can't shoot my revolver accurately

[hangovur]

I have a Ruger GP100 .357 revolver that was passed down to me by my mother. It was her service pistol while she was a police officer and she qualified with it each month or so.


When she retired she gave the revolver to me, this was about 8-10 years ago. I have never really shot it much until recently, and never with any real intent to shoot it well. I have taken it to the range a few times now and for some reason I just suck with it.

I have several auto loaders (XDs, IMI .45, SIG, Browning) that I can shoot well enough (shoot ~6" groups at 10 yards) to defend myself. But when I bring the GP-100 out I cannot shot it worth a flip. I barely keep it in the target at 10 yards. The trigger on this revolver is MUCH smoother than any of my auto loaders. Double action is smooth as butter and the single action is crisp. But for some reason I cannot seem to be accurate in single or double action.

I know the gun is accurate, so there is something wrong between the ears and behind the eyes. I just don't know what? Do many people have a lot of trouble when switching from autoloader to revolver?

 

[JellyJar]

Practice with 148 grain 38 spl target wad cutters until you get the hang of it. It could be that the recoil using .357 mag is too much for you to handle. Then work up to 38 spl and then +P and then .357 mag.

 

[Cosmoline]

There have been a lot of threads on this precise topic so you may have some luck on a search. Revolvers are very different beasts from semis and may require a different stance. And practice is critical to get used to the firearm, of course.

One thing I like to do with wheelguns is to shoot them in dueling position for practice. This helps focus on the balance of the revolver. Switching back to a modified Weaver then seems much easier.

 

[fourdollarbill]

First things first... Bench rest it and see if it is you or the gun.
No offense but most likely it is you.
Second load 4 loaded rounds in it and two spent cases. Without looking slowly spin the cylinder in your fingers and stop. Then lift the crane and lock it in. Now shoot single action one at a time and find out if your flinching.
Third, if your flinching then fix it. If you not then it is your trigger control.

 

[hangovur]

Thanks for the replies. I have been shooting .38s because .357s are a hot commodity around here.

I am quite sure the gun is accurate, I know it is me. I just don't understand how i shoot my .45s and .40 decent enough but not the .357

I like the idea of putting the blanks in, I'm going to try that.

 

[NMGonzo]

HI

Call me Captain Flinch.

I'll flinch even the TV remote.

 

[fourdollarbill]

A home (flinch) remedy that worked for me. Hold the gun loosely with the trigger hand and hold the trigger hand a little tighter with the other hand. Relax, get limber and let every (single action) shot surprise you until your brain realizes the gun is not going any where. You may not hit much while trying this but you'll hit the target after you convinced your brain the gun is not going to fly out of your hand and you start practicing without the flinch.

 

[kanook]

The ammo choice will have a lot to do with the accuracy. My Security Six is a one hole machine with 158s and 180s.

I got some 110s in a trade and it went from a group to a pattern.

Have faith in yourself. Find out what ammo mother used when she carried it. That would be my first thing on the list.

 

[bglz42]

Dryfire... about a million times, until you can balance a nickel on the front sight and pull the trigger without it falling. That's how I learned fron an old PPC shooter.

 

[jad0110]

Grips that don't fit right in your hands can do it too. You might try someone elses revolver with completely different grips, or rent a revolver or two at the range to see if that is what it is.

 

[Damon555]

You mentioned that you can shoot your autos "accurately" enough...What does that mean? 6" at 10 yards is pretty bad....There must be some flinching going on....especially if your mother qualified with it year after year before you got it. Are you shooting it double or single action?

 

[Oro]

Dryfire... about a million times, until you can balance a nickel on the front sight and pull the trigger without it falling. That's how I learned fron an old PPC shooter.

Exactly. That is how top shooters train. I read an article a decade or so back about, I think it was, Rob Leatham. Even after multiple championships, he said he did 60 to 70% of his thousands of weekly trigger pulls dry. This was a "lightbulb" moment for me. If it took a champion like him that much dry firing to stay smooth, how much should I be doing?

The other great benefit of dry firing is instant feedback - you can watch the sights shift and get instant feedback on what's wrong/right. Can't do that with live ammo. Live fire training is about conditioning to the noise and recoil. To get accurate, you dry fire. It takes both.

As an aside, the biggest OTHER trick I learned to make me more accurate was making my grip tighter fore/aft than side-to-side. This helped stabilize the gun during the trigger pull and follow through more than equal pressure all around the grip. This also makes physical sense because the spring action of the gun - especially revolvers, is all fore-aft and not lateral during the trigger stroke.

