1911 Accuracy Woes

[Heydeck52]

Alright all please bear with me on this. I tend have this all thought out in my mind, but when my fingers hit the keyboard those thought are lost.

So I have a Springfield Loaded. I love 1911's but the cost of ammo is high and I don't seem to shoot them all that well. If I really really try hard I can produce tight groups. For the most part I don't shoot all that well.

On the other hand I should a Glock 19 really well without trying too hard. I ended up selling the 19 because I hate the trigger guard rubbing my knuckle. I know I could have done an undercut but I didn't want to commit to modifying the frame if I wasn't completely sure that I want to keep it.

So now my question. I have 1400 rds of 230 gr ball ammo for the 1911. Should I continue to practice to try and achieve the same accuracy as a Glock 19? Or should I look at either trading the 1911 for a .45 Glock or selling everything and getting back into 9mm Glocks? I would be using this gun for competition, HD, and possibly carry when I can.

Also does anyone shoot compact Glocks better than their full size counterparts ie 19 or 30 vs 17 or 21?

[simonp]

[9mmContagion]

Keep shooting the 1911... you’ll realize you’ve been mistaken!

Do you find it to be too big or something? Any other reasons it may affect your shot?

[Citadelgrad87]

Two schools of thought here.

One, you seem to like glocks, don't fight it, go with it.

The other, guns are tools. Learn to use the tool you have. The Springfield is a good weapon. As mentioned above, if you can shoot the block well, you can learn to shoot the Springfield well.

I fall into #2. I have revolvers, da/sa autos, traditional 1911s, glock. I learned to shoot them all well.

Consider taking an hour class with an instructor, often they can spot stuff right away that you don't realize you are doing.

[IVC]

When you "shoot one gun well, but not the other" it's almost certainly a problem with the fundamentals. (We are talking slow, careful fire.)

If I were you, I'd try to figure out where the shooting problem is before deciding on the platform or caliber. Once you know you can shoot each gun properly, then you can decide which one you can shoot faster/more intuitively/easier/etc.

[MosinVirus]

I am not sure why you are comparing shooting a 9mm gun to a .45acp gun, but for sake of discussion, do you shoot anything else in .45acp?

The problem may be that you are simply not all that comfortable with .45acp? Have you done some dry firing or mix in snap caps with live rounds in your mags at the range to see if you flinch with .45acp? I strongly believe that a 1911 will produce great groups if you are confortable shooting the .45acp. Also the loaded has a longer barrel than a G19.

Again, perhaps it is the recoil that puts you off? IDK. What else do you shoot in .45acp?

[pklin1297]

Do you have pictures of your groupings from the Springfield? That can be used to "diagnose" possible problems...

[downdiver2]

If you can shoot a glock well you can shoot a 1911 well,


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I can shoot a 1911, but suck with a glock. For me I think its flat topped frames that throw me off.

[krb]

Alright all please bear with me on this. I tend have this all thought out in my mind, but when my fingers hit the keyboard those thought are lost.

So I have a Springfield Loaded. I love 1911's but the cost of ammo is high and I don't seem to shoot them all that well. If I really really try hard I can produce tight groups. For the most part I don't shoot all that well.

On the other hand I should a Glock 19 really well without trying too hard. I ended up selling the 19 because I hate the trigger guard rubbing my knuckle. I know I could have done an undercut but I didn't want to commit to modifying the frame if I wasn't completely sure that I want to keep it.

So now my question. I have 1400 rds of 230 gr ball ammo for the 1911. Should I continue to practice to try and achieve the same accuracy as a Glock 19? Or should I look at either trading the 1911 for a .45 Glock or selling everything and getting back into 9mm Glocks? I would be using this gun for competition, HD, and possibly carry when I can.

Also does anyone shoot compact Glocks better than their full size counterparts ie 19 or 30 vs 17 or 21?

Don't know who else mentioned this but ... if you shoot handgun A well, you should shoot handgun B about as well. If you can't you should look into the handgun. I would go to the range, rent a few 1911's and see how you shoot. My bet is you will find you shoot better than with your Springfield and there is a problem with the Springfield. If that is the case, send your SA back and have them figure out what's wrong with it.

