Tips to improve grouping

[MrRage]

I just bought a Sig P220 Combat today and the place I bought it from has an indoor range. So after paying for it took it to their range and put 100 rounds threw it. The Sig failed to lock 3 times, the first two times I think had to do with the magazine springs being really tight. The 3rd lockup kind of sucked because it was a bad round, and the gun would simply never come to battery with that round. It was new ammunition so I was a little surprised by that. Because there was one bad round in the bunch I'm not giving the other lockup issues too much thought, at least not yet.

So I set the target out at 15 feet and of the 4 targets I used this one had the best grouping. The strange thing I noticed with all of the targets had 90% of their hits in the lower left of the target. So I wondering what I might be doing wrong... any ideas?

[damndave]

The gun might fail to lockback as brand new Sigs are very tight. Just keep shooting it and it will loosen up as it breaks in.

As for grouping, just take your time and practice. Your groupings arn't that bad.

[MrRage]

Dam... now that was a quick and informative post =) Thanks a lot

[Greg-Dawg]

Take a class.

[jak77]

I think that chart is for right-handed ONE handed grip.

I was getting the same groups as you and was told that I might be using too much pressure in my primary hand and not enough support hand. Lately Ive been trying to use more support hand and my groups have been more center. Also, try squeezing the trigger without tightening your primary hand. But take my advice with a grain of salt because I am not an instructor. The best way to improve is to take a class like greg-dawg said, that way the instructors can see you shoot and better diagnose your problems. And dry fire, dry fire, dry fire. This also shrunk my groups considerably with consistent practice.

[jak77]

good asdvice..

try balancing an emtly casing on the slide or front sight blade if it's flat while dry firing..

That or coins.

[Markus]

I shot my new(to me) cz 75b in 40 on friday. I ended up with a grouping that looked like a candy cane with the straight portion being just barely in the left side of the 10 and the curl part coming around the left into the 9. Thought that was an interesting group and was wondering what the heck I did to shoot something like that? This was at a distance of about 7 yards(first white line at on target for those of you in the know).

Now I know my pistol is more accurate than that though I was shooting manufacturer reloads does anybody have tips for a lefty shooter?

[OneSevenDeuce]

You're right handed, aren't you? That problem with your groups is very common for right handers. It all comes down to trigger control. Dry fire is key to correcting this. But don't just pull the trigger. Fix your sights on a point and attempt to pull the trigger straight back while keeping the sights on target. If your sights wobble around while you are pulling the trigger then you need to work until they do not. Pull the trigger back with the part of your finger in between the tip and the first joint. It should be right about in the middle. Pause your breathing on the natural exhale, and squeeze squeeze squeeze, break the shot. Do this over and over until it becomes second nature.

[-hanko]

Take a class.

/thread...very helpful to have a skilled professional as a coach.

-hanko

[MT1]

I just don't shoot for groups except for the first few times out with a new pistol to assess the accuracy. All my shooting is draw and fire 3, or rapid fire strings where all I care about is trying to keep them in a 3x5 card space. Much more practical for a real life situation than taking your time and placing shots one on top of the other.

IMO the most common problem is people anticipating recoil and pushing the gun down and towards the opposite side of their shooting hand just before final squeeze on the trigger.

[OneSevenDeuce]

Much more practical for a real life situation than taking your time and placing shots one on top of the other.

Sort of. It's true that group size gets too much attention, I think. However I do think fundamentals are a very important part of the game before you start to shoot combat drills. Slow fire and shooting for groups size can be a very good indicator of where you are in terms of fundamentals and in terms of what you need to work on. It takes a balance between the two to be a good shooter IMO.

[J-cat]

Evaluating firearm accuracy from a standing unsupported position is counterproductive, especially when done by a novice unfamiliar with the platform.

[OneSevenDeuce]

we always trained shooters in slow fire drills for form and accuracy..

safely add speed as skills improve..

new shooters usually struggle on PWC's if they don't have the fundamentals down first..

the optimum balance will develop naturally..

I tell you, to this day even after a decade of shooting, I still start out with dry fire, slow fire, then build up to speed drills every time I go to the range. It's like a pitcher warming up.

[sqroot3]

I ended up with a grouping that looked like a candy cane with the straight portion being just barely in the left side of the 10 and the curl part coming around the left into the 9.

reminds me of the recoil pattern of the ak-47 in counter-strike.

[MT1]

Sort of. It's true that group size gets too much attention, I think. However I do think fundamentals are a very important part of the game before you start to shoot combat drills. Slow fire and shooting for groups size can be a very good indicator of where you are in terms of fundamentals and in terms of what you need to work on. It takes a balance between the two to be a good shooter IMO.

Well, I agree about the fundamentals and basic mechanics of operating the weapon and shooting it safely. But I would argue that people could pick up point shooting faster and succeed at it in shorter time than would be possible with slow group fire - taking your time and placing shots tends to exacerbate any flaws in your mechanics and technique. And I think that kind of shooting is best for people who spend a decent amount of time at the range rather than the guy going out there once a month or less just to practice so he feels confident in a self defense situation. I think that scope is too narrow for someone who first should be capable of picking up that gun and putting some well placed shots on a man sized target, I can't count how many people I have seen who can shoot sub 2" groups when slow firing, but can't even get half their rounds on center mass when doing a practical fire exercise.

It's much more likely that someone will need to fire a string of rounds in self defense, than need to shoot a hostage taker in the head with one well placed shot.

JMHO.