Embarrassed with my carry gun.

[cyberlogicx]

My in-laws were visiting from Minnesota, and I decided to take them out shooting, because 'Murika. My grandfather-in-law carries a XDM .40, and he wanted to try out my P229 .357. I have one of those clay pigeon holders, and at 25 feet, he popped all nine clays with nine rounds. Admittedly, I'm a little out of practice, it's been well over six months since I last pulled the trigger on anything, but I hit three out of the nine clays with 12 rounds. I know I need more practice, but is there any way I can keep my edge otherwise?

 

[Cabin Fever]

A little dry fire goes a long way.

 

[RImike]

If you don't/can't get to the range, there are alternate methods Laserlyte, you can do it in the basement. This is what I use:



They also make an adapter that fits your firearm and a bunch of accessories: http://www.laserlyte.com/collections/lts

 

[Sprocket]

.22 LR pistol + accuracy drills = betterer

 

[jibbr71]

A little dry fire goes a long way.

This.

And when you get to the range, this:
http://youtu.be/mBujg4IRVp8

 

[45collector]

Don't forget either, that you may need to adjust your POA at 25 feet if you're used to shooting pistol at 25 yards.

At the Hora Dolor Sept 7th, pistol stage, I was dinging the hanging gongs no problem at all. When I had to hit clay pigeons mounted on a board like 6 feet away, I missed like 40%. I'm not used to shooting that close and I was aiming way too high.

 

[cyberlogicx]

Don't forget either, that you may need to adjust your POA at 25 feet if you're used to shooting pistol at 25 yards.

At the Hora Dolor Sept 7th, pistol stage, I was dinging the hanging gongs no problem at all. When I had to hit clay pigeons mounted on a board like 6 feet away, I missed like 40%. I'm not used to shooting that close and I was aiming way too high.

I do the majority of my pistol shooting at around 25 feet. I just sucked so horribly that day, it was terrible. I'm only glad my wife wasn't there to see me!

 

[RImike]

I do the majority of my pistol shooting at around 25 feet. I just sucked so horribly that day, it was terrible. I'm only glad my wife wasn't there to see me!

Or anyone else from the forum

 

[ColdDayInHell]

Agreed on the dry firing. Also it's weird. I have trouble hitting cans etc on the dirt but do relatively well on silhouette targets. Not sure why.

 

[jibbr71]

Agreed on the dry firing. Also it's weird. I have trouble hitting cans etc on the dirt but do relatively well on silhouette targets. Not sure why.

Less "pressure"? A can is a small target, and you know you have to be on your game with a good shot, whereas silhouettes are "easier to shoot well.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

Less "pressure"? A can is a small target, and you know you have to be on your game with a good shot, whereas silhouettes are "easier to shoot well.

Even clay pigeons though. I guess you do have a point.

 

[jibbr71]

Watch the video I linked earlier, that drill will make you a better fundamental shooter, without question. Work on this @ 3 yds until you clear it, then move out to 5 and so on.

 

[xtry51]

Dry fire. Then try dry firing. Then dry fire some more.

It's all about muscle memory, front sight post and pulling straight back.

 

[Mudfish]

Watch the video I linked earlier, that drill will make you a better fundamental shooter, without question. Work on this @ 3 yds until you clear it, then move out to 5 and so on.

One of the things I don't like about MRA is the requirement for all targets to be at least 30 feet down range. Makes doing something like this too tough.

- - - Updated - - -

If you don't/can't get to the range, there are alternate methods Laserlyte, you can do it in the basement. This is what I use:



They also make an adapter that fits your firearm and a bunch of accessories: http://www.laserlyte.com/collections/lts

This is cool. Can't believe I've never seen it before.

 

[DarrenL]

It could be worse. I was embarrassed by my carry gun. A woman I was shooting with called it "cute". I immediately switched to a S&W 500 magnum snub nose.

Also, dry fire is surprisingly effective.

 

[jibbr71]

One of the things I don't like about MRA is the requirement for all targets to be at least 30 feet down range. Makes doing something like this too tough.

That sucks.....a lot of good training is done at <5 yards

 

[Chet0729]

There was an older couple that I used to see at the range on Sundays, probably in their late 60's to early 70's. She regularly shot clay sized targets at 75 yards with good consistency with a revolver with an 7-8" barrel. It is kind of humbling.

 

[xtry51]

Long barrel revolvers can be very, very accurate.



A little more impressive, MP9 at 400m (435yards) 115gr ammo.

 

[45collector]

Dry fire. Then try dry firing. Then dry fire some more.

It's all about muscle memory, front sight post and pulling straight back.

All of this. And lots of new shooters don't really pay attention to what happens with their sights when they pull the trigger. Keeping perfect sight alignment throughout the entire press of the trigger is huge. Dry fire while paying careful attention to sight alignment is one thing that can turn a shitty shooter into a decent shooter real quick.

