Am I actually increasing my accuracy, or do I just think I am?

C

Chris_B

New member
I was shooting yesterday, my light, short barreled .22

It's hardly a target pistol. One reason I got it was to help me shoot better; I reasoned, this pistol will exaggerate my every mistake

But I was thinking today- is this really helping me?

I was shooting at a 1" orange bull, 33 feet away on most targets. On an NRA slow-fire 25 yard target at 25 yards, I can keep all shots in the black. On the same target at 33' (with the 1" orange bull sticker) I can keep all shots in the 9 ring.

Am I actually using this pistol to increase my accuracy? I sure have become a better shot since buying it. But why?

Is it because this pistol is harder to shoot accurately, and it teaches me what I'm doing wrong by punishing my accuracy greatly when using bad trigger control, etc?

Or, when I shoot it, am I just thinking about concentrating on being a better shot, so I pay more attention to my technique? In other words I know my purpose is to train myself with this pistol, so psychologically I am not benefiting from the pistol, but rather from my mindset?

There have been several occasions with this pistol (A P22 of all things, I only use the 3.4" barrel) in which I have concentrated on taking careful aim, fired a single round at 25 yards, retrieved the target, and found a dead center bullseye. I am starting to think it' simply my mindset. Bizarrely, my crummy P22 has been very reliable and trouble free in the 10K+ rounds I've put through it and I actually like that it's hard to hit things with it. But I think that I am going to be better served in teaching myself accuracy with a more accurate pistol now. I think that if I was really teaching myself about what makes me miss my target, I may have learned enough and now it's time to teach myself what good technique can reliably accomplish

Thoughts?
 
Well both of those questions sound like they come to the same purpose to me.

Is it because this pistol is harder to shoot accurately, and it teaches me what I'm doing wrong by punishing my accuracy greatly when using bad trigger control, etc?

Or, when I shoot it, am I just thinking about concentrating on being a better shot, so I pay more attention to my technique? In other words I know my purpose is to train myself with this pistol, so psychologically I am not benefiting from the pistol, but rather from my mindset?
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Your 22 is hard to shoot accurately so you try harder to make sure hit where you want, which is the same thing as you concentrating more and using your best technique. That's what any target practice is, bettering your technique and accuracy. Doesn't really matter what the firearm is, your working to achieve the same thing. The more and more shoot the better your accuracy and technique should be and both should become easier and more comfortable, and maybe you'll be able to raise for firearm up and plink those targets like you see in competition and movies.

I'm just starting out and my accuracy is terrible with my 45 ACP but I also found my sight is pretty bad off. I was only at 6 feet too, I was hitting dirt at 20 feet. I was hitting the bottom on my target at 6 feet, so started aiming toward the top of the middle circle on a 3 circle target and was much closer to the center. So now I need to adjust my site.

Good luck man, but I think both of your questions are leading to the same result.
 
Is it because this pistol is harder to shoot accurately, and it teaches me what I'm doing wrong by punishing my accuracy greatly when using bad trigger control, etc?

Or, when I shoot it, am I just thinking about concentrating on being a better shot, so I pay more attention to my technique? In other words I know my purpose is to train myself with this pistol, so psychologically I am not benefiting from the pistol, but rather from my mindset?
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Mind & body - it's tough to separate the two. Top flight shooters may not consciously think about sight picture & trigger pull, but that's because it's become subconscious through thousands of hours of practice. Until we get there, we do well by mentally focusing on the fundamentals and physically executing them well.


But I think that I am going to be better served in teaching myself accuracy with a more accurate pistol now.
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You'll often get the mantra "The gun is more accurate than you" as a response, and while this may (or may not) be technically true, and you could probably improve your groups a bit more with your P22, I personally, I think it's always better to work on the fundamentals with an accurate gun. A gun that puts the bullet in the 10- or x-ring when you know you got the trigger pull & sight picture right is a much better teaching tool than a gun that sometimes puts it there and sometimes in the 7-ring.

BTW, did your target work with your .22 translate into better accuracy with your centerfire gun? If your .22 target work is really increasing your accuracy, it ought to. Otherwise, it's possible you're simply able to shoot this particular .22 well.
 
One thing I have found that has helped to improve my shooting is to use smaller targets. I use 3/4" orange stickers and try to see how many shots it takes to remove the sticker. I do the same with .22 and 9 mm pistols. I find when I move the target out further my groups are tighter. I only wish my eye sight was like it was 30 years ago. Most of the time I only shoot at 7 to 10 yards these days. I do put a target out to 25 yards near the end of each session to see if I can still hit it. Most of the time everything is inside the 9 ring of a B27E target. Rapid fire at that distance is another story.

Recently I was shooting a Taurus PT22. Even with that short barrel I was able to keep the round in a fairly small group. The owner decided to take a little more time and put in some extra effort in their shooting . They thought the problem was in the pistol. When you can do well using a short barrel and open sights the longer barrel pistols seem to be easier to shoot. You really are using the very same technique with both, but your grip might have to change do to the size of the pistol. Getting the feel of different triggers is also a factor to consider.

