I am a 30ish novice handgun shooter who tries to improve my abilities by reading threads,forums and watching television shows. American tv can glorify how to shoot fast and accurate but how does a guy who watches these programs learn to shoot more affectively when they never tell you distance. If you watch a show where an individual shoots, a glock 17 for example, 15 times on target in 4.5 sec, and then says"and you can too" spin a tale of mis belief. I mean, I try to practice at 10 yards shooting an 8" target. Now if I take my time, meaning 15 sec for 10 shots how the hell do I hit 10 for 10 on a 1" bull. Do these shows just suck me in to piss lead away down range or am I just not learning as fast as our southern brothers. I'm not trying to whine or win every comp, just wondering where it is totaly tv marketing or if shooting at 3 meters really fast makes you good. Or just really cool.
Tv shooting vs. real life
- Thread starter sask100
- Start date
Neither.
This rule applies to skills generally, not just shooting: First make it right, then work on fast.
Find an instructor/coach to make sure your technique is right. Then practise. Practise means thinking through and carrying out the process with shot after shot after shot, slowly, deliberately focused on what you are doing until it becomes habitual and you don't even realise you are thinking about it while you are doing it but you can tell after the shot that you must have been doing it right because the results are good.
But then, when you hit what you aim at you don't have to be that fast with the next shot.
I think he's referring to shows like Top Shot or Hot Shots, not Miami Vice.
As far as do and don't - I tought Miami Vice was pretty good at teaching the "don't"
carsmovies
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Mississauga, Ontario
Depending on the pistol (excluding .22) I can shoot about a 2" to 3" group at 10 yards, 10 shots, taking my time. I've been shooting pistol consistantly for about three years now including IPSC. The shooters on some of these shows have been shooting pistol for years and probably have better eyes than mine. Don't believe some of the forum posts saying they can shoot a 1" to 2" group off hand at 25 yards. I've yet to see it in person.
The bull on a PPC target is about 2" wide and 3" tall. I can assure you that there are shooters (not me) that can shoot groups that small at 25 yards, with a centerfire handgun. That target is also shot at 50 yards.
carsmovies
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Mississauga, Ontario
I didn't say there aren't some shooters that can do it but the majority can't.
Of course the majority can't. If they could they'd make the bull smaller, just like happened in 'F' class.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
TV and the movies are poor training aids. The hero doesn't need to be able to shoot well on TV. There is a great deal of information on the internet dealing with marksmanship and training to become a competent pistol shot, and that is what you should be paying attention to. There is a different of opinion between techniques, but that doesn't matter so much as learning one technique correctly and getting in as much practice as you can.
This^.
TV will probably do more harm than good.
Don't start trying to shoot too fast, just concentrate on each individual shot. Trigger control and muscle memory are what make or break your shooting. Practise at the range, practise dry firing at home, practise bringing up the firearm and getting your sight picture as quickly as possible - you don't even have to snap it. You can do that for 5 minutes every day and your shooting will improve remarkably for most people.
Just watched Predator 2 last night, man the gun handling is painfully bad. Look at everything you see on TV and don't so it. There lot's of good Youtube video, google IPSC shooters and look for instruction video's from the top shooters there.
TV is a very bad teacher. Like other haves said on this thread, do it slow, learn to pull the trigger straight back, not disturbing sight alignment. As you get more accurate, you will be able to shoot faster while keeping your groups at a reasonable size. I would also practice dry fire (shooting an empty gun or with a snap cap in the chamber).
As for small groups at longer distances, a friend of mine who is a firearm instructor for the RCMP can keep groups within 2.5 inches at 25 yards when he takes his time with an accurate gun. I saw him do it with my SVI gun, a ten shot group. Mind you, the guy has been shooting for 30 years and he does not do as well as that when he shoots fast.
As for small groups at longer distances, a friend of mine who is a firearm instructor for the RCMP can keep groups within 2.5 inches at 25 yards when he takes his time with an accurate gun. I saw him do it with my SVI gun, a ten shot group. Mind you, the guy has been shooting for 30 years and he does not do as well as that when he shoots fast.
Jim Zubiena was competent on that show:As far as do and don't - I tought Miami Vice was pretty good at teaching the "don't"
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The old books like McGivern's and the early work of Charles Askins the younger, is alright if you don't take it too much to heart. They did offer good advice on how to hold the gun, sight picture, trigger control, and so on. McGivern had cops running drills shooting from the running boards of a car, so that one might not be prudent today, and Askins believed you weren't much of a man if you could score with a .38 shooting it in one hand the way God intended. The custom touches he advised for a fighting gun today would pretty much considered butchery, particularly as it applied to cutting away the trigger guard. Keith's "Sixguns" pretty much dispelled that one, showing that putting both mitts on the revolver stock got you better scores, and if you could get both mitts on the gun and shoot from a supported position, so much the better. The point is to hit what you're aiming at, not to look cool, or I guess we'd all be holding our pistols sideways.
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
X2.
It takes a year of consistant practice before you will see improvements. Holding a gun (or any other tool) and becoming proficient with it takes time.
After a while, things will get better
Try chumming with some decent IPSC/IDPA shooters. Make it known that you ARE a new shooter ans you want to learn to be more proficient with a handgun.
Here's the hard part:forgetting the COD/TV/Hollywoodshyte you see. 99.9% of that gunplay is faked,staged,choreographed or all three.
Ears and Eyes open (and protected) mouth closed, and pay attention, and shooters will Be very inclined to help. It is in everyone's interest to see our sports grow. And there are very good shooters here, not just south of the border
Pistol is the most demanding firearm to learn. Short barrels and short sight radii compared to a long gun. Grip pressure in pistol is critical, as is trigger pressure. Plus the recoil is a bit of a handful.
Pistol is more about balance than brute force.
Best of luck
Year 1 for me was unlearning hollywood etc. as soon as I 'forgot' what I "knew" I started improving.
Year 2 for me was hanging around IPSC/IDPA matches. Asking questions, expressing interest in the sport
Until a shooter said, talk to that guy. He is a decent shooter and loves getting folks hooked on shooting.
Year 3 for me. Ok, we have accuracy and speed, and some experience with safe handling, now I'll spend the entire yeartrying to male all 3 work together in harmony.
Year 4
Year 5
Year???? I migh
Kayser Sose
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Van Isle
Totally marketing; 'looks really cool'.
Watched Expendables 2 last weekend... the training those guys must have had in the 'hang from one arm, sliding down a rope (at speed), firing one-handed rifle shooting' technique. The hours... the hours...
