Learning to shoot really well

[Blackwater]

I can't help but note the sometimes lacadaisical manner in which many regard their shooting, and most especially of shooting handguns. This kinda' sticks in my craw, because they're the hardest guns to shoot well and in addition, they have less power than any centerfire rifle or shotgun. I see many posts about mediocre groups being acceptable to the posters. Nothing really wrong with that, of course, but it sure leaves a lot of potential on the table untried. If I may, let me make a few suggestions that may help you become a much better shot. First off, there are two guns that really CAN teach you how to shoot a handgun well. They are the .44 mag. single actions and the .45 auto. The .44 will teach you the value of a good, firm and CONSISTENT grip. A weak grip will let the gun slide down with great gusto and bang the middle finger rather smartly. Not good for one's shooting in ANY manner! Secondly, if one varies one's grip tension, the natural sliding of the grip in the hand will also vary, and this causes vertical variances because recoil begins the moment the bullet begins to move from cylinder to barrel, and down the bore. Varying grip pressures WILL blow your groups. Thus, a .44 SA can, and WILL if you let it, teach you a good grip, and good consistency in grip pressure. And all that's required is just simply paying attention, and correcting when one forgets. Very simple.

The 2nd good "teacher gun" is the .45 auto. The double shuffle recoil of a fairly powerful ctg. in an auto teaches one the necessity of a good, and consistent FOLLOW-THROUGH after the trigger releases. If we let it, it'll teach us not to "jerk" the gun as the trigger releases. The easy way to practice this is to put a penny on the front sight or wherever you can get it to balance and stay, and dry fire. Do that, and it shouldn't take too long at all to greatly improve your pistol shooting. Many shooters have very good technique right up to the point of the trigger breaking, and then too often blow all their efforts by sort'a "giving up" when the trigger breaks, letting the gun move a tiny bit before the bullet exits the barrel. All that effort gone to waste, just because we didn't follow through! It's really easy to miss this, so you really have to pay attention to catch yourself doing this, but it surely pays off, and in spades, when you can.

These two simple tips can improve a person's shooting tremendously, and make an also-ran into a quite good shot. It doesn't happen overnight, but it IS quicker than most would think. Remember, .001" movement in the barrel of a handgun can mean several inches at distance! That's why follow through is so crucially important, and explains just how a good, firm, consistent grip can cause that vertical dispersion. Get a good, firm, consistent grip, and follow through when the sear releases, and you'll shoot very well indeed. And if you're going to practice, make it count for something besides just poking holes in paper. After all, only perfect practice really makes perfect performance when it counts.

Just a FWIW for any who seriously want to become a better shot. When that happens, one gets a bit pickier about his casting, too, and the "little things," like lube, crimp, alloy & pressure levels, etc., etc., etc. For most, shooing loses at least some of its pizzaz when one has "maxed out" their performances, but learning to improve is a constant source of challenge and satisfaction when we accomplish it. It's a lot more interesting, and thus, more rewarding and edifying as well. Give it a try if you're not satisfied with your shooting, and see if it makes a difference to you, but just don't expect instant gratification. Like most skills, shooting has to be learned in increments, but to NOT make those increments keeps us sullied into a level of performance that's really beneath our true potential. It won't make you Jerry McCulik overnight, of course, but it'll darn sure not make you chopped liver! Give it a try and see. Work on the grip pressure and consistency first, and then learn to follow-through, because you can't follow through if your grip's not consistent. Build the foundation before you erect the house.

[Dusty Bannister]

I think what helped me was to go with a smaller bullseye. A small bullseye, at a close range gives you two things. First, it is easier to see and secondly, if you aim small, you will miss small. No mental confusion when trying to have a consistant 6:00 hold on a 2 inch bull as compared to the same position on an 8 inch bull. One inch stickers work well on plain paper too. Whatever is easy to see and concentrate on, it all helps with trigger time. Dusty

[dondiego]

With revolvers, leave one chamber of the cylinder empty, look away as you rotate and close it so you don't know where it is. What happens when that empty one comes up?

[Blackwater]

Yep. Good point. There are many little things that all help to contribute to, or detract from, one's performance in practice. Once one gets those first two down, the rest begins to factor in, but IMO, those first twoo are the critical ones that MUST be developed in order to get really good with a handgun. My father was an old Marine, so I lacked for little in the way of instruction, but I still never really got good until I went down to the lower 40 and started really noticing what I was doing, and what worked, and worked consistently, and what didn't. Once I got that down, I think the next thing I discovered was exactly what you describe - aim small, miss small. That's when I began really challenging myself, like splitting bullets on an axe and hitting two targets with one shot, and various other little "tricks." It's really not nearly as difficult as most people think. It sure impresses other shooters, too, until you teach them how. Then it becomes old hat. The most difficult thing was to learn to shoot fast AND accurately. That took a lot more lead to learn than the simple and basic grip and follow through, but fist things have to come first, and grip and follow through MUST come before all other things, but a smaller target CAN help with that, too. Good observation.

[Outpost75]

Don't shoot at a Bullseye. Shoot at the center of a BLANK piece of paper, which makes you contrate on sight alignment and trigger control. When my job was to get flag ranks qualfied with the. 45 I turned the repaie centers around backwards! most non-target shooters do better on a blank face.

The bullseye is a distraction!

[44man]

Good for you! Watch what "roll" with a six gun does. I would wrap in the M1 sling and have a nickle on the front of the barrel and it did not fall when I broke the trigger. I shot the highest score ever at the KD range and have the trophy. My daughter has the highest score ever shot in the Marines, man or woman. One shot, one kill. Stick your gun at full auto over a berm, stupid, I will make you red mist with one shot.

[Blackwater]

Excellent tips! Keep 'em coming.

[1911KY]

For me, shooting well has taken a total focus on consistency. Doing the same thing each and every time. Same grip, same sight alignment and same trigger pull.

Also, having a goal really helps to improve your shooting. Last year I did a lot of work to shoot consistent 2" groups at 10 yds offhand. This year my goal is consistent 3" groups at 15 yds offhand. Next year will be 4" at 20 yds.

