How did I do ?

[Wanderling]

I wish I had a photo to include with this, but I left my phone in the car going to the range.

Today, at the end of my range session, when I was finished with my plinking rounds, loaded my carry rounds, and was about to leave, I decided to try a more realistic type of shooting where I'd pull the gun from holster and dump the entire mag into the target as fast as I possibly could, using my G26 that I've been carrying more and more lately. I mainly go to the local DNR range where they don't allow mag dumps, but this time I was at a private range.

15 ft, standard silhouette target. The range lane I was in was pretty dimly lit but I don't think it made my shooting any worse.

All 11 shots hit the target.

Not a single one hit the "X" in the bullseye, something I have little trouble with if taking my time to aim.

Three shots landed in the outer part of the bullseye, basically on the very edge between it and the next circle over (that target had a no-number circle between "9" and "X")

Three shots landed on the very edges of the target, 1-2 at the lower left.

The rest were anywhere in between 2 and bullseye, mostly going from slightly low and left to the center, but there were a couple in the 7-8 zone on the right.

I am happy that I hit the center area and generally kept all shots on the target, but I think there's plenty of room for improvement. OTOH I may be expecting too much ? The whole "experiment" probably took 4 sec.

 

[murf]

excellent. looks like your confidence level had a nice increase today.

murf

 

[Tallball]

Nice job shooting, and a G26 is a nice choice of pistol.

 

[Dibbs]

Sounds like you did OK. As long as there is improvement, every time you shoot, you are doing good. The only person you have to do better than is you, on your last range visit, IMO.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

At speed, when all your shot a hit center mass it's a good job. SD is not target groups, it's supposed to stop the attack. When you make good hits it stops the attack.

I did something similar a few months ago. I carry a J frame revolver. I was practicing with my carry ammo and had 3 rounds left. I loaded them and put the gun in my pocket. Standing right in front of a B2 target I pulled the gun and hip-shot all 3 rounds as fast as possible. All 3 were in the center of the target and could be covered by my fist. Good to know all the practice works just like with your test.

(No I did not cover any part of my body while shooting and yes, all safety rules were obeyed)

 

[Pat Riot]

That’s good, Wanderling,
Keep practicing. I have done this drill with all the handguns that I carry and I hate to admit the first time I did this with a couple of them my results weren’t as good as yours. That induced me to practice. I am much better now.

 

[Pete D.]

Shooting at a dimly lit target is good practice. Your hits were all game changers.
Pete

 

[thomas15]

Some might say the goal of rapid fire is to aim and press the trigger for every round you fire. This is a skill that takes time and effort.

I think the OP did well.

 

[Wanderling]

So, I finally had time to try this again, that time with both G26 and LCP.

As the first time, the idea was to pull the gun out and dump the mag into the target at 15 ft as quickly as possible.

This was the first mag, 10+1 in G26. This time, I did bring the camera. But did not do as well on my first go Looks like my aim wandered up and to the right.




I got much better - or luckier - with 2nd mag, landing 9 out of 10 rounds on the target (yellow highlights). I think I was a little more composed by then.



One-handed rapid shooting with right hand. Aiming at the top of the silhouette. I am actually pretty happy with outcome. I did shoot a little slower, just because it was hard to keep the same pace with all the recoil using only one hand..



Now, LCP. Also at 15 ft.

1st mag (7+1), two hands. Shooting as fast as I can, which is slower with LCP because of added trigger travel and more felt recoil. 6 rounds on the target, 2 misses. Again, happy with the outcome.



I won't bore you with subsequent photos. As I expected, after the first few mag loads LCP started giving me issues - it doesn't like running hot and dirty. First a FTE on about 4 th mag (so after roughly 25 rounds), then I started getting all my shots way left, and had to adjust my trigger finger position, to where I was using the bend on the finger rather than the soft pad. I suspect heat has more to do with this than dirt, as usually I start running into problems after about 40-50 rounds, but this time I was shooting at a much faster rate than usual, and it got hot much sooner.

Still, don't see it as an issue for carry - as long as it's clean, it's accurate and reliable, and a good gun for its purpose.

I do however have a newly found respect for G26, what a joy to shoot.

 

[Riomouse911]

Not bad at all, you’re shooting very well!

Funny how our deliberate 3” groups at 20 yards become 16” groups at 10 yards when something simple like speed is thrown into the equation.

Add in a full adrenaline dump, a pulse North of 150, and maybe some arm and leg fatigue after a run, chase or a fight and then let’s see where our groups go to .

Keep it up .

 

[luzyfuerza]

Seeing the effects of shorter splits on accuracy isn't all you've learned here.

This is the first I've ever heard of an LCP becoming unreliable when hot. I wonder how many other non "service-sized" handguns might have the same problem.

Your experience with changing the position of your trigger finger when rapid-firing is also a great observation.

It is amazing what we can learn when we change up our practice routines a little and are careful to observe the differences in outcomes.

 

[ATLDave]

Shooting at speed adds a whole lot of variables to the mix that slow-fire simply doesn't involve. You've just dipped your toe into what is basically a whole new world.

 

[Drail]

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