I'm a bad shot :(

If you look at your target after each shot, you might be dipping that barrel down as you shoot in an attempt to quickly see where the bullet is hitting.

Try shooting at smaller targets from closer distances (like the stickers used to cover your bullets holes). Start at 3yrds and over time slowly move the field goal out...

While I don't disagree with anyhing that been said (and wouldn't want to argue with more experienced folks), I'd like to echo/expand on what GLLOB said earlier: Shoot one round at a time. Don't just pause to look to see where your round went. Put the pistol down. There is no hurry at this point. You're trying to hit the target. Do it once. Concentrate on your grip, trigger pull, and sight picture. NOT on the next shot. Slow down and make every shot count (and listen to what everyone else has said)

It means shoot one round at a time. Don't worry about shooting a group. Work on hitting the target, ONE shot at a time. Load one round. Get the proper sight picture, and use the proper trigger pull technique. Hit the target. Put the pistol down and take a breath. Load another round and repeat. It sounds like you're in a hury for some reason. Fast comes after accurate. Crawl, walk, run. Slow down and learn to crawl before you take off running. Take one shot at a time and enjoy doing it slowly. You may just see your shots start getting closer to the bullseye. Then it becomes even more fun!

Welcome to the firearms world. I know you said you didn't want to buy a .22lr pistol, because of ammo availability. What about a heavy .38 special or .357? My wife has a Taurus .38 special and with light plinking loads it doesn't kick much harder than a .22lr.

I carry and shoot a .40S&W in a compact firearm. That is quite a bit of gun to handle for a new shooter. You need to find a way to minimize noise and recoil so you can focus on the basics. Shooting for most people is not an intuitive skill. Also practice doesn't make perfect, only perfect practice does, so you need to at least try and have good practice. If you are shooting a high intensity, loud, high muzzle flash, heavy recoil gun you are going to be practicing flinching and that is what you will learn. This is the advice I got from the community when I first was interested in gun ownership and it has done well by me. Good luck, and don't get discouraged.

Get a pair of BB guns. A long gun type BB gun will teach you sight picture quickly and very cheap. You may be able to borrow one. This education on sighting is easier with long guns as the weapon is more controlled by both hands over a distance rather than both hands clasped around a grip on a handgun. This will also show you if you are flinching due to expected noise or recoil. When your good with the long gun move to a bob handgun similar in shape and feel to your real weapon. Use what you learned with the other BB gun to be able to line up sights properly. Now you must simply learn a good shooting stance with the handgun. Eliminate flinch by slowly pulling trigger until it surprises you when it goes off. Control your breathing and make sure you do the same thing each time. Sight the same, breathe the same hold the weapon the same. Make a list to recite, left hand,right hand,trigger finger, breathe, bang. Your groups will tighten up with the bob gun and then go back to the real weapon. All you have to do now is use the education you gave yourself with the BB gun.

And even with BB gun, small targets are fun and challenging. I learned with toy soldiers and soda cans. Cans at longer range with the rifle. Soldiers a bit closer with handgun. Focus will force your shot groups smaller and smaller.

Even if you buy new BB guns, you will get more use from them than many other guns because you can shoot a lot of them at home...weak ones inside the house if your extremely careful. Plus a daisy cheapo lasts forever and is 40 bucks tops, and the handgun version you could even go airs oft and stay under 20.

Practice practice practice. It's take thousands of thousands of rounds to get me where I am now and hours and hours of dry fire practice.

Comrade Mike said:

Practice practice practice. It's take thousands of thousands of rounds to get me where I am now and hours and hours of dry fire practice.

Click to expand...

Not true if right weapon is chosen in the first place. I could easily do worse if given light J-frame with .357 loads in it.

In the interest of determining the presence of flinch while shooting, I'd like to second Gloob's random-snapcap-in-the-magazine suggestion. Buy some snapcaps (great for dryfire practice) and have someone else load your magazines while randomly putting a snapcap or three in each one.

When the hammer drops on a snapcap during a string of fire, if you are flinching at all it will become humorously obvious.

PabloJ said:

Not true if right weapon is chosen in the first place. I could easily do worse if given light J-frame with .357 loads in it.

Click to expand...

Well to be fair you don't know how I shoot right now

When I was a kid I taught myself to shoot a handgun without even knowing it. We had these cheap Beretta 92 airsoft guns and had big airsoft wars in my backyard. To make sure I won, I would spend a lot of time shooting at pop cans and paper plates when my friends weren't around. Airsoft guns are great because there is no recoil, you have to manually rack the slide after each shot, and you can see exactly where the bb flies on every shot (they only shoot about 300 fps). So when I got my first handgun a few years later, I already had the fundamentals of sight alignment, trigger control, and gun manipulation down. Sure my grip was crap, but that was pretty easy to fix.

^i think the TSA might want to know about that...

It took me a few years from my introduction to firearms to be happy with my aim.

1. find a firearm that fits you.
2. double up on hearing protection. this will help with flinching.
3. ask for help from other shooters. Most people will be eager to help you.
4. a little pro instruction can go a long way.

conw said:

^i think the TSA might want to know about that...

Click to expand...

Oh for Pete's sake... I'm probably the youngest person in this thread and I don't even know how to use a smartphone :banghead:
In case anybody was wondering, the word I repeatedly tried to use that got autocorrected was A-I-R-S-O-F-T

Im thinking you scored a 244 or so out of a possible 250 on texas concealed carry test, That is saying you keep all 50 rounds in that area. Not shabby for a beginer.

HisStigness said:

Oh for Pete's sake... I'm probably the youngest person in this thread and I don't even know how to use a smartphone :banghead:
In case anybody was wondering, the word I repeatedly tried to use that got autocorrected was A-I-R-S-O-F-T

Click to expand...

Hey don't feel bad I don't even own one and I in the college age bracket and I can't use one either. Just me and my dumb phone.

To the OP, lots of good advice on this forum. The airsoft guns helped me get started. Cheaper than a .22 (well most are, they have some that are semi auto and eject shells that hold the BBs that go for about $200 or more.) You can shoot them indoors too. Ammo is cheap as well, 6000rds of $10, wish .22 was that cheap.

I dont know if anyone has touched on this and you may already know this but being a new shooter I feel its worth mentioning to you. Having your sights lined up perfectly does not mean that point of aim equals point of impact. Handgun sights are zeroed at different distances and some like my glocks, each glock I own shoots a little higher or lower than the others. Bullet trajectory is not flat off into infinity. Even distances varying from 10 feet to 25 yards will have significantly different point of impact vs point of aim. Sorry if you already know this or if someone else touched on it, just felt it was worth a mention. If the main issue is pulling to the left or right, dry firing A LOT can drastically improve your accuracy as you work on grip and trigger control. Just my $.02

.
Pardon me if this has already been said when it applies to trigger technique/trigger control, but, when one is deliberately shooting, every. shot. should be a surprise.

Squeeze gently, be patient, keep squeezing and wait for the bang.

Speed will come later.

I didn't read all the replies to this but I can say that something that helped me was letting the trigger break surprise you. Which sounds kinda silly/dangerous at first but if you apply steady pressure to the trigger and focus on the front sight front sight front sight and when it goes off it just goes off, you will probably improve.

If that makes sense.