Shooting Skills & Aging

W

weimerheimer

Inactive
Been having issues the last few months with my handgun Shooting accuracy. Start to get very frustrated.....
I'm almost 52 years old. My eye sight is regressing as any 52 year old would. I've been wearing bifocal glasses the last 8 years with prescription changes about every 2-3 years. Also, I have moderate Carpal Tunnel on both hands.
My shooting problems now are:
1. Good sight vision & target vision while wearing my bifocal glasses.
2. My shot placement is ALWAYS low, about 6-8 inches low. I'm good on windage, but my elevation is always off.

If I sand bag my pistol for a steady hold my shot placement is dead on. But when I shoot freehand my short placement is always very low.

I assume I'm having issues with hands and/product trigger squeeze???

Can anyone offer me some helpful tips, links, insight, etc ....? It's been getting very frustrating. I use to be a decent shot in my younger years.
 
Your shooting skills will drop if you are not practicing often enough. I'm 67 years old and Concealed Carry Instructor in my state. I still need my practice as I get older.

If you are shooting low, left or right, it would lend to your grip and/or trigger squeeze. Range firing is not "combat accuracy." Don't cross your thumbs, but point them forward in your grip (Your thumbs are not part of your grip. Use above your first trigger joint of your finger in a squeeze pull leverage. Focus on the front sight, not the rear sight. You cannot be breathing when the firearm discharges, but you need a quick breath before each range shot to keep oxygen in the blood-fed arm and hand muscels.

If you wear glasses, make sure you are looking through the center of your lens. If you tilt your head where you are looking through the edge of the lens, it can distort your vision on target.

NRA certified Instructor, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO
 
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Your glasses should allow you to focus on your sights. Take you gun with you (advise your optometrist first) and show him how you sight and what distance your target is set.

As to muscle tone, this is helped by exercises. I use a couple of rubber balls to squeeze, plus just keeping in good shape. Muscle tone does deteriorate if not kept up by activity.

Also toning down on your ammunition helps also. Back off the heavy magnum loads. But keep shooting. Practice helps more than anything. But make it good practice, when you start to tire and hurry off your shots, quit for the day. Also get rest between practice sessions.

Bob Wright
 
Make sure the weapon you choose...fits your hands properly ...especially with a little arthritis..( I have it in both hands and wrists ..)..or carpel tunnel issues...

a. picking the right style of gun makes a big difference.../ like a single stack vs a double stack.../ width can be a big deal as you grip a gun.

b. the right trigger systerm ...- like in a 1911 (that moves straight back and forth in the frame) vs one suspended from a pin that has to move thru an arc like on all DA/SA guns..or stryker fired guns. Pick what works best for you..

Making sure you "follow thru" on each shot ..and then reset the trigger..

c. reaching the controls is a big deal..

d. your eyes, work with your eye doctor to make sure you can see your front sight clearly.

e. max your guns weight ( an all stainless gun vs poly frames )...more weight means less recoil ( easier on your hands ). Pick a 9mm over .40 S&W or .45 acp probably...less recoil.
 
You're dipping...which is a flinch --- Everybody dips sometimes while shooting --- It all depends on how much of an angle the gun dips. You're trying to fight recoil by dipping the gun downwards.

Try to work out your flinch with a 22 --- Padded shooting gloves might help --- With a pistol...try to cock your wrists downward at a 45 degree angle so you won't dip as much.

Relax your shoulders and breathe...take two deep breaths, and on the third, breath halfway or two thirds out and shoot before 8 seconds. On rapid fire...you might have to breath in spurts between shots.

With a rifle...slight rearward pressure on the firing hand, with full pressure on the stock with your little finger, less pressure with the finger next to your little finger, no pressure with your middle finger or your thumb which relaxes over the top of the stock; or having the thumb pointing forward on the side of the stock.

Follow through on the trigger press...buy burying your trigger finger in the rear of the trigger guard.

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2015/3/23/the-zen-of-shooting
 
You don't indicate the type of gun or sights, and that may make a difference. I am a couple years older than OP and my eyesight surely isn't what it once was. I do have more issues keeping the front sight in focus and properly lining up the rear sight and target as accurately as I once did, even with glasses. I put red dot sights on several of my guns, and it makes a big difference. Only one focus point to concentrate on. Odd thing is, I can't shoot the red dot with prescription glasses on; the lenses flare the dot. So I use plain shooting glasses, and I can see the dot perfectly fine. No worries about a rear sight, and I can get the dot on the target faster and more accurately than lining up sights. Try putting a red dot on one of your guns and see if it helps you.
 
It's not your age that's causing your problems. I'm 67 and I shot competition all my life with handgun, rifle, and shotgun. The only thing that's gotten worse on me is I don't shoot as much as I used to. I can't shoot as well as I could when I was in my thirties and forties, but I can shoot almost as well. The degree of difference is mostly less practice. I suppose you get somewhat less proficient with age, but I don't think that much unless you're suffering from some type of major ailment or illness. I've seen some older shooters show up and shoot and it's amazing how well they do. The ones that stay in the game are still very competitive. I'd suggest, as stated above, you visit your optomitris or opthamologist and get a good evaluation and tell them what you're trying to do. They can work wonders with glasses and/or correcting some conditions you didn't even know you had. I found out I had cataracts two years ago and got them taken care of. My vision is back to 20/15 and my shooting shows it. I shot a round of rifle silhouette last night, something I haven't done in a year. I was the second oldest person there. I ended up shooting a 39x40 shooting a rifle off hand. I don't think age is causing me too many shooting troubles, but I will admit I have a lot of aches and pains I didn't used to have. :) Hang in there and keep plugging along. You can still be a good shooter if you put the time and effort into it. Best of luck.
 
