Not happy with my pistol's accuracy..

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Wonderclam

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I have a S&W Sigma .40 caliber. I've been taking it to the range and I'm not happy with its accuracy at all. At first, I thought it was the hefty trigger pull. I fixed that, but it's still pretty inaccurate. I shot about 15 feet:

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I used Fiocchi, Federal, Winchester. All FMJ rounds.

I'm thinking of trading it in for a more accurate 9mm pistol. Like a Ruger P95, SR9 or a Beretta.
 
Adjust the little nut behind the trigger.

ETA:That's decent shooting BTW. Almost all your hits are in lethal zones.
 
Sigma's are Glock clones, so are specifically designed with a poor (long and mushy) trigger pull. It takes a lot more practice to get proficient with such a trigger, so knuckle down and shoot more.
 
REAPER4206969 said:
Adjust the little nut behind the trigger.

ETA:That's decent shooting BTW. Almost all your hits are in lethal zones.
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yeah, but I was aiming dead center in the box of the body or the head. And this is only at 15 feet with me carefully aiming. I take my time with each and every shot.

Are 9mms more accurate?
 
The winchester groups don't look bad at all. I'd say some of the flyers are attributable to shooter error instead of the pistol or ammunition.

I have always found Fiocchi ammunition to be inaccurate in most of my guns, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

To really determine your pistol's accuracy you need to get some good quality ammunition and shoot it from a rest.
 
I do see some low left hits which corresponds to recoil anticipation, The rest look like decent shooting for a gun that is DAO.
I think its alot to do with the trigger still being a long DAO pull, But your anticipating that .40 recoil and that is throwing the rest off.

Solution? imo practice.
If you ever needed to use your weapon in SD i think your shooting decently enough to get the job done.

If your really concerned about your guns accuracy being off, Next time at the range sit on a chair and rest the gun on the table top or gun case and use that as a supported shot and work on your trigger pulls to get them as smooth as possible.
I think you will see the gun is much more accurate once on a rest.

That would prove you just need more practice if your not happy with your targets now, Which imo ive seen alot worse and those dont look bad at all to me even for 15' as i mainly shoot 21' myself as a max distance for ccw guns.
 
essayons21 said:
The winchester groups don't look bad at all. I'd say some of the flyers are attributable to shooter error instead of the pistol or ammunition.

I have always found Fiocchi ammunition to be inaccurate in most of my guns, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

To really determine your pistol's accuracy you need to get some good quality ammunition and shoot it from a rest.
Click to expand...

What ammo do you recommend? Also, Is a Ruger P95, SR9/40 or Springfield XDM9/40 going to be more accurate than this?
 
Honestly that Sigma is shooting far and above the one I bought in college. Mine shot consistently 2.5 inch groups that where all low left. Then I tried Glock had a Kaboom and now found the ultimate 9mm in my opinion the FNP-9.
 
It isn't the ammo and it isn't the gun (though you'd certainly learn easier on a gun without a Glock style trigger). You should be able to make a ragged one-hole group with any pistol at 5 yards.

Practice, practice, practice. That includes sitting at home and dry firing your weapon several hundred times a day. Balance a coin on the muzzle and dry fire at the TV set. Make a game of it...
 
Sigma's are Glock clones, so are specifically designed with a poor (long and mushy) trigger pull. It takes a lot more practice to get proficient with such a trigger, so knuckle down and shoot more.
Click to expand...

That trigger takes some getting used to. I could shoot the center out of a target all day long with a 1911, but when I tried learning with a Glock (in a serious, dedicated way) it took LOTS of practice. My first targets were like yours, all over the place.

Get snap caps and dry fire, dry fire and dry fire some more. Get better trigger control.

After I shaped up my trigger pull on the glock, someone told me a neat idea that would work. Have a friend load your mags and make him/her add a snap in at random intervals in your mags. Watch what your front sight does when you click that snap cap. More than likely you are doing like many people (myself included at first) and pushing to the left because of the weird feeling trigger if you aren't used to it.

But most of all, practice, practice, practice. The gun is much more accurate than we are 90+% of the time. :)
 
Wonderclam,

I can read between the lines on your posts. You're not happy with the .40 Sigma. You have the impression it's not accurate. You say you have fixed the infamous Sigma trigger. That's good. Here is what I would suggest:

Bench rest it at 15 yards
Have someone you know that is a very good shooter give it a try
Find someone that reloads and have them load some dummy rounds. Mix a few of these dummies in your hand with your good ammo. Don't look at the mag when you load. Now shoot. My guess is you'll be shocked at what you find.

The Sigma IS very accurate at 15 yards. Others have given good advice. Practice, learn trigger control. Your shots are a little low and left; classic anticipation and flincing. Besides, the second target looks very good.
 