[44man]

I will always be with one shot. Do not give me anything full auto. Even then I would shoot one shot that counts. Yes you can hit at 500 meters, 547 yards with a revolver.
Rapid fire keeps heads down for advance but does nothing like German machine guns where troops were fodder for guns. One rifleman could take out a nest so I will always believe in the best shooter.

[fredj338]

You only learn to shoot by shooting. Most handgun owners just don't put the trigger time in, regardless of caliber. You never learn to shoot a 44mag or bigger, unless you actually shoot the magnum loads. I doubt the avg 44mag owner shoots their cannon more than 100rds a year. Like anything else, you want to be good at it, you have to put the time in training & practicing.

[Echo]

One problem with tyros shooting a lot to improve their groups is that they may (probably WILL!) practice errors until they get dang good at doing the wrong thing.
Ball & Dummy practice is the best an individual can do alone, and it is great! Just leave a couple of chambers empty, randomly, on the wheel gun, and not only you, but everyone watching(!) will see when you jerk the trigger, or ride the recoil...

[Le Loup Solitaire]

There are many tips and recommendations for improvement and they are varied to be sure. What works for one individual may not be effective for another. It does good to try. but the necessary constant for success is practice. LLS

[Doc Highwall]

Practice makes perfect............WRONG!!!.........ONLY PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!!

With out perfect practice, you only get a perfectly executed bad habit!!!

[dragon813gt]

I like making noise and wasting money. That's what shooting handguns is all about for me ;)

My shooting got better when I started leaving cylinders empty in revolvers. Didn't know how much I was flinching until I started doing it. I'm still a pretty poor shot w/ one. But I hunt w/ rifles so I spend most of my time practicing w/ them.

[DougGuy]

Dry fire a Ruger single action revolver at a spot you pick on a wall. Take a mental "snapshot" of what the sights did when the hammer fell. Practice until you can hold them motionless through the lock time. If you cannot hold the sights motionless, swap in a Wolff 30oz trigger spring and try until you can hold them steadfast. The creep becomes manageable, LEARN IT like your life depends on it. When you can dry fire your gun and the sights don't move, then you would have hit exactly where the sights were regulated to hit, had you been firing live ammo.

THIS is how you master a Single Action revolver.

[mongoose33]

My favorite way to teach newbies trigger control is to balance a 9mm casing on the front sight; when they can dry fire that gun without having that 9mm casing fall off that sight, they know how they're supposed to pull the trigger.

I do that myself but it's harder to keep that casing on the front sight when I am returning my left hand to the grip and trying to get things in place before I dry fire the handgun.

I'm thinking of making a little holder from which I can lift off the casing with the front sight while I already have my grip in place.

[EMC45]

My personal favorite type shooting is a white cardboard disk or a printer sheet of paper without any bullseye or sticker on it if I am shooting handguns. For rifle- scoped or irons I like a sticky type round spot or a printoff target from web based target (free) sites like freetargets.com. When I shoot pistols I try to make them all touch if I can. I just qualled for work with the Beretta M9 and the targets are light brown cardboard man shapes. Hard to see your hit due to color and semi dark conditions. I just bracketed the shoulders for my center mass hits and centered on the head for my head shots. Scored 45 out of 45:razz: I am kind of a new shooter though, only been at it since 82.

[cajun shooter]

As a long time POST Firearms Instructor, I see a lot of suggestions that are forgetting one very important item. Another person who is not only an excellent shot but has the trained know how to teach. I've seen some so called instructors yell and belittle new shooters to the point they are not going to shoot well at all.
You should never shoot the center out of the B27 target to impress your students, that only makes them feel inferior and unable to shoot.
As far as practice goes, we had a saying at our Police academy that you can shoot till you are knee deep in brass and still not shoot well if you continue to repeat those same mistakes over and over. You do that by having a trained observer watch you and have the teaching skills to help you overcome those things that are holding you back. To repeat what was posted by another member, it's not Practice Makes Perfect. it's Perfect Practice makes Perfect. As far as loading a revolver and leaving some empty chambers, you can see which ones are loaded. Load those cylinders with what is called dummy rounds. Again, have a trained person observing your firing session.
Every great shooter had a mentor in their life, no one walked up to the line and started shooting Expert scores with out the proper training. The first day of training should not even have a live round fired. You have too much to cover with safe gun handling and the proper nomenclature of the gun you are shooting.
Remember, your talking to someone who will remember this time and you forever. You are not training some green recruit in the Marine Corp.
When I attended the FBI Firearms Instructor School, we started with 54 students and graduated 22.

[Blackwater]

Echo and Doc Hiwall make VERY salient points. And doing it right, practicing "perfectly", will always involve the two prime factors I outlined in the OP. Grip (firm, consistent) and follow through will always, Always, ALWAYS be the foundation of really good shooting with a handgun. Even sight alignment comes after those two. Do the first two, and sight alignment will follow quite naturally.

Shooting a handgun is really a very simple task. We just all too often add in "I want to .... " to pervert the process, and thereby never reach our true potential, which is, in my experience personally and teaching others, quite a bit higher than most think it is. That's why I posted this - to try to help those who are struggling. We were once a nation of marksmen, essentially. Not so much any more. When I shoot with any size group, I'm always struck when a shooter asks a question, gets good advice, and then says something like, "But that's not the way I want to do it, and I've got a right to my opinion." Sure he does. Goes without saying about the "right" part. But his shooting will NEVER be "right," though.

The whole point of shooting is to HIT something. When "rights" get involved, accuracy and the learning curve head WAY downwards! G.K. Chesterton called this "the art of missing the point." And the point is missed so typically today that I just thought I'd once again make an effort, at least, to point out the obvious, but I'm sure that offends the easily offended, and they're pretty ubiquitous these days. Ron White does a little skit on how several cops fired 19 shots "at point blank range," and didn't cut a feather. With the police, professionals (?) who OUGHT to know how to hit something, turning in such extremely eggregiously poor performances, it's no wonder that I see MUCH less hitting of the target than I did 50 years ago. I'd estimate that a majority of shooters I observe seem to care more about their tender little egos and looking "stylish" than they do about really hitting what they're shooting at. This is a significant and (ultimately) dangerous state of affairs.