 

[KJS]

6" at 10 yards is pretty bad....

What would be deemed acceptable or good? Most self-defense shootings happen within 10 feet, basically the distance across a room.

I aways find it a tad amusing when some gun magazine reviews something like a Ruger LCR to see how accurate it is at 25 yards, even though it's hard to imagine it will ever be used at 75 feet to take out bad guys. Kind of hard to explain to cops how your life was in danger by a bad guy who's that far away.

 

[PO2Hammer]

I struggle with revolvers too. The auto seems to smooth out the recoil, and generally there is less muzzle blast. Today I was shooting my .357 with .38 spl's (Fed 130 fmj) and was flinching. I realized I was getting peppered with unburned powder. It was enough to throw me off. Picked up my .38 Super 1911 with loads that are heavier and faster than the .38 spl's (147 grains at 950 fps), and shot way better. Recoil felt softer, no 'pepper', and it was quieter. Groups were half the size of my revolver groups.
Solution? Dunno. Just wanted to let you know your not alone in this.

 

[KJS]

I struggle with revolvers too. The auto seems to smooth out the recoil,

While I've never fired any semi-auto other than a .22, I know semi-autos should have less recoil (all else being equal) since some of the recoil force is used to operate the action. With a revolver the recoil does nothing other than beat up the person holding the revolver.

 

[woad_yurt]

Practice dry-firing about 2,000 times and try to keep your sight still while doing so.

 

[Damon555]

What would be deemed acceptable or good? Most self-defense shootings happen within 10 feet, basically the distance across a room.

I aways find it a tad amusing when some gun magazine reviews something like a Ruger LCR to see how accurate it is at 25 yards, even though it's hard to imagine it will ever be used at 75 feet to take out bad guys. Kind of hard to explain to cops how your life was in danger by a bad guy who's that far away.

That sounded worse than what was intended....Relaxed, well aimed shots @ 10 yards should group pretty tight....Of course under stressful conditions it would be a whole different story. If you trust a gun enough to use it for SD/HD, shooting it should be second nature.....Practice, Practice, Practice.

 

[Cosmoline]

Relax, get limber and let every (single action) shot surprise you until your brain realizes the gun is not going any where.

Of course, make sure it's not loaded or you really may be in for a surprise! I wouldn't suggest dry firing unless you've got a truly solid faux target like a basement wall.

 

[Cosmoline]

Duplicate

 

[ghoster]

sounds like its time to take mom to the range. make sure she dosent bring the old night stick as she might try to fix the tween the eres problem herself when she see's how bad you make her old gun shoot.

sounds like flinch, lots of good advice here. use them all.

 

[mustang_steve]

Yep.....for good advice, pull up the army pistol manual, it's a free download from one of the military websites. It has extremely good detail about the entire shooting process.

Usually bad accuracy is from stance or grip issues. One should have their shoulder in line with their forward knee when shooting, this helps tighten the shot up vertically. Pay close attention to your hand muscles when firing. If any muscles move without equal counter-movement from the complimentary muscles, your shot will also be off. Also try shooting during the exhale phase of breathing..it's easier than trying to shoot during inhale.

I'm using a subcompact 9mm pistol for shooting and can get a 5" pattern at 15yds, if I use my 22 revolver, a 4" pattern at 25yds. I'm nowhere near good, but that's down significantly from a few months ago. Just pay attention to the fine details of every shot. Treat the trigger pull like a fine wine...taste, savor the flavor, remember the flavor...don't just swill it.

 

[BCRider]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that you may need to work on your grip and trigger finger placement. Revolvers are a whole other style of grip and trigger use. If you're trying to apply semi pistol habits to your mom's revolver it's no wonder you're not doing well.

First off you want your hand high on the backstrap. The web between your thumb and index finger should be up and even with the little hump on the back of the grip. I almost typed backstrap but Rugers don't really have a backstrap in the same way as a S&W does due to the grip design but hopefully you get the idea. On a S&W the usual instruction is to place the web up high and even with the top hump of the backstrap. Your thumb needs to curl down and into the relief on the top of the side of the grip. Unlike semi holding this thumb needs to press in for support. Your support hand thumb should either cross over this strong hand thumb or it can lay over the back of your strong hand behind the grip. Your trigger finger needs to stick a LONG way through the guard. The trigger should contact the last segment of your finger but you want the one side of the trigger to be resting in the crotch of the first joint. When you pull the trigger back fully the tip of your trigger finger should just barely touch the tip of your strong hand thumb. This high grip and full finger wrap means it'll feel like you're reaching WAY down to get the trigger but something about the dynamics of this results in a nice straight draw on the trigger in DA.

