Aiming? Shooting?

[xd40xd]

Ok, let's start with I am a little new to handguns..


1) 1 or 2 eyes?

if 2 eyes - do you focus on the front sight?


2) When you line up the front and back sights, is the point of aim {below, on, above target}

3) When shooting, what should be a good group/ how close should the target be?

Thank you for response in advance

[jak224]

oh oh! i can answer one of these questions!

you need to focus on the front sight!

yea...and thats all I know so far...I'm still attempting to soak up all the knowledge that is floating around here

[amishclark]

1) 2 eyes...focus depends on distance/conditions. mostly, for target shooting @ 50 feet, focus on front sight.

2) depends on distance. according to the xd manual (which you should have read ), these pistols have a "6 o'clock" sight picture at 25 yards...at least, that's how i remember it.

3) start close and work up distance. a good group is what you consider acceptable...

[xd40xd]

6 oclock - like right above where your sight line up is where it will hit?

[scoobypup]

Originally Posted by xd40xd

6 oclock - like right above where your sight line up is where it will hit?

Yep. But SA says this is at 25 yards (~75 feet). I would think based on bullet trajectory that the closer you are from that distance the lower the bullet would hit. So at say 25 feet you would be hitting right behind the front site.

Don't take my word for it though as I haven't even been able to shoot mine yet (this weekend I will ).

[sloopy70]

Originally Posted by xd40xd

Ok, let's start with I am a little new to handguns..


1) 1 or 2 eyes?

if 2 eyes - do you focus on the front sight?


2) When you line up the front and back sights, is the point of aim {below, on, above target}

3) When shooting, what should be a good group/ how close should the target be?

Thank you for response in advance

1. If you can learn to shoot with both eyes open it will greatly benefit you, but yes you can shoot with one eye... Focus is dependant on what you NEED to see in order to make the shot go where you want... 7 yards and closer you can pretty much just look at the front sight, 15-20 and farther you need to use a variable focus: Focus on the target, then the front sight, then when your satisfied you break the shot...

2. POI is different on different guns... I like my point of impact to be exactly where the blade of the top of the front sight is on the target... less guess work... Some pistols shoot to POI some shoot with a 6'o clock hold...

3. Start about either 3 or 7 yards depending on how well you shoot, once youre getting about 4" groups move back to 10 or 15 yards, if they open up too big, move up some... just keep working back till you can hold your groups...

If youre really interested in learning good gun handling skills I strongly suggest that you start shooting in a sport such as USPSA (www.uspsa.com) Your gun handling skills will improve immensley, and theres also infinite knowledge to be learned from the guys who have been shooting a while... Also you can get into the sport for less than 100 bucks if you already have your pistol... all ya need is about 4 mags, some mag holders, and a decent holster, and bullets... most clubs let you shoot your first match for free, and you can put your zip code into the club finder on uspsa.com and itll tell you where the closest club is to you...


Have fun