Trigger Pull - shooting to the left

[MMH]

Shooting my MkIII, at 50 ft. my groups are centering about 1" to the left of center. I know that it's how I'm yanking on the trigger. Too many years of shooting wheelguns & when I shoot a pistol, it's off to the left.

When I dryfire (which I don't do much since it's a rimfire) the sights don't move. But all the pistols that I shoot seem to shoot to theleft for me, which leads me to believe that I am pulling the shot.

What do I need to change in my grip, trigger finger position, etc. to get the gun to shoot where i point?

[bortle]

Try more or less trigger finger. Or move the back sight. Maybe the sights are off. Sand bag on a bench will tell the tale

[biggs88]

o0o0o0o0ok. I am going to try to explain it. It may or may not make sense!
**assuming your sights are good.
Ok, so you have a good grip on your pistol. Your trigger finger. Lets talk about it.
In the picture below. You will see an index finger with a (starting from the top) black line, followed by a blue line, followed by a green line.



The black line is were the normal shooter would like the center of the trigger on his finger as they squeeze it.
**assuming your right handed. (the pic is of a left hand. I know. But the lines on the trigger finger are for right handed shooters)
Now if your shooting to the left, that means you are pushing on the trigger towards the left while squeezing it. Try shooting with the trigger at the blue line. This should work for you. If not, try the green line.
If this does not work, you are anticipating the recoil. Nothing can cure that but dry firing and practice.


**Remember. The trigger is not a peni, o never mind. You can't just throw it around. You must treat it like a flower. Be easy. Don't "jerk" it. pull up the slack. Then be easy and ever so nicely squeeze untill you hear boom.

[andrewjs18]

I personally like using the 1st joint on my trigger finger to pull the trigger..I tend to push my shots if I just use the pad...a cheap way to practice without using ANY AMMO is to dry fire A LOT..that'll help you figure out which type of trigger placement is best for you..just put a piece of paper with a dot on the wall and go to town.

[GDJMSP]

Try using this -

[LittleRedToyota]

When I dryfire (which I don't do much since it's a rimfire) the sights don't move.

you can safely dry fire an mkIII.

from: http://www.ruger.com/service/FAQs.html#Q114

Can I dry fire my Mark III pistol?

Yes. The Mark III has a firing pin stop that prevents the firing pin from contacting the rear of the barrel and damaging the edge of the chamber. If you are going to dry fire the pistol extensively, the stop pin and firing pin will eventually wear and contact could occur, and we recommend replacing both the firing pin and the firing pin stop from time to time. You should also monitor the contact of the firing pin with the rear of the barrel.

[Wiley-X]

What do I need to change in my grip, trigger finger position, etc. to get the gun to shoot where i point?

Adjust the sights a couple clicks to the right. As Gunny Clark said, "If you're going to flinch, flinch the same G-d way every time."

[Hawk]

Slow down your trigger pull. Make it painfully slow and see what happens.

[LittleRedToyota]

do what hawk said...in addition to dry firing a lot more.

whatever you do, do *not* adjust the sights to compensate for shooter error. if the sights are off, fix them. but, if not, fix the actual problem.

[Wiley-X]

As a bullseye guy, it could be a zillion things. Has anyone esle shot the gun? What are their results? Have you tried a sandbag rest?

One thing that many people do is press on the grip with the proximal segment (if I'm using the right terms) of the trigger finger. That pushes the muzzle left. Something else is tightening the grip when pulling the trigger.

Over the years, I've noticed that when people dry fire, they do what they are supposed to do and concentrate on a smooth trigger pull. However, give them some live ammo and they try to make the shot break when the sights are on the targets and wind up yanking the trigger. When shooting, work very hard to make the trigger pull smooth and consistent. Just keep pulling until it breaks. Don't let your finger worry about the sights. Let your eye do that. The finger doesn't care where the sights are.

If you can't identify a procedural problem and you're consistently shooting a 2" group 1" off center, adjust the sights.