Ever shoot better with a gun that you're not used to?

[Demi-human]

I'm the OP here. The thread now seems to be focusing on Glocks. That wasn't the point.

Of course not, but if there ever was a new to old, different to known dichotomy, that would be it.

I have all sorts of hammer fired pistols. The 92 was not intuitive at first but has proven to be exceptionally accurate for me since.

Try a top notch Bullseye revolver sometime.

I would like to own a Freedom Arms 460. I hope I can over come any of my inadequacies and give proper justice to a fine revolver.
But now that I’ve the space for a speed safe bolted into the truck, I’d like a Glock-esque pistol to put in it first.

 

[SeanSw]

Yup. I had a CZ PCR for a few months and as much as I liked so many things about it, it performed worse in my hands than hoped for. Took it to the range with my buddy who brougt along his NIB never cleaned or lubed CZ P07 and they allowed me to shoot it. Immediately it was a better gun in my hands than my own PCR. A few weeks of dwelling on that experience and I traded off the PCR.

A similar thing happened with the Ruger sp101. I've had two and simply don't shoot them well. My first range trip with a new Ruger LCR .38 and I was doing much better with zero familiarity. Not long afterwards the SP101 turned into a 3" GP100 which was eventually traded off for the same reason.

 

[John Joseph]

Yes.
I had a Python. I could shoot an old K-38 S&W better
I had a MKII Military HB Ruger. I could shoot a M-41 S&W better
I had a Detective Special. I could shoot a Centennial S&W better

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I got to shoot my buddy's CZ Skorpion 2 carbine recently, back to back with my PSA AR9......

That Skorpion shot rings around mine. Those things are sweet!

 

[BWS]

Twds the OP;

Sure sells a LOT of new golf clubs and compounds(bows).....

Traveling to national bow shoots with my shooting bud,who owned a pro shop for 40+ years we had plenty of time to talk about this very thing. He/we were of the opinion of what's happening is;

Guy comes into the shop looking for an increase(or decrease,golf) in their score. Or whatever the drive is to better shooting. We put a brand new bow in his hands and he starts tearing the center out of the target..... GREAT,another sale. Give the guy a cpl months and his scores,not always but are right back to where they were. He simply is focusing on the fundamentals of shooting whilst handling the new setup. You know,paying attention. As the shop owner whataya gonna say?

 

[Howland937]

Going in the other direction entirely...
Lately I've been working on shooting steel with handguns, and going as fast as I can while hitting 4", 6", and 8" at 15 yards every shot. Don't own a timer or have any means of measuring, so I don't have any goal besides "don't miss"
This morning, my dad and younger brother met me to shoot handguns. On paper targets, my brother shot better groups with all 4 of the handguns I brought, including the one I carry daily.
He'd never shot any of my handguns before.

 

[Speedo66]

I bought a new S&W 586 in 1982.

First time I shot it I made a touching 5 shot cloverleaf at 50' with factory wadcutters. I was so stunned I pulled the 6th shot.

Never shot that well before or after.

 

[LiveLife]

We put a brand new bow in his hands and he starts tearing the center out of the target..... a cpl months and his scores,not always but are right back to where they were.

As the shop owner whataya gonna say?

Buy another new bow?

 

[bassjam]

My first handgun was a Glock 23. I wasn't a great shot and knew it, but I thought it was all my own fault. Took my CCW class with it and afterwards one of the other guys let me shoot his Beretta 92fs. My first group was probably 25% the size of my best group with the Glock.

 

[I6turbo]

I’m batting 1000 with my Browning International Medalists in that regard. The first time I shot the first one I bought, I outshot every other handgun I had (about 12 or so). Since that time I’ve let several people shoot them and every one of them said they’ve never shot as well with any handgun as they did with the IM. I saw some of them shooting their own guns and saw for myself that they did better with the Medalist. IMO, in addition to the nice trigger and inherent accuracy, a lot of it is in the special target grip that they have. It’s designed the way it is for a reason. If I switch to the Belgium Challenger grip my groups open up a bit.

 

[Autodidactic]

Ever shoot more accurately with a gun you haven't shot before? Not long ago I was at the range and was talking to one of the other members that I have seen there before. He wasn't happy with his performance that day. I asked what he was using and it was a Glock (I'll guess a 19 or 17 but not really sure). I asked if I could try it since I had never shot a Glock before. He said 'sure' and I only loaded two cartridges. We were at about ten yards. I put the two shots right next to each other and about an inch from the dot I was aiming at. That was way better than I was doing with my pistol and better than he had been doing. He was impressed. I then loaded five more in the Glock and went for the dueling tree (at a greater distance) and proceeded to do no better than I had been doing with my gun.

