Sig P-226 jams when wife shoots

[castingdonkey]

I bought the wife a sig p-226. I put a 100 rounds through it with no issues, She can't get through a mag. I instructed her to hold it firmly but I'm afraid she may be limp wristing it. Especially with her lack of accuracy she seems to pull the point of aim all over the place. So suppose it is her that is holding it wrong, I then need to figure out how to approach her about it. She is so mad that we spent that kind of money on a gun she can't seem to operate. So far anyway.

 

[1KPerDay]

have someone else give her some instruction... most wives take instruction better from others than their husbands.

Meantime you can work on dry firing at home. work on trigger control while keeping the front sight steady.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Probably a case of excessive wrist flexing when firing. Sometimes, if the gun's frame is allowed to move backward or upward in the hand, it absorbs some of the recoil energy that would otherwise be powering the slide back. And I don't know her hand size, but this gun's grip and trigger reach are excessive for my men's medium glove sized hands. I went Glock and never went "bock."

 

[Texan Scott]

+1 to 1KperDay. This, incidentally, is why I can't teach my daughter to shoot or drive a stick.

If possible, find a female NRA instructor. Anything the instructor then says can be prefaced with "No matter WHAT your husband told you ... " and a knowing smirk just between girls. All instruction to follow will be accepted as Gospel truth, even if it's something you already said.

Sometimes, a married man can be RIGHT, or he can be HAPPY.

Choose wisely.

 

[castingdonkey]

Thanks guy's I'll see about getting her in a class. She wants to take her concealed course but we both want her at least able to function her firearm confidently before going. She wears a size large in mens gloves as do I. I think your right about the grip being slightly large but it doesn't seem too big for either of us. Your also very correct about her not listening to me it doesn't matter how slow I talk it goes in one ear and out the other. I can say that I am far more accurate with that sig than I am with my G-20. I am a little jealous of her new gun. I may have to take it over and get her something else

 

[rocketgeezer]

My wife had the same sort of issue with our Colt Defender, and I just showed her a little differant way to grip it, so the gun would not give as much, she understands about limp wristing, but the Colt takes a little differant touch than the Glocks....she now uses the Colt for her EDC

 

[sigarms228]

Is this the first time she has fired a center fire pistol?? If so you may want to let her train with a .22 LR pistol for a while to build her confidense and skills.

Also have her watch the video below on how to grip a autoloading pistol.

Good luck!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVhTA-n0ivE

 

[JEB]

Thanks guy's I'll see about getting her in a class.

that may just be your best option right there. getting into a good shooting class is always a good idea regardless of your skill level.

I am a little jealous of her new gun. I may have to take it over and get her something else

sounds perfectly logical to me...

 

[jfrey]

If she doesn't like the gun, she won't shoot it. If she won't shoot it, she won't carry it so it may be time to look at something else. My wife has shot most of my pistols and does fairly well with them, but when it is time for her to qualify for her CHL we break out the Hi-Power and she goes to town with it. It fits her hand and she shoots it very well, and is confident about herself shooting it.

Another suggestion is to move your wife closer to the target. Anything to get her hitting the target first then slowly move her back on the range. Everyone likes success and that is what you have to find for her first. If she is limp wristing the gun, get a Glock or something similiar for her to try. They are less prone to be as finiky about this. You may have paid a lot for the Sig but it doesn't matter if she can't shoot it. Let her choose her own gun and see if things don't improve all around.

 

[castingdonkey]

In the past she has shot a s&w 9mm and my G20. She shoots my ruger single six in 22lr and she seems to like it because it isn't as loud and has less recoil. Truth is she really isn't into shooting. I really want to get her into it so that she can protect the family while I'm at work. Also it would be nice for her competitive nature. I think once she starts hitting targets consistantly then she will want to shoot more often.

We just sat down and watched that video and both learned a few things. I could see immediately how it raised her interest a bit(could just be the clean cut instructor ).

I will definitely move her closer to the target next trip out. I tried to have her aim at a target that was closer to the ground so that we could better see where she was hitting. The target was roughly 15 yards away and she shot the ground about 15' in front of her. That stunt coupled with 3 jams was enough frustration to send us home. Thanks a bunch for the help so far I'll see how soon I can get her back to the range and report back.

 

[sonick808]

limp wristing, i'd bet anything. firm grip and proper trigger/ press squeeze. Give her an empty gun and see if she flinches when the trigger is about to break

 

[9mmepiphany]

We just sat down and watched that video and both learned a few things.

That is a pretty basic gripping technique. If you are learning a "few things" from it, you likely shouldn't be instructing. I'm not trying to offend you, but it takes a bit of in-depth understanding of the nuances of gripping to teach it and correct faults of a new shooter

limp wristing, i'd bet anything.

That would be a very tempting bet to take, but it wouldn't really be fair to you.

I've shot SIGs for most of my career and have instructed with one for many years. One of the demonstrations I run, to prevent new shooters from gripping too tightly, is to hold the 226 loosely with only my trigger finger pulling it into the palm of my hand...my middle finger is barely wrapped around the front of the grip to support the trigger guard.