My eldest grandson is 15 now, and the way things look, he MAY wind up having to go overseas to fight muslims before long. If that happens, I want him to HIT every time he pulls the trigger. Whether we can actually HIT our target can make the difference between life and death, so it's a LOT more significant and serious than most "moderns" are willing to give it credit for. They seem to care more about what's "politically correct" and what they're told and what's written in the glossy magazines than what actually works in the field.

Being "stylish" on the range may impress friends and influence people, but ACCURACY is what really saves lives - maybe our own - and I confess I just don't understand when the newbies get so concerned with their tender egos and "style" and fail nearly entirely to focus on ACCURACY, when it's ACCURACY that will put meat on the table or save a life. And I can't think of a single reason why I ought to follow the modern trends ..... unless maybe I was a retailer and needed to sell more stuff so folks could believe they're well equipped by simply BUYING the latest fad gun or fad accessories. I quit reading the glossy magazines long ago because they've become reps for the manufacturers now, MUCH moreso than simple, straight forward, honest commentators on the equipment we are provided these days. One can't buy shooting skill any more than buying new clubs makes one a better golfer.

It's the SKILLS we develop that matter. For a popular example, I recall in the movie Silverado when Paden stood in the streets in his long handles with that pistol that fell apart, loaded a round or two and shot the attacking man out of the saddle. That was using the basics to survive, and he most certainly didn't look the least bit "stylish" in those long handles! But he lived, and THAT was the whole point. Someone more "stylish" would likely have been shot down while crying about what a disaster of a gun he had to work with. BIG DIFFERENCE IN RESULTS! I wanna' be on the same side with Paden, not the stylish crew. My side will most likely wind up burying the stylish crew, because they just won't pay attention or observe or learn. And it's so sad, because it's SO EASY to do it right. Just stick with the basics, and learn them. Then simply apply them judiciously. Nothing complicated about that at all, is there?

[44man]

Accuracy is always first and nobody ever got better without it. I really hate when someone says "good enough for deer", not in my book!
You fellas show a lot of knowledge. I don't care how much you shoot, every single one of us can flinch and feel foolish even if it was not seen. I do it too every now and then. It is darned hard.
But I will never forget the White house security guy that was here with his nine. Big guy full of himself. He could not hold paper at 10 yards. Both me and Pete shot the center out with his gun. He watched me take 1" targets at 100 with a revolver from a rest. He never came back.
I might have been able to teach him but his self importance and position might interfere.

[bhn22]

As mentioned above, a large aiming point makes us a bit lazy because of it's generous size. One of my favorite drills involves a blank piece of paper. I'll fire one shot into the paper, then focus on making that bullet hole stay as small as possible, in spite of the number of followup shots. You can start this at 7-10 yards, and move out as you progress. You will quickly notice any errors in sight adjustment that you may need, being able to shoot a tiny group, but not cut the original hole is a dead giveaway to potential sighting issues! After a while, you'll find that you can use plain white index cards, stapled to the backer and then you don't need to change your targets as often. My goal is to keep ten shots on the index card at about 20 yards. Somedays I can do it, somedays I can't. BTW, most of my shooting is done with DA revolvers, fired double-action! The tired old saw about the way to Carnegie Hall is appropriate here too, practice, practice, practice! An eight pound keg of Bullseye or Red Dot and huge reserves of bullet casting lead are a big help! When I wanted to learn to shoot DA, I bought a 4 pounder of Bullseye, and kept shooting and casting until I got the results I wanted. I've been out of training for a while, so I just bought an 8 pounder of Promo to try to get back in shape.

[Thumbcocker]

You can't hang enough stuff on a gun to make up for lack of skill or practice. I once suggested to a youngster that he dry fire his rifle. His reaction was to put on a different scope.

[Silverboolit]

I have found that shooting at 5 yards is a good beginning range. Hitting the target has self-confidence building. If you are not confident in your abilities, then it is discouraging to go out farther. When you hit consistently at 5 yds. then move out a little further. Trigger/grip/sights/etc. are all important, but the most important is confidence.

[atr]

PRACTICE !
short ranges first then longer ranges later
yes to smaller target
and for us older guys some way to improve the eyesight
last but not least...a gun that fits the hand and acceptable recoil

[mongoose33]

I have found that shooting at 5 yards is a good beginning range. Hitting the target has self-confidence building. If you are not confident in your abilities, then it is discouraging to go out farther. When you hit consistently at 5 yds. then move out a little further. Trigger/grip/sights/etc. are all important, but the most important is confidence.

When I teach newbies I do this as well--in fact, I might even have the target at 3 or 4 yards. I want that first round on paper, so it's clear where the student was aiming, and they can see the result.

I bring that target back in and give it to them--it's the first round they ever fired. I tell 'em to put it up on their refrigerator. :)

Then we get down to business.

And FWIW: I find it far easier to teach females than males. Males seem to think it's in their DNA whereas females tend to listen and do what I suggest.

[Thumbcocker]

Please sticky this.

[Don Purcell]

44man, with the present occupant in the White House let's hope the guy still works there. With all the spray and pray shooting people see in the media it's no wonder they are amazed at what can really be done by a good shot. You can't miss fast enough to get the job done.

[RustyMusket]

I was fortunate to shoot on a high school rifle team...with an excellent coach (RIP "Red" Kenneth Swanson +). We all had to be NRA 50 ft smallbore Distinguished Expert (4 position) at the end of our Junior year. We used aperture sights on Win rifles on the NRA A17 target. In Offhand, Red taught us to center the target and hold in the dwell between heartbeats. But.....we had to dry fire a lot and take the mental image of our shot....and call it. When we live fired, we had to call the shot within one value and the clock position. Ex: a 9 at 4 O'clock..... and if we were off by more than one value either way, we paid a fine (that was used for more practice ammo). We all became 90%+ Offhand shooters....and you learned to freeze that mental image to "call your shot". I went on to shoot in college and we used the A17 target that was much more difficult. I shot a 99 OH in a match against St Bonaventure Univ. in 1974 and Red's fundamentals is what got me there. I still shoot HP Service Rifle and focus on the front sight and "call your shot"....My advice: dry fire a lot, focus on sights and have a buddy watching you as you call your shots (to keep you honest).

