New shooter and I'm horrible at it. Looking for training.

[Guest MidTNGlock]

I have a G19 that I've been shooting for the past 3 weekends. It's been fun but my accuracy is poor and I want to get better.

Where in middle TN can I get some personal instruction to improve my marksmanship? I'm not really looking for combat type instruction just yet. I'd just like to be able to go to the range and not be ashamed of my shooting performance.

[Dolomite_supafly]

You should be able to do a lot of training at home with dry firing practice. Which brings me to another point. Practice, practice and more practice will make improvements even if only dry firing.

There are also plenty of information and instructional videos online. Some are free and some cost. Also, find a local shooting club and they generally have instructors in basic marksmanship principles.

Personally, I would avoid Tactical Response if you attend classes. There are plenty of others without the issues they have.

Dolomite

[TMF]

It's hard to practice technique until you learn one. Go with a handgun course that focuses on the fundamentals of pistol marksmanship and then practice the techniques that you learn. I've been handling pistols since I was 6 and thought I knew what I was doing. It wasn't until I went to my first shooting school in my 20's that I realized I didn't know squat.

[Dolomite_supafly]

It's hard to practice technique until you learn one. Go with a handgun course that focuses on the fundamentals of pistol marksmanship and then practice the techniques that you learn. I've been handling pistols since I was 6 and thought I knew what I was doing. It wasn't until I went to my first shooting school in my 20's that I realized I didn't know squat.

Same here. I have been shooting all my life. Until my first formal training I didn't realize how good I could shoot. I do practice a lot now because I have a range at home. But I have also done a lot practicing while standing in front of the television.

Dolomite

[chances R]

A new shooter will certainly get their money's worth with a trip to Front Sight out in Las Vegas. A lifetime membership can be had for $500 or less, with access to every course they offer. Good technique/habits initially will keep you from having to 'unlearn' bad ones later.

[Will Carry]

I would recommend a basic Defensive Handgun class. They go into a lot of detail on trigger pull, grip and stance. We did things like balance an empty shell casing on the front site and try to dry fire without the casing falling off. You can also do it with a coin. The time to get instruction is now before you pick up bad habits. "Aim small miss small"

[BigK]

I'd look for an NRA marksmanship class, if you have your heart set on formal instruction. A good bullseye class will get your fundamentals tuned quicker than a self-defense class.

I feel I improved a lot by just reading books and watching videos from acclaimed shooters. Proper grip, sight alignment, and trigger control are pretty cut and dry. You're either doing it right or you're doing it wrong. Almost all of the books tell you the exact same thing about these points.

Which stance is best seems to more debatable and at least a dozen books have been written than focus mostly on these stances as the basis for their shooting "system". Deciding which stance worked best for me early on did me the most good. From there I read up on the shooting systems that used that stance.

[BigK]

Sorry, one more thing...

These guys are right, NOW is the time to get instruction. Until you learn the "right way", every trip to the range enforces BAD habits. I spent more time overcoming hundreds of hours of bad practice than I did learning the proper technique.

[Jamie Jackson]

Excellent advice on dry firing and seeking out basic instruction now, before you ingrain bad habits like most of us are prone to do.

Something you might want to look at are some of the videos posted by Paul Gomez. Paul was a living encyclopedia of guns, training and tactics and a gifted instructor.

Paul posted several videos here on TGO as he was planning on making TN his new home. RIP...I miss you Buddy.

Link:

[TGO David]

A new shooter will certainly get their money's worth with a trip to Front Sight out in Las Vegas. A lifetime membership can be had for $500 or less, with access to every course they offer. Good technique/habits initially will keep you from having to 'unlearn' bad ones later.

[Guest BungieCord]

IMHO, a Glock is about the worst possible choice for learning to shoot. Don't get me wrong, I loves da Glocks, I just think that learning to shoot and learning to manipulate that Glock safe-action trigger are more easily accomplished if they're divided into two separate tasks. Like learning to juggle and ride a unicycle. It's easier if you learn them independently, then combine the two.

Glocks aside, you can't expect to be knocking splitfinger fastballs into the cheap seats the first time you step into the batter's box. And one of the Glock's redeeming features is it's impervious to being dry fired, which can help acclimatize your booger hook to that funky trigger. So work the hell out of that thing.

Even Alvin York didn't learn to shoot in three weeks so it might be premature to be proclaiming yourself the shakiest gun in the west. However, it's never too early to get good/safe gunhandling skills ingrained into your behavior. I've never used their services but I know some of the indoor ranges in the midstate have NRA-certified handgun instructors. You might contact them and ask what they offer. Even if they don't give you the skills to hit the stuff you're missing now, they definitely will teach you how not to shoot the stuff you shouldn't, ...like your foot.

