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New SP-01 - Very accurate except 2" to the left


matteekay

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I finally got to try out my new SP-01 Tactical tonight. It shoots well, and I'm pretty pleased with this 10 yard, 20-shot group considering I've shot nothing but revolvers for over a year: 

 

IMG_20170615_2306396_zpsozvjye0e.jpg

 

Now, obviously I'd like that clump of holes to be in the center instead of to 2" the left. I checked with a boresighter and, based on that, the sights are dead-on. So I guess it's me? I'm pressing carefully and not jerking the trigger (I don't think I could group decently if I was) but clearly something is off.

 

Should I just drift the rear until the POA and POI line up and ignore the boresighter?

 

The funny thing is the EXACT same thing happens when I shoot my brother-in-law's Tanfoglio Witness. The boresighter is straight, but I shoot a tight group that's about 2" to the left. 

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How are you shooting this 20 shot group?

 

Offhand or from a solid bench?

 

One hand or two?

 

Slowly and deliberately, or rapidly?

 

Are the sights similar to the sights on your revolver?

 

Indoors or out?   Ear muffs?

 

I guess this group size, at 10 yards, is similar in size to the groups

you shoot with your revolver?

 

A little more info would be helpful - we have some experts here at BE

who will be able to give you all the help you need.    :) 

 

 

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Grip harder with the weak (left) hand. Very very firmly.

Relax  your trigger finger (right) hand.

Work on pulling the trigger straight back - experiment with different finger placements on the trigger.

 

Leave the sights alone and practice with the gun until you shoot it straight. Don't mask a problem with the setup of the gun - it won't motivate you to learn to shoot it straight nearly as aggressively.

 

Also, experiment with shooting the gun left handed if you start thinking that it might actually be the sights. Magically, the holes will movecrhe opposite direction. ;) 

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Your eyes are unique, you should adjust the sights to produce the desired effect in combination with your pistol.

 

I find it very hard to believe there's a fundamental flaw in your technique you could reproduce consistently enough to shoot the group above at 10 yards.

 

If it were true that shots should hit dead center for every individual what would be the use of adjustable sights?

 

 

Edited by kneelingatlas
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I'd try it with a rest as mentioned above. I have a habit of dipping to the left and down a few inches on every shot, and it is so repeatable that I normally aim for the top right of any target zone/steel I shoot at in my matches. The ROs at each match I've shot have told me what I'm doing so that is my main focus in practice. 

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How are you shooting this 20 shot group?
 
Offhand or from a solid bench?
 
One hand or two?
 
Slowly and deliberately, or rapidly?
 
Are the sights similar to the sights on your revolver?
 
Indoors or out?   Ear muffs?
 
I guess this group size, at 10 yards, is similar in size to the groups
you shoot with your revolver?
 
A little more info would be helpful - we have some experts here at BE
who will be able to give you all the help you need.    [emoji4] 
 
 


Hi there!

In order:
- Offhand
- Freestyle / two handed
- Deliberate. Revo shooter, so I'm used to being very deliberate with my trigger pulls
- This gun has three dots. Most of my revos are notch rear and dot front
- Indoors with muffs
- Pretty similar to the size of a group I can pull with the competition wheelguns when I'm deliberate with my shots. Speeding up with those starts to dip my shots low but generally centered.
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2 hours ago, kneelingatlas said:

Your eyes are unique, you should adjust the sights to produce the desired effect in combination with your pistol.

 

I find it very hard to believe there's a fundamental flaw in your technique you could reproduce consistently enough to shoot the group above at 10 yards.

 

If it were true that shots should hit dead center for every individual what would be the use of adjustable sights?

 

 

 

That's the funny thing - if it was an adjustable sight gun, I would have just moved the rear two or three clicks and never thought twice about it, lol.

 

I'll shoot it off a rest, but to me that's only a partial data point. I always zero on a rest and then adjust for how I shoot a gun when held freestyle (aka, how it will be shot 99.999999999% of the time). Typically that's just an elevation tweak, though.

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Well, if my weak-hand shooting from last month's match holds true, you'll find bullets in the target frame... and the floor... and the ceiling... ;)

 

I'll give it a whirl next time I'm at the range. 

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I would move the sights.  If you do have a flaw it is really consistent and probably won't be fixed overnight.  In the meantime you don't want to develop a worse flaw of trying to remember to always aim to the right.  As you practice you may notice the group moving to the right, at that point adjust them back.

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5 hours ago, matteekay said:

- This gun has three dots. Most of my revos are notch rear and dot front

- Indoors with muffs

 

 

Two thoughts:

 

1.  try it again but use the notch rear and dot front - don't use the two dots in the rear

 

2.  Might be because you had a strong light on one side of your gun - caused you

     to see more of one side of the front sight or the other.   If you normally shoot

     outdoors, I'd try it again outdoors - or if you normally shoot indoors, try it

     again from the other side of the range than last time.   See if the lighting

     might have caused your group to wander off to the left.