[JWT]

Women make much better students. They didn't grow up watching horrible shooting techniques on TV so they are more open to instruction.

[Blackwater]

JWT, that's been my experience too. I've never taught a woman to shoot who wasn't deadly at self defense ranges after the first session. I've always attributed this to the facts that they tend to listen MUCH more closely, and follow directions MUCH better than men, who've mostly as you say, brought bad habits to the occasion. It's a lot harder to UN-learn stuff than it is to just learn it initially, and men seem to be quite hard-headed about changing anything they do. It's as though they have determined that they never need to learn anything new after they graduate high school. Dealing with these is like dealing with a mule, except it's really politically incorrect to hit them between the eyes with a 2x4 like you can with a mule. The best I've learned to do is to just tell them if they're satisfied with the results they're getting, keep doing the same old thing the same old way, and quit complaining, and quit pretending they want to do it better, quicker and more consistently. It's amazing to me. Shooting is something that SHOULD make everybody humble, since it can never be mastered. As stated above, EVERYBODY blows a shot from time to time. Yet, you'd think that so many, many of the also ran shooters seem to strut around and believe they're sho' 'nuff gunslingers because they can hit a 6" bull MOST of the time at 25 yds., and THAT is sometimes from a rest!

Really learning to shoot is something one doesn't learn overnight or in a single session. It takes GOOD practice, doing the right things in the right way, and getting consistent at that, and THEN learning to speed the process up. It's just that simple, and apparently, just that difficult. Most of us who didn't grow up "earning" what we got seem to believe EVERYTHING ought to come easily, or it's not worth the effort. That's never been true, and never will be, but it's awfully rare today to see someone humble enough to just simply recognize their deficiencies and not be cowed by them, and be willing to listen, try things, and learn from their trials, and DEVELOP a really good shooting game. We were once a "nation of marksmen." Not so much any more, and more's the pity. If and when we have to send our young ones overseas to protect our nation and ourselves, that's going to cost us, and dearly. Here and now, it'll cost some their lives if they can't shoot quicker AND more accurately than some bad guy. That's a serious matter, but few take it so these days. And that's just plain .... less than smart. When it comes to money, we don't like to "leave anything on the table," but when it comes to a possibly life-saving skill, we seem to take that issue rather lightly. The current boom in gun sales that are predominantly concealable firearms seems to be "in fashion," but I have my doubts that many are really capable of using them effectively for that purpose. As John Wayne said in "The Shootist," they'll hesitate, or stop to try to think, or just hesitate because of the shock of being confronted with deadly force, and THAT is enough to give the bad guy the edge, and they don't tend to squander such things very much. Yet get serious with these new gun toters and they poo poo your efforts. Strange, ain't it?

[jsizemore]

Unless I missed it, Natural Point of Aim is right up there with grip, sight picture, breaking the trigger without moving the gun from the target and follow through. Combination of dry and live fire to keep you honest. Don't practice unless your up to it physically and mentally. No need to learn bad habits. 1 perfectly executed shot is worth more then 100 halfbaked attempts and costs less.

[Petrol & Powder]

There's a lot of knowledge in these posts and some hard learned lessons.

I don't consider myself to be a great shot and I'm always trying to improve but I can hold my own with a handgun.
I'll agree with Canjun shooter that being a great shot and being a great instructor are NOT the same thing. In fact I've only seen a few people that could master both. I've seen some people that had the ability to convey knowledge (teach) and I've seen some people that are very good with handguns (skill) but I've only encountered a handful that possessed both abilities (teaching and skill).
That being said, shooting with someone that is better than you are forces you to become better but that only works when the superior shooter encourages rather than belittles.

There is also the perspective of the job at hand.
I've shot with people that could make wonderfully small groups on a paper target. I couldn't compete with those shooters on a Bullseye course and even hope to win. In a real combat situation I would probably kill them 100% of the time. They could achieve great accuracy with a handgun but they were slow to do it.
Now here's the perspective part, I can miss as fast as anyone, sometimes faster :bigsmyl2: but when accuracy and speed are critical it is important not to get lost in the game.
I have shot with a few people that were both incredible fast and accurate. They are truly dangerous to their enemy.
Handguns are far more accurate than most folks realize but in the end it's not a rifle.

[dondiego]

Handguns are far more accurate than most folks realize but in the end it's not a rifle.

You need to be accurate with a handun because they are so underpowered compared to a rifle too!

[1911cherry]

Marksmanship is a learned skill set, and goes away if not practiced regularly enough. I never paid enough attention to my shooting till I joined the Army, sure as a hunter I could shoot well enough, but the Infantry demanded way more than well enough. If you didn't shoot expert you wished you did till next qual session, I was expert with everything but a pistol.
It took 12 years and probably 20 handguns before I found anything I could shoot accurately , a lot of people here can probably pick up any handgun and shoot it accurately - I am not one of these people. The two handguns I shoot best are polar opposites an antique Smith & Wesson pre model 10 and a new Taurus 9mm. The revolver just seems to point right and has a fine trigger , the auto has a horrible trigger but really good sights. With all my other handguns I am a mediocre shot, but with those two I can shoot nice tight groups.

[TXGunNut]

Grip, sight alignment, trigger control. When things aren't going well, work on the basics.
After that; trigger time. Lots of it. 22, 38, 45, doesn't matter as long as you can shoot it well. I used to shoot 10-20,000 rds/yr and many serious comp shooters shoot much more than that.
Women make better students because they don't try to teach themselves how to shoot. Give me a woman that can't keep her hands still when she talks and I can have her outshooting most men in no time. Accomplished video gamers can be excellent shots but they often lose interest, very disappointing.

