dry fire practice
... I went to take my class and was shooting low left. I was consistent shooting a small group but low left. I feel awful about this. I know I need practice, lots of practice. I have had a few people tell me I was anticipating the recoil or jerking the trigger. I don't know if it matters or not but that was the first time I ever fired this gun. I know I am trying to make excuses, but I am upset with myself. Any pointers to correct this would be appreciated. :cray:
Don't feel bad. It happens to all shooters every once in a while, especially with a new firearm or after a long period of not shooting. As long as you shoot a tight group, there are ways to adjust your point of impact until you're consistently hitting center of mass.
Does your firearm have stock sights or aftermarket? Have you had one or more other shooters test fire your firearm to make sure there is no problem with the sights? This is unlikely, but possible.
One of the best (and least expensive) ways to improve speed and accuracy is DRY FIRE practice. Please google it if you aren't familiar with the term. It is also known as "snapping in". Firstly, please observe ALL firearms safety rules, even when dry firing, to include:
- Ensure that the firearm is unloaded and that there is
- absolutely no ammo or loaded magazines in the dry fire practice area.
- Ensure that there is a good solid backstop behind your dry fire practice target. (I like to use concealable body armor as a dry fire target.) A good way to assure that the firearm is unloaded is to use a plastic dry firing barrel insert to replace the real barrel. I have a yellow one made by Blackhawk, similar to this one.
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There are also special dry fire cartridges made out of plastic and/or metal with springs inside to absorb the firing pin's energy, if you are worried about ruining your firing pin on an empty chamber.
Are you right-handed? It is common for a right-handed shooter who jerks the trigger to shoot low left.
You could also be using "too much finger" on the trigger, thereby pulling it low left if you are right handed. When you dry fire, try to focus your attention on your trigger finger so that the the trigger is somewhere just behind an area between the center of the finger pad of the first joint of your trigger finger, and the actual crease between the first and second joints. Without taking a look at your hand and firearm, YMMV. Many shooters who anticipate recoil tend to shoot high.
Also, this may sound like a stupid question, but do you wear hearing protection when you shoot? I've actually heard of people who do not, especially when shooting outdoors. Sometimes the crack/boom of the firearm tends to make shooters uncomfortable and anticipate recoil or jerk the trigger. If it bothers you, use double ear pro-- ear plugs AND ear muffs, to lessen the discomfort.
Be safe, good luck, and have fun
DVC,
Frank