Handgun shooting help

[conan1rice]

So i recently went to the range with my glock 23, and the sights seemed really low. at 25 yds, i was hitting about 2 feet low. At home I was doing some dry fire drills, and I realized, as I pulled the trigger, the front sight dropped. Im assuming thats what caused my low hits. My question is, has anyone else ever experienced this? how do I fix it? Do more of a front sight press? lighter trigger? Man up and hold the gun tighter? any help appreciated.

 

[Rob377]

A better grip will help some, but answer is to learn how to pull the trigger straight to the rear without moving the sight. The way to do that is reps, reps, and more reps. Keep working on it in dryfire. The sight should not move at all, not one bit, not even a little wiggle in dryfire.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Well yes, to answer your question lots of us have had that same problem. Anticipating recoil is a common problem. Dry fire practice "helps" but is not the cure all. Try balancing a spent brass casing on your front sight post during dry fire practice. Squeeze the trigger until you can do this repeatedly without the brass falling off the sight. Repeat daily. The challenge is translating this to the range. What helped me was practicing with .22 pistols. Since there is no real recoil to anticipate, my trigger pulls became much smoother without anticipating.

BTW, I'm sure it's not the sights that are very low. As I was respectfully told once, "You suck, it's not the gun."

 

[conan1rice]

Well yes, to answer your question lots of us have had that same problem. Anticipating recoil is a common problem. Dry fire practice "helps" but is not the cure all. Try balancing a spent brass casing on your front sight post during dry fire practice. Squeeze the trigger until you can do this repeatedly without the brass falling off the sight. Repeat daily. The challenge is translating this to the range. What helped me was practicing with .22 pistols. Since there is no real recoil to anticipate, my trigger pulls became much smoother without anticipating.

BTW, I'm sure it's not the sights that are very low. As I was respectfully told once, "You suck, it's not the gun."

Im not sure if its anticipating, just the pressure put on the trigger, until it breaks, tends to tilt the muzzle downward and make me hit low.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Im not sure if its anticipating, just the pressure put on the trigger, until it breaks, tends to tilt the muzzle downward and make me hit low.

Then the drill I mentioned should work well for you. If it just a technique problem, I think you'll find this drill helps. Good luck!

 

[conan1rice]

Thanks for all the help.

 

[dmarsh8]

like they said dry fire drills. spent brass, and you can also put a coin on the front sight. i really like using that drill.
find some reputable articles/pics on proper grip too.
http://www.levelsights.com/Blog/trigger-control/

 

[netsecurity]

You are likely anticipating recoil, and compensating for it subconsciously by pulling the gun down. This is an innate response that must be trained out. Also, because 25 yards is very far for a pistol, a quarter inch movement of the barrel can change point of impact by feet. And 25 yards is far enough that bullet drop from gravity could be occuring, depending on the bullet/fps.

I wonder why you are shooting at 25y in the first place? I rarely shoot that far. I just make sure I am dead on at close range, and not pulling down or to the side, etc. Regardless of the distance, to overcome this problem you should learn the two thumbs forward grip, and practice dry firing until you don't pull down. If you notice you're hitting low at the ranve, stop and empty the gun, and do a dry fire right then and there, and work it out.

 

[IndyGunner]

Glock sights are different than some guns. Use the top, as shown below. Try this diagnostic target too. Remember, target blurry, rear sight blurry.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

There is some good advice here. I just started shooting handguns within the last year and I was consistantly shooting low at first. I have tightened up my groups to 6 inches or so with my m&P9c, but still need a lot of practice to get them to where i want them to be.

The only way i am able to shoot well is by having the front sight above my rear sights, so i think i still have this problem i just tried to compensate it in a different (wrong) way?

 

[halfmileharry]

My EX has my 23 for a reason. It didn't fit my hand and I had grip issues with very similar results as you're having. Along with the "SNAP" of the .40 and smaller grip of the 23 I was never able to shoot the gun properly.
MY EX....is extremely accurate with it and it's her favorite gun. That gun has never had a hiccup. it's been perfect in function.
The .40/23 does have a pretty sharp recoil to it. It may be anticipation of the "BOOM" and holding onto that gun when fired.

 

[netsecurity]

There is some good advice here. I just started shooting handguns within the last year and I was consistantly shooting low at first. I have tightened up my groups to 6 inches or so with my m&P9c, but still need a lot of practice to get them to where i want them to be.

The only way i am able to shoot well is by having the front sight above my rear sights, so i think i still have this problem i just tried to compensate it in a different (wrong) way?

I agree. Like I said, it is important you practice dry firing to detect the fact that you're subconsciously pulling the gun. It is also important that you have a firm grip in order to get a tight pattern. It took me a few years of practice, and I still sucked until I got the 'two thumbs forward' grip down. The sights should not move one millimeter when the hammer drops, and this is much harder to do with a free floating weapon. It isn't anything like shooting long guns. It is hard, and requires scientific control and lots of practice to override natural tendencies. In orher words, the whole process is unnatural if you are doing it correctly, and it takes training to make it feel natural, especially if you have anything other than average sized hands, or if your pistol just doesn't fit you well.

Another very important factor is your trigger weight and length of pull. A heavy/long trigger will make you less accurate, especially a beginner, because it will make you pull harder and involve more involuntary muscle movement. This is one reason we all end up buying and selling dozens of guns before settling on the ones we shoot best.

 

[copo]

Also, if you wear bifocals i have seen people adjust their eyes for the glasses and they shoot low.

 

[Slawburger]

Coach was able to help me.
I wasn't holding the trigger back and only releasing until the Glock trigger reset (smoother follow-up shots).
I also did not have enough finger on the trigger (pushing left).
It is worth having someone (knowledgeable) watch you shoot.

 

[BE Mike]

Slow down. Go back to the beginning. You need to learn to have an independent trigger finger from the gripping fingers. You must put steady increasing pressure on the trigger until the shot breaks. Follow through, by keeping the eyes open and keep your eye focused on the front sight THROUGH the shot process. I would suggest that if you are dry firing with two hands, that you instead start dry firing one-handed. Low shots, as someone said, are the result of anticipating recoil. Generally one reason for that is that you pull the trigger fast and with more force than necessary. You need to put pressure on the trigger so you don't know the exact moment when the shot breaks. Once you have mastered proper trigger control and follow-through, you can start to put emphasis on speed.