I just sold all of my Glocks

[JimConway]

"I just sold all of my Glocks, because I do not shoot them well."
I have seen statements like this referring to a number of firearms and it makes my wonder.
This thread is not a discussion of the merits of Glock handguns and I am wearing a Glock 30 as I write this.
First, you must recognize that all handguns are slightly different and that the shooter must adapt to the gun that he/she is shooting at the moment. From my perspective, asking your friend or the guy beside you on that range is a wasted effort. Using a Glock as an example, most shooters find that they tend to shoot slightly to the left, for a right handed shooter.

Just as an example, I had a friend tell me that he wanted me to adjust the sights on his Glock because, you guessed it, it was shooting to the left. I shot it and it was dead on. I gave him about 15 minutes of instruction and everything changed. After the instruction, he shot 8 rounds into one ragged hole.

About a few years ago, a police officer contacted me and mentioned that he had to qualify in a couple of weeks and was very upset and nervous. I asked what a passing score was and he told me that it was a 70 out of 100 and what he never shot higher than a 72. We arranged to meet on the range a few days later and I spent a little over 3 hours with him and of course his shooting improved. He called me about 10 days later and told me that he had passes the qualification and had had shot a 94 and had not been nervous Needless to say he was a happy camper. PS, he has shot a 100 the following year.

The moral of all this is that if you want to succeed get qualified help, You may have to pay for it or it may be free as the two above examples were. Just think for a moment. You have just spent $500.00 to $1,000.00 for a new gun and you have balked about taking a class or private instruction.

 

[Jose]

Dotcha know Jim? American men are born masters of three major life skills: driving, f-ing, and shooting.

 

[Supermoto]

Most people sell their glocks after they loose a finger.

But it is amazing how the last thing people buy is training, when it should be the first.

 

[zerodown]

Dotcha know Jim? American men are born masters of three major life skills: driving, f-ing, and shooting.

now that is a great quote!!

 

[stoneypete]

This article is timely. Just this past weekend I almost sold a pistol that I was not shooting well. I shoot my others great, but this one all shots were to the right of the intended target. Only by an inch, but that was enough to tick me off. However applying some information I'd received I went to the range with sandbags and shot it from the bench. The pistol is dead nuts on. Knowing it was me and not the pistol I went back to the basics I'd been taught and worked on my stance, grip, trigger squeeze and follow through untill I was back on target.

 

[ARowley]

ssssshhhhhhhhhhh this is how we get sweet deals on guns. People think there is something "wrong" with them or they can't shoot them. You can listen and then buy their misery for a great price and shoot it correctly.

I see this as a WIN-WIN.

 

[jar]

ssssshhhhhhhhhhh this is how we get sweet deals on guns. People think there is something "wrong" with them or they can't shoot them. You can listen and then buy their misery for a great price and shoot it correctly.

I see this as a WIN-WIN.

My father is a pretty serious bowler and he buys all of his bowling balls this way. Listen for the swearing, make a lowball offer, plug and re-drill.

 

[l3uddha]

"I just sold all of my Glocks, because I do not shoot them well."
I have seen statements like this referring to a number of firearms and it makes my wonder.
This thread is not a discussion of the merits of Glock handguns and I am wearing a Glock 30 as I write this.
First, you must recognize that all handguns are slightly different and that the shooter must adapt to the gun that he/she is shooting at the moment. From my perspective, asking your friend or the guy beside you on that range is a wasted effort. Using a Glock as an example, most shooters find that they tend to shoot slightly to the left, for a right handed shooter.

Just as an example, I had a friend tell me that he wanted me to adjust the sights on his Glock because, you guessed it, it was shooting to the left. I shot it and it was dead on. I gave him about 15 minutes of instruction and everything changed. After the instruction, he shot 8 rounds into one ragged hole.

About a few years ago, a police officer contacted me and mentioned that he had to qualify in a couple of weeks and was very upset and nervous. I asked what a passing score was and he told me that it was a 70 out of 100 and what he never shot higher than a 72. We arranged to meet on the range a few days later and I spent a little over 3 hours with him and of course his shooting improved. He called me about 10 days later and told me that he had passes the qualification and had had shot a 94 and had not been nervous Needless to say he was a happy camper. PS, he has shot a 100 the following year.

