I need help with accuracy!

T

TexasGirl

Inactive
Gentlemen-
I am a female new to the world of handguns. I have quickly developed a real love for shooting, but I have a problem. I dip the gun down very noticeably when I fire. My husband was at the range with me today and he would randomly load, or leave empty, the chamber. I am a lot more accurate when I focus really hard on holding really steady, of course. But I was wondering if any of you might have any practice tips for me. I am shooting a 9mm Ruger that I love. I'm not afraid of it, I have no idea why I do this. Is it ok to dry fire it to practice? It's really fun to me but I am getting frustrated at myself! Thank you!
 
If you want to practice dry firing, pick up some snap-caps. The dipping down of the gun, aka recoil anticipation, is very common. Practicing dry firing really helped me a lot because I was doing the very same thing. Just remember when you are out there shooting to keep a constant steady trigger pull and it should surprise you everytime it fires, as far as timing goes.
 
Dry fire is great practice. Concentrate on your sight alignment as you squeeze the trigger and keep that thought when you shoot live ammo. You know the recoil isnt going to hurt you, so just look at it as "dry fire" with live ammo on the range, and imagine your just going to hear a click in your mind every time you squeeze the trigger.

If you put your brain to thinking about keeping your sights aligned as you pull the trigger, it doesnt think about the recoil. :)
 
Ideally you should align the sights precisely and then gently increase the pressure on the trigger straight back until the gun fires. You should actually be surprised at the exact time it fires. In time your concious mind will learn not to react to the noise and recoil. Dry fire practice will help greatly. Watch the front sight as you cycle the trigger. It won't move unless you move the gun. Relax. Do all of this slowly at first like you have all the time in the world. When you can get consistent surprise trigger breaks go just a little faster.
 
I'd suggest lessons. Many women end up being better shots than their husbands after taking lessons from a professional instructor.
I think it has something to do with guys not liking to ask directions.
 
Another good dryfire drill is to put a coin on top of the slide or barrel. Dryfire until it doesn't wobble or move at all.
 
I agree with what's been said above

Another few thoughts:

If you can't keep the gun on target without lots of wobble because the gun feels heavy and your arms weak, or if the trigger pull is very heavy and your ability to pull it weak, it will be difficult to truly control the sights and trigger enough for good shot to occur, as you'll be wobbling the sights and you'll jerk the trigger; So here's a good link on dry firing:

http://lifeofowen.blogspot.com/2005/03/trigger-control.html

The next problem is anticipation of recoil, and if the gun's recoil is too much for you, it will be hard not to anticipate recoil, jerk the trigger, and pull your shots low.
Also as you pull the trigger slowly and smoothly, you may try saying to yourself: "focus on the [front] sight, focus on the sight"; like others have said, the hammer dropping should be a surprise.
If you still can't get over the recoil anticipation, then you need a gun with less recoil. Personally, I think that the best gun to learn on is an air pistol with a good trigger, followed by .22LR out of a heavy pistol with a long sight radius, such as a Ruger Mark II/III/etc. This way you'll learn sight and trigger control without learning bad habits that can occur due to recoil anticipation etc.

Not to mention the fact that before you even worry about dry firing, you need to learn proper stance and grip of the gun and proper sight alignment....on second thought, how about getting some professional instruction; learn the right way, right away ! :D
 
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Many women end up being better shots than their husbands after taking lessons from a professional instructor.
Click to expand...
Most I've found end up being better than men even without professional instruction. I firmly believe that women on the whole are better shooters.
 
The suggestions to do a lot of dry firing is very good. Easier if you have one of the P-series Rugers, so you can simply thumb back the hammer rather than rack the slide each time.

In addition, you would benefit greatly from a .22 cal semi-auto, and since you seem to be fond of your Ruger 9mm, you would be well served by a Ruger Mark II or Mark III.

Suggesting a .22 cal has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that you are a lady. A .22 cal pistol is a terrific training tool for any/every/all shooters. Lots and lots of live-fire practice and trigger time at a pittance of a cost for ammo. Even better, the handguns themselves are very nicely priced and will last more than a lifetime.