[Guest MidTNGlock]

It's hard to practice technique until you learn one.

That's exactly where I'm at right now. I practice but I'm not sure what I'm doing is correct or not.

[Guest MidTNGlock]

I'd look for an NRA marksmanship class, if you have your heart set on formal instruction. A good bullseye class will get your fundamentals tuned quicker than a self-defense class.

I feel I improved a lot by just reading books and watching videos from acclaimed shooters. Proper grip, sight alignment, and trigger control are pretty cut and dry. You're either doing it right or you're doing it wrong. Almost all of the books tell you the exact same thing about these points.

Which stance is best seems to more debatable and at least a dozen books have been written than focus mostly on these stances as the basis for their shooting "system". Deciding which stance worked best for me early on did me the most good. From there I read up on the shooting systems that used that stance.

I'll look for an NRA class like you're talking about. Any recommended reading or maybe some DVDs on target shooting fundamentals?

[Guest MidTNGlock]

IMHO, a Glock is about the worst possible choice for learning to shoot. Don't get me wrong, I loves da Glocks, I just think that learning to shoot and learning to manipulate that Glock safe-action trigger are more easily accomplished if they're divided into two separate tasks. Like learning to juggle and ride a unicycle. It's easier if you learn them independently, then combine the two.

Glocks aside, you can't expect to be knocking splitfinger fastballs into the cheap seats the first time you step into the batter's box. And one of the Glock's redeeming features is it's impervious to being dry fired, which can help acclimatize your booger hook to that funky trigger. So work the hell out of that thing.

Even Alvin York didn't learn to shoot in three weeks so it might be premature to be proclaiming yourself the shakiest gun in the west. However, it's never too early to get good/safe gunhandling skills ingrained into your behavior. I've never used their services but I know some of the indoor ranges in the midstate have NRA-certified handgun instructors. You might contact them and ask what they offer. Even if they don't give you the skills to hit the stuff you're missing now, they definitely will teach you how not to shoot the stuff you shouldn't, ...like your foot.

A guy at the range let me shoot his 9mm SIG and some kind of 22lr. I shot worse with those than the Glock.

They watched me pretty close my first day at the range to make sure I understand the safety rules and manual of arms for my pistol. I'm sure there is always more to learn but I think what I've learned so far will keep me from having accidents.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions and encouragement.

[TMF]

That's exactly where I'm at right now. I practice but I'm not sure what I'm doing is correct or not.

Just look into one of these weekend pistol courses that focus on fundamentals. It's hard to develop those when you don't know correct from incorrect and there is no one there to critique you. Once you've been taught and critiqued a little by an instructor, later down the road it makes it easier to identify what you're doing wrong on your own.

Edited August 6, 2012 by TMF 18B

[TMF]

.

Edited August 6, 2012 by TMF 18B

[Jonnin]

A guy at the range let me shoot his 9mm SIG and some kind of 22lr. I shot worse with those than the Glock.

They watched me pretty close my first day at the range to make sure I understand the safety rules and manual of arms for my pistol. I'm sure there is always more to learn but I think what I've learned so far will keep me from having accidents.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions and encouragement.

Ask at your range if they have any instructors. They may have someone certified or know someone.

I am neutral about learning on the glock. On the one hand, its your gun, you are gonna carry it one day maybe, and the more you use that one, the better you get with it. It isnt a target pistol but (and I dislike them... keep that in mind) they are plenty accurate. On the other hand, the trigger is unfriendly and the recoil is a bit stout and can lead to flinching.

I will leave you with one thought: if you are serious, a .22 target pistol (not talking olympic here, just a ruger mark or similar gun, $400 or so) will pay for itself in short order and is much better for accuracy training. By the time you have pulled the trigger on that 9mm 2500-3000 times, the ammo cost would have paid for both the .22 AND the same amount of ammo for it.... or very nearly.

[Cruel Hand Luke]

Not exactly middle TN , but I do have a class coming up in 2 weeks in the Chattanooga area. It is our Defensive Pistol Skills class. More info can be found here in this thread........http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/46059-suarez-defensive-pistol-glock-armorer-chattanooga-area-aug-18-19/

The class has about 5 signed up so far so you'll get plenty of 1 on 1 coaching. I'm not joking when I say I'll help you to shoot better than you thought was possible.

