How should I best use range time to improve handgun accuracy?

Here's a handy diagnostic chart. Being left-handed, you'll have to imagine a mirror image (in your case, the chart indicates possible jerking/slapping trigger, or excessive finger tightening.) Also remember that lighter bullets tend to hit lower; if your gun's sights are more adjusted for, say, 124-142 grain ammunition, and you're using 115-grain, they may hit low (they always do for me.)

1- Get professional training from a competent instructor who truly understands the basic principles and analyzing performance. Shooting is like most other sports- you need a coach. 2- baby steps.

Join the NRA if you not a member already. Sign up for their courses.

Lucky Gunner put up 13 episodes of "Start Shooting Better." If you open this in Youtube, you should find the other 12 episodes in the playlist.





This is Lena Miculek demonstrating a 50 round practice session.

I'm a lefty too. Sounds like it could be trigger control, or you're flinching.

First thing I think you should do is dry fire practice. If you don't know what that is, just ask. Do this to learn your trigger and make sure you're pulling it consistently and correctly. The sights shouldn't move when the trigger breaks.

After you know your trigger pull is good, try it at the range with live fire. If your first few shots are good, and then you start hitting low right, you're flinching. That can be cured too, but it's a little more complicated. There's and excellent thread on here about just that thing.

So dry fire first, then figure out if you're flinching.

One thing that may well help is home practice. Get a CO2 air gun that is close to what you shoot now. They make a bunch of them. You can then practice at home. Be careful many, and I do mean many places now classify air guns as firearms, so be sure where you live does not before doing this in the back yard. You can easily set up to do it in the house if needed though. The time will help almost all. Not to mention it's cheap fun while you practice.

WrongHanded said:

I'm a lefty too. Sounds like it could be trigger control, or you're flinching.

First thing I think you should do is dry fire practice. If you don't know what that is, just ask. Do this to learn your trigger and make sure you're pulling it consistently and correctly. The sights shouldn't move when the trigger breaks.

After you know your trigger pull is good, try it at the range with live fire. If your first few shots are good, and then you start hitting low right, you're flinching. That can be cured too, but it's a little more complicated. There's and excellent thread on here about just that thing.

So dry fire first, then figure out if you're flinching.

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Dry fire practice can help immensely. I wouldn't do it for a real long period of time all at once though. If you spend 10 minutes a night on it you may be pleasantly surprised the next time you go to the range.

WrongHanded said:

Sounds like it could be trigger control, or you're flinching

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I think so too.

@MrBitey , your user name & photo strike fear in me. I've lived with a biting cat and it's not cool.

I'm not an instructor, trainer or expert but I can shoot more accurately than any of the people I shoot with, take that for what it's worth...
#1 is trigger control. Everything else can be completely wrong but with good trigger control you will shoot better than most folks. Here are some observations from my perspective:
-Your stance is meaningless , some people shoot sitting down- everyone is different and as long as you're comfortable and recoil isn't making you stagger around like the town drunk , you're fine.
-one eye open VS both eyes open, also meaningless , it helps with your perifreial vision and helps you see more than just your target . many of us (me included) never learned to shoot that way, I still try now and then but it's no good for my accuracy and just feels wrong. I don't care what armchair warrior has an opinion on it, flat out just isn't for me.
-breathing , important but this will directly effect trigger control. You must breathe but don't be trying to hold your breath for 30 seconds to try to get a good group, find a rhythm and use it.
-sight picture, also somewhat important but the catch here us that everyone will take their own sight picture (how you line up the sights). I can grab a gun from a shooter that uses their sights with dead on precision and end up off center, a tight group but off center. Just because I use a different point of aim. Don't seek the group in the center of the target, don't adjust your aim to try to get the impacts to the center . make the tightest group you can, no one cares where on the paper the group is - sights can be adjusted later, just line everything up the exact same way each time.

TRIGGER CONTROL- the most important thing . don't jerk the trigger, don't squeeze the trigger , don't anticipate recoil, don't flinch. PRESS the trigger, let it surprise you (kind of) , continue to press past the break, keep the trigger pressed until you see your impact (or longer if you like) . don't think that you can just line up the sights and pull Willy nilly, it doesn't work like that, dry fire can help you see your muzzle waggle around but it's no substitute for the real deal fire and smoke. Some folks get shaken by the sound or flash, this is the path to a flinch (which it sounds like you have starting) . open your strong hand and relax your fingers, move only your trigger finger and watch your other fingers move too, that's a problem- work on it. Everything can be done perfectly but as soon as you move your hand wrong it's ALL out the window. Learn trigger control and you'll shoot better than 90% of people. The rest gets you the other 10%.
Good luck

Dry fire practice is your friend. You can get 100,000 trigger pulls in at no cost in your own home. Since there is no recoil you can see if the sights are moving before the firing pin drops. You'll be a lot better when you get to the range and start sending bullets down range.