I shoot a number of pistols each trip to the range. The only thing that helps me do is to adjust to different triggers faster. If I stayed with one pistol I'm sure my shooting would improve. I just hate having to wait for the gun to cool down so multiple pistols is a way around that.

Practice proper technique and it will transfer to other pistols. Remember the basics and you should be good to go.
 
The more you shoot the better you get. There is just no way around it.

22 ammo is cheap and the guns chambered for it are usually very strong so have fun. You should see my wife with my suppressed Ruger, she loves that gun and because she enjoys shooting it, she shoots more, the more she shoots the better she gets.

Now that you have discovered accuracy, try and shoot the same scores at double speed
 
Mission accomplished! - it's time to move on to a more accurate pistol.

IMO what you've learned is that shooting is primarily a mental discipline. Those dead center bullseyes are what you're capable of shooting, when you let yourself.

I don't agree with the logic of using an inaccurate pistol to magnify your errors. Because it makes it even more difficult to determine whether your targets are the result of your technique, or the mechanical error of the gun. Unless the pistol is modified to isolate and amplify a specific aspect of the shot execution, its performance is just another random factor.
 
Anything that allows you to shoot more and forces you to focus on holding the gun steady while squeezing through the shot is going to be beneficial.

Personally, I find that target practice at 25 or 50 yards with a .38 special revolver makes target shooting with a long-barreled .22 target pistol seem much easier.

A P22 of all things, I only use the 3.4" barrel
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Wow, 3.4" is a pretty long barrel for a small gun, a small .380 like the LCP is only 2.7". You should try the 2" barrel of my 1908 Colt Vest Pocket .25ACP. That's a short barrel, yet I find the gun to be pretty darn accurate at anything inside of 10 yards (with limited shooting), I bet I could get pretty good at 15 yards with it with more practice, but I like to take it easy on a 97 year old gun. Hope I work that well at 97 :)
 
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Keep in mind

You should try the 2" barrel of my 1908 Colt Vest Pocket .25ACP. That's a short barrel, yet I find the gun to be pretty darn accurate at anything inside of 10 yards (with limited shooting)
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Keep in mind that its not actually the barrel length which changes the difficulty shooting, its rather the sight radius. I own a S&W model 34, and it has only a 2 in barrel BUT the rear sight is mounted just above the hammer, which approx doubles the sight radius, compared to the barrel length. Usually the 2 are close, but not always...
 
Chris_B,

It sounds like the P-22 is serving your intended purpose. It is teaching you to slow down, concentrate and make hits. This is a good thing.

Are you shooting better with your centerfires or other pistols now? If so, that is how you can tell you are getting the benefit of practicing with the little gun.

Now, I have always found it easier to get better with a gun that is more accurate. Granted, this was rifle shooting, but for the longest time I practiced shooting my match rifle with generic 55gr FMJ .223 reloads, figuring it was cheaper and "good enough". Well, I stopped doing that and went to just shooting my "good ammo." Guess what happened with my skill level? (Hint: It didn't drop off.) I suspect if you were to get a hold of something like a Ruger Mk-series with the bull barrel, you'd be surprised at what you are capable of hitting.

And Rudybow, don't take this the wrong way, but I bet your sights are fine. I wouldn't adjust them until you're capable of punching a group you can cover with your palm at 21-feet (and that's kind of big IMO at that range if you're shooting for accuracy). Otherwise you are likely to be chasing your shots and never end up centered up.
 
Hi guys. A little late in replying

I am getting better with my centerfires as well

What's the deal re: barrel length? I'm not in competition for shortest barrel pistol. All other things being equal, I should be more challenged using the shorter barrel and therefore the shorter sight radius. I only have the two choices in regards to barrel length
 
The best measure/test I found to tell you if your accuracy has consistently increased is target shooting at paper. Shoot 10 round groups, change targets and do it again. Take a pen to the range record the date and any other information you want and keep the targets. The paper records it and it don't lie. Over time you will be able to see improvements. It's a good way to hone your technique.
 
I have some accurate .22s. When I first started shooting pistols I bought a CZ75BD 9mm with the .22 Kadet Kit adapter. Really a whole new slide/barrel with special inserts in mags for the .22.

I would take 200 9mm and 500 .22 to the range for an afternoon of shooting. Changing out the slides was a bit of a pain, but I would shoot 50 9mm, then 100 .22. What I was doing without any conscious decision was building muscle memory of shooting without a flinch. The .22 sight picture and shot release carried over to the 9mm.

I still shoot a lot of .22 today. My favorites now are a .22 conversion on a .45 stainless Springer frame and a .45 or 9mm 1911. Same principle.

When I'm shooting well I can see a spark at the end of the barrel when the shot breaks, and see the sights rise up in recoil. The 8.5 x 11" paper with 6" targets at 50 yards gets holes in it with regularity. Not every shot, but enough.

Accurate guns with great triggers will also help. You don't need to spend a ton of $ to get a good .22. Great triggers on other guns may cost a bit more.
 
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