I tried my 1st hand guns today... I wow sucked.

[BKP]

I took all your recommended guns and went to the range today.
Paid for an instructor and got to work.
All in 40 cal: 1st up a Glock, Then a Baretta, then a Sig(?) and a Springfield XD
I hands down liked the feel of the XD above all.
I really thought I was going to impress my instructor. I've always been a crack shot pheasant hunting or deer or bear, but wow, I was bad.
I even missed the big silhouette target right in front of me. A real bummer.
I felt ok, the recoil wasn't bad.. I was sure I was locked down, sights floating easy on the x ring.. Bang... a foot to the left. Didn't feel I was flinching... Just don't know.
I'll tell ya the air has been let out of my bag. Right now, I would run for my shot gun with bird shot before I would even think about a hand gun.
Maybe I should try a revolver?

 

[jbkebert]

Don't give up just yet. A couple of questions and this was a hard habit for me to break. Are you focusing on the rear sight then the front site and the target. If so your trying to make your eyes do to much. The rear site should almost be a blur. Focus looking through the rear site not at it and try and focus on the front site and the target only. The other thing the guns you were shooting are all a blocky frame I think they are harder to get a good sight picture on. If you have a friend or even if your range offers rental guns pick up a gun with a long barrel. Don't go grab a super redhawk but say a Ruger Mark III or a browning buckmark in .22 caliber. You can plink all day and spend $10-$20 bucks. Just my .02

 

[NavyLCDR]

If you are right handed try more finger in the trigger. Shooting to the left if you are right handed means too little finger on the trigger. If you are left handed, it's just the opposite, put less finger on the trigger. You'll get it, just keep practicing.

Two things you might want to try. Get a cheap laser and put it on a handgun with a rail. Dry fire and watch the laser against a spot of tape on a wall for a bullseye. Practice the trigger squeeze while keeping the laser centered on the spot of tape. The laser does not have to be "zeroed", you are just practicing trigger squeeze.

Second thing is to obtain a snap cap. Have someone else put the snap cap in a random location in the magazine. As you fire, when you hit the snap cap you will be able to see what you are doing with the gun because the recoil will be taken away and you can see if you are flinching, pulling, anticipating the recoil or whatever.

 

[Dirtpile]

You could. But you still shouldn't expect a single ragged hole your first time out.
When you do buy your first handgun the best piece of advice anyone can give you is: Get some snap caps and maybe a cheap laser ( a cheapie Wallyworld boresighter will work ) and dry fire practice until you stop seeing the front sight ( or red dot ) twitching when you pull the trigger.

 

[possum]

BKP,
welcome to thr, dpn't ne to hard on yourself, handguns are among the hardest things to shoot and do so accuratly. it takes time, and alot of training/ practice for sure.

i am glad to hear that you like the xd, i love my xd .40 over 12k rds and still running strong, i own a glock 23, and to me it is no where as good as my xd, i have owned/ used all of the big time makers handguns in .40 at one time or another, and there is none other that i prefer than the xd.

 

[BKP]

Definitely focused on the front sight. When I did manage a to sort-of group, everything was well to the left of the target. 10 O'clock seemed my preference.. The trigger seemed decently held in the 1st knuckle of my finger. The whole box shot and nothing to the right of the X.
I hope I don't give-up, but driving away I'm thinkin' " Well, that is that".

 

[Iggy]

Next time try a .22. You may be anticipating the recoil even though it isn't bothering you.

Low and to the left often means your are bucking into the gun in anticipation
of the bang.

Most important, go try it again. Handguns take some getting use to .

 

[cjranucci]

The best tip I can offer when first learning to fire a handgun is trigger squeeze. Instinctively you want to look down the barrel, acquire the target and pull the trigger. The problem with this is that you actually move the barrel of the gun when you pull the trigger. Moving the barrel a half inch means a huge deviation at target.

You should squeeze the trigger with slow steady pressure. Your trigger squeeze should be so slight in the beginning that you have no idea when the gun will fire. All of a sudden it will fire and you will be on target as the gentle pressure on the trigger will cause the round in the chamber to fire without the barrel movement that you will have when you contract the muscles in your hand to pull the trigger.

It may sound strange, but try it. You will be surprised at how it works. Once you then get comfortable squeezing the trigger you can actually add more pressure and fire off rounds more consistently in a shorter amount of time.

