Handgun Accuracy

I

i50sx

New member
I am a rifle guy and have a couple handguns...but i cant shoot em straight .....anyone got any tips??????

It might help to say i got the sight picture thing figured...but its like my hand is made of clay and each time I fire,I got a different hand.. or somethin like that



Ya i know you got jokes ...just looking for helpful advice
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What type of weapon and what caliber are you shooting - 1911, a DA/SA gun ..... Are you trying to shoot a heavy load like a .40S&W in a real light gun .... What range are you shooting at / how big are your groups ??

lots of stuff to think about / before we can really help .....give us some more details.
 
Go back to the fundimentals with a 22 rimfire. Get rid of your flinch, practice a good grip, sight picture and trigger control. Your group size should shrink a lot. After you think you have the mouse gun mastered, move back up to your centerfire handguns with light loads. Increase the loads as necessary.
Dave
 
Handguns take a lot of practice to be any good with them. I mean it will take a couple thousand rounds if you apply yourself to start to get fair, at least what I consider fair.
The .22 idea above is what I consider the best idea also. You have a number of advantages learning on a .22. Those skills will transfer right over to centerfire handguns. You can buy a .22 handgun with money saved from the ammo costs of your centerfire handguns.
I see huge amount of people who buy centerfire handguns and are all but incompetent with them. Starting with a .22 the odds of you getting good with a handgun is much higher because you can afford to practice. Also there is no recoil or blast to speak of to affect you like most centerfire handguns will.
 
It's all about grip and stance. Rifle shooters tend to overestimate range as well. With a rifle 100yrds is what you're looking for. Most times a handgun is needed (like everyone else said it's a pistol, handgun, sidearm, ect. Not a "people killer.") the range is usually no more than about 7yrds. If you're hitting targets with a handgun at 30 or 40 yrds accuracy has been achieved. The best thing I can recommend from a vague post is tighten your grip, don't let your wrist go limp, don't lock your elbows, and don't over-think your shot. With a handgun practice makes perfect and instinct shooting is the key. You dont always have time to "take aim" so, learn to shoot instinctively.
 
It might help to say i got the sight picture thing figured...but its like my hand is made of clay and each time I fire,I got a different hand.. or somethin like that
Click to expand...

You mean your sight picture's different each time you fire? If so, you haven't "got the sight picture thing figured", and you're just taking potshots. Not trying to be overly critical: The majority of people I see shoot are simply taking potshots.

IMO, it comes down to doing the 2 fundamentals consistently, and...here's the important part...doing the 2 fundamentals consistently up to and including the moment the trigger breaks.

If you're not fully aware of the front sight the moment before, during and the moment after the trigger breaks, you're just taking potshots. Holding your awareness through the shot is tough to do.

The good news is that if you can learn to focus on the front sight throughout the shot, you stop anticipating & flinching and peeking at the target, and doing many of the other accuracy-killing bad habits we often indulge in. One reason why the .22 is such a good training tool is that it's easier to develop the habit of keeping your focus on the sight, instead of reinforcing the bad habit of being distracted by recoil and muzzle blast.

Rather than re-type, here's some other stuff I've offered on the subject. check out the links within the link as well. Just my $0.02, of course.

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3866666&postcount=7
 
No sight pic is the same....its like the weapon recoils differently into my hand sometimes comfortably, sometimes kinda twists a bit....

It was most noticeable with the 44mag ruger the longer barrel(think its 9") ,with the 6" barrel it was not as noticeable..
 
You mean your sight picture's different each time you fire?
Click to expand...

No sight pic is the same....
Click to expand...

I'm still not clear. Sorry to be part of the grammar police, but it may be important here. Do you mean:

"No, (note the comma) the sight pic is the same between shots..."

or do you mean the sight picture's not the same between shots?
 
Grip

i50sx: So...the gun moves a lot in recoil and when it drops out of recoil and you have recovered the sights, you find that the grip is not sitting in your hand the same way. This happens every shot...or almost. Is that all correct?
The Ruger .44 Magnum Blackhawk is a powerful cartridge in a gun that has a slippery (for many) grip. If that is the gun - or any gun - you have to learn to hold it harder so that the hand "rides" the gun in recoil and doesn't twist or over-rotate. A set of aftermarket grips that fit your hand is a good option.
Pete
 
Sounds like the gun is too big for your hand.

