Newbie Question for Improvement

[frjeff]

I have a new Kahr P9 9mm semi-auto pistol. I have broken it in with the 200 rounds suggested.

I am trying to improve my groupings with this gun and do love shooting it. However, 9mm ammo here is very scarce. I'm looking for a less expensive and more available way to practice shoot.

I have Taurus M94 .22LR revolver, but do not find it to replicate the Kahr in practice. Perhaps it is fine, I just do not know as a newbie to shooting. It has a very heavy trigger pull as compared to the Kahr, is much heavier, etc.

I don't believe their is a .22 conversion kit for the Kahr, so need your help:

Should I try to find a .22LR semi-auto for practice (which more closely replicates the Kahr), or should I try to improve the skill sets with the Taurus revolver??

I'm taking the CHL qualification course on the 30th, so need to do something quickly?

Any help here is greatly appreciated.

Fr. Jeff+

 

[HippieMagic]

As a fairly new handgun shooter too I found the .22LR does absolutely nothing at all to help me shoot better... The only thing that helps me shoot better is more rounds out of the gun I want to learn to shoot better. Sure 9mm is hard to come by but if you go a few places you can find a box or 2. I just haven't seen any benefit from shooting a .22LR for me.

 

[Steve C]

The basics of handgun accuracy is the same for all types of handguns, if you learn to shoot well with the revolver it will translate to better accuracy with your Kahr. While some pistols are easier to shoot accurately if the principles are followed you will still optimize the accuracy of the more difficult.

One of the best comprehensive guides to pistol marksmanship is the Army Pistol Marksmanship Training Guide. While it is orientated to Bullseye shooting the basics are the same and apply to 2 handed shooting as well as the traditional one handed hold.

There's tons of information on the web, some good and some not so good. You can waste a lot of time trying different things you see on U tube but you need to differentiate between what is good advice and what is just a wannabe gun instructor.

Some time with a good instructor is generally well worth the money. Check with your local gun range and see if they have instruction or can recommend someone.

 

[loop]

The best advice I ever got came from a Camp Perry champion. He told me to lock my wrist.

Your inability to shoot as accurately with the bigger bore is probably due to you permitting the gun to move under recoil. If you can overcome that you will probably begin to shoot much more accurately.

Whenever I'm shooting below par for me, I bring the words "Lock your wrist" back to mind and immediately see improvement.

Fundamentally, it is learning how to overcome recoil both physically and mentally.

 

[punkndisorderly]

An hour with a good instructor will likely improve your shooting more than more ammo/shooting, dollar for dollar. Most shooters have bad habits that they aren't aware of; a good instructor can help youu identify and correct them.

I had just a few minutes of one-on-one training with an instructor a year or so ago. He noticed something I haden't, even after lots of shooting. He pointed out I was squeezing and relaxing each shot with my entire hand rather than keeping a consistant grip and just squeezing with my trigger finger. My groups shrunk in half instantly.


In my opinion, .22's are a great way to work on most basics of marksmanship like trigger control, sight alignment, grip, breathing, etc. And they let you do it for a fraction of the cost of centerfire practice. They also have the side benefit of being less likely to induce another bad habit: flinching. About the only thing they won't teach you is recoil control. 22's should be "in addition to" rather than "to the exclusion of" practice with your primary centerfire.