Practice a lot of dry firing in DA while watching the sight picture. With your finger in more or less the right position there's still some fine tuning to be done. If your finger is too far in or not in far enough it'll show up as a slight kick of the sight picture when the hammer breaks. Slightly alter it in or out until your sight picture doesn't kick either way when the hammer breaks. If it kicks to the left move your finger in more. To the right ease it out slightly.

DOH! Just as I was finishing up that description I remembered that Jerry Miculek has a video on just this stuff. It's been too many months since I looked at it. On the slight chance that my words will help I'll just leave them there as well. But check out these for a great visual guidance..

http://www.myoutdoortv.com/pdk/web/smith.html?feedPID=00zG15zm84msK0GbWemanhJ0KNWQYqM4

 

[KJS]

Of course under stressful conditions it would be a whole different story. If you trust a gun enough to use it for SD/HD, shooting it should be second nature.....Practice, Practice, Practice.

Yeah, I'm sure shooting at a moving target that's shooting at you is quite different from leisurely shooting at something as dangerous as paper.

I'm a mere novice, but I've seen my shots improve some. Last week I finally managed to get several shots to hit that most elusive red dot in the middle of my targets.

I've casually observed others at this range and noticed that I'm certainly not the only newbie. I saw two guys using the same target at the same distance both with semi-autos and one had all his nicely grouped in the center. The other guy had holes all about the target.

I do hope all you experienced folks don't negatively judge those who are far from expert marksmen. After all, every champion shooter likely started with targets where a good shot was any that hit the paper. Newbies are actually a great asset when it comes to defending gun rights. More gun owners = more to worry about gun-grabbers and to demand that their elected officials respect 2A to the fullest or get kicked to the curb on election day. Those who don't own guns are far less likely to care as they have no guns to be grabbed.

 

[Marvin KNox]

I have laser grips on both of my J frames. I believe they are a good idea for carry guns. But one of their main benefits - even for a target gun - is the instant feedback during dryfire session. Therefore, they are a good idea for target guns as well if you can afford them. They can always be turned off for live fire sessions.

The laser movement on the wall really visually magnifies those movements caused by pressure during the trigger stroke in no uncertain terms.

Dry fire should, IMO, far exceed livefire for learning trigger control with a revolver. It gives (with the laser) feedback that tells you things about your trigger stroke that is masked by recoil (both anticipated and real) during live fire. Therefore shooting live ammo, while important, isn't near as important as dry fire (preferably with a laser).

I practice with at least a few dozen times more dryfires to livefires. Dry fire training with a laser can be done in your favorite T.V. chair. You just can't do that with live fire.

You can even shoot liberals on T.V. - a practice that would likely be frowned upon by some if done for real.

 

[BCRider]

KJS, I'm very much a newbie as well with only about one year under my belt as a firearms owner. I've been shooting in some club level IPSC matches and monthly Speed Steel matches and doing fairly well. I typically come in at about the bottom of the upper third in the scores. So while I've still got a lot to learn I feel like I've gotten past the basic mistakes. But I feel like I'm near enough to the problem to be able to help out in cases such as this thread.

As for judging I have found that it's the exact opposite. The long time skilled shooters in this sport are almost to a person keen to help out with advice or personal help to aid new shooters in coming up to speed more quickly. Having said that there's always one or two that feel the need to lord it over the newbies or just turn their back and dismiss them. This is certainly not the general rule though.

Getting back to shooting I found that competing in the low stress club matches along with shooting a few thousand rounds along the way has really helped me pick up on the whole sport fairly quickly. Even for folks that only want to shoot for self defense could benifit from attending such matches because it has the effect of encouraging some adrenaline flow along with the need to focus and get the shots off quickly. Of course this is a drop in the bucket compared to a real armed confrontation but it's the best you'll get without doing the real thing. The only other option would be to set up training scenarios that use paintball guns so you're confronting live thinking opponents.

But I digress..... The point was that the "experts" are almost always keen to help and that a shooter can learn a lot from entering some casual club level matches regardless of what reason they have for shooting handguns.