so,ya wanna hit what yer shootin' at?

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TARGET DIAGNOSES The following will help you read your targets and diagnose your accuracy problems. There is a cause and solution listed for each.

SHOTS ARE GOING LOW 1. Trigger Flinch: Trigger flinch is the most common of all shooting errors. Simply put, the shooter jerks the gun in anticipation of the recoil. It is always a downward movement and sometimes to one side, usually the weak side.

Solution A) Practice dry firing at home. With an empty and cleared gun (always think safety!), balance a dime on the front sight and practice not letting it fall off as you press the trigger. Then move on to.... B) With the help of a range buddy, have them place, in random order, some empty cases or dummy rounds in your magazine or cylinder. When you are shooting, and reach an empty case or dummy round, your gun and sights should not move.

2. Breaking the wrist downward: With the gun hand pointed at the target, the wrist is pointed downward.

Solution Make sure you keep your wrist locked straight, before, during and after each shot.

3. Relaxing too soon: Relaxing too soon after the shot is fired. Most often before the trigger has been pressed or the bullet has exited the barrel. The least common reason for shots going low.

Solution Follow-through. Keep doing what you were doing just before the gun fired.

SHOTS ARE GOING TO THE WEAK SIDE 1. Trigger finger not in far enough: A trigger finger that is not inserted far enough, will actually cause you to "push" the gun slightly to your weak side.

Solution The middle of the first pad of the trigger finger, should be placed on the center of the trigger for single and Glock safe action tiggers. For double action, the first joint of the trigger finger should be used.

2. The support hand is pulling to hard: The weak/support hand is "pulling" to hard, causing your shots to go to your weak side. A very common problem when using a Weaver stance.

Solution Instructors usually teach a "push-pull" two handed grip. Try thinking of it this way, the weak hand is just there. The weak hand does not "pull", it is just a brace for the strong/gun hand, which pushes into it. Concentrate on only applying enough pressure to stablize the strong hand.

SHOTS ARE GOING LOW & TO THE WEAK SIDE 1. Relaxed Elbow : For the best possible accuracy, you need to keep your arm as steady as possible. It is very common to have the elbow too lose.

Solution Whether you shoot with your elbows bent or arms straight, you need to keep the elbows stiff/locked in place. Do this before, during, and after the shot.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT ELBOWS You must keep the elbows pointed down. It is very common to see shooters with their elbows pointed outward. This will allow the gun to recoil at different angles, forcing the sights to be re-aligned after each shot. When the elbows are pointed straight down, the gun will recoil straight back. This allows for faster follow-up shots because the sights come right back on target and don't have to be re-aligned. SHOTS ARE GOING LOW & TO THE STRONG SIDE 1. Weak grip : Your grip is loose enough that, when you squeeze the trigger, your whole hand is squeezing at the same time. When your hand compresses around the grip during firng, it pulls the gun low and to the strong side. Solution Your grip should be tight enough, that when you let go of the gun, you will see the imprint of the grip checkering on your hand for a while afterwards. The only part of your grip that should be loose or move is the trigger finger. 2. Limp wrist: Your wrist is loose; not locked; if the wrist is not tight, your shoots are going to go to the strong side, and usually low. Also, if the wrist is too limp, it can also cause a malfunction, usually a failure to feed, with a semi-auto pistol. Solution Tighten your grip, with the gun in a parallel line with your forearm, and lock your wrist there. The muscles of your forearm should be tense, if they are, your wrist is stiff.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT GRIP Your strong hand grip should apply pressure front to back. Your support hand should apply pressure side to side. This combined with the proper grip pressure, should effectively lock the gun in your hands, not allowing it to "torque" or twist. SHOTS ARE GOING HIGH 1. Pulling the gun back when firing: Another anticipating recoil reaction. Pulling the gun back when firing will make your shots go high. Solution Again, follow-through. Make sure your wrist, elbow and shoulder do not move. SHOTS ARE GOING TO THE STRONG SIDE 1. Trigger finger in too far: A trigger finger that is in too far will cause you to "pull" the gun to your strong side. But sometimes, the opposite can happen, though very rarely. Solution Place the first pad of the trigger finger on the center of the trigger for single action and Glock safe-actions. All the way to the first joint with double-actions. SHOTS ARE GOING HIGH & TO THE STRONG SIDE 1. Anticipating the gun's recoil: Don't worry about the recoil, let it surprise you, that is the proper way to shoot. If your shots are going high and to the strong side, you're getting a head start on the recoil. You're lifting your arms, or bringing the hands up, or leaning back in anticipation of the recoil. Solution Concentrate on your follow-through. Proper grip and no movement before, during or after the shot. SHOT STRINGING 1. Body movement: While shooting, any body movement will cause vertical stringing of your shots. Solution Stand as still as possible. Watch your knees and shoulders, these are usually the first to move.

