Carry gun recommendations

As has been said you have a fundamentals issue. With the right fundamentals you can shoot anything fairly well. Pick something and practice your fundamentals.

As for a gun suggestion I am going to throw an expensive left field suggestion. The HK P7M8 or PSP. The trigger is Fantastic and super light yet very safe due to the squeeze cocking mechanism. Super fast to get rounds on target and a simple relaxed grip makes the gun safe.

Gun suggestion aside.....again fundamentals.

Focus intently on the front sight
Use as little trigger finger as necessary and pull straight back
Pull the gun into your strong hand with weak one. Push with strong into the weak.
Do not release the trigger until you have inspected the round hit. When releasing it do so slowly and deliberately. By just pulling and sloppily releasing to ready for next shot you are moving that gun all over the place. Slow and deliberate press and release. You can learn fast later.

Dry fire with a shell casing on the top of the slide. Don't let it fall off. NO LIVE AMMO IN THE SAME ROOM SAFETY CHECK OFTEN

chris
 
Maybe something in the CZ75 family.

I am more of a revolver guy, but my CZ75 shoots very well for me.

For carry I prefer my snub 38 or snub 44, but that's just me.
 
I'm sure that a class or a bunch of practice will improve your shooting with any particular gun but I can also understand just wanting a gun that you can shoot good NOW. The CZ compact clone that I have (the SAR 96pc) can be carried cocked and locked like a single action or can be carried in DA mode and you can manually cock the hammer like a single action revolver when needed. It's reliable, accurate, and cheap! It's a double stack but has a thin grip and is very concealable. You should check one out.
 
There's no such thing as a gun that magically hits the target without the shooter doing the right things with the trigger and sights. True fact.

"Practicing" when you don't know what to practice or how to practice is mostly a waste of time and money. It's frustrating and not much fun. Missing the target sucks. Spending a lot of time missing the target is just annoying. And mostly, it just engrains bad habits that mean it'll be that much harder to really learn how to shoot when you're tired of missing.

Frankly, it's a lot more fun to keep buying new toys. And easier, too, assuming you have the budget for it. So why not? Go buy another gun. Or two, or six, or a dozen.

Have fun.

pax
 
First off, stop shooting the revolver in SA. That isn't doing you any favors. Becoming SA trigger dependent is as limiting as becoming scope dependent. You don't want to go there. I've seen some folks that can't shoot a gun worth a darn that has greater than a 2 1/2 lb pull. Its like a picky eater than only eats french fries and ketchup!

Make sure you are really gripping the gun tight. Not so tight as to cause it to shake, but tight enough that you aren't tempted to control recoil with your trigger finger, as Jerry Miculek puts it. A firm grip goes a long way towards proper trigger control.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEHNZFTfSD8

Once you get the hang of it, you might find a S&W J Frame to be an ideal carry gun. With the right technique, the little revolvers are surprisingly shootable, even in DA.

The plus side to learning a DA pull is: when you're pretty good with a long DA pull you can be pretty good with about any trigger out there.
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Generally true, though I tend to be more consistent shooting a revolver DA, instead of SA :) .

The above suggestions for SA semi autos (Colt Mustang, SIG P238 for smaller, Hi Power or 1911's for larger) will have the SA trigger break you're looking for.
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As for the Hi Power, as much as I love them, the triggers often need a fair amount work. Even with my mag disconnect removed, my FEG has a really stiff, jerky release. 1911s, depending on the make, can be the same way. Both my Springfield Mil Spec and Colt Series 70 repro needed tuning before they had clean, crisp breaks.
 
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Good question. They got the chance to find out themselves!

I think pax was rounding out her suggestion in her first post about taking a class. Of course the OP can do whatever he wants. But a class was recommended too.

"practicing" - Well, I think it's in quotes because we will all meet lifelong plinkers who marginally care where the round goes, but not enough to figure out how to get better. They can't be bothered about receiving advice, actually looking hard at what they're doing with their body when they shoot. Or believing that it's not the gun. Yes individual fingers, individual muscles, eye movement. What a headache right?

Someone unteachable/uninterested just isn't likely to improve because they'll keep doing what they've been doing without changing. - Not saying this is the OP however. I think I've met some pretty hard headed prideful folks (isn't that all of us at times) that won't accept change. Sometimes they're not really looking to get better because in keeping with the trend, they insist they're shooting great! So when they "practice" they do... just about the same.

We can certainly learn to be aware of some things from reading, watching, and experimenting. But taking a class would save time. When we do our own self-education, we'd only know to look up things we *realize we are deficient in - and it's usually a long process of "ok I'm doing this, but what else am I missing" one by one. Takes forever. But someone who's been there will see things faster.

It takes a certain attitude however to be able to accept instruction from another, some degree of trust, humility, but most of all *interest.
 
I did some more testing, and realized at least where the 4" to the left come from with most pistols. If I use the typical first finger segment on the trigger hold I tend to push the pistol to the left at the very last moment due to bad mechanics - finger is just too long to get a good lever on the last 1/8 inch of the pull. Shooting single action I tend to use the middle segment, and the effect goes away.
Hasn't helped with the vertical stringing, dry firing I'm steady as a rock, but anticipation kills me on the range.
 
If you want something similar to an SA revolver, why not an SA semi-auto? Or if 1911s aren't your speed, I'm a fan of the M&P with an Apex kit. Bear in mind, the trigger is light enough that I would want the version with the manual safety. Fullsize, compact, or Shield all fit various sizes and form factors as you desire.

Not so much a recommendation, just food for thought.

As for range stuff, ball and dummy. If you can manage it, just mix in a bunch of snap caps with live (allows you to run the drill solo, rather than the traditional method of having a partner load for you).

That and dry fire until the dry fire trigger pull becomes your default. I did it once with a rifle, and averaged about 10-15 dry fire shots for every live round. Worked quite well.


That's just one man's rambling. Good luck with your own improvements.
 
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