trigger fully depressed for a bit after recoil to reduce the chance of "snatching" the trigger. I have found .40 SIGs pleasant to shoot.
 
I respectfully disagree from my own experience. check out some of my posts with target results. I am still new, 5-month new into this sport. my first handgun is MP40 range kit. with weekly practice, 100-150 round/week. in 4 months, @ 15 meters, I can land all my shots in the kill zones. Before I owned anything and during probation, I passed my accuracy test with glock 21 45 ACP and failed with a brand new P320 9mm. I think this is enough evidence to say it's not the gun or caliber, it's the shooter. the difference was with the new 9mm, the trigger was stiff and I was a little rush(main problem), while the G21 has a very short trigger reset, and I did take one shot at a time. in the end, the RO had to count twice to make sure I landed the all the shots on paper because they were so tight togehter. it was @ 7 yards.
So, I would say, proper fundamentals and lots of practice. as long as it's not way over one's physical strength(at least you should be able to lock your wrist), I don't see why we can start with big calibers. I am not a big guy at all by the way..

Learning to shoot a pistol is not easy. It is the most difficult of the firearm arts, and you have crippled yourself by going to a high powered cartridge and expecting to do well immediately. Put the Sig away, find a 22, learn the basics, and when you can average 70% on the NRA target at 25 yards, you may be able to go back to a centerfire gun. Forty years of competition experience tells me there is no one on this planet who could pick up a 40 and shoot an excellent score without having put in the time to achieve competency. When the brass is hip deep around you might be there.
 
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Practice, dry firing, and more dry firing.

Got my stainless P226 with those gorgeous rosewood grips, swore I'd never take them off. In the end, too wide, too slippery. Went with G10 pirahnas in straight black, they almost stick to your hand.

RM



 
There's nothing wrong with the gun, it's you (sorry but it's true). A 16x16 target at 10 yards can be consistently hit even with a defective handgun. If you thought that your long gun experience was going to translate over to handguns think again, lol. Long guns have more points of contact which can hide/help small errors, a handgun...not so much.

Keep practising sight alignment/picture, trigger manipulation/control, and follow through. If you want to see how bad you're flinching use a snap cap/dummy round mixed in with the live ammo.
 
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If you want to see how bad you're flinching use a snap cap/dummy round mixed in with the live ammo.

The snap caps definitely helped me figure out my first pistol, an M&P40. Those things loaded with the bulk 165 grainers had some pretty good snap. If you're not now, try some 180's and you'll notice they're quite a bit softer.

Something else to try is dry fire practice. Keep the gun unloaded or use a snap cap and just practice slowly squeezing the trigger so you get a feel for how the trigger breaks and resets then do the same at the range then load your mags with a single bullet each and dry fire between each mag change. Once you start finding your hits on paper you'll see what she's actually capable of.

Might sound slow and boring but it helped me tame a polymer 40 doing this
 
To the OP. It is the Indian, not the arrow. 40 cal 226's are great shooters pending the drivers skill level. Learning with a 40 is a bit of a steeper learning curve, but ultimately if you stick to it you will come out on top. Do not listen to the people telling you to buy and 22 because it will make you a better shooter. That is absolute hog wash, if you want to learn to run a pistol you best be shooting a center fire. Learn the proper two handed grip, isosceles stance, proper trigger control, and how to maintain a consistent sight picture. If you apply yourself to learn you will succeed. If you don't committ all the way you will never get the where you want the of be. If I had an hour of range time with you I could correct everything and have you shooting tight groups. Also stay away from anything past 10 yards for a while, beginners have no business past 5 yards until they can shoot an inch or less group IMO. Shooting at 20 yards is only going to show you how much ammo you wasted. Good luck, I hope you succeed.
 
yes defective pistol return it for refund or sell it on EE as unfired ...:endSarcasm: Hand guns are a challenge to shoot . The short sight radius and other factors make them way more challenging than a rifle . Give it time and a LOT more ammo and you will get the hang of it, there are multiple ways to sight in your pistol. Sometimes a six o clock hold is a good way to go . 20 yards has the potential for a small error making it a clean miss at the target.
if your sight alignment is off by just 1/16th of an inch at 20 feet, the result will be a 4.5-inch separation between point of impact and your intended target.
That is 1 third of 20 yards ! Take time to figure out your natural shooting position ,take time to ensure proper sight alignment and proper sight placement and finally take even more time mastering your trigger pull . Get some snap caps and practice holding your sights on a small area (a dot the size of a dime ). When/where it is safe to have your pistol out and unloaded, practice pulling the trigger on a snap cap and watching how much your Point of Aim will change . Speed will come with time .
 