If it were me, I'd highly recommend a used Ruger Mark II, tapered barrel and adjustable sights. They are built very, very well, so a used one is a great buy.
 
I imagine nearly all of us had similar problems when we first started shooting regularly. I changed my stance from Isosceles to a modified Weaver, then bent my left elbow slightly to reduce strain from heavier guns. I aim with both eyes open, and lock my right arm solidly while sighting directly over my right thumb and forefinger (gun hand). Remember to overlap your two thumbs, one on top of the other-if you can. Your legs need to be slightly apart with a gentle bit of knee bend, then take about a 3/4 step forward with your weak side foot to shoot in this stance.

With heavier pistols, I also like to bring the sights up under the target, align as necessary, then gently pull off the round while exhaling just as the front sight post touches the bullseye. My stance is a little radical, and not many people at the ranges shoot like I do, but it changed my accuracy 50%. Personal style and individual comfort is the key to good shooting. There are lots of books, websites, and monthly publications to give you illustarations of the different styles. Ehow.com has a video on each of the popular stances. A shooting class at a local range is also a great idea. These guys are anxious to help and most are real professionals. Welcome, and thanks for joining the ranks of happy shooters!

-7-
 
"Pushing" the gun down in anticipation of recoil is the most common form of flinching. You've described pushing perfectly and I'm sure that's your problem. People do it with revolvers and semiautos and it can be maddening. I've been a shooter for years and have experienced the problem off and on. Don't worry, just about every one does.

I've finally cured my tendency to push. I've done it with hours of dry firing plus practicing what I've learned at the range.

The posters on this thread who say practice dryfiring are absolutely right. The more of it you do, the better. When you dryfire, try watching only the front sight of the gun. Forget about looking at a target, just watch that front sight. If you see it dipping down as you pull the trigger then you know you're pushing the gun. Practice just squeezing the trigger with steady pressure until no longer see the front sight dipping. Then, just keep doing it over and over, as many times a day as you can.


One excellent dryfire technique is to practice while facing a mirror. You can tell instantly when you are or aren't pushing the gun.

Practicing with a revolver is an ideal way to cure pushing. If you can borrow a revolver (a .22 caliber revolver such as a Smith & Wesson 617 or a Ruger Single Six is perfect), load all of the chambers except one. Before firing, spin the cylinder so that you have no idea which one is the empty chamber. Then, as you fire, watch the front sight. If you see the front sight dipping down as you pull the trigger on the empty chamber then, again, you know you're pushing. Practice that way until the front sight doesn't dip.

The idea about balancing a coin on the top of your gun as you dryfire it is a super suggestion, one that I've used a lot to cure my push.

The main thing, however, is not to get discouraged. Your problem is one that nearly all of us experience from time to time. Now that you've identified it, it's just a question of working your way through it.

Welcome to a wonderful sport!!
 
Seek professional training! A good trainer it the best, and as a husband, I can say I am the worst trainer for my wife. Other folks I can do well, but the wife I am poor at teaching.

Also work on your grip and arm strength. That has always helped me out over the years. The stronger your grip, the less recoil bothers you.
 
+1 on a 22, or even an air-pistol. These are great for developing fundamentals.

Double and triple shot drills can help to overcome flinching as well - especially where this arises from recoil anticipation.

They're very simple..

You shoot a set of two or three shots in succession - not really fast but at a steady cadence.

So as you lower your sights onto the target, count one one-thousand FIRE, two two-thousand FIRE, three three-thousand FIRE.

Start your trigger moving as your begin your count for the shot, and keep it moving - don't try to 'stage' the trigger, maintain a constant rate on the trigger pull. By having to prepare quickly for a follow-up shot, your mind will tend not to focus on the anticipation of the recoil.

Also don't shoot through fatigue. If your hand a/o wrist feel shaky, take a break. Fatigue will cause your grip to spasm. You'll gradually develop more strength in your hold, but this takes time.
 
Thanks!

I appreciate all the help! I will really try these things out. I actually have a Ruger P95 .22LR, which I really enjoy, but I must confess, I push it down too, though not as bad. I don't think the recoil on the 9mm is all that bad, just the anticipation of it. I'm glad to hear others have had this problem - that makes me feel a little better. I won't give up - but I'm going through the ammo pretty fast! Thanks guys!
 
flinching or dipping down

Texasgirl...

