First time out

[Dirtypacman]

I have noticed when I drink too much coffee my shots will be off also so try not to go when you got the shakes Lol

 

[Pat_RI]

I went again last night and shot much better with the Mark lll but with the .40 I did not really notice any difference. I was flinching so I'll need to work on that. One question is how far away should I have the target when shooting the .40 as a complete beginner? I had it between 40 and 50 feet. I am going to look into getting a lesson does anyone know anyone in RI that is good at giving lessons?

 

[kzilla]

You need to be fatter

That's great! I am a very new shooter as well. I was the same way not too long ago. I try to go every week, twice a week most weeks, to work on this new skill. It get's better every time I go. The biggest part for me is breathing and trying to be relaxed when shooting. I "think" I have the mechanics down, but the staying relaxed is the major thing for me. Having an ex-Army MP with me ( kzilla ) helping me out is a huge plus too.

I find that when I rest my elbows on my gut and control my breathing that I can shoot the cigarette out of a hooker's mouth at twenty paces. It sounds like I'm bragging but I shot off alot of lips before I got it right. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

Advice???? three rules:

1) Never get less than 10 hours of sleep.
2) Never play pool with someone whose first name is a city
3) Never sleep with someone who has a tattoo of a dagger (actually, more of a guideline than rule).

Seriously, work on your grip, sight alignment, and trigger pull. Dry fire until you can easily pull the trigger without upsetting your sign picture.

 

[fencer]

Pay for professional training. Seriously.

You have no idea how much good it will do you and how much you will get out of it.

ETA: it must be hard to get a clean break with a fish hook on your trigger finger.

+1 - I took this advice and it was the best money I ever spent. Huge increase in accuracy with very minor adjustments but also huge increase in confidance

 

[fencer]

One "Drill" that helped me alot with the trigger pull was to practice dry firing while balancing an empty casing on the end of the barrel. If you can consistently drop the hammer without the shell falling while maintaining a proper sight picture your trigger pull will improve.

Then, snatch the peeble from my hand....

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

I went again last night and shot much better with the Mark lll but with the .40 I did not really notice any difference. I was flinching so I'll need to work on that. One question is how far away should I have the target when shooting the .40 as a complete beginner? I had it between 40 and 50 feet. I am going to look into getting a lesson does anyone know anyone in RI that is good at giving lessons?

Pat, try some snap caps. Just put them in randomly with your bullets. Fire as you normally do. When you hit the snap cap, you will see immediately if you are dipping, shifting, etc.

 

[SecondAmdFirst]

+1 - I took this advice and it was the best money I ever spent. Huge increase in accuracy with very minor adjustments but also huge increase in confidance

I have to agree...Jon at GOAL helped me a lot in just two hours.