To the OP. It is the Indian, not the arrow. 40 cal 226's are great shooters pending the drivers skill level. Learning with a 40 is a bit of a steeper learning curve, but ultimately if you stick to it you will come out on top. Do not listen to the people telling you to buy and 22 because it will make you a better shooter. That is absolute hog wash, if you want to learn to run a pistol you best be shooting a center fire. Learn the proper two handed grip, isosceles stance, proper trigger control, and how to maintain a consistent sight picture. If you apply yourself to learn you will succeed. If you don't committ all the way you will never get the where you want the of be. If I had an hour of range time with you I could correct everything and have you shooting tight groups. Also stay away from anything past 10 yards for a while, beginners have no business past 5 yards until they can shoot an inch or less group IMO. Shooting at 20 yards is only going to show you how much ammo you wasted. Good luck, I hope you succeed.

learning on a 22 is not hogwash, its not necessary for everyone, but neither is it hogwash. If you are teaching yourself its much easier to do with a 22 than a 40 cal. If others are teaching you that's a different story. Taking the big bang and big kick out of the equation when learning is ALWAYS advantageous no matter who you are.

Keep in mind less than 11% of shots fired by Police hit their targets. these shots are fired by trained individuals and at close ranges. Shooting a pistol is not easy to do. the first time I tried, I used a 357 magnum and shot the end off my shoe. thank goodness there was extra material or i would have lost my foot. now i can hit targets at ranges most would never believe. the 22 did me a lot of good, and still does.
 
See my sig line.

I don't know what you're doing wrong, but if I was you, I would put the target at 7 yds, holding the front sight with complete focus and fire one round. Look at the POI closely. Repeat until you're making a group, one ragged hole at that range, and then see if your sights are out. Start close, analyze, make adjustments if necessary, and then start working the target at further distances.
 
This! It's what I did with my M&P40(first gun) and SR1911(2nd gun). I also shot videos while I was shooting to see what went wrong. I got probably some of the most boring shooting videos in the world on my computer. At the beginning, for the first one or two months, my interval between shots was like 30 seconds or more, but it pays off in a few months. This is a game of patience. Be slow and steady so that we can be fast and accurate down the road.


See my sig line.

I don't know what you're doing wrong, but if I was you, I would put the target at 7 yds, holding the front sight with complete focus and fire one round. Look at the POI closely. Repeat until you're making a group, one ragged hole at that range, and then see if your sights are out. Start close, analyze, make adjustments if necessary, and then start working the target at further distances.
 
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Practice, dry firing, and more dry firing.

Got my stainless P226 with those gorgeous rosewood grips, swore I'd never take them off. In the end, too wide, too slippery. Went with G10 pirahnas in straight black, they almost stick to your hand.

RM




Where did you get those? I have some soft rubber Hogue grips as well but don't really find them to be anything special. G10 would be nice.
 
OP - take a course with a good instructor, it's tons of fun and you'll learn things that you'd never figure out on your own. Equipment is never a substitute for ability. Where you are, I'd go the Skills and Drills route at Abby, probably the best deal on training you'll ever find.
 
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I'll give a big +1 on those grips, I loved mine:


I believe you can order direct from Hogue, they are the Extreme G10 series. I just noticed that Reliable has them as well. They're pricy, but there is nothing like them. :dancingbanana:
 
Put a laser boresight in the barrel, look at a target 10-20m away (either down your hall, or out the window into your backyard, at night, or whereever, and peer down the sights - if sights do not line up with your red dot, there's something wrong. All my guns are either dead hold (when sights are lined up, hole goes where front dot is), or 6 o'clock hold (hole appear just above lined-up sights).

If the sights are off, fix 'em. If the sights are good, fix the shooter :)
 
Not to derail all of the coaching and tips here, but when I purchased my first P226 in 40S&W, it shot different than my 9mm SIGs...low, to be exact. Front sight on a P226 40 is a #6, with an #8 rear. On the 9mm P226, sights are #8, front and rear. The #6 front sight on the 40 is taller than the #8 on the 9mm, making POI lower. When I changed my sights to be the same, #8 front and rear, POI was pretty much dead on with POA.

Just a suggestion, OP...maybe try setting up your sights like the 9mm P226 -- #8 front and rear. You might not be as bad as everyone thinks you are!!! LOL
 
Not to derail all of the coaching and tips here, but when I purchased my first P226 in 40S&W, it shot different than my 9mm SIGs...low, to be exact.

But not missing a 16x16 target at 10 yards kinda low, lol.

Are slight adjustments required from time to time? Sure but missing something that large at a distance that close points towards operator error.
 
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