accuracy drills

G

grantman

New member
Hi All

Wanted to see what everyone does to help tighten up their groups. I don't compete but am looking for drills/targets/techniques to use at the range to start dialing in my groups more.

I've been doing some dry fire and having a friend insert a dummy round into the mags to reduce flinching/anticipation.
 
I found that simple, print-it-yourself bullseye targets were most helpful in this regard. Google "printable targets" and browse for about 1 million to choose from. I find that a 2" bright center makes for something I can still aim at out to about 10 yards--beyond that it pretty much disappears when you focus on the front sight.

What I believe did more for my aim than absolutely anything else was strengthening my hands, forearms and shoulders. I got a simple hand grip to practice squeezing and holding a tight grip with both hands. I also added a simple weight lifting step to my workout of lifting a 10 lb. weight straight out in front of me and holding it there.

After a short time I found that my hands shook far less when aiming, and my shoulders didn't sag when holding the gun steady during a 5 or 10 shot group.
 
Everything OhioGuy mentions will definitely help.
Whatever the activity, being in shape for it counts a lot.
Judging from the belly overhang that one often sees at the range, not everyone appreciates being in shape, though.

To better address your question though, describe how you shoot groups.
One slow round, single handed, like Bullseye?
Standing?
Two handed?
Isosceles?
Weaver?
Distance to targets?
Something else?
 
Could be that you are pulling the trigger to the left causing shots to go left.

A good exercise for getting a straight back trigger control:
cut a 3/8 inch wood dowel, or even a pencil the length of your trigger reach.
Place one end of the dowel into the area of your trigger finger that normally reaches the trigger that you want to practice.
The other end of the dowel goes into the web of your hand where the main spring housing would contact.

Practice pressing straight back so the dowel travels in a straight direction into the web. This helps to create a positive straight back trigger pull.
An old bullseye shooting practice tip that I learned from an olympic shooter.

A shot to the left could indicate that you are hinging your trigger finger from the knuckle instead of the middle joint when pressing the trigger throwing the shots left, or wrapping the trigger too much with the finger causing the same effect.

Another good image is to look hard at the front sight and imagine pulling the front sight straight back through the rear sight notch, thinking about the straight back trigger pull to accomplish that.
 
Look up the stoeger dot drill.

Six circles 2" diameter. Stand 9'away and shoot each one 5 times. You "pass" when all 30 are inside the circles. ALL 30.

Then back up to 12', then 15'.... by the time you can run that drill clean at 30' you will be a good shot.
 
I found that I was often pulling to the left also, and adjusting the part of my trigger finger that contacted the trigger helped. I had been using the area very close to my finger tip (I'm right handed). I found that adjusting the point of contact a bit closer to the joint of my first knuckle (but not IN the joint) brought my groups closer to center. I think I was subtly pushing the gun slightly left on my trigger pull.

The tendency to shoot low seemed to just go away after a few months. I believe the "hidden snap cap" trick helped with that. I was absolutely flinching when I pulled the trigger, even when there was no "bang."
 
The grip in general can be responsible for a right handed shooter hitting low and left, too.
Or, I should say, the lack of grip.
Like letting the support hand relax at the moment the gun goes off.
If you have to reposition the grip after each shot, that's a possibility.
Another cause is an improper natural point of aim.
A web search for the subject will find an explanation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top