Low and to the left

[Shadyscott999]

This might help you...

Edited January 16, 2012 by Shadyscott999

[Pokute]

Beginning shooters tend to shoot low left do to increasing the pressure in the fingers of the strong hand as they are pulling the trigger. Milking the grip with the fingers. Check to see if that could be a problem.

I hope nobody minds me bumping this thread, but this post just "spoke" to me.

I shot pretty well with revolvers (SA), but when I got my 1911 I was all over the place. First thing I had to do was get rid of a nasty flinch that had me shooting clear off the paper at 25 yards. Once I got rid of that, I consistently shot (and I have to disclose here, I'm talking about last weekend!) 2-3 inches left at 25 yards. I used my usual technique of dry firing with the gun held above a big sheet of graph paper, and sure enough, the barrel moved a tiny bit to the left every time I pulled the trigger. I was describing this to a friend, without a gun in my hands but making shooting motions, and he said "Hey, your middle finger is moving left!" So yeah, "Milking the grip"!

Now I need to find a cure for THAT. Cut off my middle finger? That would be a serious handicap in morning traffic.

[daves_not_here]

Glock-itis = low and left. It was common for me in the beginning.

I was taught, when shooting a glock, to use the tip of the finger pad gives me the best straight back trigger press (the first third or quarter of the pad). It's a long pull by design. Give it a try. If things start going low and left again mentally check your finger placement.

I also held off on any trigger modifications until I could shoot the stock setup straight. I spent the money on lessons which helped more than any trigger job could.

Have fun,

DNH

[Acespeedy]

By placing the pad of your trigger finger on the face of the trigger you will minimize the chance of manipulating / influencing the trigger. If you have long fingers you can try to put a 90 degree bend at the second joint. Similar to old bolt gun shooting techniques where you avoided "dragging wood." In actuality as long as you bring that trigger straight and to the rear each time, remember straight and to the rear , you should see a decrease in your rounds impacting to the left.

[Acespeedy]

Do you prep the trigger or do you press continuously when you make contact with the trigger face? Second question, do you reset/prep or full release/maintain contact with trigger for a subsequent shot?

JG

[SouthernYeti]

Low left shots for a right-handed shooter is a sign of classic trigger jerk. If you think about the mechanics of your finger it naturally wants to move in an arch. If you "slap" or "mash" the trigger without focusing on pulling it straight to the rear you will have a much higher chance of pushing the muzzle down and to the left.

That being said, it could be also be a number of different things. My suggestion would be to focus all your attention on pressing the trigger straight to the rear and making sure that your finger finishes flat on the trigger when the shot breaks. If that does not remedy the problem, then experiment with your grip and how you are applying pressure.

I am a left-handed shooter, and when I start speeding up my shots I notice that I will push a shot here and there slightly low and to the right. After I throw a shot I take a deep breath and concentrate more on my trigger control and surprise surprise it drills it dead center.

Good luck!

[peasant]

Thanks for all the interesting input...

[daves_not_here]

Thanks for all the interesting input...

Peasant,

Did you try any suggestions? Any results or comments?

I'm very interested in refining the fundamentals.

"Fundamentals" is what I hear a lot from the top level shooters. It's like they've come full circle and have a deeper appreciation of the simple things.

DNH

[krommel]

I'm a fairly new shooter and I'm trying to build solid fundamentals. I shoot a production Glock 17 in IDPA and a little USPSA along with pins at my local range. Lately my shooting has deteriorated despite regular dry fire practice and I'm hitting a couple of inches low and left on half or more of my shots. Talk about frustrating. I'm planning on putting some groups from a rest to work the trigger but I feel a lack of direction in my practice and development. Any ideas?

There are about a billion threads on this. Do a search. You should find lots of helpful info already posted.

[toothguy]

Two things that helped me tremendously with a revolver:

1. Don't start pulling the trigger until the sights are on the target.

2. Once you start pulling the trigger, do not vary your pull speed until the gun fires.

Or in other words for 2, never slow down or "stage" the trigger pull.

be

[BoyGlock]

Two things that helped me tremendously with a revolver:

1. Don't start pulling the trigger until the sights are on the target.

2. Once you start pulling the trigger, do not vary your pull speed until the gun fires.

Or in other words for 2, never slow down or "stage" the trigger pull.

be

Think this can also be true in SA triggers of 19/2011?

I am not sure on #1 but in #2 I shoot better hit factors when I learned and employ this in my STI.

I've learned and used to "ride the sear" and got good at it.

But when I viewed TGO's video and noticed that he seemed not to stop/stage the trigger, I experimented and got better results.

Rolling the trigger in SA (or DA as BE described above) is "more" subconscious than staging. At least to me.

It removes the feel of the sear before release. When my trigger finger starts to move it never stops,as long as Im on target, I just pull thru w/o any attention to the sear engagement. When I accomplish this, my attention usually stays on the sight thru out the firing phase.

Try it. Just be aware of possibly yanking or pausing the trigger at the point of sear engagement. It was a tendency I had to be on guard of at the beginning.

It might have helped that I also shoot DA revs and Glocks

Eta: I learned its gtg in my 2011 BEFORE I applied it on my Glocks.

Before this, I used to ride the reset of the Glock trigger.

But I used to shoot revs before them.

What Im saying is that it may or may not have nothing to do w/ the platform

Edited October 31, 2012 by BoyGlock

[toothguy]

Two things that helped me tremendously with a revolver:

1. Don't start pulling the trigger until the sights are on the target.

2. Once you start pulling the trigger, do not vary your pull speed until the gun fires.

Or in other words for 2, never slow down or "stage" the trigger pull.

be

Think this can also be true in SA triggers of 19/2011?

I am not sure on #1 but in #2 I shoot better hit factors when I learned and employ this in my STI.

I've learned and used to "ride the sear" and got good at it.

But when I viewed TGO's video and noticed that he seemed not to stop/stage the trigger, I experimented and got better results.

Rolling the trigger in SA (or DA as BE described above) is "more" subconscious than staging. At least to me.

It removes the feel of the sear before release. When my trigger finger starts to move it never stops,as long as Im on target, I just pull thru w/o any attention to the sear engagement. When I accomplish this, my attention usually stays on the sight thru out the firing phase.

Try it. Just be aware of possibly yanking or pausing the trigger at the point of sear engagement. It was a tendency I had to be on guard of at the beginning.

It might have helped that I also shoot DA revs and Glocks

Eta: I learned its gtg in my 2011 BEFORE I applied it on my Glocks.

Before this, I used to ride the reset of the Glock trigger.

But I used to shoot revs before them.

What Im saying is that it may or may not have nothing to do w/ the platform

I thought about #1 alot and for myself I establish a good grip, high on the revolver with good index on the trigger using the first finger joint. To maintain this grip relationship I hold it there by applying pinning pressure with the support hand. I try to think (feel) of this as one solid unit (read Brian's "The Set"). Without increasing or decreasing pressure just hold what you have. Accepting the slight wobble the sights will stay where you want as you pull the trigger straight through with steady even pressure. The gun will go off when it wants to. Watch the sights see them lift, what was the mental snapshot just before the muzzle flash? That's where the bullet went.

[toothguy]

If I may, I would like to recommended an excellent book. It's a very short read about an hour or so, "How To Become A Master Handgunner" by Charles Stephens. It's all about the mechanics of X-count shooting. It's the least expensive book I have but one of the most valuable.