Mine was consistently shooting low, I just had to compensate for it. Then one day my front sight was gone. I put a Hi Viz fiber-optic front sight for a Glock on it. This is my latest target, Federal 180gr FMJ at 25 feet. This is printed on a standard sheet of printer paper.

scan0001.gif
 
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It isn't the ammo and it isn't the gun (though you'd certainly learn easier on a gun without a Glock style trigger). You should be able to make a ragged one-hole group with any pistol at 5 yards.
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Exactly. No pistol is that mechanically inaccurate to print groups that large at only 15 feet. Your first instinct whenever you're unhappy with the way you're shooting should be to blame yourself. If you blame your equipment all the time, you'll never improve.
 
Thats not bad shooting at all. That is "Combat Accurate" For the price of the sigma, thats a fair set of results.

now saying that, i have over 15k rounds with my sigma's and i can shoot them very accurately. Although they still don't keep up with my 1911's, M&P's, CZ's, or even glocks... but they keep up with my Rugers, Taurus and polymer EAA stuff i shoot.

JOe
 
Kingofthehill said:
Thats not bad shooting at all. That is "Combat Accurate" For the price of the sigma, thats a fair set of results.

now saying that, i have over 15k rounds with my sigma's and i can shoot them very accurately. Although they still don't keep up with my 1911's, M&P's, CZ's, or even glocks... but they keep up with my Rugers, Taurus and polymer EAA stuff i shoot.

JOe
Click to expand...

I thought the Rugers were just as accurate as Glocks and M&Ps?
 
What ammo do you recommend? Also, Is a Ruger P95, SR9/40 or Springfield XDM9/40 going to be more accurate than this?
Click to expand...

I own everything you list here except for the SR40 since it just came out. As for any of those being more accurate than the sigma? They can be. I know im better with my P95, and both my XDm 9 and 40. But my SR9 (old trigger) puts the same pattern on paper as i do with my sigmas.

the XDm's you lsited are going to be the msot accurate of the group though. They are very fine guns and very accurate. If you have the money to swing on those and you find it comfortable in your hands and easy to shoot, you won't regret it.

But consider that the XDm opposed to the SR9, p95 and Sigma are in 2 very seperate classes. the XDm is a rolls royce opposed to the others. NOTHING wrong with the others but its not really a fair fight. You would have to compare the XDm with the M&P, CZ SP-01, Glock 17/34, FNP, FNX, CZ 75, HK p2000.

are you looking for a carry gun? Truck gun? Home defense gun? range/target gun?

because if you want a Target gun and amazing accuracy, look into a 1911, high power, cz75, eaa witness match, Glock 34 (just a few examples of very accurate firearms)
 
hmmm.. I saw a Colt 1911 series 80 on the classified ads yesterday for cheap. Would that be any good?

Also, the ONLY shooting range anywhere near close to my house is a stand-up only indoor shooting range. So, I have to stand, hold the gun in my hands and shoot. No sitting and resting the gun on the table while shooting.

How about Beretta 92FS? Where does that belong?
 
I thought the Rugers were just as accurate as Glocks and M&Ps?
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enhhh.... i know i can out shoot most of the people i know with my p95, SR9 and even SR9c no matter what they have in their hands but a good shooter Vs. good shooter... the Rugers aren't Glock or M&P quality.

The new SR9's are getting there and we aren't talking being very far off but the price difference does get you a more accurate higher quality gun. And i own everything i have suggested.

it just comes down as to is 200 bucks worth a 1" difference in group size from 15 feet? maybe 2-3" difference? where do you draw the line ya know?

the rugers are fantastic guns for the money, but their more known for their durability and longevity over their accuracy.
 
As for the 1911 colt being better? everyone is different.

your talking a very different trigger system/feel/break from a 1911 to a polymer gun. usually a few pounds of pull difference as well.

Too bad you didn't have more access to rent/try different stuff before you fork over the cash. An afternoon with someone with a good selection would really get you to have a solid idea of what you like and what you want out of a pistol.

remember though, you will probably shoot great groups with a 1911 but is the cost of ammo difference worth it? and if its your nightstand or carry gun, is the weight and 8-9 shots over 13-15 shots worth the accuracy as well?

so many trade offs. The solution is to buy them all! hehehehe
 
I wish I can buy them all... I've only begun, though. I'll be buying more and more over time. I can probably treat myself to a new pistol every 6 months or so.

Probably gonna buy a Glock 17 next.
 
See how the 17 fits in your hand first. Im 6'3" 270, and can palm a basketball no problem and i HATE the feel the/grip size of the glock 17... but i LOVE the feel of the Glock 19.

So take that into consideration when looking at the 17. But other than that, its a great gun with tons of aftermarket to really get that trigger smooth if you want to do that.

JOe
 
Keep your Sigma unless you hate it, All guns take time to be accurate with.
I have about 500 rounds threw my XD SC .40 and id say my targets would look similier to yours if i was shooting unsupported. But im getting better with it with each mag i shoot.

But im 2x more accurate with my 5" 1911, But that doesn't mean you would be. I have 2k rounds threw that gun and enough money in upgrades to buy a small car.
 
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