Don't you just love people who come up to you to tell you the "RIGHT" way to shoot.

Cuts both ways. To compete on the local range, shooters are required to demonstrate proficiency drawing and double tapping. I have had more than a few, ranging from local LE to federal agents, ask why they were not exempt. Most (not all) qualify, but I've yet to see one worthy of a pass.

I always listen. It goes from there if I pay attention.

My Wife, her Dad, and myself were at the range, and an old timer who works there came up to us. He said her Dad, and myself were doing ok, but that if he had 15 minutes to train my Wife he'd have her shooting all shots in the bullseye.

"Hey, she's all your's". He took out a black briefcase, and it had a Ruger MkII, Browning HP, and a 1911. Within 15 minutes going from .22 to .45, no joke she was shooting 8 for 8 in the bullseye! I love that old man!

There are some folks who are know-it-alls and everybody else is doing it wrong in their eyes. Conversely, there are also folks who are doing it wrong and need some help but are too arrogant to admit it.

Reminds me of the dominant eye argument. Was told I would shoot left handed in the Academy. Said I would shoot right handed and qualify Expert with all firearms. I did and I did.
Learning new techniques when YOU want to is great, unsolicited advice from unknowns on a range is not.

These are the same people who tell me everything they own is perfect and everything I own is junk. I just smile and press on.

If someone knows what they are talking about and wants to give me pointers I'm all for it. I may or may not go with it but I'll listen and try it. Now some yahoo who pretty obviously doesn't know jack then its a different story. Sort of like the board we are on as far as that goes. And I have changed some things from what various people have posted here, like my grip.

Yep, and Louis Armstrong played the trumpet wrong, and Yo Yo Ma holds his Cello's bow the wrong way (Seriously!)

I think of this like any other sport. There are people who just like to tell you you are doing something wrong because they think they know better, and there are people who honestly just are trying to help. Additionally, sometimes the guy who is just trying to help, might not be helpful at all, and the "know it all" my actually know what he is talking about.

If you are simply never receptive to any outside input, you probably aren't going to ever improve. If someone wants to offer help, and they have/can demonstrate that they know what they are doing, then absolutely help me out. But do know there is a difference between constructive criticism and just criticism. Also know that sometimes being too helpful can be a hindrance. I think the quote in my signature can apply to this a lot as well.

hammerklavier said:

Yep, and Louis Armstrong played the trumpet wrong, and Yo Yo Ma holds his Cello's bow the wrong way (Seriously!)

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Hendrix restrung guitars and played them up side down (left-handed). Worked for him.

When my wife shoots she looks like a dog with a broken back, trying to scratch behind its ear .... she has morphed my style into her own.

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If that's how you look when you're shooting, I'm not surprised that people try to offer advice.

But hey, if it works for you go with it. Just don't be surprised if you have to learn new ways if you ever pick up a different gun.

Early on, I was shooting pretty good by holding high-right. I thought there was something wrong with the way the gun was sighted and was applying a lot of Kentucky windage. Turned out that my grip and trigger discipline were all wrong. Consistent, but wrong. I've since learned the sights were regulated well on that gun. But it took a few lessons from more experienced shooters to convince me.

Ultimately one should go with whatever is comfortable and actually works for them, but I don't mind if somebody thinks I could be doing something better. I may disagree and not follow their advice, as not every technique works the same for everybody, but I sure don't know everything and just might learn something useful.

What I think you're talking about are guys with a little knowledge (you know, "enough to be dangerous") who think there is not a lot to know and that they know all of it, and furthermore that there is only one right way to do anything (namely theirs). Yeah, that can be annoying (I see it here, too, and might have even done it myself in a thoughtless moment or two ), but it's easy to brush off if you shoot better than them. Not that I'm all that great, but I can outshoot most know-it-alls by now, so they tend to leave me alone.

There was this one time, though, when I was doing a bunch of Mozambique/Failure-to-stop Drills at 7 yards, while the guy in the next stall was concentrating very hard and taking a lot of time trying to place shots through the same hole at 25 yards with a .357 Magnum revolver (shooting .357 Magnum cartridges from the sound of them). He was doing a pretty good job, too, with very tight groups, while I kept increasing my speed as long as I could hit the COM and head reliably. Then while we were reloading, he made a comment--totally intended to be constructive--about how quickly I was going through ammo but not getting real tight groups. I just shrugged and said that I could make tighter groups but I was training to stop bad guys fast, not hit a bullseye (nothing wrong with precision shooting, as it's good practice too, but I was obviously doing something different at the time). Then he said that he was practicing his defensive shooting, too, and lectured me--in a friendly, helpful way--on the importance of shot placement. Well, at the risk of sounding like a know-it-all who thinks there is only one right way for everything, I hope that any real assailant he may run into holds real still for him.

unsolicited advice from unknowns on a range is not.

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Amen. Unsolicited advice is always to benefit the giver.

Some years back, I was shooting with a friend at a range and several "tactical" types came to shoot. They were quite vocal about how to shoot "properly" and their shot groups were all over the full sized targets at 10 yards.

When I shot a smiley face on a 8x11 copy paper at 7 yards, they became quiet, packed up and left.


Like common and well known driving techniques on ice, snow and loose dirt, there are some common and well known shooting basics and principles that improve shot groups and speed.

I don't tell anyone at the range how to shoot. They usually see my shot groups and ask what I am doing - I show them what I do and have them duplicate the same. Holes on target speaks volumes.

If someone knows what they are talking about and wants to give me pointers I'm all for it.

