How Do I Become A Better Shooter?

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algerunc

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I just purchased my first handgun (with a lot of advice from the THR Forum- Thanks Guys!). I have a Ruger P95 that I took to the range for the first time today.

I was looking for some advice on how to become a better shooter. I know that practice is a huge part of it, but I don't want to practice bad habits. Any advice or resources that you guys can give?

I'm new to shooting handguns, so even the basics won't offend me :)
 
Concentrate on the front sight and slowly squeeze the trigger keeping front sight over target. The pistol should surprise you when it goes off...do not anticipate it firing. Do this shot after shot until it is natural.
 
Well, don't use ammo with lots of recoil, because that will give you a flinch

Also, learn the rules of gun safety

All guns are always loaded, always. Even if you think, or know they aren't, don't use that for an excuse for poor safety.

Always keep them pointed in a safe direction, meaning that if they were to fire, noone would get hurt. (Beware that walls won't always stop bullets)

Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot

Always know your target and the background. Make sure that noone is using a target to hide, and that that motion really isn't another hunter.
 
Do 80% of your firing dry. Dry fire regularly so you can watch the sight picture at your break. It's the fastest, most efficient way to build good trigger memory without wasted effort. I read years ago that many top competitors do 60 to 80% of their trigger work dry. Adopting that practice changed my shooting dramatically. I think this is the single most important thing to do.
 
It would benefit you to take a class from someone that knows how to shoot and can relay the "how" on to his students.

One thing about the P-95, or any other DA auto, is how to handle the transition between first and second shot.

Some say you should place the trigger in the first crease of your finger for the first shot, then, during recoil, reposition it so the pad of the finger (1/2 between joint and extreme tip) for the second/follow-up shots.

Baloney. The people that dispense this advice read it in a gun magazine and/or can't shoot very well, especially at speed. (speed comes later!)

Don't move your finger at all. You'll be fine and more consistent as a result.

Remember to decock the gun before you lbring the gun down off target. At the same time, take your finger off the trigger.
 
Grip

First thing first. Get a good grip. The gun should not "meet the middle" between both arms. It should make a straight line with the strong-side forearm, only. Hold the gun with your strong hand as if you're going to shoot it one-handed, then add your support hand. And finally, don't cock the sights up towards your eye; bring your eye down to the sights. The web of your hand should be as high as you can get it, and your grip should be about as tight as you can squeeze without tiring yourself or shaking.

Shooting like a girl (this makes me cringe):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWEe5oCBI_M&feature=related
Notice the 30+ degree angle between his right forearm and barrel axis. I'm not saying that you can't shoot accurately like this. I've seen a competent shooter use a modified Weaver stance with a slightly bent elbow (but not winging out to the side, like this). It can be done, but you will not handle recoil as well, you will not point shoot as well, and it will take more practice to be consistent. Also, keep your finger out of the trigger guard until your sights are on the target! Overall, this is a pretty good video of what NOT to do!

Good grip (particularly guy#2 seen at 5:00):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_JuF23qazI

Second: learn to squeeze the trigger without flinching. You want to counteract the recoil with a nice locked wrist and strong grip. NOT by anticipating the shot. Load a dummy round in each mag and see if you are flinching.

Also don't do this:
I came across this "expert" video by a self-described "seasoned military operator." Check out the grip at 1:20. I was watching this and it made me cringe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Q1nlBRhbM

So I come across another of his videos. This one made me laugh. (left hand). Ok, that's a little mean. Anyone can have an accident. But when you do it on camera while wearing full military-type gear and using fancy terminology, some people might think it's funny.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDrh8puSi-k&feature=related
 
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Looking at the front sight sounds ridiculously easy, doesn't it? However, after serving many years as a police firearms instructor, I can assure you that some shooters never learn to look at the front sight. They think they are looking at the sight, but they are not.

When you truly learn to concentrate on the front sight, it will be unnecessary to look at your target. You will know where the sight was at the moment you broke the shot. Consequently, you will also know where the bullet hit the target.

Dry firing is a good thing, and I am all for it. But be advised that you will behave differently with a loaded gun than you do with one that you know is unloaded. Nobody jerks the trigger, flinches, or otherwise makes a bad shot with an empty gun.

You will do these things with a loaded gun, even with a mild .22 LR.
So when you look at a target you've just shot and the hits aren't where you hoped they would be, accept the fact that you haven't learned to concentrate on the front sight.

As JP mentioned, the other issue is trigger control. It is hard for a new shooter to accept the fact that he flinches or jerks the trigger. He isn't afraid of the recoil, so why would he flinch? Fact is that even expert shots have to work and keep working on trigger control, especially with a handgun. There are several other "fundaments" that are important, grip, stance, breath control, sight alignment, sight picture, etc. But the big lessons to learn are sight alignment (watch the front sight) and trigger control.
 
