Increased Accuracy in Shooting

[BobbyQuickdraw]

How can I accomplish that? I know - practice. But I've recently returned to the range after a long absence and am not the shooter I want to be.

I'm looking for hints, tips, resources, etc on how to shoot better. I'm especially interested in any manuals or books you could recommend that might help out.

Also, I'm interested in know what distances you all train at and what constitutes good grouping for you.

I've generally been shooting at about 20 feet lately. Last time I went shooting I was using my subcompact Glock26 at 21 feet and was hitting a bit low and a bit right, with groupings around 4 inches. I was averaging probably 1 shot every 1-1.5 seconds so I was shooting a touch fast. And the gun is small, but I don't want to use these as excuses to not shoot better.

So any tips on what distance to shoot at and books/manuals/sites to read about shooting stance and arm position would be greatly appreciated.

 

[10-Ring]

Unfortuneately, there is no substitute for trigger time It's a great excuse to go shooting & start building back the muscle memory you once had.
I was taught at 25' and then moved out from there as my technique improved...be patient & have fun.
As for practice away from the range, the one thing that really helped me, was putting a dime on your front sight & dry firing your handgun as many times as possible w/o dropping the coin...have fun!

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

I know - practice.

There is NO substitute.

I'm looking for hints, tips, resources, etc

A lot of my hints and tips pertain more to bull shooting, but I'll give it a shot. (I'm assuming you're not attempting to take up bull shooting with a Glock 26)

Slow down and focus. One of the biggest hindrances to improving accuracy is getting caught up in how much fun your semi-auto is and firing way too fast. I had to force myself to take it slow so I could pick up the basics. You could just do slow fire to start out - aim, take a single shot, lower your gun and take a breather, repeat. Or, try down-loading your mags. I've never learned Glock's silly number system, but if your gun is one of the small-caliber ones that can hold a ton of rounds in the mag, you'll have a tendency not to aim as carefully because you know you can make up for a bad shot later in the mag. Try just loading five at a time. You'll start taking your time on shots just to avoid the hassle of constantly reloading your mag, and it will make your ammo last longer to boot.

Work on your trigger pull. 10-Ring posted a really great idea I'd never heard before, and I'd recommend trying it. Dry firing will help you a lot, but it won't get you all the way. A lot of people, myself including, have had huge trigger pull issues when firing because of anticipation of the gun's recoil. Don't know if you're doing it or not? Have a friend load a snap cap in the middle of one of your mags. When you come to it, see how much you jerk when you pull the trigger. When I was having my problems with trigger control, it was so bad I quit trying to make the gun fire when I saw a good sight picture. I wouldn't pull the trigger so much as gently apply more and more force to it so when it broke it was a surprise. Unless you have the 3-pound disconnect in your Glock, slowly pulling your trigger could take several days, but would be beneficial practice nonetheless. I kept doing this over and over, and now I have the process compressed down to the same time my old jerky trigger pull took, and I stay steady the whole way.

Away from the range, especially when first starting out after a prolonged absence, try holding a gallon of water out at arms length for as long as you can while watching TV. This may be more applicable to offhand bull shooters, but it helps get rid of the annoying arm soreness and accompanying tremors.

I do almost all of my shooting with a S&W 41 offhand at fifty feet. I usually hold a 2 inch group with ten shots timed and rapid fire, 1.5 inches on a good day. For the same gun and distance slow fire, usually 1.5 inches, 1 on a good day. When I take my "real" gun to the range (a Kimber Custom Target II) I can hold a 5 to 7 inch group at 25 yards. I'm so used to offhand that the minute I put a second hand on the gun my groups spread out ridiculously. Just gotta practice, though.

 

[benEzra]

Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast...

Follow-through is good. Focus hard on the front sight, relax, control your breathing, squeeze the trigger smoothly without disturbing the gun, and KEEP watching the front sight centered in the notch until after the gun has settled out of recoil.

 

[g.willikers]

Training videos on the web are available, both free and for purchase.
Google todd jarrett's youtube videos for starters. Also check out downrange.tv for quite a few.
Also steve anderson's and matt burkett's web sites for practice and training techniques.
Plenty more out there, too.
Hope it helps.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

You need to look at the "circle of errors" as I call it. Hold on I'll edit my post when I find it. Got it.

 

[obxned]

Sure, ammo cost big money these days, and .22 is good practice, but there is absolutely no substitute for practice with your defensive/carry rounds.

 

[BobbyQuickdraw]

Thanks for everyone that replied. I'll take a look at the sites provided and take into account all the different tips supplied. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Based on the "circle of errors" that would suggest I'm tightening my grip, which is a possibility. And I've definitely noticed on some trigger pulls I anticipate the recoil and my finger gets snappy. Practice will work it out.

Thanks again!

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I've always found that talking to myself and reminding myself of the little things like trigger squeeze, sights, follow-thru, etc. helps me.

 

[bigghoss]

get a .22 conversion and practice with that regularly to avoid "flinchitis"

I remember when I was 18 I bought a mosin m44 and an sks. I hadn't shot a .22 in a while when I went out with a friend who had a henry levergun. I had devleoped a very bad flinch by that time wich was horribly evident with the .22

whether you want to shoot pistol or rifle get a .22 and shoot it alot