 

[DrNVP]

My in-laws were visiting from Minnesota, and I decided to take them out shooting, because 'Murika. My grandfather-in-law carries a XDM .40, and he wanted to try out my P229 .357. I have one of those clay pigeon holders, and at 25 feet, he popped all nine clays with nine rounds. Admittedly, I'm a little out of practice, it's been well over six months since I last pulled the trigger on anything, but I hit three out of the nine clays with 12 rounds. I know I need more practice, but is there any way I can keep my edge otherwise?

Take a couple of Handgun 102-104 classes @ Sig Academy. They are local and easy to schedule. Or better yet, a private lesson with a reputable instructor.

The $$ you invest in a good class more than pays for itself. If you don't know how to practice properly or what you should be focusing on during practice sessions, then you are just throwing $$ away at the range. Once you learn how and what to practice, dry fire. High level shooters can typically dry fire/dry manipulate up to 10 dry rounds to every 1 live round fired.

 

[Supermoto]

You need to find out why you can't hit the target. Is it caused by poor trigger control or a flinch? Dry firing does not help a flinch

 

[AM13]

You need to find out why you can't hit the target. Is it caused by poor trigger control or a flinch? Dry firing does not help a flinch

whats a good exercise to help lose the flinch? my wifes got a little flinch when we move up from a 22

 

[Supermoto]

whats a good exercise to help lose the flinch? my wifes got a little flinch when we move up from a 22

A flinch is a mental response to fear, it could be the noise or recoil or both. Double'ing up on hearing protection can help. Staying relaxed through out the trigger pull is another, but it really comes down to the shooter deciding not to flinch anymore

 

[Admin]

but it really comes down to the shooter deciding not to flinch anymore

+1 The shooter has to decide if they want to stop flinching or not. Shooters can get away with it short range with a rifle, not so much with a pistol.

 

[Sprocket]

An empty chamber is the best way to ID a flinch - I usually "load" the gun for a student and film them firing - on playback the flinch/push is obvious.

25 reps of "rack, aim, squeeze, reset trigger, rest, repeat" help and when patterns start opening up again I go back to dry firing. Part of it is mental to be sure but installing good habits is mechanics - if you don't flinch with an empty gun, why do it with a loaded gun? Repeat repeat repeat.

 

[Supermoto]

Because dry firing has none of the factors that cause a flinch. Noise and recoil. Plus the empty chamber drill does not distinguish between pre and post push

 

[Sprocket]

To be clear:
I use the video to show the student what they're doing and when - push, pull doesn't matter - inappropriate movement during firing imparts motion on the firearm with negative results - a miss. The flinch is apparent to anyone but the shooter at that point.

Using the dry fire sequence helps them to focus on not flinching during the trigger press. Side benefits include safe handling/manipulation, calling the shot, muscle memory, etc. - it's one tool that helps immediately on the range without frustrating the student. 5 minutes later, groups are tighter and the student has confidence in everything from the gun to themselves to me the teacher. It's not magic but the student does all the work and fixes the problem.

I think we're on the same page Super but I'm clarifying for the OP at this point.

Then we can focus on the really tough stuff - like the Reloading Cha-Cha. I usually put on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack when teaching the technique and critique as if I'm that English judge from Dancing With the Stars...

Now I'm being sarcastic and silly.

 

[mac1911]

For what its worth I carry a 4013 in 40 inside 15' Im darn good with this handgun 20' plus well its just really not set up for that.... I have my holds for this gun down pretty well out to 50' shooting a 18"x20" torso target and get hits in the middle area....


Dry fire cant be expressed enough. It it where not for dry fire with rifle and pistol I would really suck. I also do a lot of pellet gun shooting @ home. Your lack of fundamentals will show its face even with a pellet gun at 10-20'. I have a crosman revolver that shoots darn well with match pellets and I know when I dont do my part because I will shoot out side the 10m bull if I dont.

 

[PATRON]

Flinching is the anticipation of the firearm going off.This is best remedied by having the student shoot a revolver while not knowing when it will go off on a live round doing this for a 100 rounds or more will help.Another good technique is put a coin on the top strap of a double action firearm,and have the person dry fire the gun with out letting the coin fall.This will help on trigger control as well as flinching.

 

[cyberlogicx]

I'm not jerking the trigger, I can squeeze off the trigger several times without the coin dropping off my Sig. I'm pretty sure that I was just anticipating the recoil since I'm quite rusty. I'm hopefully going to get out today or tomorrow to get some decent trigger time, and calm down a bit. As far as dry fire, I'm not sure that's going to help me much, since dry fire is always DA and I shoot SA. Thanks for the advice, I'm going to do one of those dot torture drills, if it stops raining!