Tips for shooting a small handgun?

[686]

I got to try and am considering the purchase of a P3AT but am curious if anyone can tell me how to handle one better.

I realize this is:

#1. A belly gun meant for extremely short (across a table) distances
#2. Not meant to be an accurate pistol

But man it sure punishes any flaws in your pistol technique. I'll be honest my first six shots, the first wasn't on the paper, the other five were all over the paper.

I fired about 60 rounds, and after the first couple of magazines I managed to get the shots on the paper at 7 yards.

I tried again on a fresh target with about 40 rounds, and managed a (get ready to laugh) 6" group that consistently shot high and to the right.

I can shoot a J frame much better than this, and with full sized handguns I'm probably of perfectly average ability considering I only take a class or two a year and only live fire practice twice a month, but against just a static target and not any sort of moving target and without me moving as well, I was hoping I could have done better!

I figured out near the end that you don't really "aim" this gun, you "point" it.

Still, 7 yards is what I personally think is the maximum possible distance for this gun, and I'd never shot one before, so I'm not freaking out too bad. Does this get better with practice? Are there any point shooting special techniques for dealing with the fact that you can't really try to use a sight (because there essentially isn't one)? I figure someone if not several someones on this board can probably hit a dime on a tennis court with this gun.

I'm considering one for a "better than nothing" gun. This particular specimen fed every round without a hiccup and was dirty to begin with, so that was encouraging. But I'd like to know I can reliably hit COM at 21 feet with it before I ever considered carrying it.

Don't worry, I am real good about carrying a full sized gun, I much prefer them.

 

[usp9]

My mousegun of choice is a Seecamp LWS32. The little ones do take some getting use to if for no other reason than you only have one or two fingers holding the grip and these are not finger tip on the trigger type guns. Most people put as much finger on the trigger as possible in order to control recoil and that may be a change in style for you. Practice will improve your grouping.

I seldom "aim" anymore when I shoot. Mostly I practice "point aiming" because that is undoubtedly how I would use this gun. However when I do take time to aim the shots are grouped in the 2-3" range at 7 yards. I'm guessing the KelTec will do about the same. When point shooting I'm realisticaly looking for a 6" group at 7 yards, and can do that with ease after many years. Occationally I'm amazed at how tight the groups are...my best being 1 1/2".

My suggestion is to buy some snap caps and practice with the gun, getting a feel for the trigger. After a few hundred snaps it should feel more natural. Good luck.

 

[JDGray]

Lots of practice! I can finally hit desent with my P11, after 500 rounds. I shoot at steel spinners and silhouets at 40'-60', and I can now hit steel at 60'(10"x14" Target) rapid fire, but not at first. The grip extension made a big diff for me.

 

[kokapelli]

A magazine extension may help.

This is a KelTec plus one magazine extension that I have on a couple of my magazines.

It gives you an extra round in the magazine and a place for a third finger to grip.

 

[Bobo]

I don't know if this is what you are experiencing or not, but if it is this may help.

I found that the distance from the backstrap to trigger was short for my hand. This caused me to twist the gun up and to the right as the distance shortened even more during the trigger pull.

I did three things to correct this:

1. I now use my trigger finger closer to the tip. This allows a straighter pull-back and lessened the twist on the gun.

2. I added Bersa finger extensions to the magazines.

3. I added approximately 3/8" to the backstrap to lengthen the trigger-to-backstrap distance. If you have an interest I'll explain how I did this without permanently altering the grip. It will involve my taking some photos, but I'll be happy to do it if you think it may help.

The combination fixed the problem for me.

This is how the grip looked when I first did it. I have changed it slightly since then.

 

[mosttoyswins]

I used to own a Kel Tec P32.

In order to shoot it accurately I had to shoot it with a VERY VERY firm grip with a lot of trigger finger (first knuckle).

 

[Cueball]

I have a P3AT too and it takes some practice to shoot these with any proficiency. I shoot at the 25ft line as I feel that's the maximum range you would/should employ the use of one of these. I can now consistently hit in the 8 ring or better with it at that distance. The light weight makes it less that pleasant to shoot many rounds at a time, and also contributes to the difficulty in shooting accurately. But, if you practice, you can become effective shooting it.