Second: learn to squeeze the trigger without flinching. You want to counteract the recoil with a nice locked wrist and strong grip.
Click to expand...

In addition to what has been mentioned, try dry firing w/o a magazine (I keep all live ammo in a seperate room) w/ a snap cap in the chamber (if you are so inclined) and a EMPTY (!!!) shell placed on the top forward most portion of the slide (usually just behind the front sight). Practice your trigger pull until you can keep the empty (!!!) shell on top of the slide w/o it falling off.

Consider taking a firearms saftey course as well.
 
After you take all the good advice in the above posts and you think you are good, take things a step further. Compete in any kind of shoot you like but go into some kind of competition. You will not believe how different shooting is under pressure until you try it. Nothing can replicate the pressure you're under in a SD situation but shooting in a competition comes very close. (or so I'm told since I've never had to use my handgun in a SD situation) That Sir might save your life some day and also make you a much better shooter. It's a hack of a lot of fun too...
 
Looking at the front sight sounds ridiculously easy, doesn't it? However, after serving many years as a police firearms instructor, I can assure you that some shooters never learn to look at the front sight. They think they are looking at the sight, but they are not.
Click to expand...

This is the tried-and-true best method of using open sights for precision target shooting. But there is another option where you learn to focus on the target. I shoot nearly as accurately (and much faster) with target-focused shooting. It's a bit like point-shooting, only you can clearly see your sights and a bit of the top of the slide in your line of sight. But your eyes focus on the target. I prolly do focus on the front sight every now and then to check my alignment. But once you learn to hold your sight picture, it's a bit like shooting a shotgun. You just know when everything is lined up.
 
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there are many GOOD methods of school on shooting. try as many as you are exposed to and/or find, and see which of them (or combinations from them) work best for you. as you study the shooting tips from the legendary shooters it seems they all employed their own differing techniques...

ammo prices are now inflated to unsustainable highs. practicing regularly enough to get sufficient fam-fire will eat your lunch on todays market. purchasing a similar .22lr handgun will pay the investment off quickly.

there are .22 conversion kits for a few of the most common platforms out there now. this list is growing very quickly. keep an eye out for them, the ruger is selling well. same being the VERY best way to practice with ammo you can say "brick" about, and not cringing whilst breaking out into a cold sweat. everything exactly the same but recoil. since it is what happens before the recoil that counts, the conversion kits are perfect practice tools.

practice is THE secret method employed by ALL of the great shooters.

gunnie
 
+1 to all the above. Shooting is no different than any other sport:

1. Get good instruction. Be picky about teachers. Just because they have a lot of letters strung behind their name and can do it well doesn't mean they can teach YOU to do it well (How to tell the difference-talk to their former students and see what THEIR opinion is).

2. Break down the components: Stance, grip, trigger finger position, sight alignment, squeeze, follow through. Concentrate and perfect each one through dry fire, practice drills, live fire, whichever is appropriate. Strength training if necessary. Practice doesn't make perfect, it makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect.

3. Put it back together: First do it safe, then do it accurately, then speed it up.

4. Evaluate results and identify the weak link in performance. Then go back to step 1 or 2 and start over.

5. You can always improve. If you become perfect before you die, write and tell everyone in the world how you did it. None of the rest of us have figured it out yet.
 
I look at it this way. In reality when will you ever actually USE the gun...target shooting or self defense?

In other words I'd start doing slow, deliberate drills once you get used to the safety aspect of shooting a handgun...ie finger off the trigger etc. Get a good holster, learn draw/fire techniques. It can be done at home provided the GUN IS EMPTY.

If someone busts into your house at 3am, the last thing you'll be doing is carefully lining up your sights and slowly squeezing off a round to hit the bullseye.:scrutiny:
 
Safety first. Slow and accurate next. Speed comes with practice. Speed first equals "spray and pray", and I don't recommend it.

Next, practice skills or technique, or learn new skills. Don't just burn up ammunition reinforcing bad habits. Every time you go to the range, recognize something that you need to work on the next time you go.

If you are interested in self defense skills, here is a link to a rather large pdf file with different exercises to improve your shooting and awareness of different possible situations. If this interests you, print it out and take it to the range and work on those drills that are safe based on your experience and ability, and are acceptable at your range.

http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/HandgunDrills.pdf

Just my opinion.

GB7
 
wannabe cello player to philharmonic orchestra musician, "can you tell me the directions to get to carnegie hall?

orchestra musician, "practice, practice, practice!"

gunnie
 
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