First shot from holster

[NewColonial]

I was at the range yesterday, specifically to practice my draw. I set up 2 10" round steel plates at 15yds. I noticed that I missed about 30% of my first shots from the holster. I thought it was the double action of the first shot (Sig P226) but I don't think I can attribute it to that totally. From low ready I had no issues with the first shot, double action. Followup shots, and target transitions were accurate as well. (I was hitting well back to 30yds!)

I know it's not much to go on, but any tips from others' experience are most appreciated. Thanks.

Edited October 7, 2010 by NewColonial

[a.roberts]

How's your grip when drawing from the holster?

It could be that from the holster, your grip isn't right, then after the first shot, you correct it and start hitting the target.

At low ready, your grip would already be established.

[dsmw5142]

Don't shoot until you see what you need to see to make the shot. Make sure you decelerate to a stop and your front sight is in razor sharp focus before you squeeze the trigger. Think of it like a car, if you jam the brakes it's going to bounce around. When you come up from low ready, you take the 'braking' out of the equation and it's one less thing going on in your head which allows you to concentrate on your grip more.

Don't rush and get sloppy with stance/grip/trigger control. The only thing that should be moving is your trigger finger. Your hand should not crush down on the grip as you press the trigger. Practice dry draws/fire from the holster at home, it's free! Good Luck

[Corey]

are you using a timer and trying to beat a certain time? if so, stop. work on getting your grip wheere you want it when you draw so that every shot goes right where you want it. after you can do that, then work on trying to speed things up.

[gfmun]

Try drawing in slow motion and just getting a sight picture for a few reps. Then dry fire the draw, sight picture, and pulling the trigger, again in slow motion. If you are feeling comfortable with the dry fire, then move to live ammo, but again in slow motion. Once you are getting comfortable ( and getting your hits ) then speed up. This has worked for me, maybe it will work for you. Good luck.

George

[LocknLoad]

I will echo what the others have said. It sounds like you are bouncing at the end by forcing yourself on target. Slow down and make sure the grip in right. I would suggest doing draw and sight drills until your muscle memory knows what you need to do. IMHO, you are far better take 2 seconds for your first shot and make it right, than to do it in one second and get a delta or a miss. Screwing up the first shot can also affect the rest of your run as you try to make up the miss.

David S.

[NewColonial]

Thanks for the generous replies. I'm suspecting the "bounce" issue is a big part of it. I've been dry firing a lot, but looking forward to getting back to the range and working on it some more.

[calishootr]

sounds like an inconsistent grip from the get-go, concentrate on gettin a good/consistent grip, and when presentingthe gun to thetarget, dont 'snap' the gun out, but rather a controlled 'push' out to the target, and most importantly, dont fire the shot till you have a good clean sight picture, no 'i think it was there' know it was on target BEFORE you break the shot, if it isnt, fix it...

biggest mistake people make is trying to get speed, speed will come with practice, all speed is a direct result of economy of motion...

Edited October 9, 2010 by calishootr

[wide45]

You are rushing.

You know how to hit the target. Just do that.

[38supPat]

I watched a shooter doing exactly the same thing with a Glock, so it's not the trigger. You are trying to make the gun go off at the end of the draw rather than placing the shot on the target and these two things are worlds apart. The draw just gets you to the shooting, it is not a separate action. Throw a timer on both a low ready presentation and the draw and see what happens, chances are right now you are not feeling pushed to make the shot quickly on the low ready shot but you do feel it with the draw in order to have "fast draw"

[NewColonial]

You are rushing.

You know how to hit the target. Just do that.

Can't get much more to the point! :-)

I watched a shooter doing exactly the same thing with a Glock, so it's not the trigger. You are trying to make the gun go off at the end of the draw rather than placing the shot on the target and these two things are worlds apart. The draw just gets you to the shooting, it is not a separate action. Throw a timer on both a low ready presentation and the draw and see what happens, chances are right now you are not feeling pushed to make the shot quickly on the low ready shot but you do feel it with the draw in order to have "fast draw"

That's the conclusion I've come to. All the above replies lead to believe I'm not letting the gun settle. I did notice in dry fire practice that I tend to speed up when drawing from the holster and I really have concentrate to slow down. Interesting, to me anyway, is that my arms-relaxed-at-side draw seems more rushed than from surrender. I was out of town last weekend, so I'm really looking forward to hitting the range this weekend with these new observations.

[Powder Finger]

One trick or game is to pick a time say 1.5,1.6,1.7 etc..... that you can make the shot(something like a low avg time).

now set that time as a par time. start the timer and draw, aim, every thing except break the shot.

You have to wait until the par buzzer goes off. You will be amazed at how much time you have to actually HIT the target.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Powder Finger

[Corey]

One trick or game is to pick a time say 1.5,1.6,1.7 etc..... that you can make the shot(something like a low avg time).

now set that time as a par time. start the timer and draw, aim, every thing except break the shot.

You have to wait until the par buzzer goes off. You will be amazed at how much time you have to actually HIT the target.

I like that idea and may need to try that

[Powder Finger]

I like that idea and may need to try that

Thanks but it's a Robbie deal he thinks of stuff backwards a lot and it becomes enlightening.

[NewColonial]

UPDATE:

Got out to the range for a short while this afternoon. Worked mostly on that first shot issue. Putting to use the tips and advice gained here, I'm seeing a great improvement. Yea, I'm closer to 2 sec than to 1.5, but at least they're A's. :-) Concentrated on making sure I really saw that front sight where it needed to be. After awhile I added a second shot so I could watch for the sight to return and shoot again. I was getting in the groove of "seeing what I needed to see." Saw the front sight where it needed to be, and broke the shot; no jerking or snatching. A great feeling!

Have a long way to go. I will eventually need to speed up that first shot, but I'm very happy that I'm finding consistency. Good day at the range indeed!

Edited October 17, 2010 by NewColonial

[Powder Finger]

UPDATE:

Got out to the range for a short while this afternoon. Worked mostly on that first shot issue. Putting to use the tips and advice gained here, I'm seeing a great improvement. Yea, I'm closer to 2 sec than to 1.5, but at least they're A's. :-) Concentrated on making sure I really saw that front sight where it needed to be. After awhile I added a second shot so I could watch for the sight to return and shoot again. I was getting in the groove of "seeing what I needed to see." Saw the front sight where it needed to be, and broke the shot; no jerking or snatching. A great feeling!

Have a long way to go. I will eventually need to speed up that first shot, but I'm very happy that I'm finding consistency. Good day at the range indeed!

no rush, remember time is time, an "A" is 5pts, a miss or a miss and N/S is a disaster no time can make up for.

The fact you call and hit the first shot sets up the whole stage IMHO.