Brand new firearm owner, seeking advice or tips.

[EricB.]

Hello all,

First let me thank you for taking the time to at least read my post. I'm not a gun fanatic, this will more then likely be the only firearm I purchase; I got it for a reason, personal, family and home protection. And I certainly don't want to be an untrained carrier of a fire arm, I will pursue a carry permit once I've mastered the weapon and have been properly educated.

A background about myself; I'm a professional photographer that likes to shoot (photograph, we use the same lingo) alone and at night and lately I've been kept from doing what I should be able to do thanks totally to the increasing violence in the Philly. Photography equipment isn't cheap, not by a long stretch, some lenses alone are at much as two AR15s just to give you an idea. The Walther P99 AS .40 S&W is the model I chose to go with, absolutely love it but there's many form posts about that.

It's a double action trigger, first pull is long and stiff, the next trigger reset is much less resistance and half cocked. The problem I'm having is with the first pull, despite how I grip the gun it always seems to pull to the right and be a bit low. Obviously I didn't take any training yet, I'm still getting used to having a firearm; it's an intimidating thing to have and I do follow the 4 rules of fire arm safety. I do a lot of dry fire practice with snap caps and the loaded magazine locked up in the guns safe, the weapon is always cleared before proceeding and always pointed toward a concrete wall that's underground. When I get my sight alignment and pull the DA trigger set, I distinctly notice the front sight torque to the right. And that's my problem.

So what am I doing wrong that the first long pull of the trigger is pulling the shot off the right and low? I've watched many a youtube video on proper grip and stance. With the subsequent shots when it's in Anti-Stress mode, I have no problems, center mast and head shots on the target no problem.

I would truly appreciate any advice, tips, resources, anything anyone is willing to share. I hope NEVER to use it on anything other then paper...a few laptops and some water melons but never anything living unless I'm forced to make a him or me decision.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post, if you made it this far. I appreciate it!

Regards,
Eric

[6SPEED]

Welcome to the forum
The one tip i'll give you is about getting your LTCF(carry permit). If I were you I would go and get this ASAP, having it doesn't mean that you have to carry but it will make your life a bit easier. Without a LTCF, when traveling in your car your gun and ammo would have to be separate. Also as I understand you are only allowed to travel from your house to the range/gun shop with NO stops before or after. That means that even stopping for coffee is considered illegal. There is no down side to having your LTCF, I actually got mine before I ever even owed a gun.

[markshere2]

Make sure the trigger is in the middle of the pad of the finger, and practice practice practice the DA shot.

It may be that you will finally just adjust your point of aim to high and left on the DA shots.

"Correct form" is not as important as putting the first shot where you want it to go.

[jerryg]

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have not actually fired your pistol yet. If not go to the range and try it out, shoot 10-15 feet to start and get the feel of the pistol.
Also follow the advice already given apply for your LTCF right away & practice.

Your local range might have training classes or they will know where you can go. You are definetly going about this the right way except the part about
Only buying one gun You will see how long that lasts.

[EandGWZ]

I bought my one and only gun 5 months ago, I have 10 now. Go out and get your LTCF NOW. Basic NRA course is nice but the only way you are going to become proficient and safe is to take your gun to the range and practice, if the workers are personable...they'll help you out with any questions you may have.

[CountryStyle]

Take the NRA Basic Pistol course, since you are in my area, I would recommend one by Paul Barr. I was in your situation about 6 months ago. Bought a S&W M&P9 after going to TargetMaster a few times and renting several models. Message me if you want to go into detail about my process or have any questions, but the NRA course is a must as it covers 90% of what you need to build up your basic confidence.

[Thomas Paine]

Welcome brother.

as to your jerking it.......

get your snap caps and dry fire mode all set up,

get a stack of dimes.

put one dime on the top of your p99, pull trigger. if it doesnt fall off. add another dime. pull trigger. if that one doesnt fall off, add another dime. if they fall off, start over. repeat ad nauseum.

[EandGWZ]

Welcome brother.

as to your jerking it.......

get your snap caps and dry fire mode all set up,

get a stack of dimes.

put one dime on the top of your p99, pull trigger. if it doesnt fall off. add another dime. pull trigger. if that one doesnt fall off, add another dime. if they fall off, start over. repeat ad nauseum.

Excellent suggestion.

[cakeshooter]

I have a long trigger pull with my LC9 and what really helped me a lot, with dry fire and even at the range, is just to practice slow and steady.... I read that if you are doing it consistently enough you should not really know the exact time when the gun "goes off" because your pull is so steady and consistent....don't start squeezing harder as you pull or trying to squeeze faster...the beginning of the pull should be the same pressure and same speed as the end of the pull.

If you do that, you are less likely to jerk the pistol...I'm thinking maybe you are trying to squeeze the trigger too quickly.

[EricB.]

Hello all,

Wow, I didn't expect that many replies and thank you to everyone who did, I appreciate it greatly and everyone's advice has been taken gladly.

See, that's where I got two schools of thought on finger placement on the trigger: 1 states to use the front pad only and 2) the middle pad. So I've tried the middle pad and sure enough, a vast improvement, still a little pull to the right but not nearly as much. I also paid attention to the speed at which I pulled the trigger to make sure it was consistent from start to finish and finally, due to the round off edges of the P99's slide I was unable to balance dimes but I was able to balance an empty shell casing on the front sight, squeezed the trigger and it stayed put; I got about half to stay out of 20 shots.

I couldn't agree more, hitting your intended target and nothing else is more important then proper form, I only want the bad guy if I should encounter one.

As for firing the pistol, I've been to the range numerous times and have about 1500 rounds through it. And it just so happens that I'm friends with the store manager, who whenever possible comes back to check on how I'm doing, so I do have a pistol range/gun shop with some very cool guys.

I may have to retract that statement about me not buying another gun, the P99 was my second choice, I had my heart set on a Sig 1911 style .45 but that was a bit out of my price range. So you may be right, when I have the cash, I maybe picking up another.

And lastly; when traveling to the range and back there is no ammo what so ever in the car. Upon the suggestion of the shop manager I do have a box of hollow points but at the price compared to target/range ammo, I'm not wasting them. And I never bring range ammo home, as many boxes as I get, I make sure to use them all. The gun is locked up with both a trigger lock and the slide lock (the one that came with the gun).

Again, thank you all for the tips and advice, and just as importantly, not treating me like a newbie, I really appreciate it. Rest assured, all the advice given here will be practiced and was not a waste of your time, thank you!!!