 

[RickH]

The first time I went to a range and fired center fire pistols, I fell in love with the High Power because at twenty yards I hit the target (not always the black part) 7 out of thirteen times. I did worse with a glock 17, I did worse with a 3 inch S&W .357 magnum, I did worse with a colt gold cup that had the grip safety pinned, I did worse with a few other guns too. It was a sad day for a fifteen year old.
It was my first time and I had higher hopes, but it was my first time. Not including guns I have a lot of first time I tried it, I sucked stories. First time can be an eye opener. Don't get discouraged. Find a good mentor, find good trainers or classes. Don't be afraid to admit that you want and need help.
I found it easy to knock clays and birds down with a 12 guage, but pistols were harder.
Money spent on good training/instruction is money well spent. It is the only thing that I believe is better than spending money on ammo and range time.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Definitely what cjranucci said. Concentrate more on keeping the sights on target than making the gun go off. Many people get their sight picture all lined up and then think "I've got to shoot NOW because I am on target" and jerk the trigger.

Come on target with the sights. As you approach the perfect sight picture begin to squeeze the trigger. If the gun doesn't go off, don't worry - just hold the trigger right where it is, let the gun come back on target. You will notice the gun doing a natural figure 8 around the target. As the gun moves back towards being on target, begin applying more pressure to the trigger. If all the planets line up right and everything is just right the gun will go off just as the perfect sight picture is obtained and it will be a complete surprise to you when it does go off. If the gun fires exactly when you expect it to every time than you are definitely jerking the trigger. Your timing will improve as you practice.

 

[XavierBreath]

Chances are, you will not do as well with a double action revolver. A DA revolver demands very adept trigger control.

You are doing some things right, such as getting personal instruction. Listen to your instructor. They are watching you shoot, not speculating online.

I do have to wonder about your caliber choice though. .40S&W is a pretty snappy round. I, too, would advise you to learn marksmanship on a .22 pistol. If you want to know my usual regimen for students, click here. If you simply must learn on a centerfire pistol, make it a large frame 9mm, and don't switch pistols. The ability to hit the target is in you, not in the pistol. There are some pretty inaccurate pistols out there, but no pistol will be more accurate than you are. The pistol is not the problem. The problem is your inability to use it effectively and consistently just yet. Work on yourself, don't try to find a magic pistol, it's a never ending search.

It can definitely be humbling to be proficient with a rifle and find that a pistol require a whole different skillset. Shooting handguns is not easy. You have a much shorter sight radius compared to a long gun, and poor trigger control makes a huge difference. 80% of handgun marksmanship is trigger control. Control the trigger and you control the muzzle. Control the muzzle and you control the shot.

If you will go with a 22 pistol, you can shoot it a whole lot more for a whole lot less. The result will be instant feedback on your technique and marksmanship. The more you shoot and analyze what you are doing with a competent instructor, the better you will become. Don't give up. Learn it.

 

[BCRider]

The trigger seemed decently held in the 1st knuckle of my finger.

That's too much finger on the trigger. You may or may not shoot your rifles that way but it's too much for handgun.

The sweet spot will vary from between the tip of the finger and about mid way between the tip and the folds of skin at the first knuckle depending on your hold, grip and hand size.

Now this doesn't mean you'll suddenly group tighter and shoot straighter but it's one error for sure.

Check this out. It sure helped me a lot. Also note how high his hands are on the frame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48&feature=PlayList&p=2630CD6FFFCAE011&playnext=1&index=18

 

[jbkebert]

Man the guy in that you tube video is amazing. If I tried to fire that fast no targets would be harmed as a result unless by sure luck I hit 1.

 

[23Glock]

+1 for the Todd Jarrett video - lots to learn there about stance, grip, trigger press and follow through.
I must respectfully disagree with those recommending a .22 for learning. Yes, it's cheaper, and a lot less "scary", but might reinforce bad habits. A .22 does not demand the same follow through discipline that a large caliber handgun does. Your body's natural and somewhat involuntary reaction to recoil is totally different between a .22 and a .40. I own a .22, but it's just a fun gun for plinking. I find my flinching and follow through is *worse* after a long session with the .22 and I have to spend several hours dry practicing with my .40 to get back on target with it.
Reading your target is a good first step, but there are two things you can do that will demonstrate the severity of your particular flinch even further.

