not a very good shot

[toallmy]

Well I am ok with my long guns , and I keep up close with 9s and my 45s so I don't notice it so much . Well I am now playing with a 6 in gp 100-357 . I call myself trying to work up some decent loads with a 148 gr wc and a 150gr swc over allant in 357 brass . But I realized it is me shooting all over the place . Hum these guns shore wiggle around allot at 50 yards . So I just came home and am going to load up a couple hundred and go up close plinking . Need the practice I guess . Well they say with a addiction realizing you have a problem is half of the fight . I hope I am half way than . It's still fun.

[runfiverun]

the only way around it is to practice.
and remember that the wad cutter type boolits have their limitations on stability over distance.

[Preacher Jim]

The only way to become a good pistol shot I trigger time. Practice and more importantly paying attention to the sights. If you get in the habit of squeezing the same way at the same place in your wooble you will hit the target.

[bedbugbilly]

Hey . . . don't get discouraged . . you'll get there. Just remember that for all of those excellent targets that get posted for people to see . . there are way more of 'em from some of us that aren't that impressive! LOL

Keep good notes on your load data and the results . . that will help. And as already said . . practice, practice and more practice. And don't be hard on yourself . . . it's a learning process just like with one of your rifles that is new and you are "learning it".

I'm older . . the eyes aren't the best and neither are my hands and steadiness. As you are working on it . . . don't limit yourself to paper. Use some larger targets such as milk jugs, larger gongs, etc. if you can that will give you the satisfaction and a big smile when you hit them. As time goes on your accuracy will improve and used some smaller novelty targets as well as paper. It's all about fun.

I love shooting 38s and am starting on 45 Colt. It's nice when you get good hits but thank goodness I don't have to depend on each shot to make sure I eat . . . I'm afraid I'd starve to death!

Good luck and have fun . . . it will get better!

[toallmy]

Well I loaded up about 150 ,and am taking a break. So I'm checking in, o I'm not discourage I'm going to get closer to the targets. Haha remember when I started shooting a little 22 6 shooter trying to hit old shotgun hulls that little short beraled devel was all over the place. So I would walk up on it till I hit em . Just to make me feel good . It's 35 or so years later but it worked then probley will again . It would not mean anything if it was easy. I'm going to keep shooting it till it shoots good .Thanks for the reply.

[Love Life]

Practice. It's fun and worthwhile!

[fecmech]

You can do yourself a world of good just dry firing, the object being good sight alignment and not disturbing that with the trigger pull. The goal is to maintain perfect sight alignment and break the trigger without moving that alignment. You will move around on the target, no one is totally steady but if you keep the sights perfect you will put most of your shots on your aim point. Good luck.

[Lefty Red]

One thing that might be hurting you is the loud report. I shoot 44s but have problems with 357s due to the noise. I have to really calm down and relax inbetween shots.

Jerry

[dek16001]

I have the Lyman 148gr style of mold you've spoken of. I also should the out of the GP100. Actually 2 different models,the match champion and the basic GP. To be truthful ,there's not much difference between the two pistols,but that's for another days discussion. The things I have learned from the two pistols is technique ,more so the importance of technique . With the regular GP, I can be sloppy with the trigger pull ,loose grip, breathing,and so on, and still hit the side of a barn. But with the MC GP 100 it's horrible. That pistol alone has taught me more about handgun discipline shooting wise then any other. I'm not sure exactly what the difference is between the two ,but it's night and day.
One thing I do is never leave on a bad group of shots. If at 50 yards, and not happy with the group, I don't leave. I move to 25 yards and shoot again..hopefully they're better and I can leave.
I go home and think about the day,where my strengths and weaknesses were,cast up some more and live for tomorrow .
Dan

[OnHoPr]

Well, what are your groups? That gun single action with a two handed hold on a table type rest should get around 1" to 2" groups @ 25 yd. At 50 yd with the same type rest around 4" to 6" depending on wind and ole eyes with irons. Find a load that your gun likes and get 5 or 10K of primers. I am not sure about 1 handed or off hand shooting @ 50. At longer ranges it is probably as fast and more likely accurate to fire in single action mode.

[jakharath]

Try shooting the revolver single action. That should take the long trigger pull out of the equation and let you see if the reloads are accurate for that pistol.

As for double action, I have an old redhawk that I spent hours almost dry firing it. You should be able to find the breaking point where the hammer is all of the way back. This is right before the pistol fires. For lack of a better term, let's call this 'take up'. Get used to pulling the trigger to get all of the take up out and then pull more to fire it. This may sound silly and my explanation may not be the best. Learn how much you have to pull the trigger before the hammer is released. It helped a lot with my accuracy.

Hang in there.

