New Pistol guy

[Black69ta]

1st shooting a pistol in 20 years and first time to shoot a XD!
Shot from 7 yards
Think the first holes are from improper sight picture, I am used to aligning the top of the sights with the middle of the bulls-eye. And caught myself doing that several times.

The second was shooting from a bench-rest at the same 7 yards, not with sandbags, but just resting the grip/my hands on a rest.

still not using the correct sight picture, thinking I am shooting to the left too, may be from not gripping tight enough.

Range master pointed out that I should hold grip with parallel thumbs, that helped, but it was hard to remember that, so I need more practice.

Thought I would just go and take the CCW class and pass with ease, glad I didn't try.

[konertjm]

One of the best things you can do to improve your accuracy is to use the Pistol Correction targets at this link:
New High Resolution Pistol Correction Chart w/ XDTalk logo
If you can print the large target at 11 X 17, and shoot 7 or 10 yds, it will help a lot with what you may be doing wrong.

Also go view this video on a 2 pistol handed grip. He also explains why this type of grip works well when properly used. Video at this link:

Travis Haley on Handgun Grip - YouTube

Travis Haley on Handgun Grip - YouTube

[Noblewar]

Bummer! Says the video above is no longer available. Can't wait to get out and try my XD9 for the first time, and that pistol correction chart/target looks like a great learning tool.

[eternity059]

go to youtube and type in his name. There are plenty uploaded. Same thing happened to me and then I just searched for his name and up it came.

[Black69ta]

Ok I found his videos, and Wow, i want to go and take his course now, lol well made videos, his grip advice was basically what the Park Ranger told me.

Only other time I shot pistols was my Uncle Taurus model 92, and I remember that I hit close to the bulls-eye the first shot, but missed the whole target with follow-up shots, and I bet grip is one reason why.

[Jeanjacket]

It's much more than sight picture here that's causing your issues... At 7 yards, even if your sight picture is a little off you should still be hitting the bulls. Firearm manipulation, grip, anticipation, and sight picture are probably all affecting you..

I think you may have an odd understanding of how the sight picture works in the first place though. XDs are sighted in to either POA or 6 o'clock POA at 25 yards depending on ammo and who is pulling the trigger lol. At closer than 25 yards, this means you should be aiming slightly higher than that. My XD is sighted at 6 o'clock POA at 25 yards, so any closer, I simply use POA, lining up the top of the 3 sight posts with the intended target. I'm not sure what you're doing or what you think you need to be doing, but even if you're "used to that" if you for some reason thought you were not supposed to, you should be shooting high... not low. Shooting low tells me it could be a few things, but you're most likely dropping the muzzle for every shot, and definitely has nothing to do with sight picture.

Use that pistol correction chart posted above by the second poster, it's generally pretty accurate.

Grip - You want your shooting had as relaxed as possible and equal or more pressure in the support hand. Get your shooting hand as high up on the gun as possible, all the way into the tang. Get your support hand, thumb forward following the frame. You want both hands touching as much of the gun as possible. NOTE: Having "too loose" a grip on the gun is actually BETTER accuracy-wise. You can hold a gun limp, and if you pull the trigger properly with proper gun and trigger control, the shot will hit the bullseye every time. Gripping too hard, however, CAN cause accuracy problems, as the tendency to cause movement in the firearm or unwanted trigger finger movement is increased greatly. There are many a video of someone holding a gun with only their thumb and middle finger with one hand, and still hitting far away targets. If you're gripping the gun lightly, and your shots are still all over the place, then you know it's not cause you're gripping it too tightly. Much of the reasoning behind grip is to keep control of the gun and for follow-up shot accuracy. No matter how you hold it, if the sights are lined up and you pull the trigger properly, the bullet will go where you're pointing the gun.

Trigger placement - Make sure the first "pad" of your finger is what is pulling the trigger. Do not let the trigger sit in the first "crease" between the top two "pads" of your finger.

Trigger pull - When pulling the trigger, the object is to isolate the trigger finger movement, hence the reason why you want your trigger hand as relaxed as possible, holding the gun with just enough pressure to firmly grip the gun, without using a death grip. When you pull the trigger, you want NOTHING else in your trigger hand to move. Isolate the movement, finger is the only thing that moves when you pull the trigger.

Trigger follow-through - In order to ensure a trigger pull goes straight back, follow through with each trigger pull. A trigger pull straight back ensures little horizontal movement when you actually pop the shot off. Slapping the trigger with a quick flick motion can result in unwanted motion before the shot.

Just a few things to mull over.

[coach482]

^^^ what he said ^^^


+BRAS = breathe, relax, aim, squeeze - keep trigger pulled for 3 - 5 seconds.

Also get some snap caps.

Place a dime on the front of slide just behind the front site.
Aim and squeeze till the dime does not fall off.

[HighFlyingA380]

Which MDC range?

[TheCleric]

JeanJacket,

Thank you for this wonderfully detailed posting. Being a newbie myself, I learned a lot from it. I appreciate you taking the time to go into the level of detail that you did to share your experience and knowledge to help other shooters improve their skills. This was great. I hope to be in a place to be able to pass the favor to on to others some day.