2. Breathing: Unusually large breaths will effect accuracy and cause vertical stringing. Solution This is more common when shooting under stress, and experiencing shortness of breath. Take several large breaths of air, then hold your breath while shooting. Under normal circumstances, your shot should break (fire) at the moment of dead air while breathing. This is the point between an exhale and an inhale. You need to time your squeezing of the trigger to fire the gun as your breathing reaches this point. But don't jerk the trigger to catch up if your timing is off, dry fire practice will help you get the proper timing down.

2. Horizontal body movement: Any kind of horizontal body movement, like pivoting or swinging the body, will cause horizontal stringing, of course. Solution Stand as still as possible. The knees and shoulders are usually the first to move, but in this case add the torso too. Horizontal stringing is usually another result of a recoil induced problem. The body and shoulders turn away and the knees bend, all in anticipation of the recoil. You must stand still, while leaning forward slightly. This will help to counteract the recoil, plus giving you a much more stable shooting platform. SHOTS ARE SCATTERED ALL OVER THE TARGET 1. Not focusing: Shifting focus from one part of the target to another from shot to shot. Also could be caused by not focusing on one specific part of the target. Solution Keep your aim at the exact part of the target you want to hit, and do this for every shot. Don't move your eyes around to different parts of the target while shooting.

Questions? click here Comments? Training Regimen

One of the first things to avoid, is to fall into what I call "range or shooters ego". What happens is, a new shooter will go to a shooting range and look around to see what they should be doing. They will see an experienced shooter practicing at 25 yards and since that shooter is doing well, start from there. Soon, almost everyone there is shooting at 25 yards, why? Nobody wants to feel inferior, and the "if they can do it, so can I" ego takes over. This may sound stupid, but I have seen it happen time and time again. It is very common with less experienced shooters. Stick to your training regimen, don't be influenced by what others are doing.

The most common results of range ego are, a shooter who blames their gun for being inaccurate and/or is ready to quit practicing because they feel they will never be able to learn to shoot well. This is simply not the case, anyone can learn to shoot and shoot well, the proper practice is all it takes.

Before you start any training regimen, assess your needs. Determine what type of situations you might encounter that would require you to need to use your handgun. For example, if the area you live in doesn't allow concealed carry, and your primary concern is home defense, then you might want to limit the target range you train at to the distance equal to the longest shooting distance of your home. An example would be, from the master bedroom doorway, down the hall to the farthest living room wall.

Training with a semi-auto should be done with five rounds per magazine, revolvers can be loaded to maximum, but I prefer to use only four rounds. The reasons for round limits are: 1) To make you concentrate on every shot, keeping you out of the "spray and pray" mind set. 2) To keep ammo usage down. 3) To get you in a habit of always having some rounds left for the unforeseen. 4) If you ever have to use your gun for self defense, only in the very rare instances will you need more than four or five rounds.

There is no time limit on how fast you should complete each stage or phase. Everyone learns at their own pace, move on when you feel comfortable with your abilities at each stage. When you start a new training session, repeat each stage, working your way up to the stage you're currently working on. The only way to completely master each stage is through repetition, by repeating each stage at the start of each training session, you will become that much better of a shooter. You also might find you haven't mastered each stage like you thought you had.