[Petrol & Powder]

You need to be accurate with a handun because they are so underpowered compared to a rifle too!

Define "accurate"

There's a big difference between shooting a rifle at 100 yards and shooting a pistol at 10 yards and the time you can take to place an acceptably accurate shot at each of those ranges.

Make no mistake, I understand that missing is useless. HOWEVER, if my goal is to stop the guy with the machete from killing me I'd rather put 5 shots 2" off of center mass quickly than to put a perfectly placed bullet in him 1/2 second AFTER he buries that machete in my head.


I would prefer to always use a rifle but rifles are difficult to carry around all the time, particularly if you live in an environment where they are rarely needed.

Handguns suck when compared to long guns but they are WAY better than nothing. Accuracy is important but not as important as adequate hits when time counts.

Don't lose perspective !

[Blackwater]

All this gets, eventually, back to the very simple satisfaction of being able to sit down at a bench, when testing loads out, and being able to actually SEE, for real and with good validity, just what loads really work and which don't quite make the grade.

It's the difference in being able to tell the difference between "perfect" (?) bullets and also-rans. It's the difference between being SURE at the critical shot, that our loads and our abilities CAN DO what we aim or want to do. And that, as the commercial says, is literally "Priceless."

And after all, isn't that why we pursue better bullets, better loads, and higher performance in the field, on the range, or at the bench? It's a real "no-brainer," but we all too often are too lacadaisical about these defining issues.

It's a product of our times, of course, and the ethics and morals that seem to be lacking throughout much of what we tend to do today, but it STILL matters, and always will, when you get right down to the real issues at hand.

Being able (and WILLING) to defend one's self and one's family and/or friends involves a LOT more than just going out and buying a gun and a small supply of ammo. It always HAS, and it always WILL. Now get on out there and see what you can REALLY do when you really put your mind and talents to the task. Just notice stuff that you've typically not paid as much attention to as you know you ought to have, and see if that doesn't make a LOT of difference. I dare you! I think you'll be pleased with the results, and that ain't no small thing, brothers!

It'll spur you on to even bigger and better things, too, and that too tends rather to be a "biggie" and the simple act of paying attention and taking serious things seriously can, and sometimes DOES, change people's lives and attitudes and our level of appreciation of what we do.

So many people feel rather "jaded" these days, and optimism is rare, but personally, it's so unnecessary. So get out there and PROVE to yourself just how good you really CAN be. It won't come overnight, but it's amazing how fast it comes when we just pay attention, and correct accordingly. The rest is just developing muscle memory, but if we simply make our practice more perfect, it's amazing how quickly we become pretty darn good, and when that happens, it can't help but change our attitudes, and we can THEN pass it on to our fellow shooters, and help THEM become better.

And all it requires is some simple attention and care about what we do. I guess nothing's more common today than taking things lightly and rushing through whatever we do. We've been so conditioned to doing things the quick & easy way that it becomes a simple habit, but habits were made to be broken, aren't they? And when we do, it's amazing the value we get from that.

So get out there and start paying attention to grip and follow through, and see how really simple it is to become good at this game, or at the very least, handily passable at it. It'll put a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart when you do this. BIG TIME! Just try it. It'll also add some spice to what CAN become a rather boring repetitive sequence, and become something VERY interesting instead, and THAT is when you'll really start to gain ground and expertise. I promise!

[Blackwater]

Oh yes! And if you try any of the comments herein, please post back and let us know about it. Being better isn't he ONLY thing that yields satisfaction. When we who've been taught the simple basics of real marksmanship can pass it on successfully, THAT is very satisfying too, so let us all know about it here, will ya'? Too many good men here who'd appreciate knowing about it. All the instruction in the world won't do what you can do your own self just by paying attention and teaching yourself HOW to do what we're all TOLD to do. Being ABLE is not the same as simply knowing a principle, and it's all about being ABLE when it comes to guns and shooting. We who've striven for this for so long really enjoy it when we can help a newbie or also-ran improve and perfect their game. It's just like in golf: There's a lot of good advice out there, but each golfer has a different body, is jointed a little differently, and have varying degrees of flexibility, especially in the back, which is crucial to the backswing (and that controls the forward swing, ya' know?), and we have to work it all our ourselves by simple trial and error, and just paying attention to the results, and figuring out where from the problems arise, and then fixing them. Simple. But effective, BIG time! Don't forget to post back your results!

[HABCAN]

THE FIVE RULES OF FIVE,
OR
How to hit the same target TWICE.

The whole idea of shooting is to hit your target, right? The Hand Gun is the most difficult of all firearms to keep firmly aligned with its intended target because it is held in your HAND, the most flexible, wobbly part of your body. To hit a target multiple times, preferably in the same spot, the firearm must be aligned and braced exactly the same from shot to shot, just like an artillery piece or mortar that can repeatedly drop shells down a chimney at great range. Keep this analogy before you as we go through the following steps, for you want to conform your body into a similar solid platform. All the elements will work together to achieve this, and neglecting any one will affect all the others negatively. Consistency from shot to shot is required, and this is how you can achieve it.

First, an overview of the elements, which are Grip, Stance, Sighting, Trigger Control, and Delivery.

Grip. You must develop a certain strength in the grip of your hand on the handgun frame. It matters not how hard that grip is, only that it is consistent. I suggest you grip as hard as you are able, because that is a ‘lock’ point……………you cannot grip ‘harder’. Yes, as you progress, that grip will become stronger and stronger, but so long as you always grip as hard as you can, it will be consistent from shot to shot at that point in time. Now comes the difficult part. That ‘grip’ is with three fingers only! The thumb and index (trigger) finger MUST remain relaxed. Squeeze water out of that grip with three fingers and let the other two float as gently as a butterfly. Difficult, but not impossible. You should be able to do this after five minutes practice.

