Drop me some knowledge, shooters!

[StPatrick]

I've only been into handguns for about a year, and while my precision (repeatability) has improved, my accuracy (on point of aim) has not. I'm right handed, and have the same problem lots of others do - I miss left or low / left. No reconfiguration of grip or trigger finger position seems to change this. Below are two targets, both from five yards. The tendencies shown are consistent at greater distances, but the spread is greater.

I'm asking those of you in the know to help me fix my flaw. I'd adjust my sights, but I don't want to adjust the guns to fit my mistakes; I want to adjust myself to shoot straighter.

First, here is one magazine (19 rounds) of WWB at 5 yards from a Springfield XDm in 9mm:

Next is a target with 40 rounds of .22 Win "333" HV HP from a Ruger MkIII. The leftward tendency is still there, and the low-tendency is more pronounced with the low recoil. Discount the two flyers; those are a concentration issue, I think.

Any suggestions from fellow TGOers are appreciated. Thanks!

I use flickr, and it's not cooperating. If anybody knows how to get their images embedded, please let me know so I can fix it.

[Guest That Guy]

Low left is probably trigger control. Try some dry fire exercises. Maybe get some snap caps. Load them in your magazines (one or two in each) sporadically. The objective is to see if you are unwittingly anticipating the recoil, and thus dropping your front sight. You'd be surprised. Also, ensure only the tip of you index finger is making contact with the trigger.

Another culprit is the "death grip". Squeezing too hard with your shooting hand will cause you to "palm" the gun and drop your front sight low-left.

If you think it is your sights, have a few trusted individuals shoot it before you adjust 'em.

Hope it helps.

[Guest Bluemax]

I had a copy of a target which explained why an individual would shoot off center. If I remember correctly ( thats a long shot ) I was shooting high right which meant that I was anticipating my shots. If anyone has a copy of this they could post it's a pretty good tool that a lot of firearms instructers use. I'll keep looking for mine but it is simply a target with explanations of why one's shots may be off center

[Smith]

I had the same problem when I first started..... and for a while after that. My problem was too much finger on the trigger. I was putting the trigger in a comfortable spot very close to the first joint. When i would pull the trigger I didn't have enough slack left in my finger to pull straight back and i ended up pulling the entire gun left and down as I squeezed. I was also anticipating recoil. Once I realized what I was doing and adjusted for those errors, my accuracy improved dramatically.

Another thing that helped me was learning reset. In other words holding the trigger back until back on target then letting out just enough for it to reset then quickly pulling again. Took a lot of the "thinking" out of the beginning of the trigger pull and put it at the end where it doesn't affect accuracy.

[Ebow1]

I have a tendecy to miss high and to the left. Anybody know what that one means? This has happened in multiple stances.

[Smith]

Wish I could find the help target, but IIRC that usually is a a sign of too tight of a grip. The harder you squeeze it will pull it back into the outside of your arm.

[Smith]

Here is is.

[Ebow1]

Pushing.

[Guest Straight Shooter]

StPatrick-

I couldnt see the pics for some reason, but heres my two cents.

DRY FIRE. A LOT. Ill sit here and dry fire dozens of times a day. My thing is anytime I see a "O" or circle on TV, I pop it. And those annoying as hell little boxes in the corner that tell you what station your on, like you dont already know, I pop them alot. Doing it against a white wall or screen will help you see if your sights are moving easier. This is getting to the "brass tacks" of handgunning, finding out whats causing a problem, then eliminating it. You keep on trying brother, youll get it right shortly, just keep on practicing.

[gotigers]

I would suggest a good intermediate handgun class based on shooting fundementals. Grip and trigger pull was my problem. The class fixed all my issues. If i concentrate on fundementals my groups are centered.

[Mad_Squirrell]

Listen to straight shooter he's right.Dry fire a bunch for at least 10 mins a day .I don't have that luxury. I drive a Truck over the road and I am not allowed to have a weapon on board .(I think I may buy a blank pistol for this come to think about it )

I have the same problem you do If I plan on going to the range before I go I do some dry fire practice for about twenty mins before I head to the range . That seems to help. Anticipating recoil plus grip and trigger problems are because of bad habits. By dry firing you have no recoil and your mind knows that . By making sure you stay on target when you "Press" the trigger will condition your mind before actually shooting until you've done it enough where it becomes second nature .

here are some some articles that may help you out as well

Articles About Shooting

[Guest CK1]

Think you'll find the low-left thing is pretty common with the lighter weight polymer striker-fired guns. Took myself (and about a billion other guys) a while to get rid of it, but you'll shake it.

IMO, I wouldn't pay much attention to those "shooting diagnosis" targets, from what I've seen they seem to help with guys having problems with traditional hammer-fired guns, but they don't really seem to work for the kinks associated with the striker-fired guns. They'll have you pondering what exactly "too much trigger" or "not enough trigger" actually means and most likely won't get you anywhere.

As has been mentioned, part of it is trigger-control. Since the striker guns have you tensioning the striker spring (or in an XD's case lifting the firing pin block) when you're pulling the trigger for most guys pulling straight back is a hurdle, turns out, from how I and many others have observed, in order to really get a straight back pull it can and should almost feel like you're pulling the trigger a bit to the right... seems strange at first, which is exactly why you should dry-fire a million times to make it muscle-memory. Now, whether you decide to use the pad of your finger tip as is generally recommended and preferred or the distal-joint is up to you, if you can pull straight back with your big toe then use that if you want.

Beyond and along with the trigger-control, the biggest thing that people miss is GRIP. LOTS of guys don't have a real handle on their grip technique and some heavier guns will let you get away with it (1911's, Sig's, Beretta's, etc) without much ill-effect, but in the case of the poly striker-fired guns, they're pretty much unforgiving. Having your grip technique solid where it's repeatable and ingrained is just huge.

The "thumbs forward" grip is pretty much the modern standard and while you may come across a shooter here and there who's pretty good who doesn't use it, it's pretty ubiquitous amongst the guys who can really shoot. Things to remember are that your support-hand is actually more important than your strong-hand, and that having your support-hand arm straighter than your strong arm (which may be opposite from what you've been told until now) when out in front of you will make an accurate hit more likely (think of your support-hand as sort of a Y-shaped bi-pod like with a rifle, really your strong-hand is just there to pull the trigger correctly).

Here's a vid that I've posted before that may not seem like it on first look, but is a huge help, at 1min 30secs in Mr. Sevigny shows how you should be gripping your gun, if you roll your support-hand wrist outward it'll make more sense towards getting to feel right, but it's counter-intuitive so it'll take some practice until it feels "normal"... Another thing that he shows very quickly that is quite crucial is when he first grips the gun he shows kind of a "claw" using the web of his strong-hand between the thumb and meat of the index finger, while you won't need to necessarily crush the gun with it, some strength here feeling natural to you will work wonders in overcoming the tendency of the gun to twist as the trigger is on it's way back, don't miss it. IMO you can't copy Dave enough...

Hope this helps and good luck.

YouTube - Milspecmonkey.com Shotshow 2007 Glock