aiming tips

[den9]

does anyone have any tips for me and aiming.
its takin me a long time but im slowly getting better. alot of my shots hit the ground, i bought a BB gun with a blowback to practice as home. i think its hard becuz from a distance the front site is blockin the whole target. its aggravating becuz my dad hits the same spot every single shot, i wish he could teach me. does any1 have a picture of how the sites should line up? maybe im lining up wrong

[TRB]

Here is a link that should explain it:

http://www.bobtuley.com/sight_picture.htm

Have you talked to your father and asked him for his help? He should be happy to help you. One of the greatest things a man can do is teach his children to shoot.

[Bib]

Top of the front post even in height with the top of the rear sight....center the post in the opening. Even if you have the sight perfectly aligned you could be causing gun movement as you pull the trigger....you should NOT "pull" the trigger, rather "squeeze" it. My wife had a hard time learning to manage the trigger...she was pulling down on the gun as she fired it...trying to counteract the recoil. That DOES NOT work....the recoil doesn't start until the trigger has "broken".


If you are shooting a revolver, the next time you go shooting instead of filling the gun to capacity, leave one or two fired cartridges in the cylinder and fill the rest with live ammo.....give the cylinder a little spin and don't look at it as you close the gun. Begin firing as normal. If you're "pulling" to counteract recoil it will be brutally obvious to you .

[FRISteve]

Originally Posted by Bib

Top of the front post even in height with the top of the rear sight....center the post in the opening.

Exactly.

Even if you have the sight perfectly aligned you could be causing gun movement as you pull the trigger....you should NOT "pull" the trigger, rather "squeeze" it.

Actually -how about this. PRESS the trigger. NOTHING moves, but the trigger finger.

To the O.P. - if you're hitting the ground in front of the target, you are flinching big time. Buy some dummy rounds and either have some one load your mags for you or load them by feel, without looking at them, so you won't know the order of live rounds and dummies.

When you pull the trigger on the dummy round, you should be able to clearly see if you're jerking.

What caliber do you shoot?

[Glock22xd9]

Dry fire practice. Thats the only way i was able to get good trigger squeeze without jerking the pistol. Let the pistol scare you when you squeeze the trigger. Don't anticipate the recoil. Concentrate on your front site.

[TonyF]

den9,

You've received some good advice to your question. However, there is NO substitute for professional instruction. Being in Bucks Co. you're near enough to FRISteve to attend one of his classes.

Get yourself enrolled post haste. There is nothing worse than developing bad habits at an early stage in your shooting career.

[Glock22xd9]

Originally Posted by TonyF

den9,

You've received some good advice to your question. However, there is NO substitute for professional instruction. Being in Bucks Co. you're near enough to FRISteve to attend one of his classes.

Get yourself enrolled post haste. There is nothing worse than developing bad habits at an early stage in your shooting career.

AMEN! I'm still breaking old bad habbits!

[SigForLife]

Most likely your problem is flinching as most have stated. Your best way around this is massive dry firing with your weapon (the bb gun, although helpful, isn't your actual weapon). The best way to quickly determine if you are flinching is to take dummy rounds to the range. Turn your back and allow your father to load the weapon as he desires. One of two things will likely occur, if he loads it, but you believe it is unloaded, your bullet will go exactly where you want it. If he doesn't load it, but you believe it is loaded, you will see yourself pull the gun down as you pull the trigger. If you are right handed, you will typically pull it down and to the left. The opposite for left handers. Also, I woudl highly recommend this book for a complete knowledge of how to operate your weapon, including 3 primary drills you should know inherently, when your weapon fails to operate: https://www.frontsight.com/firearms-practice-manual.asp. I was amazed when I was at the range when my weapon failed to fire (due to dud primer) and I had actually cleared the problem and was ready to shoot, before I comprehended the prob.

[aubie515]

What type of pistol are you shooting and caliber? I would also look into your breathing. To me...breathing is very important when you are shooting. Make sure you aren't too nervous...try chewing some gum to relax you. If your heart rate is beating fast, it may affect the way you shoot.

[ChamberedRound]

Originally Posted by aubie515

What type of pistol are you shooting and caliber? I would also look into your breathing. To me...breathing is very important when you are shooting. Make sure you aren't too nervous...try chewing some gum to relax you. If your heart rate is beating fast, it may affect the way you shoot.

I went shooting with Aub not too long ago and he recommended chewing some gum. I have since tried this in addition to breathing control, and found both to steady my hand and improve my trigger pull, which improved my accuracy.

FWIW guys, Aub's recommendation worked for me.