Trying to improve my performance

[Jon Clayton]

I am not exactly a beginner, but I am just not getting back into handgun pleasure shooting and I am very frustrated with m performance. With the exception of one handgun that I have always shot extremely well, I find that I constantly group left of my point of aim. According to the wheel of misfortunes, this is related to finger placement on the trigger and I believe this could be true, but have a a few questions. Keep in mind I am just punching paper at the range, not competing - at least not yet.

I have been told 2 separate things regarding finger placement on the trigger. First, a ex-military trainer told me that the proper finger placement is where ever your finger naturally falls on the trigger. This is what I have been using, and for me, with long fingers and big hands, the natural spot seems to be at my middle knuckle.

Secondly, I've been told that I should try to use the pad of my finger - which I have tried a few times but it feels very un-natural to me.

Should I continue to work on getting used to using the pad of my finger, or is there ever a time in which my normal placement would be acceptable?

Is there anything else that can work on to bring my shots back to center?

[G-ManBart]

Pad of the finger, pressure straight back until the shot breaks. Dry fire, dry fire, dry fire, until you can have the hammer fall, and the sights don't move. They'll probably wiggle a tiny bit, but that doesn't matter as long as it happens after the hammer falls. If you do that, the shot has to be to point of aim (assuming the sights are properly regulated). R,

[Jon Clayton]

Will do!

Edited December 28, 2010 by Jon Clayton

[Sean Gaines]

are you shooting a glock? if so they are notorious for shooting left out of the box, if it is a glock sand bag the gun and see what it will do with you out of the equation, and group shoot it out to about 15 yards. if it is the gun then move the rear sight to the right a little at a time until its dead on.

If not a glock, take g-mans advice

[Jon Clayton]

In this particular case it was my new XDM .40, but the same thing happens when I shoot my 1911's, LCR, or my friends glock. Strangely enough, I have no problems at all with my steel frame baby eagle .45 or my 686 revolver in single action but replicates more with double action.

I think I need to find a reputable class and get some training ground up. I've been shooting for years, never great, but never this bad. I am completely self taught and I know that I've picked up some really bad habits along the way with grip and posture. For the last 3-4 years I've been lucky to shoot 3 or 4 times per year, and then it was usually rifle so my pistol skills are terrible now.

I am open to any suggestions, I've been lurking here for a while and appreciate the wealth of info already on this forum.

[Corey]

Steve Anderson's dryfire book is a great tool for new drills and tracking performance. also the matt Burkett DVD set is pretty information filled. lots of basics in the beginning and good info throughout. those are a couple of "at-home study kits"

[Jon Clayton]

Thanks! I will check those out. I just finished working my way through the squad marksmanship training dvd's I purchased from CMP. Seems to have helped my rifle skills some, so now it's time to work on the handguns.

For what it's worth, what do you guys think of the XDM? I've never been much into .40, I am more a .45 guy but I think I am going to like this one.

[Flexmoney]

What you need to be able to do is actuate the trigger straight back into the frame of the gun, without disturbing the sight alignment. It makes absolutely no difference what gun it is, this is a fundamental requirement.

In my opinion, everything needs to build off of this. (As opposed to those that start out with a certain grip as their foundation.)

[amaziah]

From your post I don't really know if it's an issue with you or the gun. Like has been said, sit down at the bench and use the sand bags and establish a baseline for where each gun shoots taking as much of the shooter out of the equation.as possible. Then if your guns are shooting where the sights are aimed you can work on your technique to get on target. What distances are you shooting at? How much left are your groups? What king of groups sizes are you shooting i.e. 1 inch groups or pie plate sized groups? Some guns do not shoot straight out of the box and need their sights adjusted. Get the baseline first.

[Erik S.]

Second knuckle?!!

Definitely use the pad of the finger like Bart said, but this can be a little confusing because you have alot of room on the pad of your finger. Should it be more towards the first knuckle, or more towards the tip? So many factors go into this and anyone can SLOWLY squeeze the trigger until the shot breaks while keeping the sights aligned with pretty much any part of their finger. The question is, what happens when you QUICKLY squeeze the trigger? I'm not talking about a slap or a yank, I'm talking about a controlled squeeze, only done quickly like you would during a match. ALOT more information can be learned about which part of the pad you should use when doing a quick squeeze. If you do slap the trigger, does your gun move left or right? if it moves left, try using the pad closer to your first knuckle, if it moves right, try using the pad closer to the tip of your finger. Doing this will help you determine which part of the pad of your finger you should use to pull the trigger in order to get a straight back pull. Also, make sure your distal phalanx (outermost phalange) is at a right angle to the trigger. This will ensure your trigger shoe is the correct length. Another reason to start with a tuned gun.......but that was a different thread entirely.

[Matt Griffin]

Seems likely you're putting too much finger on it and pushing the gun. If it goes away with a small frame pistol and a single action revolver, then you need to adjust your pull or your grip to accomodate your preference for a smaller palm-to-trigger distance.