Grip and shooting low left

J

James H

Moderator
I took my Tracker and Cougar out shooting this morning and got to thinking about my two-handed grip (I suppose this could be applied to a one-handed grip also). Seems like I always shoot low and left with the Stoeger Cougar (9mm semi-auto, fixed sights, mediocre trigger) and, once I adjusted the rear sight on the Tracker (.357, shooting light .38 spl rounds, adjustable rear sight, pretty crisp trigger in SA) I shoot right on target at 10 yds.

I'm relatively new to shooting handguns but I've shot rifles for about 20 yrs. I'm pretty good at squeezing triggers on rifles. I realize the 'low and left' for a right handed person is pretty common, at least from what I've read.

When I got home I googled "shooting low and left" and this is the first page that came up....

http://www.pointshooting.com/1alow.htm

What the hell? It suggests using your middle finger to pull the trigger while resting index finger against side of gun. I tried dry firing both guns like this and I think I'd either burn off the tip of my normal trigger finger with the revolver or lose a fingernail by getting it caught in the ejection port of the slide with the semi auto. There's no way I can use my middle finger as trigger finger with a handgun. That'd be ridiculous.

I guess I want verification that this advice is just crap, but also, how did you all get over the "shoot low and left" thing? or if you're a lefty, the "shoot low and right" thing?
 
Put a dot on a wall at home, step across the room with unloaded gun. Point at dot while looking at sights and pull trigger, if the sights move off the dot that is why you are missing now stop doing that.
 
ya...I know. Seems like I can always keep it on target on a wall. I've practiced through hundreds of dry-fires. I even "bench shot" my cougar this summer and when I do that off a steady rest, it hits where I'm aiming at. I guess I flinch a little at the range. Why don't I do that with the revolver? or did i just compensate for it with the adjustable sight?
 
I think it could be that you are anticipating recoil. That is what usually causes rounds to impact 'low and left.'
I may be wrong, but I taught this stuff for years as a police officer and that was my experience.
Semper fi,

Dave Swaffield
 
Over gripping the gun can bind up the trigger finger, causing a kind of jerky motion that pulls the gun to the left.
Also, if the trigger finger is in contact with the side of the gun, the gun can get pushed to the left.
 
Someone once suggest to me that one should put a laser grip on and dry fire against a paper target on your wall and repeat til the laser stays on target with each squeeze....
 
I had the same problem with my S&W 4566tsw..
I didnt have that issue with my xd9 or my .357 magnum.
I had a friend with me who also said that it(.45) shoots low and left.
I went to a range last month and one of the more experienced shooter popped off 8 rounds with my gun and was dead nuts in 4"groups right ABOVE the bullseye..he told me I was wrapping my finger around the trigger too much..
I gently layed my finger on the trigger and squeezed...he was right.. my sights are dead-on. I wasn't squeezing the trigger correctly for that particular gun.. Now I shoot 5" groups at 20 yards..
Not bad for an amateur..
 
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"I don't know how accurate this is, but I thought there must be something to it for someone to take the time to make it. "

Reasonably correct for one handed 'Bullseye' style shooting.
 
For those round targets that show what problem you are having, remember that you have to reverse it for left-handed shooters. There are right- and left-hand versions of those targets near the bottom of this page.
 
As I've read your replies, I think that I may overgrip my Cougar. I remember reading an article that basically said that the webbing between your thumb and first finger should sort of bunch up and create a ripple while gripping the gun. I have skinny hands but kind of long fingers and even the Beretta/Stoeger Cougar with its fat grip (from what I've read compared to other pistols) doesn't quite fill out my hand. Next time I go to the range I'll try shooting the Cougar with the pad of my trigger finger. So far I've been pulling the trigger with the crease of the first joint of my trigger finger. Maybe my trigger finger wraps around too much and torques the gun. I guess this doesn't happen so much with my revolver because of the ergonomics of the grip compared to the Cougar. Plus, the Tracker's trigger is a bit lighter and just a bit more crisp than the Cougar's, at least in SA. (When I first got the Tracker I took the side plate off and sprayed out everything out with Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber...the trigger felt "gritty." It was better after that).

Edit: I just dry fired a few times after writing the above, and I think I've actually been pulling the trigger of the Cougar with the inside of the second bone of my trigger finger, if that makes sense. As in, not the tip of my trigger finger, not the first crease, but past the first crease of my trigger finger. (as seen from tip of finger going toward palm)
 
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I've had/have this problem (I'm working on it) and I found that, just like the circle of truth says, I'm jerking or slapping the trigger. It's so subtle that I had to use a rest to verify there was nothing wrong with my Beretta 92FS but the rest confirmed that the gun was dead on. Squeeeeeeze the trigger consistently through the whole pull and it has to surprise you when it goes off. Put a dummy round somewhere in the magazine while shooting and this will quickly let you know what's going on, but put it where you don't know where is of course, have a friend do it. Of course proper grip applies. Might or might not be your problem but this was mine. Hope this helps.
 
Ya...I initially thought it was the gun until I shot it off a steady bench rest. Nothing wrong with the gun. The gun shoots better than me.
 
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