After that I got to thinking that it seems that whenever I get a new handgun, I do really well with the first few shots. I'm guessing that it might be because I'm unfamiliar with the gun and don't know when it's going off, so consequently I don't know when to flinch. I'm right handed and usually shoot to the left and low. I'm pretty sure that I'm flinching and pushing the gun. So does this sound right that I'm not flinching with an unfamiliar gun? There is that school of thought that says to let the shot surprise you. I don't know how to do that with a gun that I'm familiar with. I'm actually paying attention to the reset and coming back to the wall for the next shot, so sort of hard to be surprised. But I'm thinking that the 'surprise' is what makes me more accurate with an unfamiliar gun.

Ever notice anything like this?

Yes, my first handgun was a Bersa 9mm, their nicer TPR9 one, which is like a Beretta 92. It was flawlessly reliable, and felt nice. But I wasn't consistently accurate. I rented a performance center S&W shield, then a regular one too, and even though smaller, I shot them a bit better. I sold the Bersa and got the latter used Shield in 9mm.

I've absolutely had that experience with shooting very nice guns like a CZ 75 and Sig p210, but those are full sized, high quality/high end firearms. P210 is like $1200.

 

[Odd Job]

It happened to me twice: first touch of the gun, all shots true. To the extent that my groups were better than the guy who owned the guns.

1) Ruger MKIII pistol (if I remember correctly)
2) Glock 26

What made it satisfying was the fact I hadn't fired any handguns for a year. That was on a trip to Florida.

 

[entropy]

While I had broken 25 with my beat-up old 1100, once, A visitor to the Trap club I worked at had a Ljutic, and let me shoot it. I shot my second 25 with a gun that I had never shot before, a far different type of shotgun, and like Harlan Campbell says about Remington trap loads, "It's almost like cheating!" (This was 1979. I shot that round with Federal papers.) I knew then I was destined to own one. There was a learning curve when I finally bought one 40 years later, it wasn't quite as easy as back then; my eyes aren't as good as they were then.

 

[mattmcg]

Have always been best with my Glocks for some reason. But as soon as I picked up a Sig X-Five the hole in the X ring became that much more tighter. Always wanted one ever since.

 

[reloaded_in_pa]

My BIL brought his new Judge out to shoot. The first 10 rounds I shot with it rang steel at 25 yards. After that I couldn't hit the barn 20 feet away. It started good but went downhill fast. Most new to me guns take a little to get the correct sight picture.

 

[borrowedtime69]

about 20+ years ago i was shooting with a coworker/friend that was a major hunter. we were going deer hunting in a week or 2 and had to make sure his 30-06 was zeroed. he was having a hard time getting it to group well in the bullseye. i asked to try, shouldered it and was dead on with both rounds. he didnt believe me so he took a look in my spotting scope.... he blamed it on the Mtn Dew he drank! LOL

 

[riverats]

Back in ‘90, I was putting a gorgeous Italian-built Beretta 92-FC through her paces at an indoor range. While changing targets, a guy in the next lane commented on my shot groupings & asked what in the world I was shooting. Showed him the (unloaded!) Beretta & asked if he wanted to throw a magazine down range. He said, “Yes, I’ve always wanted to shoot one of those”! He then hands me his (unloaded!) German Sig P226 & said, “Here, tell me what you think”.

Well, to make an already too-long novella short, he was impressed with the Beretta & well, in my mitts, his 226’s 15-rounds found their way through an even smaller, single ragged hole.

I ordered a 226 the very next day & haven’t looked back (Sigs) since…

 

[PapaG]

Lots of times. Then you buy it. Then after the honeymoon, you pick up your old habits and go back to business (shooting,) as usual. Done it many times with trap guns, should be same with rifles, handguns.

 

[yeongjo]

A few years ago for a new CCW permit in a different state I had to attend a firearms safety course. I do not even remember the type of 22lr automatic which was used at the range for the shooting portion of the course.
5 simple shots, and I shot a 5 group to be proud of.

 

[I6turbo]

I've had a bunch of handguns and have shot a bunch more. After about 40 years of handgun shooting I happened to get a 1971 model Browning International Medalist. From the first magazine, I've shot it more accurately than any other handgun. I've also let several friends and family members shoot it, and essentially all of them out-shot their own guns with it. The gun itself is very accurate and easy to shoot, but there's also something about the shape of the special Medalist grip and how it orients your hand that helps tighten groups a good bit (I shoot tighter groups with the Medalist grip than with other conventional grips installed on the gun).