I bought a new TRR8 revolver from S&W. It didn't shoot well. I shoot reasonably well otherwise. I sent it back, and I've been shooting well with it since then.

Keith

[DNA]

Sounds like you need to spend more time at home dry firing and working on how to manipulate the 1911. Spending time at home practicing, drawing (and pulling trigger on a set target), reloading (tac reloads and slide lock reloads) etc will greatly improve your proficiency and accuracy/precision at the range.

Something as simple as downloading a shot clock timer app via your phone, setting up a target for you to focus and pull trigger on and doing this for 5-10 minutes a day should produce marked results in a few sessions as you become more familiar with the function of your gun and practice out all your bad habits.

Something else you can do is go and purchase a 22lr conversion kit for your 45 so you've got something cheaper to practice with, the Sig branded kits were under $200 with a mag or two. This should allow you to practice more at the range, using the same grip and trigger and manual of arms and probably similar sight setup.

But seriously, dry fire practice. Go look up some dry fire drills, print some targets from this site and enjoy your 1911.

http://pistol-training.com/articles

Dan

[redhemi]

Have you tried a 1911 in 9mm? Unless you just want to shoot 45 I think you would do much better with 9mm. Try a full size and if you can find one try a commander.

[JTROKS]

Have you tried shooting a different lot of 230 grain ball ammo, or try some 200 grain fodder??? What else kind of accuracy test have you conducted on your 45?

[Heydeck52]

I'll try and answer all of the replies.

I have large hands so the size isn't an issue.

I dry fire quite a bit. I don't think I'm sensitive to the .45 recoil, but when I dry fire the sights don't move so that could be an issue.

I do think I sometimes really try and eliminate recoil by being overly aggressive with my grip.

After the first time I shot it I realized I like an arched MSH. It seems to lock my hand in tighter to the gun and naturally bring the front sight up. I removed the arched MSH before I went to the range this last time. Maybe I need to put it back on and give it another go.

I like Glocks for the fact that they are easy to maintain and upgrade. They are just really boring (I know its a tool, but its got to have that cool factor).

I would like to upgrade the sights. They have Trijicon 3 dot set up currently. I might put some Trijicon HD sights on it. There is a creep in the trigger after the slack has been taken out. I only notice it when I'm pulling the trigger very slow.

I currently shoot a Shield in 9mm, an SP-01 with some mods, and a SW 627 pro series.

[Heydeck52]

Have you tried shooting a different lot of 230 grain ball ammo, or try some 200 grain fodder??? What else kind of accuracy test have you conducted on your 45?

Nothing official. I shoot indoors because TRAP is down the street from me, so standing with no support. I usually shoot with the target at 7 yards. I tried stretching it out to 25 just to see if I could hit the target but with my eyes it was pretty bad.

[krb]

I'll try and answer all of the replies.

I have large hands so the size isn't an issue.

I dry fire quite a bit. I don't think I'm sensitive to the .45 recoil, but when I dry fire the sights don't move so that could be an issue.

I do think I sometimes really try and eliminate recoil by being overly aggressive with my grip.

After the first time I shot it I realized I like an arched MSH. It seems to lock my hand in tighter to the gun and naturally bring the front sight up. I removed the arched MSH before I went to the range this last time. Maybe I need to put it back on and give it another go.

I like Glocks for the fact that they are easy to maintain and upgrade. They are just really boring (I know its a tool, but its got to have that cool factor).

I would like to upgrade the sights. They have Trijicon 3 dot set up currently. I might put some Trijicon HD sights on it. There is a creep in the trigger after the slack has been taken out. I only notice it when I'm pulling the trigger very slow.

I currently shoot a Shield in 9mm, an SP-01 with some mods, and a SW 627 pro series.

I don't know that I buy that if you're good with one semiautomatic pistol you would be much worse with another from technique, ammo, etc. If you have good technique on one, and all other factors should more or less be the same, I'd think it's the SA, and I'd try some 1911 rentals at the range. If that solves the problem, then the SA is the problem, send it back and have them fix it. Same thing happened to me with the S&W and it was the gun, not me.