The moral of all this is that if you want to succeed get qualified help, You may have to pay for it or it may be free as the two above examples were. Just think for a moment. You have just spent $500.00 to $1,000.00 for a new gun and you have balked about taking a class or private instruction.

you should be encouraging this sort of behavior; cheap clocks for you and I. granted, I can't shoot my glock worth sh*t either, but I blame rap music.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Jim - interesting observation. Could you share what you feel is the common problem causing people to shoot left with their Glocks?

 

[dixidawg]

Kaboom flinch?

 

[Lugnut]

Jim - interesting observation. Could you share what you feel is the common problem causing people to shoot left with their Glocks?

Yeah I'd like to know this is well- however I don't think the "problem" is unique to Glocks. If you don't pull the trigger straight back smoothly all kinds of fun things can happen- with any gun! Left usually means not enough finger on the trigger for a right handed shooter. Milking the grip can also cause these problems.. tensing up right before the shot breaks.

 

[TheRoland]

Counterpoint:

If you shoot Gun A poorly, but you shoot Gun B better, why not go with Gun B? Even if Gun A is perfect mechanically, and the problem is you?

In other words, why should I adapt to the gun I'm shooting, when I can make the gun adapt to me?

My next gun is a training class, though, so, I obviously agree mostly .

 

[Lugnut]

Counterpoint:

If you shoot Gun A poorly, but you shoot Gun B better, why not go with Gun B? Even if Gun A is perfect mechanically, and the problem is you?

In other words, why should I adapt to the gun I'm shooting, when I can make the gun adapt to me?

My next gun is a training class, though, so, I obviously agree mostly .

IMO that means one gun "masks" a problem better than another.. is that what you want? Now I'm not talking about a gun that just doesn't fit you well as that is crucial. But if you are doing something wrong you need to know it and address the problem. Trigger control is THE most significant skill for any handgun shooting IMO- whether it be bullseye or action shooting...

 

[TheRoland]

IMO that means one gun "masks" a problem better than another.. is that what you want?

Yes!

Sadly, the masking effect is not 100%, so the underlying problem remains.

 

[Misbehaven]

Dotcha know Jim? American men are born masters of three major life skills: driving, f-ing, and shooting.

Really?? Hmmm, I know some who aren't good at any of those skills......

 

[jar]

Yes!

Sadly, the masking effect is not 100%, so the underlying problem remains.

Exactly. That's why you should fix the underlying problems. Many many competition shooters say that shooting a different equipment division for a while improves their shooting in all divisions. I've started shooting some revolver for this very reason. Revolvers are extremely unforgiving of poor trigger technique. I think learning to shoot revo well will have benefits in trigger control across all guns.

I've found the same thing with shooting a season of 22 gallery league. The trigger control required to hit a .9 inch ten ring at 50 feet has carried over to improvements in my action shooting. Increasing the level of trigger control I'm capable of makes the amount required for a given shot easier, and therefore faster.

 

[JimConway]

The most common problem with shooting Glocks is not enough finger on the trigger
Recently I coached a relatively new shooter (right handed) who had his support hand index finger touching and putting some pressure on the slide.
When the shot broke he relaxed the pressure and the gun moved the the left

 

[JimConway]

Magic bullet and Magic Gun

We have all been told that there is no magic bullet.
We know that this is true, because we, the shooters, must do our part
and ensure that the bullets the intended point of impact.

Guess what, there is also no magic gun that always hits our intended point of impact.
Again, we must do our part. We must learn how to do this

 

[SeanT]

I've been poking around the forum tonight looking at training options and came across a couple of threads by Jim like this. I'm a relatively new shooter with a couple hundred rounds under my belt. It seems like there's a gap between class necessary to get your license and learning some additional sort of skill (Conceal Carry, IDPA, etc). What keywords or types of courses should I be looking for to just improve on basics as a shooter before I get ingrained into bad habits?

S&W Academy, which is close to me, has a Handgun Techniques course (Link), which sounds like what I'm looking for. That's the only thing I can seem to find. At this point, are there courses along these sorts of lines or is it more about getting 1:1 time with an instructor?

 

[JimConway]

SeanT
Most folks do not need 1 in 1 time but rather a class.
I admit that i do a fair amount of 1 on 1 but the need is most often driven by schedules not need.
For a new shooter I most often recommend our defensive handgun 100 class.
This class focuses on the basics of shooting until all in the class are shooting well and they we get to some of the fun stuff
We usually have everyone in the class shooting properly somewhere between 4 and 6 hours

BTW, our next Defensive Handgun 100 course will be held on July 31 and August 1 at Westford Sportsmen's Club.
The cost for the 2 day course is only $250.00