When I trigger off the shot (9mm), the muzzle flip takes it almost vertical...and yet I'll fire off 3 rapid shots that way without it jamming. I'm firmly convinced that blaming limp wristing for feeding failures is really blaming the wrong thing

 

[readyeddy]

Check her grip that she's not touching the magazine. Some people put their support hand under the grip and push up on the magazine. This can affect feeding.

 

[ku4hx]

She is so mad that we spent that kind of money on a gun she can't seem to operate.

I'd suggest backing off for a while....possible a long while. Once you feel the situation has lessened in intensity, get her some certified instruction or at least bring her in to the decision process as a full partner. May not always be possible if no rentals are available, but "shoot many; buy one" seems to me to be a good strategy. Maybe some of your shooting buddies would allow her to try a variety of their guns.

Whatever you do, don't give up. My wife went from fearing guns to an enthusiastic owner/shooter a lot quicker than I'd have thought possible. She's also a horse person so she'd understand this comment: give you wife her head and she'll move in the direction she wants to. You just need to be along for the ride.

 

[Fremmer]

Get yourself a new wife, the gun is fine.

Just kidding, lol. Well, then again, it is a sig...

 

[ku4hx]

Get yourself a new wife, the gun is fine.

+1 I laughed out loud at that and then got my wife to read it. She laughed aloud too but allowed it would be cheaper in the long run to buy the wife every gun she thinks she might ever want. Unless the OP has some need to live in abject poverty for the rest of his life.

 

[armedwalleye]

Thank you!

Don't know why my "quote" feature won't work, but want to throw a shout out to sigarms228 with a big THANK YOU.
My wife is going through similar problems to the OP's, and I've been trying to explain limp wristing and grip, and the need for consistency.
The vid lays it out about as simply and straightforwardly as possible, the "whys" but maybe more importantly, the "why nots".

Well done, sir.

 

[Fremmer]

Hey man, you know I was just kidding. She sounds like a keeper.

 

[sonick808]

9mmepiphany: i'm surprised your sig didn't jam doing that. My P220 is the pistol most sensitive to limp-wristing I've experienced. Then again, different pistol, different caliber, different position of moon and stars....

 

[9mmepiphany]

My 220s are even less prone to feeding issues than my 226....I don't lock my arm out either

I've done the same demonstration with my folded slide/alloy frame 220 and my all stainless 220ST...just to show folks how controllable the .45ACP cartridge was

I'm using 230gr slugs in the .45 and 124gr in the 9mm...both CCI Blazer aluminum ammo

 

[jfrey]

15 yds???? Move her up to 7 or even 3 yds. and get her on paper. Then you can move her back slowly and see how she does.

 

[Jenrick]

Castingdonkey:

In the past she has shot a s&w 9mm and my G20. She shoots my ruger single six in 22lr and she seems to like it because it isn't as loud and has less recoil. Truth is she really isn't into shooting. I really want to get her into it so that she can protect the family while I'm at work. Also it would be nice for her competitive nature. I think once she starts hitting targets consistantly then she will want to shoot more often.

Okay if she's not into guns or shooting, she's not going to really want to fix things and make it work. To be honest if she's comfortable shooting a .22 SA revolver, it's better then her fingernails. Find a .22 semiauto she feels comfortable with, and work on her fundamentals with it. She can move up to a center fire caliber when SHE feels comfortable to do that.

I completely support moving closer to the target. Heck I usually start new hesitant shooters at 5 FEET. Success makes it fun. Also use a large target. A 6" paper plate is cheap, easy, and later makes a really good vital zone template.

If you guys are set on making the sig work: What caliber is the 226? Is she shooting primarily in DA or SA, or is a DAK?

Hopefully it's a 9mm, look into getting a .22lr conversion kit for it. If it's a DA/SA trigger have her work in SA as much as possible to get comfortable shooting it. Worry about that DA first round once she's got the fundamentals down. If it's a DAK, concentrate on taking the trigger up smoothly all the way.

If you guys are located in my area, shoot me a PM and I'll be happy to hook both of you up with a private lesson.

-Jenrick

 

[Fryerpower]

Heck, use the standards that are used for the Concealed Carry test. In Tennessee it depends on the instructor, but our local guy uses standard silhouettes, 12 shots each at:
3 yards
6 yards
9 yards
15 yards

Anywhere on the silhouette counts. It worked for my wife and mom.

Jim

 

[castingdonkey]

Wow lots of of good info, I appreciate it. We are located in Grand Junction Colorado. The sig is 9mm da/sa, she was mainly firing it sa. I will definitely be starting her closer to the target. I'll look into a 22lr kit for it. I need to order a 40 s&w Barrel for my G20 so hopefully I can save on shipping. I can take the rousing well, I wouldn't trade this fantastic mother and life partner for any gun. But it gets tempting at times

I suppose constructive criticism can be a big pill sometimes. For now I will continue working with my wife and myself for us to both become better shooter's. I'll not reply with what I would like to say to the moderator as I wish to continue sharing and learning on this site.

Thanks again folks