Listen to bob wright. I went to my optometrist a couple of months ago and he made me a set of glasses specifically for shooting. I can not only see my handgun sights better but also my rifle sights (garand) and the targets are clearer. I generally wear reading glasses but also have driving glasses (do not like bifocals). It has been such a better shooting experience. Very happy I talked with him about it.

Best news is it was covered by my insurance.
 
My guns that I shoots are:
- Ruger SR1911 (.45 acp)
- Ruger LC9S (9mm)
- Sig 290rs 380 (.380 acp)
- Taurus Model 85 (.38 Spl)
- High Standard Double Nine (.22 cal)

All shoot "low".
 
Six to eight inches low at how many yards? Pistols will have a slight difference in zero while shooting offhand, as compared to benchresting it.
 
Also, I have moderate Carpal Tunnel on both hands.
Click to expand...
Could be a hint right there.
It's quite common, even for folks without wrist problems, to loosen the grip just as the trigger is pulled.
And, if the trigger isn't being pulled straight back as it should, the pistol will tilt down.
Just a thought.
Hope it helps some.
 
I've seen people dip/flinch so much at our 50 yard pistol and 100 yard outdoor range, with the bullet never reaching the 50/100 yard backstop; but rather the bullet striking the ground sometimes as close as 10 yards from a standing shooter on the firing line --- Now that's a big dip...meanwhile, the bullet sends up clods of dirt and grass.
 
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Keep shooting!
A very sad story is a friend of mine who, mostly because of financial reasons, quit shooting for about 10 years. We got together not long ago and after the long hiatus he brought out his three favorite guns, the ones he’d kept. He had a Ruger Mark II, a 1911 .45 ACP and a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt. He was all over the targets. Couldn’t shoot a group. His hands were shaking and he said the Blackhawk hurt his hands too much to shoot after a single cylinder. All in all he shot 50 rounds .22LR, 28 rounds of .45 ACP and then finally 6 rounds of .45 Colt. He was sad and disgusted with himself. This was a guy that shot in a league and was good enough to get a trophy or two.
 
Age doesn't deter shooting skills, lack of practice or poor practice deters shooting skills.

Sure I slow down at 69 and cant run like the kids in USPSA, but my shooting isn't holding me back.

You say your gun, from a rest is right on, but you constantly shoot low. Its not age, you constantly anticipating recoil and pushing your gun down to compensate.

Put a laser sight on one of your pistol, (preferably your carry pistol) and dry fire a couple hours a day keeping the red dot from moving. You will develop the habit (many call muscle memory) of not pushing your gun to compensate for recoil.

If you eyes have problems focusing on the front sight. Measure the distance from your eye to the front sight. Then go to the drug store and buy a set of reading classes ($5-10 bucks) that allows you to focus at that distance.

There are few handicaps that cant be over come when it comes to shooting. Age isn't in that list.

I had an 87 year old lady in my class who people said she couldn't shoot. After a few sessions she was putting the younger ladies to shame.

I had one 50+ lady who came to watch. I told her my shooting classes were not Spectator Events. She never fired a gun before and was in tears when I forced her to shoot. A couple months later she was shooting our clubs bowling pin matches and WINNING the ladies class.

If you cant solve the problem on your own, find a coach. If he cant detect and correct your problem, find another coach who can.

There are no HOPELESS shooters, but it is possible to find a hopeless coach.
 
Thanks guys. I got some encouraging hope now.
I will try kraigwy suggestion with a laser. Makes sense ..... (when good sense makes sense, seek no other sense).
 
I'd try some dry firing. Every day dry fire 25 times at your own pace- but try to make those the best 25 you have. I used to have a black thumbtack in the wall that I'd dry fie at.

As I age I appreciate a bold plain black sight picture with decent gap.

I'm 53 and I walk around all day patting myself down for my readers, while they're riding on top of my head.
 
Pushing down with the anticipation of recoil. Shooting a revolver you would be able to pick up on as soon as the cylinder was empty. The gun goes click and you actually see yourself pushing the muzzle downward as you pull the trigger
 
I gave up on bifocals. Not only did they make me shoot horribly by forcing me to hold my head in a odd position, but they annoyed me endlessly during driving and other activities. I finally just got "computer glasses" for when I was on the PC, and wore my normal glasses for everything else. After a while, I realized I didn't like the computer glasses at all either, so I took the frame and had my lenses with my normal RX put in them for a spare pair. As soon as I got rid of the bifocals, my shooting vastly improved. Instantly. Groups tightened up by at least 50% at 30 feet, and there weren't many fliers at all. I don't feel like a doofus when I shoot anymore.
 
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