There is Always One

I've said many times, "I always have a flyer". That is especially true with a handgun

Sig P239


Marlin 781 .22 (50 yards)

They flyer is my cold round i call it.

Just one??

You paid for the whole target. Might as well use it. Get your money’s worth.

I used to shoot in an archery league where there were REALLY good shooters. If they shot a 299/300 they were really pissed. They would shoot nickel sized groups at 25 yards. I was shooting a 70# compound used for deer hunting, so my groups were maybe baseball sized.

I’d take their targets after the matches and “fill them out”.

I did have a guy that came into the firing range that was a national level pistol shooter. He would put the target down range with the blank side towards him. Shoot a hole in the center, then put the next 50 into that one hole. When he was done the hole was maybe the size of a quarter to a half dollar

DMW1116 said:

Just thought I’d share and see if anyone else has this issue. I’ve been practicing bullseye pistol shooting for a while now and there is always one (at least) that flies wide. Anyone else?

Victory 22 @ 25 yards
View attachment 1102070

Victory 22 @ 10 yards View attachment 1102055

Blackhawk 357 @ 25 Yards
View attachment 1102056

Not even a pattern. Some high, some low, left and right. More practice I guess.

Click to expand...

I always do that with a handgun. I can run 3 shots. But I will throw one on 4,5, or 6. Sometimes I throw 4,5, and 6.

DMW1116 said:

Just thought I’d share and see if anyone else has this issue. I’ve been practicing bullseye pistol shooting for a while now and there is always one (at least) that flies wide. Anyone else?

Click to expand...

Do you, or can you, call your shots? The flyers in your first post are far enough away from pretty good groups that you should have been able to tell when you pulled the trigger where they were going.

The flyer is always the shooter.

DMW1116 said:

With the Victory I sometimes can. That shot in particular I knew wasn’t where I wanted it. I actually rolled my eyes as my follow through for that shot.

Click to expand...

It was a turning point for me.

25 yards with a handgun, those seem like perfectly acceptable groups to me. There is always someone better with better equipment, when people ask me what is good to me for practice with a pistol/handgun, I say if you an hit a basketball size target at 15 yards consistently - you are a solid OK shot, who is pretty good, and not a novice who can't hit the broad side of a barn. Better is better, but it all depends on what you're training for. Eventually we'll work that down to hitting 6" gongs at 25 yards, but nobody I've been shooting with over the last few years or so can do that consistently, so - I don't feel too bad that I can't either. The 8" gong is easier, but shooting with any rate of fire, it is 50/50 hit/miss is about the best I've seen. I've seen a few people try to hit a propane tank with a pistol at 50 yards, and out of maybe 20 shots I've seen people try, not one made a sound of a hit, not one. Same shot with a .22 rifle, almost impossible to miss.

When you have average groups like that, the flyer's are purely mental. Need to develop a checklist in your head that you follow as soon as you step up to the line, and run through it every single shot. If you mess up, step back from the line and go again. Do that and you'll have less flyers. Not paying much attention to the score helps too

tws3b2 said:

The flyer is always the shooter.

Click to expand...

Not always. Some ammo is better than others.

If you understand "calling your shots", and can do it well, you can usually sort out "you", and other things.

A lot of this is mental. Try this target, it may help your concentration.

DMW1116 said:

I tried to run a round of rapid fire through my Blackhawk. With only 6 in the cylinder can 5 be fliers?

Click to expand...

Actually there can be 6 flyers!

I have PLENTY of targets with that same affliction: a bunch of shots through one hole and at least one hole somewhere else.



It is a mastery of the fundamentals and then consistency throughout the shooting string. And, especially for me; QUIT FLINCHING!!

Stay safe.