(I'm a self taught shooter, YMMV)

[Scharfschuetze]

Practice is great, but you must NOT practice what is making your shots wonder off from your point of aim. Bad habits are easy to reinforce, but hard to break.

The old Army eight steady hold factors that the Army rifle team beat into me apply just as well to revolvers and pistols.

1. Stance: Balanced with skeletal support and relaxed musculature if possible. A good rested or supported position will enhance you stance and reduce your natural wobble area. Shoot within your wobble area and don't try and "ambush" the target by jerking the trigger as your front sight wonders by it.
2. Grip: Hand shake firm, but light enough not to induce shaking. Pistol is held so that it recoils down your radial and ulnar forearm bones.
3. Trigger pull: straight back through the weapon without drag on either side. Stage your trigger (for DA shooting) if that suits you or pull evenly through if that is best for you and your handgun.
4. Sight alignment: Focus on the front sight. You should know it intimately and it should be centered in the rear sight. Relax your eye between shots as you breathe to maintain sharp vision.
5. Sight picture: Place your well aligned sights (#4 above) over the intended point of impact. Front sight clear, target and rear sight a bit fuzzy.
6. Breath control: You need lots of oxygen in your blood, but you want to hold your breath when letting the shot off. Breathe between shots for good concentration, eye sight and relaxed muscles.
7. Follow through: Let the gun move itself. You don't move or recover until the recoil is complete.
8. Call the shot: You should be able to tell if the shot is high, low, wide, etc before you actually check your target.

All of the above for each and every shot. It'll all work out.

With an accurate handgun and ammo, you can shoot a handgun accurately out to a couple of hundred yards, but you'll really need to follow the above steps to do it consistently.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Do some dime-drills when you get free time. Make sure the gun is clear! Raise your gun, set a dime or penny on the front sight or flat of the barrel. Practice with dry fire or snap caps if you feel inclined. When to break the "shot" the coin should not fall off the gun if you are holding steady enough and pulling the trigger smoothly. I also highly recommend this youtube video on proper front sight focus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lMYzJpD4n8
I was the same way, not bad with a rifle but my pistol marksmanship left a lot to be desired. That video helped me!

The focus practice pictures below I saved from that video, you can right click and save image to your computer.
They are optical illusions, if you can truly focus on the front sight, the image will stop moving and the other the blue dots will fade away. It really does work and it helped my marksmanship along with dime-drills.

[toallmy]

Thanks to all for the good advice. I got caught up in trying out loads and forgot to just properly shoot. I am trying out some seaco 052 button nose flat base wc. And a rcbs 150 kt. Swc. I am shooting them out of 357 brass using red grean and unique . I was concerned about everything else but shooting. I have went over all of your advice and let it sink in . My wife is giting a kick out of it , she says that is what I tell her when we go shooting . I think I am going to just go out and shoot the gun today .I loaded up some seated to the crimp grove with 4.3 red dot . And got some real big rear real big pieces of cardboard. You know I learned more about shooting from paper back western then gun magizen . I'll work on load development after I get the hang of shooting this thing . The good thing is a 150 rounds and still clean bore. Thanks for responding have a nice weakened . Going shooting.

[toallmy]

Now that was better .had to go back to the basics .Thanks again for the advice and replies. Should have used cant shoot for my screen name. But since I started casting I am practicing more.

[Blackwater]

Don't know if this'll help you or not, but an awful lot of inaccuracy with a handgun comes from varying your grip from shot to shot. Since the gun starts moving in recoil as soon as the bullet starts moving, and firmer pressure lets it move less while less pressure lets it move more, a varying grip will always increase group size. This isn't nearly the degree of problem with a rifle, but it also works there as well, just to a smaller degree. Try concentrating on the same grip pressure for every shot, and see if that doesn't work the magic for you. If not, proceed to the next likely factor, and keep on until you find what the problem is. Shooting is always going to be an acquired skill, and just about everything has influence, and the more we let even the little things vary, the worse we always shoot. The top level shooters are that good because they sweat "the small stuff," and pay very close attention to all those "little things" that most also-rans take for granted or poo-poo. And every time we shoot or practice, do it the same way every time, or you'll wind up teaching yourself variations that will inhibit your progress as a shooter. This is just how it works, and always has.

[dragon813gt]

If you think you're bad you should see my targets. I cut my right thumb really bad over Memorial Day. A good portion of my thumb is now numb and the cut swipes from top left to bottom right. Nothing like learning to shoot all over. Did I mention I'm cross eye dominant and my vision is starting to fade :mad:

[toallmy]

I did use a firm grip the last time out , and it really shows a big difference. I took a little more time between shots and it makes a big difference also. humm I cast few hundred swc up last night and am going to keep on it . My goal is to be able to hit a paper plate at 50 yards offhand . Thanks for all the advice ,I am paying attention and aprishated your time.