[Guest nysos]

You can do a decent amount of pistol practice on your own. First I would learn some proper grips, there are a couple different ones you can go with - and some feel awkward at first until you get used to it. After you have your grip down, work on trigger control. I would say a good majority of pistol shooting is trigger manipulation. As others have said before, dry firing is good practice for this. Just simply pointing at the wall and practicing slowly squeezing the trigger repeatedly and doing your best to keep the sites steady and pointed at the same spot. This is also good practice to help train out of flinching, if you have that problem.

There are also this training target that help you identify what you may be doing wrong while shooting. Below is for a right handed shooter, but for left handed you just reverse it.

[Dave Shooter]

I have a G19 that I've been shooting for the past 3 weekends. It's been fun but my accuracy is poor and I want to get better.

Where in middle TN can I get some personal instruction to improve my marksmanship? I'm not really looking for combat type instruction just yet. I'd just like to be able to go to the range and not be ashamed of my shooting performance.

Another thing you can do as a supplement to whatever training you decide to get is come up to Dickson for NTPS match next weekend. No, it is not tactical training. But some of the best pistol shots in the state will be there and several are excellant instructors. Best of all, you can pick their brains for free and maybe get one to troubleshoot your techniques or show you some you may not have seen.

I've been shooting for over 30 years and still learning. Welcome to the journey!

[Guest MidTNGlock]

Ask at your range if they have any instructors. They may have someone certified or know someone.

I am neutral about learning on the glock. On the one hand, its your gun, you are gonna carry it one day maybe, and the more you use that one, the better you get with it. It isnt a target pistol but (and I dislike them... keep that in mind) they are plenty accurate. On the other hand, the trigger is unfriendly and the recoil is a bit stout and can lead to flinching.

I will leave you with one thought: if you are serious, a .22 target pistol (not talking olympic here, just a ruger mark or similar gun, $400 or so) will pay for itself in short order and is much better for accuracy training. By the time you have pulled the trigger on that 9mm 2500-3000 times, the ammo cost would have paid for both the .22 AND the same amount of ammo for it.... or very nearly.

A Ruger 22/45 or Advantage Arms 22lr conversion for the G19 is next on my list. I definitely need to cut ammo costs. Been shooting 250 rounds every Saturday and another 250 on Sundays and it's still not enough trigger time.

[Guest MidTNGlock]

Not exactly middle TN , but I do have a class coming up in 2 weeks in the Chattanooga area. It is our Defensive Pistol Skills class. More info can be found here in this thread........http://www.tngunowne...area-aug-18-19/

The class has about 5 signed up so far so you'll get plenty of 1 on 1 coaching. I'm not joking when I say I'll help you to shoot better than you thought was possible.

Won't be able to make it but will certainly keep it in mind for future classes. Thanks for the invite!

[Guest MidTNGlock]

You can do a decent amount of pistol practice on your own. First I would learn some proper grips, there are a couple different ones you can go with - and some feel awkward at first until you get used to it. After you have your grip down, work on trigger control. I would say a good majority of pistol shooting is trigger manipulation. As others have said before, dry firing is good practice for this. Just simply pointing at the wall and practicing slowly squeezing the trigger repeatedly and doing your best to keep the sites steady and pointed at the same spot. This is also good practice to help train out of flinching, if you have that problem.

There are also this training target that help you identify what you may be doing wrong while shooting. Below is for a right handed shooter, but for left handed you just reverse it.

Couldn't see the file you posted but I think I know which target you are talking about.

Thanks for the help everybody.

Edited August 7, 2012 by MidTNGlock

[BigK]

I'll look for an NRA class like you're talking about. Any recommended reading or maybe some DVDs on target shooting fundamentals?

Best book I ever read on the subject was Surgical Speed Shooting by Andy Stanford. It should be required reading for IDPA and anyone interested in self-defense. Don't let the title fool you, it covers the basics brilliantly, IMO.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has a decent collection of free videos (nssf.org). I'd recommend checking out their YouTube channel. Look for Handgun Shooting Tips. Really, any of the videos on YouTube by professional shooters would be worth watching.

The NRA has a DVD program, but it's $80. I'd spend that money on a class instead.

[BigK]

A Ruger 22/45 or Advantage Arms 22lr conversion for the G19 is next on my list. I definitely need to cut ammo costs. Been shooting 250 rounds every Saturday and another 250 on Sundays and it's still not enough trigger time.

You're already thinking in the right direction! Learning the basics on a .22 pistol is the ideal way to go.