How long does it take...

[eighteenninetytwo]

....to improve one's consistency on the basic two handed grip of a handgun so that it becomes second nature? I am finding that I can get decent groupings taking things real slow and thinking about every shot but as soon as I try to fire anything faster than once every 5 or more seconds, my right hand grip tightens and the POI is not consistent

[eighteenninetytwo]

note I can practice every other day or so with about 20 - 30 rounds.

[Jeepergeo]

With that much shooting opportunity, things should settle in pretty fast. The key is to not settle into the wrong groove. It seems to take longer to unlearn something wrong than to learn something right from the get-go.

Invest in some instruction from a pro. You'll look back and be glad you did.

[JTROKS]

I wish I can practice every other day. I agree there are too many bad habits learned in shooting. Best way is to enroll in a class to learn proper techniques.

[LaFlamaBlanca]

Why don't you record your progress and tell us how long it takes?

[teflondog]

When I'm not at the range, I do a lot of dry fire practice at home. For speed and consistency, I draw from a holster and dry fire a single shot aimed at a target. This helped my rapid fire groups a lot because clearing a holster, gaining a solid 2-hand grip, acquiring the front sight, and then firing one shot at a target with good speed is more difficult for me than firing follow up shots at a target. I learned this drill in Louis Awerbuck's handgun class.

[IVC]

Looks like you are doing it right - you have the basics sorted out and are noticing the limit of what you can do, willing to improve.

However, the improvement won't happen on its own. Much like you had to learn how to shoot slowly, you have to learn how to shoot faster, whether it's follow up shots or simply pulling the trigger faster without disturbing the sights. To get to this next level, you have to analyze and figure out what is preventing you from shooting accurately at speed. This cannot be diagnosed over the Internet, unfortunately.

Here are a few general suggestions to get you going. First, confirm that you have a good grip. You can shoot good groups with a poor grip, but you cannot shoot good groups at speed with a poor grip. Next, determine whether the problem is in your strong or weak hand. Your weak hand provides stability for the trigger pull, while both hands (and arms/elbows/shoulders) control the direction and amount of recoil. You have to find out where the problem is before you can fix it.

As an exercise, work on this simple drill. Hold gun fully aimed on a target and at the buzzer pull the trigger as fast as you can without disturbing the sight picture. You should be able to make this as fast as your reaction time (sub 0.2 seconds) on all but the hardest targets. You can also practice this at home in dry fire - just observe the sight movement as you pull the trigger fast.

Anything more than that would require an instructor to watch you and correct you. Post where you're located so someone local can help you.

[rodralig]

Dry practice? Take recoil out from the equation first - focus on grip, sights, and trigger finger...

Find a way to hold the slide open so you won't need to rack/cock to reset the trigger. For my Glocks, my kid and I use this: https://dryfiretrainingcards.com/blog/dry-fire-cord/

For the first set, use a metronome (can be downloaded for your phone). Initially set it up to 60 beats to simulate 1 shot per second.

Set a 2-inch target out to 5- or 7-yards. Aim in with the pistol. Fire 6-shots to the beat. Repeat 2x. Go back to low ready, relax arms and grips; before repeating. Do it for around 5-minutes. Observe your grip and sight movement. Any lateral motion, for example, means that the grip between left and right hands are unequal.

Once comfortable, increase beats to 120 bpm, 180 bpm, etc.


For the next evolution, you will need a shot timer. Initially set it up to 6-seconds par.

Same 2-inch target out to 5- or 7-yards. Aim in with the pistol. At the beep, fire 6-shots within par ensuring that the sight picture is within the 2-inch target and sight alignment is maintained.

Once comfortable, decrease par time, ie., 5.5-sec, 5.0-sec, etc.

This drill enables us for the Frank Garcia Dot Drill standard - 2-inch target at 7-yards. From the holster, 6-shots within 5-seconds.


Enjoy!!



UPDATE:

Just want to add, though, that getting good groups at speed is not only due to good grips, but you could start with it. You still then need to begin factoring vision (keeping eyes open during the BANG) and trigger finger control (trigger reset during the pistol's downtime at recoil). I would suggest dry practicing every day for 5-days, then go to the range and try it with 20-rounds of ammo to validate. Then go back dry practice for 5-days, then again go back to the range and try live fire.

To answer your initial question - this is NOT immediate. It will take time. Most of it will depend on you and how much effort you put into it...

Having a good and capable instructor/coach at the side is quite beneficial, too, in "speeding" things up!




_

[Revoman]

You will be able to easily see progress with LaFlamBlanca's suggestion of recording your sessions.
I am a long time shooter with lots of experience, but always trying to improve. A friend suggested that I start recording my sessions, just writing down scores for instance (not video recording). I didn't understand why at first, but after awhile it came to light that it gives one not only a better picture, but more importantly a goal. Something to beat, even though you're only 'beating' yourself at improvement.
It did in fact up my game and I am a better shooter because of it.
mike

[ysr_racer]

Draw and dry fire with the gun a few inches from a white wall. This forces you to look at the front sight, and not a target in the distance.

[ar15barrels]

Draw and fire with the gun a few inches from a white wall.
This forces you to look at the front sight, and not a target in the distance.

After one shot, my wall is not white anymore and there's a little hole.

[mofo1111]

DRY PRACTICE.
With dry practice, comes trigger control.
Proper sight picture at the exact moment the bullet leaves the barrel, plain and simple. Plenty of youtube videos from great instructors. If that doesn't work, then you need to take some classes.

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

If your grip is tightening under recoil then you're not gripping hard enough.

https://youtu.be/5VP4X6FVa4E

https://youtu.be/SiSHrgrUr00

https://youtu.be/L0gqVPSEgnI

https://youtu.be/5-UUVQdGB3s

[newbie1234]

note I can practice every other day or so with about 20 - 30 rounds.

Three times a week, 30X3 =90 rds/week.
I practice about 800 rds of 9mm+45ACP+380ACP+38SPL+357MAG+44SPL+44MAG and 300-500 rds of .22LR per week.
Learn to reload so you can shoot more.

[Joust]

https://mantisx.com