I'm terrible with my .45

[Hiltonizer]

I can shoot the rocks off a squirrel with my AR at a 100 yards, with my AK at 50... but I'm relatively useless with my Ruger P345... and I know it's not the gun.

The first stand at my local range is 25ft if I'm not mistaken.. most shots are on paper but significantly low and to the left. According to the target chart, I'm "torquing". Same results with the weaver stance, and power stance... I can usually get 1 or 2 out of 8 in the center ring shooting one handed Boondock Saints style.. (I am half Irish and born in Boston after all)

I've watched a good number of training videos, and read a very long Ayoob article... can't seem to fix whatever i'm doing wrong.

Suggestions? Anyone going to Georgetown Fish and Game this weekend that would have some fun yelling at a pistol noob? I'm also fine with paying for a good course within a few hours drive, suggestions for that?

 

[highscore]

Buy yourself a .22 pistol and become proficient with it. When you are, try the big gun again. If your determined to shoot the big gun, learn to squeeze the trigger. Squeeze the trigger straight back slowly so you are surprised when it goes bang. If you can squeeze the trigger so that the sights do not move, you are there. Shoot one at a time until they go where you aim them, if the first shot in the mag is out of control, the remainder of them don't have a chance.
Highscore

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

PM inbound

 

[ItalianBostonian]

It's not the gun, your right.
I wonder how I know, hmmm. LOL

 

[freedom2012]

Could it be the DA of the Ruger vs. the SA of the AR throwing you off? I might be at Georgetown on Saturday weather permitting, but not sure I could help you. Happy to share my 1911 though.

 

[Hiltonizer]

Could it be the DA of the Ruger vs. the SA of the AR throwing you off? I might be at Georgetown on Saturday weather permitting, but not sure I could help you. Happy to share my 1911 though.

Hope to see yah, and I can show you the new truck

I'm actually much better with a 1911, not sure if its the weight or the trigger.

 

[Hiltonizer]

It's not the gun, your right.
I wonder how I know, hmmm. LOL

shhhhhh... I refuse to admit I was better with an M&P40

 

[wolf223]

the 345 is a nice gun. i had one, i only sold it to fund other purchases. it fell victim to my 1911 as the price of 45 went on par with .40

i have big hands, so the slim grip took some getting used to. but in the end, she was sold.

 

[Darkwood Arms]

Where's Georgetown Fish and Game club? Some more suggestions for you. I teach an NRA basic pistol course and we have new shooters shoot from a bench position at first to learn proper sight picture, breath control and trigger control. Also I find it a good way to see and if need be adjust the sights. Anyway, we start shooting at a pretty close distance (15') . I would reccomend shooting at a closer target for a while and when two hand shooting, the support hand should be holding tighter to the gun than the firing hand. Work dry firing with a snap cap or ear plug stuffed in front of the hammer at a target with no ammo around and a safe backstop. Practice lining up the sights and press the trigger straight back to the rear without moving the sights. Many of the top shooters still do lots of dry firing. I find dry firing a fantastic way to practice. Good luck.

 

[matt1956]

oddly, i have just the opposite problem.

I shoot better with my .45 then with my 9mm and better with my 9mm then my .22. go figure.

I practiced dry firing a lot to get the feel for my .45 when i got it. that may have helped.

GL.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Not all who shoot guns can shoot all guns proficiently. Each discipline is very different and requires a different set of skills. I don't think its uncommon for someone who is capable of shooting the wings off a fly at 200 yards with a zeroed in hunting rifle, to be terrible at trap, skeet, clays. The skill sets utilized in both sports are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Only when the same time and effort towards training is given to the other discipline with the shooter be able to compete at the high level they are accustomed to.

Just keep practicing, you'll be fine.

 

[Jay6]

Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire!

It sounds like a trigger control issue to me and this can only be cured with repeated practice. In order to save money I would reccomend dryfiring at a target for a half hour a few times a week. Take a good site picture and get a good trigger pull without the sights moving. Your body can not tell the difference from that and a shot in recoil. This will soon translate over to your live fire.

Good luck!

 

[SA John]

I agree with Sigtac that you should hold with the off hand harder than the gun hand. I've always thought the trigger hand should not be under much tension. Where I disagree with about every authority I've ever read is the notion of a "surprise" break. I want to know exactly when the gun is going off and do not want to be surprised. I never try to hold the sights on target dead-still. I fire as they are aligned and slowly drifting through. I have to be able to make the gun go bang a nano-second before the sights intersect the target's center. You must know when the gun is going to fire to do this. It's a delicate balance but it becomes subconcious after awhile. If you shoot DA revolvers long enough, you find that you can shoot better groups DA than SA. I think this is because you have the gun in tension as the trigger is coming back and during the last tiny bit of takeup you are getting your sights exactly where you want them. This is essentially staging the trigger; a technique not taught anymore but still a good way to learn to shoot. Should you then switch to a SA auto like a 1911, you'll feel like you're cheating so simple is getting a good group. And yes, dry fire your guts out. It's better than actual shooting in a way because there is not recoil and you are more likely to actually do it.

John

 

[notalib]

Try a magazine with one or two snap caps in it loaded at random. If you are flinching you will be able to see and feel it... then its up to you to fix it..but you gotta feel the flinch beofre you fix... Dry firing after you figure out your error will help imensly (personal experience)

 

[Bugs100]

Turn the target around and shoot the blank side. Just aim at the middle of the paper. 3 or 4 times doing this will cure you. When you turn the targets around you will be surprised at how good you do.

 

[Fleshwound]

Try the push pull technique. I push with my strong hand and pull with the support hand. Start close to the target, than move back as you improve. It helped me quite a bit. After I realized the technique worked and why, I could adjust my grip and still hold the accuracy. Good luck..

Lou

 

[Hiltonizer]

update:

Went to the high power range Sunday with the wife and a friend. The club rules are no shots fired after 6pm on Sundays, so to save time, we fired off a few mags at the closest berm/frame stand (25yds)

using a few techniques from here, and read other places, the closest round was on the outside of the paper... it was uncharacteristically high. Hit the upper cross bar of the frame.

Since none of the other rounds hit the paper (that I could tell), I don't know where the rest went with other techniques.

I did seem to do a little better at 25 feet on Weds though... though they were more scattered than just low and to the left.

I was however perfect with my buddies M&P9... and I've done good with 1911's in the past. . I can't afford to upgrade to a 1911 at the moment.

Edit: several folks here have suggested dry firing... the tension on the trigger seems to move the gun more than should be... trying to work on that.

 

[Jay6]

Try a magazine with one or two snap caps in it loaded at random. If you are flinching you will be able to see and feel it... then its up to you to fix it..but you gotta feel the flinch beofre you fix... Dry firing after you figure out your error will help imensly (personal experience)

That is not entirely accurate unless firing slow single shots. Your body provides a certain amount of force to the gun during recoil in order to track the sights back on target quickly. With no recoil the gun can dive (which is not a bad thing) which might be confused as a flinch even though the movement is happening after the shot breaks and not before.