Try different guns in different calibers until you find one that fits you like a glove. Personally, I find the Browning Hi-Power and the Stoeger/Beretta Cougar (9mm) fit my hand the best. Second best is the single-stack 1911 (.45). Worst fit is the Desert Eagle anything, and second-worst is the Beretta/Taurus 92.

I have, I'd say, an average male sized hand.
 
The first principle of accurate shooting is trigger control: a smooth, press straight back on the trigger with only the trigger finger moving. Maintain your focus on the front sight as you press the trigger, increasing pressure on the trigger until the shot breaks. Don't try to predict exactly when the gun will go off nor try to cause the shot to break at a particular moment. This is what Jeff Cooper called the "surprise break."


By keeping focus on the front sight and increasing pressure on the trigger until the gun essentially shoots itself, you don’t anticipate the shot breaking. But if you try to make the shot break at that one instant in time when everything seem steady and aligned, you usually wind up jerking the trigger. Of course the gun will wobble some on the target. Try not to worry about the wobble and don’t worry about trying to keep the sight aligned on a single point. Just let the front sight be somewhere in a small, imaginary box in the center of the target.

Also, work on follow through. Be aware of where on the target the front sight is as the shot breaks and watch the front sight lift off that point as the gun recoils – all the time maintaining focus on the front sight.

Also, while practice in very important, remember that practice doesn’t make perfect. It’s “PERFECT practice makes perfect.” More frequent practice shooting fewer rounds, but concentrating hard on what you’re doing, will be more productive than less frequent, higher round count practice.


Practice deliberately, making every shot count, to program good habits and muscle memory. Dry practice is very helpful. You just want to triple check that the gun is not loaded, and there should be no ammunition anywhere around. When engaging in dry practice, religiously follow Rule 2 - Never Let Your Muzzle Cover Anything You Are Not Willing To Destroy." As you dry fire, you want to reach the point where you can't see any movement of the sight as the sear releases and the hammer falls.

The Todd Jarrett video peetzakilla recommended is very good.

Finally, some instruction is always a good idea. I try to take classes from time to time; and I always learn something new.

Think: front sight, press, surprise.
 
hands

with only the trigger finger moving.
Click to expand...

That is good advice for anyone learning to shoot. It is especially important if the shooter is firing the gun one handed unsupported.
There is a lot going on in the gun hand when the trigger is being moved. The fingers of the hand are naturally susceptible to sympathetic movement. When we move our trigger finger, the fingers below it "want" to move also. (Hold your hand, without a gun in it, in a relaxed position. Move your trigger finger as if squeezing a trigger; notice how the other fingers will move along with the trigger/index finger. Not very much but they will move. That movement affects the shot.)
Sounds, though, that the OPs problem is more related to the grip of the pistol itself.
Pete
 
Back about 4 decades ago, . . . a friend started me out on hand gun shooting with a tip that has made all the difference in the world for me.

It does not work for everyone, . . . but again, it did for me.

Pick up the handgun in your non shooting hand, . . . open your shooting hand so that the thumb forms one leg of a "Y" and the fingers the other leg of the "Y". Ideally, your elbow should be on a table, you should be sitting down, and your shooting arm should point almost straight up.

Lay the butt of the handgun down into your shooting hand, and start closing the fingers with the pinky, then the ring finger, then the middle finger and last of all the thumb. Force the thumb out and around as you close it. Lay your trigger finger along side the weapon, pointing it to the "target".

Now, . . . squeeze the shooting hand muscles as hard as you can for about 5 seconds, then relax them enough to still hold the weapon, but not be "shaky" as you extend your arm outward toward the target.

As you look down your shooting arm, . . . the tip of your elbow should be pointing to the floor, . . . and looking straight across the middle of the inside of your elbow, . . . you should see a perfectly straight line down your fore arm bone, . . . across your wrist, . . . and down the barrel of the weapon.

Adjust the grip to get that picture perfect, . . . concentrate your focused vision on the front sight, . . . lay it on the target, corrected by the rear sight, take up the slack in the trigger, . . . happy shooting.

I've shot this system for over 40 years, . . . and though I'll never bring home any Camp Perry trophies, . . . it works for me.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top