Flinching is very common. So, first just know that it's a very common thing to do. It's like AA - you have to admit you do it and see it to realize that you need to correct it.

The best advice I can give you is to get some professional instruction. A good instructor can work on your flinching.

Back to flinching:
One aspect is that one's mind thinks it can balance the recoil by exerting force before the recoil. So, basically you push before the gun pushes. The fault is that you'll never time the recoil since it happens in milliseconds (in a blink of an eye). It's just too fast for you.

The post above are good - for extensive dry fire exercise:
1) you really need to know what you are doing otherwise you're just making bad habits become muscle memory. You need some work before you do this kinda extensive training.

So, back to some ways you can overcome your flinching. It's really back to basics. One aspect you'll need to get used to is the noise and recoil. By resting your gun you can work on these. "Resting" or bench shooting may not be conducive for indoor ranges. What you need is to sit, rest your gun and your arms on a bench. Once the gun is fully supported and you are in a comfortable position you can take you out of the equation. By doing this you can develop your shootings skills, become more confident and used to the recoil.

Shooting a .22 is a great and cheap way to learn the basics. Don't snub your nose as it's a great and fun way to learn most of the shooting skills.

So, the last is lots of good practice. Good meaning not flinching.

Good shooting to you and welcome to a great sport!
 
2 words for you. Discretionary targets. take them to the range, have someone call out numbers/colors and how many shots. put this out 7 yards? idk, close in at the start and farther as you get better. if your groups are tight, then shoot faster, if they are too far apart slow down. go for fist size groups, 3-6 inches would be a good guess. good luck
 
First off, Welcome and hello from beautiful and historic VA/DC....

Second off, http://corneredcat.com/

A couple tips; make sure you are only using the pad of your index finger in the trigger. Focus on the front sight, the front sight blade should be clear, everything else kinda blurry. Say out load to yourself, front sight, front sight, as you pull the trigger. Try small targets, shooting at paper plates instead of the giant paper man is better practice and inexpensive. Unless I really concentrate I always shoot at tad (tiny tad) to the right. It used to be way worse but over the years I have got it pretty zeroed in. Keep at it sister!
 
I had the same problem for a while when I first started. It really only gets better with time on the range getting used to all the loud noises. Basically you are sub-consciously flinching because of the sound you know is coming. I would recommend going to the rang about 3 or 4 times in a row during the busy time so you become more accustom to the sound.
 
Welcome:

Texasgirl,

Welcome to the world of handguns and welcome to the forum.

You mentioned you are new to hanguns. Do you have much experience with long guns?

Flinching is an unfortunate affliction. It is best no avoid developing it in the first place. Once it becomes entrenched in your muscle memory it is devilishly hard to get rid of. Better to sneak up on your chosen caliber slowly through incremental steps (as has been suggested) via air guns (or Co2), then 22 rimfires before moving up to centerfires.

When my shooting buddy and I go to the range, we take 22 RF, 357 Mag, 45 ACP, 44 Mag, 454 Casull and his 500 S&W (not all at the same time, but always a mix of large and small). And not all the heavy caliber guns are full-power loads, either. For example, we load 300 grain rounds for his 500 that clock at under 900 feet per second. In a gun that heavy, they recoil like a 22. Compared to the full-power loads of the 500 (e.g. 375 grain slug travelling at 1550 fps) my 357 mag presents very little recoil problem at all.

My point is, we switch off hard-recoiling guns and gentler guns (Ruger Mark III for him, and my Mark II for me) and gentler ammunition quite often. It reduces the fatigue factor considerably. And the rimfires are cheaper to feed.

I highly HIGHLY recommend Kathy Jackson's web site, CorneredCat.com

wherein you will find such gems as: Should you teach your wife to shoot?
http://corneredcat.com/Teaching/wife.aspx

and How to Cure a Flinch
http://corneredcat.com/Basics/flinch.aspx

and also philisophical, tactical, pseudo-legal, technical and personal advice.

Good Luck, bless you and your husband for sharing a hobby.

Lost Sheep.
 
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