[Ed]

Ok, I am on my 4th in 10 years, Glock mod 22. I have no idea why I keep aquiring them and letting them go, but here is my question. With my other pistols I can make respectable groupings on the targerts. With the Glock its not so pretty. I know I am far from a great shot but this is silly. I know that Glocks are accurate because I have seen other people shoot them well. What do I need to do different to make this better? Is it just the double action compared to single action of 1911's? Is it just something I will have to practice,practice,practice? any tips for shooting it better? Thanks.

[jaybar]

In order to fire an accurate shot with a pistol you must properly align the sights and bring the trigger straight to the rear with disturbing your sight alignment. Sounds to me like you got the sight alignment part of the equation down pretty good since you've got no problem with your other pistols. Try positioning your index finger in different positions on the trigger and dry firing against a blank wall. Note how the sights move or don't move as you bring the trigger to the rear and as the striker falls. Ideally, there should be no movement of the gun. When you find the spot on your trigger finger that causes the least movement, then work on letting the gun go off when it wants to not when you want it to. i.e don't grab (jerk) the trigger when you've got perfect sight alignment. Glocks don't tolereate a jerked trigger very well. Concentrate on bringing the trigger straight to the rear in one continuous motion.

[middy]

It's the trigger. It takes lots of practice. The trigger reset is very short, though, so next time you shoot, try letting the trigger out only until you feel it click. This will avoid most of the uptake for subsequent shots.

[wally]

Get the 3.5 lb trigger connector (about $20). Made a world of difference for me with my Glock 17 & 21. Might make too light a trigger for carry (these are way too big for me to conceal very well) but now I can enjoy shooting my Glocks at the range.

http://www.alpharubicon.com/mrpoyz/glock/

Has good instructions.

--wally.

[RW_Reagan]

any tips for shooting it better?

yep, get a 1911 !! ;)

[the duck of death]

*QUOTE*
get a 1911

And become a malfunction drill expert.

[Coltdriver]

I have found that the most effective way for me to get a more uniform trigger pull on dao guns is the squeeze the grip tighter. Try doubling the force you squeeze the grip with.

That usually reduces the effect of my trigger finger moving the rest of the gun.

[R.H. Lee]

Ditto what Coltdriver said. Also position your grip so the pad of your index finger contacts the trigger; the pad is the only part of your finger that moves straight back. Is there any "take up" on a Glock? I have no experience with them.

Also, welcome duck of death. FWIW, I have fired many thousands of rounds through 1911's with nary a malf. None ever ka-boomed or shot me in the leg, either. :p

[Island Beretta]

ditto what jaybar said: Glocks don't like trigger jerk. Work on smoothly pulling the trigger through and your groups will shrink.

[phorvick]

I was the classic poster boy for shooting inaccurately with my Glocks...I suffered from the common malady of lowleftitis. I was sure it was the sights, as I "knew" that I had good trigger control, and I shot other guns fine; but Mr. Glock and his kin always shot low and left.

I did lots of dry firing..watching the arc of movement. Then, all of a sudden my groupings came together. I still have a little up/down issue as my hands do suffer from AARP-itus also, but the left/low is over. The interesting thing is that my other groups also tightened up.

So, absent a sight issue, lowleftitus is often cured (as are other GLock shooting concerns) by dry firing and practice.

[jed]

Check out the trigger control topic on www.glockfaq.com.

[WhoKnowsWho]

The trigger does take a bit more practice, but the reset for follow up shots is really short and nice.

Practice some double action revolver or PPK/S-1 shooting and once you master those, you can master anything! :D

[Ed]

Thanks for all the advice so far. I know its me just want to fix it. I mainly shoot a 1911 and some Single action revolvers. I have shot my brother in laws Glock 22 that he was issued by the PD where he worked and shot it great that day. I was obviously doing something different. I am just trying to figure out what it was so I can do it all the time. I think a lot of the issue is the DA vs SA so I'll work on the dry firing. Thanks.

