problem being accurate at distance

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Llywelyn

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ok, so I've been pistol shooting for about 6 months now. I have a norinco np22. Gun has worked flawlessly and I shoot pretty well with it considering the short time I've been shooting. BUT, once I get out past 15 meters the gun seems to be very inaccurate. I've assumed it was me, but using different ammo and different shooter and even off a rest doesn't seem to make a difference. at 25meters I can only get a couple rounds to hit the target. I realize its not a high end gun, I also realize that pistols don't have a great effective range...but i see many other people(even those that arn't super shots) hitting the target consistantly at that range.

So my question is, what could be the cause of the horrible inaccuracy. Is it just the fact that its a norc? Or is it just this gun in particular. What can I do to try and increase accuracy, or what things could I try to make it better? I'm at a bit of a loss on this one. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.
 
You have to determine if it's you or the gun or the ammo, usually best done by shooting from a solid rest, esp. sandbags with the barrel supported, if it doesn't shoot good, try different ammo. This way you are taking your own shooting out of the equation.
 
I would take Ben's advice. When i had my NP-22 i had no trouble hitting the steel plates at my range, and they are set at 25 yards from the shooting bench. Our weird range nazi insists on no close up shooting of them. The are 6" round with a steel lip for a stand welded to the bottom. Keep trying, you'll figure it out.
 
My daughter has the same pistol and shoots Blazer 22's through it. When I shoot it, I can group fairly well out to 25 yards. Your front sight is no further away from you at 25 yards than it is at 5 yards. Just concentrate on your front sight and your trigger control - don't forget to breathe. Many newer shooters tend to look over their front sight unconsciously as they shoot to see where the bullets hit. When the target is at 5 or 7 yards, mistakes aren't as exaggerated as when the target is at 25 yards. You own a nice little pistol and it should be a lot of fun to shoot. As suggested, try shooting from a rest and different brands of ammo. But also try blasting a few thousand rounds downrange.
 
25 meters is a really healthy distance to be shooting pistol. Unfortunately (or fortunately maybe), I was forced to start at 25 meters because my close target range requires an orientation that I haven't been able to do yet.

I had a hard time shooting at that distance, but after making a thread about it, I got some fantastic advice and started shooting much better at that range (except for Glocks lol).

Everything matters at this range. Trigger control, grip, stance, sights, follow through....it is crazy how the smallest deviance can send a round into the weeds.

When I started seriously shooting at this range, I found that concentrating while not concentrating was the best approach. I know...that sounds retarded.

But hear me out...

If I thought too much about what I was doing, I would f it up. If I thought too little, I would f it up. There is a middle ground I found through dry firing exercises. I practiced trigger pull and stance at home, and then follow through and sights at the range. I found that I was able to maintain good technique this way...except with Glocks lol (I am still working on those).

I went from shooting left of centre with my guns to dead centre, decent groups. This included a Norc 1911 in 9mm.

But, as others suggested, get someone else to shoot your pistol, too. That can tell you a lot about what has to be done and will give you a good jumping off point.
 
ben hunchak said:
You have to determine if it's you or the gun or the ammo, usually best done by shooting from a solid rest, esp. sandbags with the barrel supported, if it doesn't shoot good, try different ammo. This way you are taking your own shooting out of the equation.
Click to expand...

:agree: Yep, this is the way to go. :)
 
What's your idea of good groups at closer distances?

At 5 meters, for example, you should group an inch or less if you shoot slow, careful 5 shot groups. That spreads out as you go further away, but 2 inches at 10 meters and 4 inches at 20 meters are roughly what a pistol that holds a 1 inch group at 5 will do, from my experience with SIG / Norinco / similar autos.

Can you group 1 inch or less at 5 meters?
 
Gunzik's post and the same sort from the others is what came to my mind too.

However along with this clean the barrel with a bronze wire brush. If the gun is fairly new it could be that some slight burrs from the manufacturing are causing it to lead up. And a leaded up barrel isn't an accurate barrel.

With the barrel cleaned then Gunzik's posts are the yardstick to work from.
 
An accurate handgun and an accurate shooter should be able to keep your shots around 1" at 25 yards. This is a lot harder to do then you might think, I personally only know maybe a half dozen people who can do it on demand (and I'm not one of them). But it does give you something to aim for (if you'll pardon the play on words) as you develop your skills. Isolate each aspect of your shooting (gun, ammo, technique) and figure out what you need to do to get better. Remember, it's a process. - dan
 
Does the OP wear corrective eye glasses? Are the sights sharp at the expense of target clearity? I learned that lesson the hard way.

M
 
My bad on the barrel leading. I saw "22" in the gun's name and immediately thought of the .22LR M93 Huntsman style plinker. Now that I know it's a 9mm the barrel leading suggestion doesn't hold any water... unless you're shooting non jacketed rounds.
 
man alive 1 inch?!. at 25 yards I'm lucky to get 3 inches with a GP100 shooting cold 38's. with my P226 elite I can barely keep 5 inches at 20 yards. I'd like to shoot with your boys one day and maybe learn what I'm doing wrong.
 
Llywelyn said:
I think I've pretty much determined that I'm not the problem...I've shot some other pistols and shot decent. Any gun related ideas? things that I can check?
Click to expand...

Not neccessarily. different guns will fit different in your hand...thus you can shoot crappy with one gun and shoot really good with another, for grip reasons, triggers....this can be corrected after knowing the problem and working at correcting it..
also regarding using rest..it's great idea and keep trying that, but be aware that even with sand bag rest or other, you can still flinch/twist/pull the gun, using these and at 25 yards, still shoot a little worse than you want.

ie. i shoot reasonable well with my sti and colt, but with my G19, I always pull them to the left... but if I really make sure I'm squeezing carefully and support the left side of the gun better with my left thumb, I don't flinch or twist to left and get it off smooth and straight.. so it's the grip.. I love my g19, but the way I hold it in natural form, I pull left... i don't do this with my colt.. i think i might ever so slightly with my sti edge...i guess wider grips are the problem for me..

So next time, really pay attention to what the front sight is doing when you're slowly and carefully pulling trigger...
 
Don't loose heart, six months is a drop in the bucket for a new pistol shooter. That's a vague ruler buddy too. What six months with once a week shooting, twice or three times a week maybe?? Don't be disheartened. Ben's advice rings true here. Also, why not pick up a revolver with a reputation for accuracy.
Borrow one perhaps, with good ammo and try this from a rest again, in regards to Ben's advice.

You may be very surprized friend. That magical 1inch at 25 yards might be easily achieveable using this method.
Then you'll know if it's you or the gun/ammo combination.
 
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