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I agree. I have learned a few things this way that made me a better shooter.

I've had others tell me how to hold the pistol as well. To me it just don't matter how you hold the damned weapon, pistol or rifle, if your hitting the target.

Yes there might be a better way, but again, if your hitting well with the style you feel comfortable with, then it makes no difference to have to change and relearn a new style.

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Once I agreed, but no more. I practice so that I can be proficient in the real world. Once I focused on putting everything in the 10 ring. Then one day someone pointed out that if you are shooting ragged holes and you are practicing for the real world, you need to push yourself harder. Shoot faster, longer distances or run some drills if you can. Push yourself until you fail. Then all of a sudden that guy advising you on your grip or stance seems really nice all of a sudden, because the technique he may be showing you aides in follow up shots or dynamic movements. YMMV.

when i see someone holding the gun the "wrong way" = teacuping,holding ur strong arms wrist with ur whand,holding ur weakhand thumb behind the slide,doing the limbo etc i usually give en pointers.(specially if its a damzel )

when i see joe mall ninja i say nothing its fun to watch em shoot like ***** and occasinally hit the target.

if ur just bullseye shooting and ur hitting i couldnt care less.but ir ur shooting anyform of defensive/offensive and ur hand is below the magazine release or sumthing in that line i see nothing wrong in givin em a tip or 2.

I always listen to ALL advice I'm given. But there is a big difference between advice and snobbery.

There was a retired gentleman at the trap field one Sat morning. Very nice fellow, but felt the need to instruct me on every basic there is to shooting a shotgun from the beginning. I'm a lot younger than a lot of trap shooters, but I'm not a kid either (30 yrs old). He was nice and I was polite, but in the end, I hit 95/100 and he hit 85/100. If you shoot better than me, I am all ears. There are a lot of folks who have been shooting much longer than I have, and I have a lot to learn from them. If you don't, I will still be polite and listen, but I probably won't give you a "wow, I can't believe I never knew that" response that I think some people are looking for. But, like I said, he was nice, so everything was fine. I have also come across obnoxious types who think they need to give you an education. They are the worst.

When I first started shooting I got some good advice from several shooters and it helped a great deal. I would be open to advice and its alwasy nice to meet fellow shooters, though usually I can punch out one ragged hole at the distances I commonly practice from.

I am always ready and willing to learn something new. The first time I ever shot a scoped rifle, I was notified of the clearance between the back of the scope and my forehead. I was glad someone spent a minute telling me that I should hold on tightly to avoid getting the notorious 'half-moon' cutout in my skin over my eyebrow! I had a 45-70 with a Redfield 4X TV Screen-shaped scope!

I tried to tell a friend whose .308 rifle we were about to sight in. The scope must have been 40 years old or so (as was the gun, but the gun was a lot nicer than the POS scope).

Anyway, I warned him to hold on tightly to the gun as the recoil is going to send the scope, which had terrible eye relief, back mighty quickly!

Bang, blood all over his face and bleeding profusely! Trip to the ER, NOW!

Next day and five stitches or so later, let's sight this baby in, this time, be CAREFUL! I even fired a shot or two to show him it CAN BE DONE.

Bang! Bandage half off, blood running all over the place, he throws the gun on the bench and is mad as he!! that he did the EXACT same thing two times in a ROW! Quickly, pack everything up, get in the truck and dash to the ER! More stitches!

About two weeks later, we finally got to go again as I recall, and this time, his fresh-wounds which were scabbed over pretty well remained untouched! He pulled a good group with the factory ammo he happened to buy and was finally happy! I told him to stock up on THAT EXACT ammo and nothing else, as the gun really likes that ammo and another ammo you might need to go through the sighting-in process all over again!

Another time, last year, a young guy and his girlfriend were trying to shoot an old semi-auto tube-fed .22 LR with an old scope. The way she kept moving the gun around, I could tell she was not seeing the image that she should. I went over and the guy told me the last time he shot this gun was when he was eight years old. I asked to look at the gun. I saw immediately that the scope was so far back, it was apparently set up for him at eight years old! No wonder the girl could not get a good scope image!

I asked them both to hold it the way they feel comfortable shooting. The scope was about 4" too close to their eyes! I had my work truck there and saw that small screws needed to be loosened to move the scope within the rings. I explained everything that was wrong and asked if he minds if I fix it for him. He was happy!

Whoever installed the scope did not even take time to make sure the crosshairs were horizontal and plumb - the scope was cocked about five degrees one way, I mean it was even obvious in the turrets that the scope was really crooked! We fine-tuned everything and I made sure all the screws were tight and even focused the objective for them both. When I was done, they were so happy, I was nearly in tears that I could make someone's Saturday Morning the way I made theirs!

I try to be helpful, but also try to have a sense of when is too much. At the first hint that I am being pushy, I immediately back off and go from there, sometimes stopping completely as the person obviously knows much more than I know, even if I see that what they are doing is totally wrong! Hey, if you want to do something stupid with your gun and you are not ready to listen to REASON, I am not going to force REASON and TRUTH onto anyone!:banghead: In fact, if the situation appears dangerous, that might be my cue to pack up and head out!

To me it just don't matter how you hold the damned weapon, pistol or rifle, if your hitting the target.

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There are certain broadly accepted techniques for how to effectively shoot a gun. If you watch competitors shooting, it becomes pretty clear that there are certain techniques that are used by the most successful shooters.

While some may use unorthodox techniques, those techniques either aid their ability to win or do not impede it.