[Ola]

Scharfschuetze's post includes pretty much everything you need to learn.

My advise is to learn one of the points at a time. Don't try to learn it all at once!!

And in my experience you will never learn them completely: things like stance and grip will become automatic ("backbone skills"), but focusing your eye to the front sight and trigger pull will always need undivided concentration.

Some days it will be easier, but if you take this seriously you will never get completely rid of the mantra: "front sight, front sight... squeeze, squeeze..." :)

[Certaindeaf]

A paper plate at 50 offhand is pretty fair shooting.. but a GP is certainly up to that.
Keep dropping that hammer!

[Bill*B]

Keep the faith. If you can reliably nail a 6" bull at 10 yards with a pistol, you won't win any matches - BUT you have outshot 90% of your fellow Americans.

[SSGOldfart]

Well I am ok with my long guns , and I keep up close with 9s and my 45s so I don't notice it so much . Well I am now playing with a 6 in gp 100-357 . I call myself trying to work up some decent loads with a 148 gr wc and a 150gr swc over allant in 357 brass . But I realized it is me shooting all over the place . Hum these guns shore wiggle around allot at 50 yards . So I just came home and am going to load up a couple hundred and go up close plinking . Need the practice I guess . Well they say with a addiction realizing you have a problem is half of the fight . I hope I am half way than . It's still fun.
Just have fun with it,more you shoot better you'll get,don't try to reinvent the wheel start with proven load data and have fun with it,you're heading down this right path for sure.

[toallmy]

Going to put some more through it this weekend .loading up some today.

[Ola]

Ok, this must be said. Some will probably be offended but that is not my purpose. I write this for those who really want to be good shooters. It just have to be said in a thread like this.

--
Training makes you better only if you train the right things. Blasting away or "having fun" will make you only master the WRONG things. The number of shots is not as important as is the QUALITY of the shots.

First learn and understand the basic shooting technique. "Why it must be done like this?" is the best question you can ask. There is a very good reason why you grip the gun certain way or why you put a certain part of the forefinger on the trigger...

Then start practicing it one step at the time: first is stance. It sounds easy but you must think it over and teach your body to do it right every time. Then grip, hold, aiming, trigger control..

After you have learned the basic shooting technique: do it EVERY TIME. Remember it takes 10 000 repetitions to make it automatic.

NEVER "just blast away" because that will quickly destroy your hard earned basic technique.Worst case scenario is you'll have to start over.

I highly recommend doing this. It takes some effort but afterwards you can start thinking about details. And the details will make you great.

So, if you want to be good, shooting is not "having fun" (unless you are like me: The more difficult target, the more fun it is to hit it).

[gpidaho]

I have a 4 5/8" Stainless GP-100 and other than family hand-me-downs It's been with me longer than any other revolver. It has 1000s of rounds through it and all but one box of ammo I got with the gun, all my handloads. Gun's still tight and accurate. It will be a family hand-me-down. Love GP_100s Gp

[toallmy]

I am not offended.I can take the hard truth. I am going to get shooting this thing like I expect it to shoot. I worked off of a rest last time out with 150gr swc onely stoped jumping around with different powder loads and bullets , the gun shoots nice . As far as me still need some work , but I will put the time in , and proper practice makes a proper shooter . Point taken practice shooting bad you keep shooting bad...

[Blackwater]

Great attitude, and with that, and your already expressed desire, I think you're well on your way to being a real shootist! You're just at the same point all of us have been at one time. Your attitude, and willingness to FIND the root cause, WILL most certainly lead you to where you want to be. It's really just that simple. We've all been stumped, or experienced dead spots and difficult points along the way. ONLY your attitude and tactics will ever do what you want to do. I for one won't ever worry about you. It's just a matter of time, now.

Let us know what you find, and how it works out, if you will, please.

[Petrol & Powder]

I think it has all been said and said well. Practice is the key.
I'll add just a few comments to the already excellent pointers:
1. Pick ONE load and shoot only that one load until you master it. Variables are harmful to the process.
2. Single action makes you feel like you're really doing something in terms of accuracy but I would recommend practicing in double action. If you master DA shooting, SA is easy once you get the DA technique down. Kind of like learning to drive a manual transmission, you can always switch to an automatic.

3. BEWARE OF THE MAN WITH ONE GUN, HE PROBABLY KNOWS HOW TO USE IT !!
Train with ONE gun and ONE load only!! Keep the variables to an absolute minimum.

The GP100 is a great gun. Enjoy!

[toallmy]

Yes I was jumping around with 2 different bullet molds and several different powder charges once I picked just one load and powder charge it started coming together . Just practicing with the 150 gr swc for now and concentrating on the shooting, much better .I have been shooting single action ,but gun has nice dubbel action as well ,but for the time being just practicing Hold sight squeeze,over and over . thanks for the reply.