Stance. The most important part of ‘stance’ is PUSH. If you will learn to push the gun as hard as you can at the target, you will achieve another ‘lock’: you cannot push ‘harder, and you have eliminated the possibility of vertically stringing your shots on the target. You will probably notice that your gun muzzle is about 4” closer to the target than it was previously! Once you have established a ‘stance’ relative to your target, DO NOT MOVE until your firing sequence is finished. Once the mortar baseplate is sunk in the ground, moving it will change its Point Of Impact (POI). Similarly, ALL the parts of the cannon’s trail must stay put between shots. So do not fidgit between shots or during reloads.

Sighting. You must learn to concentrate upon the front sight ONLY. Let everything else appear blurry in your field of vision, but keep that front sight SHARP! Alignment of one sight with the other is important, but only a little compared to this. Think always “Front sight, front sight!”

Trigger. You must learn to press the rigger firmly straight back to the rear, as any twisting or sideplay will affect your POI and jerking or flinching is NOT control!

Delivery. You must learn to consciously forget a shot once you have fired it. You did the best you could for it, but now it is on its way and beyond any control. Observe its POI if you have time and make any necessary corrections for the NEXT shot, but once it’s gone, it’s GONE and you must concentrate on delivering the NEXT one, not worry about that LAST one.













GRIP.
1. PLACE the handgun in your hand, grasping it FIRMLY.
2. Squeeze the water out of it, maintaining the thumb/trigger-finger ‘butterfly’.
3. Align it with the wrist
4. Aligned with the forearm bones
5. Aligned with your sighting eye.

STANCE.
1. Face ~45 degs. to your Line Of Sight (LOS) to your target.
2. Set your feet parallel to each other, about shoulder-width apart.
3. Stretch the top of your erect head all the way up to God.
4. Without moving your head position, collapse your spine vertically.
5. To confirm your stance, close your eyes, get comfy, then open your eyes and adjust
your TRAILING foot to correct any windage errors and bring your piece back onto your
LOS.
5. Raise the handgun to your LOS and PUSH!!

SIGHTING.
1. Keep both eyes open at all times. Keep your head erect and look out of the middle of your
eyeball/eyeglass lens.
2. Properly align the sights with each other.
3. Align the sights to your Point Of Aim (POA).
4. Concentrate on FRONT sight ONLY!
5. To confirm your stance, close your eyes, get comfy, then open your eyes and adjust
your TRAILING foot to correct any windage errors and bring your piece back onto your
LOS.

DELIVERY.
1. Place pad of first joint of trigger-finger on trigger.
2. Check that there is airspace between that finger and the gun frame. DO IT!
3. DO NOT relax any part of ‘Stance’. Press trigger firmly straight back to the rear.
4. Control that press! Press when sights are on the target, or moving toward its center, NOT
away from it. Stop pressing if sights move off the target (as they will!). It’s called Trigger
Control!
5. Shot will fire as a ‘surprise break’. Consciously HOLD the trigger to the rear (Follow
Through) THEN release it.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Dry fire, cheap and effective. Build hand and arm strength, get trigger control, thousands of rounds of dry fire cost nothing but time. It will also tune your pistol or revolver. If your gun breaks while dry firing, get one that won't.

[dondiego]

Define "accurate"

adequate hits when time counts.

Don't lose perspective !

That is what I mean as being accurate. Don't confuse PRECISION with accuracy.

[country gent]

Dry fire will teach the proper position, sight picture, trigger release, and follow thru more effectivly than with live ammo normally. Dry firiing is quick simple and easy, can be done every evening in the comfort of your home. Long extended sessions arnt needed and can be counter productive even as fatiuge induces mistakes. 20 times a night dry fireing with the perfect sight picture hold and trigger release then at the end of the week a live fire session to "verify or Prove". ANother mistake made is rapid fire strings, go slow and speed will come thru experience. When I was competeing in NRA High power most practice was dry fired and some was just in my mind thinking thru the process. Learning to call your shots is important also as it allows you to know where the hit should be at. I have seen shooters that could call shots with in 1/2 ring and 1/2 an hour on the target. Getting the muscles built up is important but more important is getting the mind built up, shooting is more mental than most realize.

[Blackwater]

Excellent points, Gent, but I'll have to disagree with you just a little on the "speed will come" part. You CAN, if you're really committed to it, learn to shoot fast by .... well, simply shooting fast. No, that won't come over night, but it CAN be done IF you're dilligent and determined. I know because I learned it that way. At first, I learned to shoot mostly by feel and developed a rhythm that worked for me, that was basically based on the recovery time with the gun I was shooting, mostly a M-19 S&W 4" or a 5" .45 auto. The auto took a mite longer because of the double-shuffle recoil, but learning the "feel" first worked, and it wasn't too terribly long before I began cathcing that "flash sight picture" I'd read about but was doubtful about. Danged if it didn't work! So we CAN do it, but it IS the harder way to do it, but it IS also a faster way. It just takes some real determination and attention to detail, and much of it is in acquiring the rhythm as much as anything else. That's the way it worked for me, at least, but I WAS determined as a man could be to learn it to the best of my ability to do so. I actually surprised myself, and got humbled in the process for doubting much that I'd read. I learned just because I couldn't at THAT time do what I was reading about didn't mean that others couldn't. I've tried hard to retain that lesson to this day. The main thing I've learned through the years is that, given reasonable timing and coordination, one really CAN get to be a pretty darned good pistol or rifle or shotgun shot IF we just commit to it and pay attention and stay humble enough to simply learn from our experience. I haven't shot much for the past 15 years due to several factors, and now I'm in the process of trying to reclaim as much of what I've lost as I can. Being older and having some real physical problems means I NEED to challenge myself more, but it's still all about paying attention, and learning as I go. I really want to get better with a rifle and faster and more consistent with a pistol. I'll be lucky if I can get to about 70% or so of what I once could do, but that'll likely suffice for anything I'm really likely to need at my age these days. Eyesight is a big factor, but what's life without a challenge, right? It's the challenges that prompt us to get better, always.

[truckjohn]

From the other side...
It's honestly a very hard thing to realize that you honestly don't know how to shoot in real life...

The reality is that there is NO barrier to learning that is so great as believing that you already know... NO barrier to truth so great than that you already possess it...