 

Good luck with it.    :) 

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Thanks, Jack!

 

I'll put a piece of electrical tape over the rear dots and try the other side of the range (I mostly shoot indoors).

 

I mentioned it before, but the funny thing is I shoot my brother-in-law's CZ-pattern gun the exact same way (and I've done it at three different ranges). I'm literally always 2" left. Must be something about how that frame fits my hand.

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As a qualifier, I haven't read the thread, just browsed through it.  Nonetheless, here is what I would do.  First, fire the pistol from a good solid rest; a ransom rest would be best.  Purpose is to determine where the problem is -- you or the pistol.  If from a VERY solid rest, VERY good sight picture and trigger control, the pistol still shoots 2 inches left, the pistol is most likely the cause.  Adjust the sights.  If the pistol shoots centered groups the problem is you, and you need to figure out why, and correct the problem.

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13 hours ago, matteekay said:

Must be something about how that frame fits my hand.

 

I wouldn't jump to that possible conclusion, yet.

 

Watch the lighting on your front sight, first - if that did not affect it - then it

must be your grip - but sounds to me like you are an excellent revolver

shooter, and should be able to compensate properly for a different grip   :) 

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Matteekay, same deal here. I shot revolvers for years and switched to Glock and later Shadow. I have consistently shot about 2" to the left @20yds with any platform. 

I figured that shooting 1-2" groups @20yds was good and couldn't find any way to make myself shoot in the middle by changing technique. So I ended up moving the sights. 

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20 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

 

I wouldn't jump to that possible conclusion, yet.

 

Watch the lighting on your front sight, first - if that did not affect it - then it

must be your grip - but sounds to me like you are an excellent revolver

shooter, and should be able to compensate properly for a different grip   :) 

 

Woah now - I'm middling at best, lol. Literally, I'm a C / 51% .

 

I'm going to try changing a few things grip-wise and see if I can get it back to center....

 

13 hours ago, spook said:

Matteekay, same deal here. I shot revolvers for years and switched to Glock and later Shadow. I have consistently shot about 2" to the left @20yds with any platform. 

I figured that shooting 1-2" groups @20yds was good and couldn't find any way to make myself shoot in the middle by changing technique. So I ended up moving the sights. 

 

Interesting! I'm going to see if I can fix it by technique but yeah, I might end up adjusting the sight if nothing else works.

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Little update - I did a bunch of dry fire and shot a few more mags last night. I noticed that the front sight does, in fact, drift left at the very end of my press. This was worse when my support thumb was on top of the slide release rather than under it, but I also had more control over recoil when my thumb was riding on the release.

 

In live fire, I could get closer to center with very, very slow deliberate presses, but still only had two bullseyes out of 50 shots. Even then, those came when I cheated the front sight to the right. Good ole' Kentucky windage...

 

I did try changing firing positions a few times to see if light had an effect. No noticeable difference.

 

Now come the excuses, lol. I really, really dislike the 3-dot system. I'm finding that I'm having a hell of a time picking up enough of the rear sight to grasp my front sight placement. I know it's a copout but I might wind up swapping them for a traditional notch rear and a fiber optic front since that's what I have on 6 other guns (and the seventh has a notch and a painted patridge).

 

Thanks for the advice, all!

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I don't think it's that unexpected to shoot a new gun a bit off or at least for less experienced shooters. I know I can shoot my S2 easily at to POA, but if I rent the 1911 or any other gun, the different feel is enough to make my shots consistently hit off POA. Just takes some time.

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54 minutes ago, pittpa said:

I always wonder if the barrel is canted. Saw that at the range when a guy ran out of sight adjustment and I asked to have s look.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What do you think it is - a new S&W Performance Center revolver?! 

 

:P

 

But nah, based on boresighter, the problem exists between the floor and the trigger.

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Different guns require different holding/shooting techniques.  When I started shooting Glocks, it was always low/left.  I've since focused on and improved my grip and general technique such that I'm just a tad low/left with the Glock :)  Point being, had I adjusted my sites, I would not have recognized the root of the issue was with me and not the gun.

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I had this same problem when I started shooting USPSA a couple years ago. I switched from benchrest shooting to shooting handguns and everything I shot went to the left. I would have very good groups just to the left of center. What I did is first I shot my handguns from a rest and determined the guns were shooting straight so I determined it had to be my technique. I worked on my grip and practicing in dry and live fire. After a short while I noticed my groups started to shoot to center. In my opinion Memphis Mechanic is right if the gun is shooting straight it's something in your technique and for me this proved accurate. 

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What do you think it is - a new S&W Performance Center revolver?! 
 
[emoji14]
 

Actually, one of the reasons I won't buy one. I've only seen it on a Taurus in person. I was somewhat reluctant to bring it up in a discussion about a Ruger. :)



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