Back to Basics: Why So Much Trouble Staying on Target With Lightweight Guns?

[PhillyGunslinger]

It's simple, heavier guns can handle recoil better. Airweight and Lightweight guns aren't always what they are cracked up to be ! I held an airweight 38 Special the other day and it felt like a cap gun in my hand ! How the hell could anyone be accurate {Unless you got a Kung Fu grip} with these things ? I like a gun to feel like a gun in my hands not a toy !

[jakebrake]

I tend to shoot in the Pushing, No follow through area. I understand pushing but can anyone explain follow through for me.

as it was explained to me, allowing severe muzzle flip is a prime example. it will throw off your initial shot, and make follow up shots take longer, and less accurate

[marks]

DISCOVERY!

Today, at the range, I discovered this, which drastically improved my shooting with the Glock 21 and the FNP-45:

Typical high/tight grip on the back of the gun. Strong hand thumb high and forward on the left side of the gun/frame. Control/left hand: Still thumb ahead of the strong hand thumb, 30-45 degree angle with left hang fingers wrapped around right hand, BUT, here's the thing that made the difference:

Left hand pinky finger tucked under the right hand, so it has contact against the low right-side of the grip. Huge improvement.
It's almost as if exerting some force on the right side of the gun with the same hand that's being used as the control hand on the left side of the gun, totally equalized the gun.

[Neilthepilot]

as it was explained to me, allowing severe muzzle flip is a prime example. it will throw off your initial shot, and make follow up shots take longer, and less accurate

Thanks, now I just need time to spend at the range. (Some warmth and dry weather would help if anyone here has some influence on that)

[donm]

...Control/left hand: Still thumb ahead of the strong hand thumb...

A word of caution here. If you also shoot revolvers, you don't want to become accustomed to sticking that weak hand thumb too far forward. Things can get painful if it reaches the cylinder gap.

[marks]

A word of caution here. If you also shoot revolvers, you don't want to become accustomed to sticking that weak hand thumb too far forward. Things can get painful if it reaches the cylinder gap.

I do (shoot revolvers) from time to time, and yes - that is well worth remembering. I seem to remember Mythbusters using chicken legs (as incorrectly placed fingers) in one of their episodes, and it got ugly.

[tacticalreload]

It's easier said than done, but just stop thinking about what you're doing with your hands. Think one thing and one thing only... squeeeeeze the trigger while keeping the sights on target. Definitely don't worry about what happens after the gun goes bang... once the bullet is out of the barrel, the motion of the gun means nothing.

Report, muzzle flash, and recoil are the three things that totally kill most accuracy in people starting out. I've helped a bunch of people fire their very first shots with a handgun. A surprising number hit darn close to the bullseye on the VERY FIRST shot. Then they start going lower and lower and off the paper. The louder the report, the brighter the flash, and the heavier the recoil... the worse it gets. That's part of the reason that it's such a good idea to practice on a .22 at first.

One thing that I like to do when teaching someone new is to leave an empty chamber when they don't expect it and let them attempt to fire the gun. When it goes "click" and they see how far they jerk the muzzle downward, it becomes obvious what the problem is.

You have to just accept that the gun is going to be loud and it's going to flip up in your hand(s). Let it do it's thing and then bring it back on target. That flinch is your involuntary urge to push against the recoil. You have to work through it and just let the recoil take the gun where it will.

It takes thousands of rounds of practice, but it will happen. Want to save on ammo in the process... dryfire - a lot. But you'll never fully get over the flinch unless you're actually experiencing the recoil.

[PocketProtector]

It's easier said than done, but just stop thinking about what you're doing with your hands. Think one thing and one thing only... squeeeeeze the trigger while keeping the sights on target. Definitely don't worry about what happens after the gun goes bang... once the bullet is out of the barrel, the motion of the gun means nothing.

Report, muzzle flash, and recoil are the three things that totally kill most accuracy in people starting out. I've helped a bunch of people fire their very first shots with a handgun. A surprising number hit darn close to the bullseye on the VERY FIRST shot. Then they start going lower and lower and off the paper. The louder the report, the brighter the flash, and the heavier the recoil... the worse it gets. That's part of the reason that it's such a good idea to practice on a .22 at first.

One thing that I like to do when teaching someone new is to leave an empty chamber when they don't expect it and let them attempt to fire the gun. When it goes "click" and they see how far they jerk the muzzle downward, it becomes obvious what the problem is.

You have to just accept that the gun is going to be loud and it's going to flip up in your hand(s). Let it do it's thing and then bring it back on target. That flinch is your involuntary urge to push against the recoil. You have to work through it and just let the recoil take the gun where it will.

It takes thousands of rounds of practice, but it will happen. Want to save on ammo in the process... dryfire - a lot. But you'll never fully get over the flinch unless you're actually experiencing the recoil.

All true, the more you shoot and FOCUS on the front sight and trigger squeeze, the less aware you will be aware of recoil.
Eventually, with good form and lots of rounds, you will become immune to recoil.

[Yoder]

If you are thinking the whole time, you are going to shoot like crap. You shouldn't be running 60-40 grip, stand like this, push this pull that squeeze don't jerk, through your head. It should be more like front sight/sight picture perfect... BANG, holy crap the gun went off. Get all the other stuff done before you are actually going to shoot. When you shoot, just shoot. It sounds like you are more worried more about the recoil on the lighter gun when it doesn't matter. By the time you feel it the bullets gone.

[Pkspawn]

I know this is gonna sound wrong... But when the gun fires and I wasn't *expecting* it to.. Those hits are almost always in the center.

It is hard bouncing from one gun and/or caliber to another. I've pretty much only been shooting a 45 pistol and 22 in both rifle and pistol. Last weekend I tried my friends Ruger LCR 38/357.. And I was pulling the trigger the same way I do the glock. I pull it halfway, then a second pull to fire, I normally just reset to that second pull position.. Doing that with a revolver was interesting. I would pull the trigger 3/4 of the way and hold it there, then slowly finish the pull.

Dryfiring helped me alot, but you don't have the loud noise, flash, and recoil to shake you up.. I tense up and start shaking when I switch from the target ammo to the carry stuff, just cause I know it has a little bit more kick.

And when I shot the 357magnums. I couldn't shoot the 45 for almost 10-15mins till i stopped shaking, LoL.. and he told me that LCR really absorbed a lot compared to others.. screw that, I'll keep my 14 45 rounds over 5 357s :P

Stop the over thinking. Just have the proper stance, and grip. The more you think and regrip. and get a tighter hold on the firearm. You will see the gun sights bounce around more and more. I catch myself pulling the gun down the longer I wait to take the shot. If you tense up too much, everything bounces to your pulse.