1.) Fire through an entire magazine. When the slide locks back, drop the magazine and release the slide on the empty chamber. Immediately sight in and conscientiously dry fire no differently than you would with a round in the chamber (stance, grip, breathing, front sight, trigger press should all remain unchanged). You might be surprised how bad you flinch with this test. I always dry practice a few shots between magazines to get my head back on straight. However, because you KNOW there is no round in the chamber, your reaction to recoil my be subtly impacted, which brings us to the next exercise:
2.) This one is by far my favorite, and the most telling. Buy some Action Trainers or snap caps. Have your instructor load a magazine, without you watching, with all live rounds and one dummy somewhere in the middle (not first or last). Better, have him load several mags with only one mag containing a dummy round so you don't even know which magazine has it. Proceed to shoot through the magazines. When you encounter the dummy you will encounter your flinch in all its splendor. As your skills increase, you can use this same exercise for live malfunction clearing drills.

Lastly, didn't see anyone ask, but, can you instructor shoot a ragged hole with the same weapon? If you're both grouping consistently off in the same direction, you might want to check the sights. But unfortunately, it's most likely you...no offense...

Keep us posted on your progress. Shooting a handgun is a never-ending process of fine-tuning many variables. Don't get frustrated - we've all been there.

BTW - Dry practice can't be understated. You should dry practice at home 50 times for every round of live ammunition you fire. It builds muscle memory. Live firing ammunition is actually psychologically detrimental to your learning.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of .22 handgun practice either. Nothing wrong with it for its own sake, but regular dry-firing and carry is better for you, coupled with lots of range time shooting cheap centerfire target loads.

 

[Walkalong]

Practice. The majority of first time pistol shooters shoot poorly at first. It's not as easy as it shows on TV.

 

[BCRider]

Dry firing is a really good way as mentioned above.

As for the .22 practice I'm going to go counter to the others and suggest that it worked for me. Alternately shooting a magazine or two of .22 then picking up the 9mm or 45 really helped me shed some issues I had over flinching. It was far easier to deal with the recoil of the .22 and work out the flinch and work on the trigger follow through. For me it really helped me advance on all counts faster than I was managing with pure 9mm shooting. YMMV on this count but it worked well for me. Not to mention that actually shooting .22 is far less costly if it's mixed in with the other stuff like this. Also it leaves solid evidence on the target of your grouping control and any finger pressure issues that are pulling your groups to one side. Something that may be missed with the bore laser jumping around.

 

[MrBorland]

Paid for an instructor and got to work.

I really thought I was going to impress my instructor...but wow, I was bad.

I even missed the big silhouette target right in front of me. A real bummer.

OK, I gotta ask - and what exactly was the instructor doing during all this? Missing a big silhouette right in front of you suggests you were doing something obvious enough that they could've/should've been able to help at least get on the paper. How is it they weren't able to help? And you paid for this?

The more you shoot and analyze what you are doing with a competent instructor, the better you will become.

I agree with Xav, here. About the .22, too.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I was wondering the same thing mr. Borland, what was the instructor doing while he was shooting? I took my wife for the first time and taught her better than that. No offense.

 

[zombienerd]

Here are two targets I found on THR previously... One is for lefties, the other for righties..

It will tell you where your problems lie in your shooting...

I found them to come in quite handy to troubleshoot my aim

Hope they help you too.

 

[Redhawk1]

That is the reason I cringe when I here people buying there first handgun for hunting. They say they never shot a handgun much, but would like to try handgun hunting.

I am a firm believer for first time handgun shooters to get a 22 Revolver, and become proficient with it before they move up into bigger handguns. Handgun shooting takes a lot of practice and patients. Most people don't want to put that kind of dedication in.

But don't get discouraged, keep going back and start with a smaller handgun and work you way up. 22 handguns are a lot more fun to shoot and also a great way to get trigger time. Also the cost of shooting is way down.

 

[Vermont]

Don't worry. I started on rifles, then moved to handguns. I couldn't even tell where some of my shots were hitting at 7 yards at first.

The thing that helped me most was inserting snap caps randomly in the magazine. When you pull the trigger on a snap cap, any flinch you have is very noticeable. My shooting improved drastically. As noted above, it's better to have someone else load the magazine when doing this drill, but I find that it works pretty well if I force myself to think of something else while loading it so I don't count the rounds.

 

[gilfo]

Are you using one eye or two? If you are using one eye make sure you are using your dominant eye on the front sight. If you are using two eyes nevermind.

 

[Redhawk1]

Are you using one eye or two? If you are using one eye make sure you are using your dominant eye on the front sight. If you are using two eyes nevermind.

Everyone should be using both eyes open. I use to shoot wth one eye closed, I got better groups using both eyes open. One eye open shooting is for rifle scope shooters.

 

[colorado_handgunner]

Took me 4 times with a handgun before I could hit reliably, don't give up. Just use it as an excuse for more practice!