Let's start with the basics: Finding your dominate eye The easiest method of finding your dominate eye is the pointing test. Point, with your index finger of your strong hand, at an object across the room. Now close your left or right eye. If your finger is on target, the eye that is open is your dominate eye. If not, try the other eye, now you should be on target. Aiming There are two parts to the aiming process, each equally important, sight alignment and sight picture. Something you should also consider is, whether you want to shoot with your weak eye closed, open or partially closed. With your weak eye closed, your field of view is limited, but all of your focus is on your sights. With your weak eye open, it takes alot more concentration to focus on the sights, but your field of view is almost normal, not really for the novice handgunner. The best compromise is to "squint" or partially close your weak eye. This gives you a greater field of view than total closure, without the high concentration needed with having your weak eye open.

1. Sight Alignment Align the front sight so that there is an equal amount of space on either side of it when placed in the " V" or notch of the rear sight. Now align the top of the front sight so that it is even with the top of the rear sight. This is the proper sight alignment. There are so many different sight configurations today, that to descibe them all would take too long. But some of the more common are: Three dot sights, just align all three dots with equal space on both sides of the center dot. Horizontal bar and dot, rest the dot on the center of the bar with no space between bar and dot. Vertical line and dot, dot the "i" or place the golfball on the tee, eiher way, no gap between dot and line and dot is "balanced" on the line. 2. Sight Picture Sight picture is basically, seeing your aligned sights superimposed on your target. Since the human eye can only focus on one thing at a time, keep your focus on the front sight. The rear sight and target should be "fuzzy". Targeting With revolvers and most semi-autos, the classic six o'clock position is used. This is where the point you want to hit on the target is "resting" on top of the front sight. Some "combat" semi-autos use "combat" sights. This is when you put the front sight directly on the point of the target you wish to hit. Glock, Sig, and the Beretta 92 series use this type of sighting. just to name a few. Stance There are two primary "combat" stances, Isosceles and Weaver. I'm only going to deal with these two "combat" stances, as they are the most used and practical for defensive handgun training. I practice both and more, I've found it to be a good idea to be able to shoot from more than one position. You never know when, where or how you may be forced to use your firearm. But if you are just starting out, use the one that is the most comfortable for you. After you've become more confident and proficient, you can try different stances and other techniques. For now though, let's keep it simple and use one style to learn to shoot properly first.

1. Isosceles Stand facing your target. Feet shoulder's width apart, slightly bend your knees, and bend slightly forward at the waist. Chin parallel to the ground, eyes looking forward. Raise your arms up, extending them in front of you, bringing your gun sights to eye level. Keep your elbows pointed down, towards the ground, whether they are bent or locked straight is up to which is more comfortable to you and allows you to see the sights better. This is the basic Isosceles stance. (end snip) hope it helps,zoob.



-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), August 26, 1999

Answers

Thanks, Zoobie. This is probably the most useful post I have seen on this board in a long time.

-- (its@coming.soon), August 26, 1999.

Dry firing a weapon can break the firing pin! Get a dummy round from a gun store or a catalogue. Or buy spare firing pins and learn to install them.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), August 26, 1999.

Does this help with shotguns? I really don't like the recoil associated with shotgunning and dread having to learn how to handle one properly. I also was wondering if anyone knows if they still make those "camp carbines" 9mm, I think the were Marlin but haven't seen any for sale for along time. I believe Walmart used to carry them about 5 or more years ago. I was thinking this might be a rifle a 5 foot woman could learn to handle without jumping at the recoil. Anyone have any info regarding that rifle?

-- Barb (awaltrip@telepath.com), August 26, 1999.

is this from an on-line site? i'ld like to get more info. thanks.

-- sarah (qubr@aol.com), August 26, 1999.

Forrest, Almost all modern firearms will Not be damaged by dry firing. I have done a fair amount of pistol and rifle shooting (IPSC/USPSA, NRA Action, IDPA, and others). I have dry fired my guns twice as many times as i have fired live ammo, if I told you how many rounds you wouldn't believe me.

Barb, look into a smaller gauge shotgun or a pistol caliber Marlin carbine, .357 or .44 mag, any gun you dread is a gun you will shoot poorly.

-- George in Ne.Pa. (grc0702@aol.com), August 26, 1999.



thanks so much for all the info!

-- forever learning (no@no.no), August 27, 1999.

I found this info on "glock talk"discussion forum...somewhere amongst their threads...those nutbags know everything about guns from what I've been able to tell.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), August 27, 1999.

thanks for the great info. it was much needed on my account.

-- forever learning (no@no.no), August 27, 1999.

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