Slow down when you are shooting try and make every shot count What i like to do is when you go to your range if you buy the the big Silhouette targets Turn them around so the white is facing you and put a small dot on it Something about the size of a 1/2 dollar and just shoot at that Aim small miss small Do the same thing when you dry fire to put a small. on the wall and just focus on that

keep your wrists locked all the way through the shot, especially through recoil. limp-wristing causes all kind of problems (like shooting low right).

luck,

murf

I watched this series and try to apply the lessons.

MrBitey said:

does attack at random at least a couple of times each week.

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I ain't afraid of no cat... - don't tell her I said that, please.

MrBitey said:

I'll look for a less aggressive photo.

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Thanks, but I'm still not scared of any cat so carry on...

Hopefully you can get to the range a few times before the course you plan on taking. As long as you're good in safety fundamentals the rest will fall into place with practice . accurate handgun shooting is a skill that will fade in times when you aren't practicing . experienced shooters who have taken time off need some practice to get back in the groove. Learning it for the first time can be a big job but well worth it.

https://www.lakeis.org/documents/army shooting manual.pdf

Use the link above to download the US Army Pistol Teams marksmanship manual. It is full of information on how to become a precision shooter with a handgun.

MrBitey said:

Any recommendations on how to structure my range time, e.g. drills, etc.? Thanks in advance!

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There a literally a million videos on you tube to teach you how to shoot. The problem is videos can't watch you shoot and make on the spot corrections. As others have said, you need to take some professional training form someone who can watch you shoot and can evaluate what (if anything) you're doing wrong.

dry fire practice, and practice with a practice target pistol - say shooting at tin cans .. by practice target pistol I mean a .22 you'll quickly adjust how you shoot and follow through, since you'll get real time immediate information about hit or miss …

Try a drill I perform for your precision shooting. It was taught to me by an old time bullseye shooter, and is the procedure I use to dial in my handgun shooting for aimed shots at longer ranges in hunting arms and increased range with my carry 9mm. 10 dry fires. Call your "shots," i.e. high, low, center, left, right, wherever it felt to you as the trigger broke. Follow this by 5 shots, single loaded (this is to force you to slow down and concentrate). Call each shot, and confirm actual impact point. Follow another 10 dry fires. Repeat until your calls are matching the live shots. If you're consistently "off call," in the same direction, adjust your sights accordingly.

Others can probably speak with more authority on "tactical" shooting. I've always been fortunate in being naturally good at "shooting fast." I believe, but cannot empirically prove, that my time on small targets far away makes big close targets seem easy. Try shooting billiards on a "snooker" table, then go to a standard Valley table and you'll see the concept in action.

It's not the most popular, but it's literally the best video I've ever seen on hitting the target

Say what you want about Rob. He's not wrong...

caz223 said:

It's not the most popular, but it's literally the best video I've ever seen on hitting the target

Say what you want about Rob. He's not wrong...

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Love that video. I have been doing those techniques for years and was so happy to see the video come out to help others. I also train heavily with BB and Pellet pistols. They are so under rated. They can really hone your point and shoot skills. Much more fun than dry firing. During the last ammo shortage I shot the Air Pistols almost daily. Came back and shot better than I ever had in my life. I also love the 22.cals. My favorite is the LCR22. Just bought the LCP22. Point and shoot these guns IMO and learn to do it well and you are light years ahead.
There is a ammo shortage going on. Ammo is expensive as hell. Yet, I am getting trigger time every day for peanuts. And having a lot of fun. Get Air Gun, learn point and shoot.

What type shooting are you trying to improve? I think there may be different roads to travel depending on your are looking at getting better at say Tactical Shooting as Compared to Bullseye etc.

Bob

Mr. Bitey there was something I forgot to put in my earlier post. The reason I suggested only doing dry fire for 10 minutes or so at a time is if one does it for too long at a time & they start to get tired it is easy to get sloppy. Once can actually ingrain bad habits if they are not careful.