Back to Basics.
Pele

Pele

VA State CCW Holder!
So my introductory thread title was, "Bullets go in the general direction of paper."
That's pretty much how I do it.

Clip my paper plate (cheaper than targets) to the holder, send it out to 7 yards, pop in a magazine, and let the lead fly.

So far, I've been to the range a handfull of times and bought my own gun, a used Ruger P95.

I can get about 66-75% of my bullets to hit the paper plate. Occasionally, a select few will go straight through the quarter sized circle I've drawn in the center. The last time I went to the range, I fired 250 rounds. That's over 50 rounds that didn't even hit the paper plate which is kinda alarming and the main reason I do not carry... Sure I hit the bad guy... and the bystanders... and everything else.


I'm not sure if I just suck and need more practice or what.

Maybe I should look at how I'm shooting to find out what I'm doing wrong.

Is there a website that shows pictures of various stances and grips and such?
How about what to focus on and how to use your eyes?

Currently, I stand up straight as I can get my back. I'm left handed, so my left foot is usually forward, left knee locked, right knee bent with most of my weight on the left foot.

I usually close my left eye.

I have a hard time focusing on both the front and rear sights and the target itself. I can kinda get both sights in focus, but then the target looks like a double.

I want to prevent bad habits before I get used to them.
 

PM me. I have some short video clips on grip, stance, & sight alignment that may help.

As far as your problem focusing on three things at once is concerned, the solution is simple. Focus on the front sight. The rear sight should be slightly blurred, as should the target.
 
I would suggest you use a big sheet of paper with a circle drawn on it to use as an aiming point. Then you can see where your misses go and that will give an idea of what is happening to make you miss.
 
Look no further than youtube. Furthermore, I would also recommend practicing with every holster in which you'll be carrying your gun; accuracy won't mean a hill of beans if you're not able to get your gun out of the holster quickly.
 
I have a hard time focusing on both the front and rear sights and the target itself. I can kinda get both sights in focus, but then the target looks like a double.
Click to expand...

It's impossible for your eyes to focus on 3 things at 3 different distances at the same time. Focus on the front sight. The front sight should be crystal clear, the rear sight and the target should be slightly blurry. If a spec of dust lands on the front sight while you're aiming, you should notice it.

I'm also left handed. I use the weaver stance. My feet are bladed 30 degrees from the target and my left foot is to the rear.
 
my .02..

let me reccomend Gabe Suarez's COMBATIVE PISTOL MARKSMANSHIP dvd at onesourcetactical.com this dvd has great instruction on grip{ i changed mine and it made a world of diff!} stance has some excellent drills as well. i like to use a modified isoceles stance when i can. the only thing is that bad guys tend to shoot back, so shoot and move.
 
Wow. So many replies here. I'll check out some of the YouTube videos and now I have some items to go off of when doing searches.

My deal with the circle is that there'll be a few holes all over that circle. I'm not consistent.
 
Pele said:
Wow. So many replies here. I'll check out some of the YouTube videos and now I have some items to go off of when doing searches.

My deal with the circle is that there'll be a few holes all over that circle. I'm not consistent.
Click to expand...

You should spend some time dry-firing (making sure you have no ammunition in the room when you do it for safety). If you can borrow a gun with a laser, you should dry fire with that.

Another exercise is to put a pencil in your unloaded gun, touch it lightly to a piece of paper and pull the trigger using your usual shooting stance. Strive for a point on the paper as opposed to any lines. This gives you an idea if you are pulling the gun off target when you pull the trigger.

Another exercise is to support your unloaded gun with sandbags or whatever you can come up with. Without touching it, sight to a wall where you've taped a piece of paper. Have someone with a pencil mark the spot you are sighted on. Do that repeatedly. The goal is to have pencil marks nearly all together. This will give you an idea about your sight picture consistency.
 
maybejim said:
You should spend some time dry-firing (making sure you have no ammunition in the room when you do it for safety). If you can borrow a gun with a laser, you should dry fire with that.

Another exercise is to put a pencil in your unloaded gun, touch it lightly to a piece of paper and pull the trigger using your usual shooting stance. Strive for a point on the paper as opposed to any lines. This gives you an idea if you are pulling the gun off target when you pull the trigger.