That was a crazy realization I came to about 5 years ago... AFTER I had killed deer, shot plenty of cans, and stuff like that... After I have owned plenty of pistols and rifles... I realized that while I had been "Shooting" for 30 years - I never really learned any technique or methods... I was basically using a bullet hose... If I got close enough and shot enough - eventually I might put a few rounds into the target - just by pure statistics.... That was good enough to one-shot-kill several deer and put thousands of holes in things....

When I grew up - and learned "To shoot" - If there was any semblance of actual "Accuracy" or "Technique" training from Dad - I ignored all 100% of it... I was an excited boy shooting a bullet hose.... It may as well have been a capgun or a toy pop gun or a curved stick - except it shot real bullets... Now - I did learn Firearm safety very well.... and I will give credit to where it is due...

No doubt - I am not in the minority...

It's been a tough road since then - but it's been a good one... Trying to learn actual technique.. Working on accuracy... Hitting stuff... Gaining proficiency with Iron sights - that I can HIT what I aim at... Knowing the limitations of the sights and position, etc... Pulling the scope back off the 22 - because it's easier to find the target without it...

Thanks

[tazman]

I have spent most of the last year unlearning bad habits and learning good ones. It took some time and a lot of effort, but I am seeing steady progress now instead of the same old thing all the time.
I still have work to do but now I know I can shoot better than I ever have before and I feel optimistic about it.

[stu1ritter]

Read, study and practice everything found in the Army Marksmanship Unit's Pistol Training Guide. Quite simply, this is the "Bible" of Bullseye Pistol Shooting. It can be found on the web at http://www.bullseyepistol.com/amucover.htm
Whether you plink or shoot international rapid fire this manual will teach you the REAL basics and take you as far as you would like to go in the accuracy game.
Stu

[captaint]

I learned more about rifle shooting in one season of rimfire matches than I had in the previous 30 years. Our instructor hammered natural point of aim in our heads. Early on, I stumbled on this - in prone position we can closely watch our front sight when the shot breaks. Now, obviously, there's not much recoil shooting a 52B target rifle - but there IS recoil. If the front sight moves, even slightly left or right, that's where your shot went. If it just moves back and straight up a little, bingo you hit the center.
With handgun shooting, I find if I wait too long to break the shot, my grip weakens and I shoot high. There I am, telling myself - don't weaken the grip, don't weaken the grip. Dammit !! Did it again. It's all good fun, though.

[Blackwater]

Truckjohn, your post may well be THE most valuable principle listed here. You really hit the nail on the head. I went through exactly what you have, and it's been so long ago now that I, and I think probably most of us here, had forgotten it. Just goes to show us that we SO often overlook the obvious, doesn't it? That and CRS disease ("Can't Remember Stuff") is a wicked state that just gets stronger with age. C'est la' vie??? Thanks for a MOST valuable observation. Shooting is a simple thing, but LEARNING to shoot really well is a constant challenge. Due to some recent ailments, and the fact that my work schedule seriously interfered with my shooting for 15 years, I'm now at the point I've got to try to regain as much of my past skills as I can, and your post is spot-on even now. It's like being an alcoholic in AA - "First you have to admit there's a problem." Only THEN can we start to get to where we rightfully OUGHT to be with regard to our shooting skills, and wherever our shooting skills are now, we can ALL, even the best of us, get better. It's for dang sure we can get WORSE, too! Only regular "perfect" practice can get us to where our potential is finally more fully realized. And it all starts with how we think and our attitude toward our skill level at the moment. I love watching Jerry McCulik shoot. He's one of the most humble shooters out there, though he facetiously makes somewhat bragadocious comments now and then that are really just challenges to himself. And it'll be a cold day in a very warm place when any of us here will equal his abilities. I know he surely humbles ME! And yet, watching him tends to spur me to try some things to broaden my horizons and deepen my skills. Instead of asking "Why?", we should probably be asking "Why NOT?" more often. It's only when we really challenge ourselves that we get better, and the first step in that is to realize that we're not quite what we'd like to be in the shooting department. It's humbling, true, but it's also very motivating, and it really makes our shooting MUCH more interesting and instructive, and all we have to do is admit we're not quite the shootists we'd like to think of ourselves as being, and then to just pay attention, and start REALLY learning how to shoot. Very simple, and yet, so often missed.

Thanks truckjohn for that most poignant post!

[Boolseye]

I think that different people shoot for different reasons, and that "good shooting"
can mean different things to different people. For myself, that means studying the army marksmanship training manual, trying to master the fundamentals, gaining know-how from my betters and plenty of dry-fire and live-fire practice. For my dad, it means holding minute of paper plate at 10 yards with a .45, and enjoying the smack of a 300 grain slug hitting whatever it hits at 50 yards with his TC Encore in 375 Win. I'm not going to tell him my style is more valid than his. As long as no one gets hurt, it's fine with me. i totally agree that women are the best students when it comes to shooting. They listen and they learn (usually). As long as safety is being observed, I keep my mouth shut (usually) and let people shoot. I beat feat or say something when safety gets soft. I'm never gonna change anyone, but I'm always willing to talk with people who want to engage seriously on the question of good shooting.

[Blackwater]

Boolseye, your point is perfectly valid, of course, and I'm betting your Dad NOTICES what he's doing when he shoots, too. THAT was my point here, mainly, plus the too lacadaisical attitude I see so often when shooting with others. It's such a shame to see guys and gals out there just burning powder without a real goal, without noticing what they're doing, really, or just simply paying attention to what happens when they do this, and what happens when they do that. Shooting is a skill, and like all skills, it's only learned, really, by paying attention to what we're doing and noting the results of that, and making any corrections or refinements that are indicated. It just seems to me that thinking, really THINKING, has gone out of style, and with the "anything goes" and "any opinion is as good as any other opinion" attitude and ethic that seems to permeate our society today, so many, many seem to just go pop off rounds, take whatever results with a laugh and an "it doesn't matter anyway" attitude, and they often call whatever they do "good to go." T'ain't necessarily so. If and when they ever HAVE to shoot for serious reasons, they're going to be near lost, and dependant on luck, and with Mr. Murphy's Law being what it is, that's a rather precarious position to be in.

