Excuses

[velocette]

Folks, today the excuses stopped. I have been working up loads for my .45 acp 1911 target pistol.
This is the pistol I have fired at 50 yds in competition and gotten groups that are charitably described as patterns, - - - large patterns. (this using iron sights)
SO! of course the load was wrong, the bullet was wrong, the primer was wrong.
In the past three weeks, I have fired about 350 rds of different bullets, different powders, different primers, etc.
Today, I began firing my next batch of ammo using (again) different powders, & bullets. As a basis for testing, I started with my old standby that gave me "patterns at 50 yds" 3.8 gr of Bullseye and a 200 gr H&G style SWC, Win primer. Handheld on a piece of rug, using a red dot 1:1 scope, it shot 10 rds into 1.9"
I then (like a fool) tried to improve on that. No way. nothing else even came close.
Therefore the inescapeable truth has come out. The "patterns" at 50 yds in competiton are totally the responsibility of the nut holding the pistol.
No more will I even think of improving on what the pistol / load will do. It's the fool holding the gun that needs work.

I know, I know, my tag line is breath control + trigger control + sight picture = gun control. I just need to follow my own advice.

I had hoped is wasn't me. Now I must begin the long, hard job of correcting my mistakes.

Roger

 

[valorius]

1.9" at 50 yds with a pistol is damned respectable if you ask me my friend. Honestly, most shooters i see at the range cannot match that feat at 7 yds.

 

[DasFriek]

You do know many people with 9x scopes and .22lr rifles cant even do 2" groups at 50 yards? If i saw you shoot that at the 50 yard range id call you a master shot.

I shoot .22lr benchrest at 50 yards and many times its hard to figure out what is causing an accuracy issue. The gun,ammo or the shooter?
If the gun is dialed in, And the ammo is a proven load then only one other thing can be the issue.
Increasing accuracy of a gun just to get small amounts gets exponentially expensive.
Im to the point myself to loose .10 of an inch would cost me $600-$700 in upgrades.
But if i don't have the trigger control anyhow i just wasted a ton of money.

Anyhow what im saying is i don't change anything or upgrade anything until i know ive hit the wall with my skills and i need that upgrade to let my skills progress further.

I just was able to do that, My factory stock was keeping my groups at .4" averages at 50 yards. New stock and bags cost me close too $500 and with all the new changes my groups got worse. I now have to relearn and fine tune the gun once again and hone my skills till i push something else to its limit.
Hopefully its the ammo next time as a new barrel will kill my pocket.

Im just a noob still and only shoot for fun, But its not cheap by any means.

 

[gatopardo]

Chasing butterflies

I know a lot of people sight in a rifle and then use the same equipment such as in the picture to shoot all the time is like the equipment shooting, you might as well just install a button to make the whole thing work.
Now, please don't get me wrong you are doing the right thing, but once you've sighted whatever you are going to shoot, get rid of the contraption and try standing, kneeling, prone position etc. find out what you are capable of, and get better.
In a real life scenario, like hunting or tactical shooting,(sniping ) I can understand teh use of trees, a rock etc., but real competition measures the shooter physicality and accuracy, When my friends and I go shooting a rifle, we shoot standing, or kneeling or prone positions, to measure against each other, and with iron sights most of the time, that is what Velocette is trying to achieve, the balance between the pistol's mass and the weight of the slug, by the way, the slightest slug weight, the better the control IMO

and of course from where I'm standing, it really doesn't matter what the combination is , if I just stick with it long enough I'll see results. it's just like taming a horse, it takes patience until you can have the ride you like, after that the sugar cubes go in the coffe

 

[Sport45]

A good way to get an edge before a match is to bring a thermos of coffee and pass out styrofoam cups. Save the decaf for yourself...

 

[postalnut25]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now that's funny!

 

[DFW1911]

1.9" at 50 yds with a pistol is damned respectable if you ask me my friend. Honestly, most shooters i see at the range cannot match that feat at 7 yds.

Roger that!

As OP points out I think it may be a matter of just adjusting the nut behind the pistol

Have some fun with your practice; mistakes are often the best teachers of all.

Oh, and keep us posted so when you beat 1.9", which I'm sure you will, we can all say "told you so!"

Take care,
DFW1911

 

[SwampWolf]

For those that think putting bullets close together @ 50 yards with a handgun is beyond the capabilities of mortal man, you could be surprised that the Slow Fire course of fire in a standard Bullseye match involves firing ten rounds in ten minutes @ 50 yards; shooting standing, with one hand, unsupported. I just returned from Camp Perry last month and you might be astonished at how close a ten-shot group can be when fired by an accomplished shooter during the Slow Fire stage; many using simple open sights.

velocette: Been there, done that! I've blamed many a pistol for less than good groups, only to later determine that I had become remiss in the basics of gun control: " Breath Control + Trigger Control + Sight Picture"!

 

[CraigC]

gatopardo, you do understand that the rifle in the picture is setup for benchrest, right???

 

[velocette]

Gentlemen;
Please note that in my OP I stated that the 1.9" group was done hand held on a rug. This means with just the butt on a piece of rug on a table, the barrel was not supported. If I were capable of unsupported 1.9" groups at 50 yds, I would be at Camp Perry getting all kinds of prizes.
I do not mean to mislead you good folks with tales of nonexistant skills.
Basically, I proved that the pistol is quite accurate enough to more than meet the needs of my competition, this shooter needs to up his game to the level of the pistol.

Roger

 

[Archie]

Velocette, it sounds like you've broken the code and are now working on the problem. Breathing, sight alignment, sight picture and trigger control.

While you're working on that, may I suggest some tried and true excuses?

1. Dang wind came from no where!
2. The dog [baby, motorcyclists, significant other, clog dancers] kept me awake all night.
3. This is a new range to me.
4. I just got my pistol back from the 'smith.
5. I knew I shouldn't have cleaned my pistol!

Been used for years.