[the duck of death]

RileyMc et al
I shoot 3 matches a month, 2 of which I shoot a semi auto pistol. After trying to shoot a 1911 I switched to a Glock 23. After putting over 50K thru the G23 I have had 2 malfunctions one of which I contribute to the gun. The slide stop lever spring broke and locked the slide open. Firing continued by holding the lever down. The other malfunction was caused by a case being too long that kept the slide from going into battery.

I can't report the same success with any one of the seven 1911s I own. All are high quality guns and one is a $2000 SVI Infinity.

I feel the KB statement you made is legitimate. I shot the G23 two times, looked at the bulged brass and ordered a KKM barrel. The gun was not fired again until the KKM was installed.

I'm glad you have had success with your 1911s. I have not had the same experience and at a match when there is a malfunction 9 times out of 10 it's a problem with a 1911.

Concerning trigger control: My seven 1911s all have 2lb trigger pulls and my G23 has a 2.5 trigger pull. I've found Glocks very easy to work on and the trigger pull on the G23 cost $18 to achieve. The trigger finger MUST not touch the frame of the gun, in order to do this only the tip of the finger should be on the trigger. I don't do a usual type of dry fire, this is what I do--with the trigger in the FIRED position I rapidly pull the trigger and watch the front sight for movement. Also I shoot every day--one day free style and the next day weak handed.

Then there's practicing the draw and the mag change, practice the draw while standing close to a wall this will make you keep the gun close to the body while drawing. Mag changes go into a another realm ie how to release the mag, how to hold the gun, where to have spare mags located.

But that's enough of that for this post. :)

[Rockstar]

The advice about gripping your Glock tighter, like you might a dao, isn't relevant to Glocks. Glocks aren't double-action-only pistols. They have a generically-unique action that can be tuned to almost single-action quality, per dead duck's post.

You'll never need to take your Glock to a gunsmith. You'll never shoot yourself in the leg, unless you're pretty stupid. You should learn to polish the mating surfaces of the firing mechanism, which is about a 10-minute job. You might also consider one of the various brands of 3.5# connectors. There are several aftermarket brands of connectors that offer cleaner, crisper pulls than the factory connector.

You might also consider one of the various devices with an adjustable trigger stop for adjusting out the excess overtravel.

Dave Sevigny recently cleaned Leatham's clock in a head-to-head match. Dave was using a Glock; Leatham a 1911. Glocks can be accurate, reliable, and very fast.

[MrMurphy]

I shoot my Glock 30 like a revolver. I use the first joint of my trigger finger on the trigger, and just "squeeze". I tried staging the trigger, or sneaking up on it like I can do with a 1911 that has some takeup, and I was all over the place. Since my 30 is a carry gun, I shot it that way (not for tiny target groups). Draw from the holster, sight-fire in one smooth movement. I have had no problems in five years since.

I started out on 1911s and revolvers, the trigger on a Glock while not DAO is more revolverlike than 1911-like and does take a little adjusting to.

The NY-1 trigger (8lbs) is very consistent and while a bit heavier, is much like shooting a S&W revolver. This makes it better for some people.

[Little Loudmouth]

See? You weren't cut out for a Dark Side Glock user! There is still time to save yourself! Now put down that nasty plastic pistol and get yourself a 1911! :D

[JohnKSa]

Dryfire a lot. Modify your trigger technique until the sights don't move when you pull the trigger. Yes, it's really that simple, and yes, it works for any gun.

[Dave T]

Although most of the advice you've been given is valid, I must tell you that after carrying 1911's for most of my LEO career, I gave the Glock a try back in the late 1990s. I spent 4 years and something over 20,000 rounds (reloads of course) trying to master the Glock trigger. I got reasonably competent but never felt confident. The day I switched back to the 1911 I was shooting better after 150 rounds. YMMV!

[MeekandMild]

Isn't there a .22 caliber conversion kit out there? Converting to rimfire would make a reasonable amount of trigger practice feasible.