Help with pistol accuracy

[adymond]

Okay so here's the deal. I have an HK USP .45 Compact. I have been taking her to the range for a while now, but have been more serious about it in the last year or so. I have always been happy just hitting COM at 10 and 15 yards. I figured that was fine for my purposes. I'm trying to get more accurate and in that effort have been hitting the range more and more.

I took my HK out last weekend and just about every damn shot was about 6" low. I fired a Kimber Warrior and was hitting where I was aiming. The .22 was hitting where I was aiming.

I don't know enough how to isolate the problem with the HK, but I would think if it were the trigger pull I would be consistantly low with all pistols.

Anyone have any ideas for me to isolate and identify the problem?

[Spishack357]

Have a friend hide a snap cap in your mag...I think you will be judge yourself on whether or not you have a bad flinch. Other then that I have no idea...

[RONNIE77]

The trigger pull of 1911 and the USP are very different IMO.

Do you shoot the first shot of the USP decocked or in SA?

Try the snap cap idea to see if you have a flinch.

[GuyMontag]

The snapcap plan is a good one. Have someone with you to watch your hands and body when you shoot so you can concentrate on shooting.

Something I tell my students is to not only watch your trigger pull and wrist to make sure you're not affecting sight picture, but be conscious of your follow through. Quickly trying to reset the trigger during the shot can also be just as bad. Finish the shot and managing the recoil before you release / reset the trigger.

[LittleRedToyota]

I don't know enough how to isolate the problem with the HK, but I would think if it were the trigger pull I would be consistantly low with all pistols.

not necessarily. for example, if i shoot an XD, i consistently shoot it low. if i shoot a 1911 fast, i shoot it low. this is because i am used to glocks (which have a different grip angle).

is the HK the only pistol you shoot regularly or are you used to shooting something else? if you are used to shooting something else, that may be the issue.

if not...

it is, of course, possible that the sights are off--but that would by my last guess personally.

another possibility is that you are flinching/anticipating/etc. i've fired an HK maybe twice in my life, so i'm not sure what the trigger is like. but the trigger on 1911s is so short and crisp that it can sort of mask bad shooting technique somewhat. you might be doing something wrong with both guns, but it is only showing up with the HK.

at any rate, imho, that answer to almost every issue with first shots not going where you want them is dry fire. (er, well, after you make sure your technique is fundamentally sound.)

put a nickle or spent casing or whatever on the HK's front sight and dry fire that puppy until it doesn't move...then do it about a 1,000 more times. really concentrate on the front sight not moving at all. really concentrate on moving only your trigger finger.

don't go back to the range until you do that. then, next time you go to the range, dry fire a bit before you start to live fire. then, when you start to live fire, pretend you are dry firing...and also maintain hard focus on the front sight. see where it is when the shot breaks. assuming the sights are on, the bullets will go exactly where you want them to.

works for me, anyway. ymmv.

ETA: oh...if the shot start going off target again while live firing, immediately stop live firing and dry fire for a 25 or 50 trigger presses. then return to live fire. imho, you cannot "shoot through" a flinch and trying to do so will only ingrain the flinch. you have to ingrain not flinching...which you do by dry firing.

[adymond]

Some answers and additional info.

My buddy was shooting the HK and was also watching me and didn't notice a flinch. He put a few rounds down range and also noted it didn't seem to be on (since he was less used to the HK he couldn't tell if it was him or the pistol).

This is my primary range gun for the last 5 years. I fire a few others, but this is the one I am most comfortable with.

I'll try the dryfire with a nickle or something on the front sight as well as the snap cap idea.

I am getting fairly consistant groupings only they are low.

[Philbert]

I group slightly to the left with a Glock, not so with other guns. The shape of the gun affects your grip which affects your aim. Similarly, different triggers can affect how you tend to err from the x.

[Gunny1969]

Just bench the pistol to confirm it's you and not the gun/ammo.

[LittleRedToyota]

I am getting fairly consistant groupings only they are low.

i have seen some people with amazingly consistent flinches.

i'm not saying that is definitely your problem, but it still could be even though you are getting tight groups.

it could also be that your sights really are off.

can you see the sights at the moment the shot breaks? (maybe try shooting off a rest, too.)

[adymond]

i have seen some people with amazingly consistent flinches.

i'm not saying that is definitely your problem, but it still could be even though you are getting tight groups.

it could also be that your sights really are off.

can you see the sights at the moment the shot breaks? (maybe try shooting off a rest, too.)

I was trying to really concentrate on that, but am not 100% sure. I think I could. I was holding pretty tight on the x and kept the sight picture pretty steady until the break.

I will try the benched shots to see. The way I figured it for the last few years is "so what if I hit the guy with belly shots or COM shots. A .45 +p will still take them down in most cases with any torso shot." Now I am really focusing on getting some accuracy and am noticing things that I hadn't seen before. It's also more of a recent occurance that the shots are as low as they are. It wasn't until I started shooting the .22 and seeing how steady I was with that that I began to think it may be something specific to the pistol or my handling of that specific pistol.