The world is, and has ALWAYS been a very violent place. Just because we aren't engaged in battle RIGHT NOW doesn't mean we won't ever be, and when that time comes is a very poor time to realize that we need better skills. There need be no obsession invollved, either. Just calm, knowing and honest realization that shooting skills MAY WELL be NEEDED one day, and that simple knowledge ought to make us put a little more thought and effort into our shooting, and maybe listen to those who shoot better than we do, and give what they say an honest try. Just seems so very, very simple to me, but then, I'm an old fart and I see things differently than most seem to today. I take serious things seriously, and I really think that's the appropriate way to deal with serious matters, and shooting is one of those things that CAN be quite serious, and when those times come, we'll ONLY have the skills we've developed to that moment. There's no time available to go practice and FINALLY take the matter seriously when those times come.

But then, we're "fighting" terrorism by reducing our military to a "peace time" level, so what do I know??? I guess I'm too old and too crabby to understand all these vast and half-vast ideas the "moderns" seem to have adopted? But these are what has served me and many millions more for a very long time, now, and I can't and won't abandon them. Principles really DO still matter, no matter what regard many have for them. And it's SOOOOO darned EASY! Nothing to it, really. Just pay attention, experiment, and regard the results you get appropriately, and take actions that seem indicated. It really doesn't take long at all to get substantially better, and once you get to that point, it's just a matter of refining your skill set until you can shoot right up to your gun's potential. When you get to the point you can do that, you're then able to give your test loads a real and valid workout, and make serious deductions based on very accurate results. You'll also be surprised, if you try it, at how far you can hit things well with a pistol, even a lil' snubbie .38. It's not JUST Jerry McCulik and the trick shot artists with big names that can do this stuff. Many can. You just don't know thier names because they generally shoot alone or with only a few others. They don't like being around guys that "spray and pray" because it's so sad to them, to see that being done and so much valuable time, ammo and effort being wasted.

All I've tried to say here, really, is that everyone here, including ME, can and really probably OUGHT to get better, and pay more attention to thier shooting, and take it a little more seriously than we currently do. Believe me, I can attest to the fact that these skills are NOT permanent, what with having some surgeries and health problems and issues recently! It's frustrating to go out and not be SURE that the group I just shot is a real and appropriate representation of what the gun can do, and whether I need to retain the load or improve it or not. Without such skills, why are we shooting to start with, except to acquire these type skills? THAT is the question I'm posing here, really, in the end, and I think it's a very pertinent and valid question, and one that I DO see some real need for today. Our "anything goes" attitude that permeates our nation today isn't serving us very well, and we really need to start separating the wheat from the chaff, it seems, and it seems to be pretty evident. There are too many really good shooters, loaders and casters here for anyone present to NOT be working toward better skills in all those categories. So much expertise! But it only works and benefits us IF we but put it to use. I've been casting for 50 years, but I STILL learn stuff here, and anyone who isn't is just plain not paying attention, but if we can't sit down at a bench and shoot up to very nearly our guns' potentials, how can we have any faith is the results we get with our loads and our casts? It's the shooting of them that yields really usable resultss. Anything else is just a guess, just like Runfiverun's signature line says. We "moderns" seem to excel at missing the point very often, usually because we're just in too big a hurry to git-r-done and get back home to watch TV, or whatever seems pressing. Since I've retired, I've re-discovered just how much we miss when we're always in a hurry. A little quieter, calmer, more studious approach can yield MUCH improvement in very little time, and lets us really appreciate the time we have here on earth. Just makes sense to me, and yet I've had to re-learn this, as I think most of us have to do in this hustly-bustly world we live in these days. Whenever I shoot, my total concentration is, momentarily at least, concentrated on getting the sights just EXACTLY right (not just close) and the trigger release and follow through solid and consistent. When my attention drifts from that, due to whatever's going on around me, I just have to smile when I see the results, and get back to basics again, and whatever's going around me drift into the peripheral. This is the kind of thing that keeps even the best, like Jerry McCulik, humble and constantly striving. Have you ever wondered why McCulick and other big names keep trying wilder and wilder shots? It's to keep them paying attention. They shoot so very much that it's hard NOT to get bored, so they keep it interesting AND challenging. That keeps them sharp .... AND interested and paying attention. Without those qualities, they'd also be also-rans.

And even the bulk of us, who'll never quite equal ol' Jerry, CAN and WILL get MUCH better if we'll just do what the great ones do. , It's really very simple and basic, and all it really takes is the mindset "I'm gonna' git better today." Keep that mindset when shooting, and you WILL get better, too! And all it depends on is personal honesty and paying atttention. Ultimately, we must ALL teach our own selves. We can get ideas from others, but to get better, we have to PROVE the things we hear of for our own selves, but luckily, that's really easy. All we have to do is adjust our attitudes slightly, and go for it. It'll be surprising how fast real progress can and will come!

[Love Life]

Here are some tips that I didn't see mentioned, but I believe will help:

Shoot pistols farther than 7 yards
Shoot rifles farther than 50 yds

Load good ammo
Practice the fundamentals
Not every flier is called...
take aggregates
measure honestly
consistency in everything you do

[Doc Highwall]

I shoot small-bore competition and the target never lies when the score and X's are added up.

[TXGunNut]

I shoot small-bore competition and the target never lies when the score and X's are added up.

So true. If you want to know how well you shoot all you have to do is show up and shoot a match. If you want to shoot better, practice and show up for the next one.

[dtknowles]

Marksmanship is a learned skill set, and goes away if not practiced regularly enough................

The muscle memory goes away but most of the knowledge and much of the technique remain. If I don't shoot a some courses for a while I am slower or less accurate but it is not at all like going back to square one.

Tim

[tazman]

As far as shooting matches, I shoot in our range pistol leagues every time there is one. I enjoy the competition and it gives me one more reason to practice. I usually finish around the top third somewhere. We have quite a number of good shooters at the range.