Another exercise is to support your unloaded gun with sandbags or whatever you can come up with. Without touching it, sight to a wall where you've taped a piece of paper. Have someone with a pencil mark the spot you are sighted on. Do that repeatedly. The goal is to have pencil marks nearly all together. This will give you an idea about your sight picture consistency.
Click to expand...

I can dry fire with a 9mm round sitting on the top of the slide, just behind the rear sight and not have it fall off.

I'm not sure how this pencil deal works. Will the hammer launch the pencil out or something?
 
Pele said:
I can dry fire with a 9mm round sitting on the top of the slide, just behind the rear sight and not have it fall off.

I'm not sure how this pencil deal works. Will the hammer launch the pencil out or something?
Click to expand...


What part of "NO AMMO IN THE ROOM" did you not understand? :nono: :eek: When doing any "dry firing" exercise, be sure that you don't have ANY live ammo in the room. Secure the ammo in a locked container or another room if possible. If your firearm requires it, you should use "snap caps" or some other type of inert "dummy" or "training" type ammo. We don't want to read about you becoming a statistic. :wink:

You can use a coin to put on the slide just behind the front sight. This will help indicate if you're squeezing the trigger properly.

The pencil on paper exercise works when the firing pin or striker of the firearm impacts the pencil eraser. If you're squeezing the trigger properly, there will be minimal pencil marks on the paper. If you see lines, swirls, etc on the paper, then you did something you're not supposed to.



gf
 
Pele,
Put the pencil in the barrel, position yourself so that the pencil tip just barely touches a paper target when presented from your shooting stance. Aim and dry fire. Any movement caused by your technique will be "illustrated" on the paper. When you are REALLY good, 10 minutes of dry fire practice will create only one dot. :moil:
 
If you're that steady with your dry firing, and still are missing as you say, I'd guess your sight picture is off or there is a problem with the gun (or you have a flinch associated with knowing it's going to go bang).

Try having someone else load the gun for you and mix in a snap cap. You'll then be able to see what you are doing with the gun when it unexpectedly doesn't go off.

Again what you really need is a bigger piece of paper so you can see for sure where your shots are going for sure.
 
Glock Fan said:
What part of "NO AMMO IN THE ROOM" did you not understand? :nono: :eek: When doing any "dry firing" exercise, be sure that you don't have ANY live ammo in the room. Secure the ammo in a locked container or another room if possible.
Click to expand...

Maybe I need to start further back with safety. :sad:

I always drop the mag and make sure there's nothing in the chamber when I pick up a semi-auto...

I also always have one buddy of mine at the range telling me, "Get your finger off the trigger."

At one point at the range, I had a problem with a magazine and walked out onto the sales floor because the range attendant was out there. I got a, "Don't do that again," warning.

If your firearm requires it, you should use "snap caps" or some other type of inert "dummy" or "training" type ammo. We don't want to read about you becoming a statistic. :wink:
Click to expand...

How would I know if the gun requires a plastic dummy? It is a Ruger P95 with a manual safety, not the spring loaded decocker. it's an older model without the picatinny rail.
 
Last edited:
Glad you haven't had any "ND" or other safety issues to date. Now that you're aware of the "no live ammo in the room" rule when practicing "dry firing" I'm sure you won't be doing it again. :yes4:

Rule of thumb is that if your firearm has an external hammer, then you should be using snap caps. Reason for this is that in firearms like the 1911, the firing pin can be damaged by repeated dry firing. In pistols like the Glock, XD and M&P, there is a "striker" versus a firing pin, which is more tolerant to dry firing. If in doubt, contact the firearms manufacturer (many of them have their contact info online), or you can simply purchase sanp caps in the various calibers for all of your firearms. When selecting snap caps, I recommend using the "full metal" ones (usually aluminum) rather than the plastic ones. I've seen many of the plastic snap caps shatter and cause problems with the operation of the firearm.

Happy shooting!



gf
 
^

What is ND? Non-Discharge? Like a dud round?
I'd expect to rack the slide, pick up the dud and drop it in the hole in the ammo case at the back of the range marked for duds.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 136 (members: 0, guests: 136)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
49,532
Messages
610,818
Members
74,975
Latest member
skylerzz

Share this page

Back
Top