"This gun isn't accurate" actually means "I suck"

[JJGatesE30]

When did you first realize it was YOU, not the gun?


The Walther P22 was my first handgun 7 years ago. I use to say it was lots of fun to shoot but not accurate at all. One day I took a friend shooting with me, he was a pretty good shot.

We were at an indoor range shooting paper targets at about twenty feet. I went first and threw out ten rounds all over the place, some not even hitting the 2'x2' target. He sent his target out to the same distance and fired ten rounds out of the same P22, same ammo. He put all 10 into a baseball sized group.

"Oh, now I get it, I suck!"

I'm not a pro by any means these days but since that day I can actually call my shots a group. The next step is to get into competition, where I'm sure the suckage will start all over again!

Anyone else have a similar experiance?

 

[esrice]

I think every shooter has this experience at some point.

MDFI even has a class based on this phenomenon.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo..._not_the_gun_-_brown_county_in_12-5-09_a.html

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...4582-mdfi_in_indiana_ysintg_12-5-09_aars.html

 

[SC_Shooter]

I think every shooter has this experience at some point.


Yep...and it was an eye opener when it happened.

 

[shibumiseeker]

I have found very, very few pistols that were so inaccurate as to be worse than the shooter. Usually the ones were old rusted out shot up POS. I've never seen a new, modern pistol that was so inaccurate as to be unusable.

I posted last year when I got my Walther PPS .40. With my EDC guns and my target pistols I can keep a 2-3" group at 50', no problem. I was all over the paper with the Walther. My GF picked it up and shot great groups with it. The Walther just does not fit my hand properly and even now with over a thousand rounds of practice and constant dry-fire practice it takes a lot more effort to get tight groups with it.

I love coming across a used pistol or someone else's gun and seeing the sights cranked so far over as to have no contact with where the gun is actually shooting.

 

[revance]

The P22 isn't inaccurate... but it is VERY difficult to shoot.

I always get frustrated with mine because @ 10 yards my groups are 4-5". If I switch to ANYTHING else of mine (even my Ruger LCP with practically no sights) I get 2" groups or smaller.

The P22 was also my first gun, luckily I knew it was the gun because I had started shooting at the Purdue club where they loaned out Ruger MkIIs and S&W 41s. We shot at 50' and I had no problems getting good groups with the club's guns.

Again, the P22 is inherently accurate, but with its sucky trigger, wide sights, and light weight, it is very difficult to shoot it well.

 

[Titanium Man]

15 years ago, I bought a Savage Hvy Barrel 223. Set it up, with a nice Simmons 6-24 Scope, and could bench dime groups at 100 yards. Seriously! This was before I was really serious. A good friend of mine, had the exact same gun, set up nearly exactly the same, and all he could complain about was how the gun shot horribly!! I even considered him to be a very good shot! I didn't even use special ammo or anything, so it always amazes me when this type of problem occurs in such similar situations.

 

[MrSmitty]

About 15 years ago, a friend got a good deal on a Ruger blackhawk .44, when we went to shoot it he was all over the place, of course he blamed the gun, I shot it and hit what I was aiming at, of course this is different in that the reason he shot bad was because the gun kicked like a mule, and he was afraid of the recoil, I know..apple and oranges, but the principle is the same, don't be too hasty to blame the gun

 

[LPMan59]

lolz i just took my 1911 into a smith because it was shooting low. one of the first things i told the guy- I dont think its me this time ....I had 3 other guys shoot it and they all said it was low.

 

[spitfire51]

I had this realization this past Friday. I'm treating it as an excuse to buy more ammo, get to the range more, figure out my mistakes and practice better.

 

[Yeah]

I have found very, very few pistols that were so inaccurate as to be worse than the shooter.

This is true of most all modern rifles as well.

I've bought plenty of rifles at 'it won't shoot' prices and found that they either ran just fine as is or had some minor mechanical problem in the optic mount / botched bedding job / botched reassembly.

 

[loony1]

I gained a glock for a very, very reasonable price because the owner said the gun was off..........my win!

 

[shibumiseeker]

This is true of most all modern rifles as well.

I've bought plenty of rifles at 'it won't shoot' prices and found that they either ran just fine as is or had some minor mechanical problem in the optic mount / botched bedding job / botched reassembly.

I almost included rifles, but I decided not to since I've become a good enough rifle shooter to actually know when the rifle is less accurate than I am. I still have a long way to go before I could seriously compete in precision shooting competition, but I can now appreciate the difference between a 4-5moa gun and a sub-moa gun as I am hovering around being a consistent 1.1moa shooter. Every pistol I own is more accurate than I am when they are in a vise.

 

[jbombelli]

I never blame the gun. Every gun I've ever handled was plenty accurate.




The sun was in my eyes.

 

[thekuhnburger]

I've never had a pistol that isn't more accurate than me...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVzSAm5VhfE]YouTube - Accuracy[/ame]

 

[boozoo]

I have one that actually IS the pistol's fault.... but considering I buy only 50-100 year old stuff, every once in a while I'm bound to get one with wear issue.

 

[UncleMike]

Yup!
Years ago I had a High Standard Sentinel revolver that I thought was inaccurate as Hell.
My Brother in Law shot great with it.
It turns out the grips were too small for by big hands, but just right for him.
I sold it.

 

[RyanV]

Almost all firearms are more accurate than the shooter can appreciate. I see it all the time in the National Guard when we go to qualify with M4s or M16s. Some joe goes on the qualifying range and doesn't qualify and blames it on the rifle. The joe's squad leader or platoon sergeant takes the same rifle and goes right on the firing line and qualifies expert, hands the rifle back to the joe and sends them back for remedial training.

 

[mwk1975]

For me it seems to depend on the firearm itself, one .45 pistol fits like and old glove, can hit anything I want, Pick up another, may not hit the broad side of a barn....

 

[DRob]

It's not the gun

This is why all handgun accuracy evaluations are done shooting either from a mechanical rest or off bags. Read the small print under the test data. You'll find out how a pistol can shoot very good groups from 25 yards.

Examples:
The latest issue of American Rifleman contains tests of the Remington R1 M1911 and the STI Total Eclipse. The R1 averaged five-shot groups from 1.85" to 2.16" (with various ammo) from a Ransom Rest. The STI, fired from sand bags, averaged 2.82" to 4.21". Other variables in these tests are barrel length and caliber. The R1 is a 5" .45 ACP, the STI a 3" .40 S&W. If the testers had shot the guns off-hand, we'd know more about the shooter than about the gun.

 

[redpitbull44]

As far as all of this goes, I will tell you, yes, I have had an "I Suck" moment, and at that moment, was able to correct why I was sucking, and able to begin sucking less.
Example: I had a Taurus Judge. I could shoot 4" at 15 yds, my buddy could do half that. I was like, wow, ok, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I watched his grip. He is used to shooting DA revolvers, so he knows how to lock his wrists up to where the gun DOES NOT move when pulling the trigger. I was pulling the trigger 3/4 back, getting my sight picture, and firing. I traded that gun to him, but before I did I was shooting a more respectable 2.75" group with it by learning to suck less.
One thing I will also say to people, if you have a rifle, and that rifle has an optic and factory sights, MAKE SURE THEY ARE BOTH SIGHTED IN. It's pitiful to have a rifle with an optic and factory sights you've never touched.