Thinking too much!

[Speakingwinds]

I am currently in law enforcement w/ a federal agency. Previously, I worked as a local police officer for 10 years, having carried either a Glock 17 or Glock 21. My current position has the Sig Sauer P229, .357 sig, as its issued weapon. Over the course of the last 2 years (w/ the Feds) my shooting has deteriorated to the point where I am barely qualifying the PPC (255 to qual). I just can't seem to adjust to the Sig's action (double to single). I shot well w/ the Glock and its unique trigger action.

I have come to the point where I put it in my head that I totally despise the Sig and that thought is destroying my fundamentals and mental focus. I head to the range defeated before I begin. During slow aim fire, I hit the 5 ring from 15 yards out, but throw a timer in the mix and that double to single action kills me. Add in slapping the trigger on the single action, blinking, and anticipating the recoil. As much as I try to correct these faults, I always seem to go back to it when timed. Throw on top of this frustration the fact that I haven't shot in a year due to an elbow reconstruction and well, I'm a mess!

My job requires handgun proficency as a sharpshooter. My livelihood depends on my qualifying the PPC. People I have sworn to protect demand nothing less than excellence at my position. I stay awake at night trying to figure out how to shake this "slump." Any advice would be appreciated!

[SiG Lady]

Unfortunately, I can't offer any 'advice' because I, too, have a problem with my P-229 and the unholy long trigger-pull it seems to have. I keep this handgun as a defense pistol (and finally found a decent holster for it) and really appreciate the Sig overall... but I simply reached a point in time where I could make no more progress with it, couldn't be at all accurate with it, and the trigger pull was so lengthy I couldn't apply sensitivity to the act of firing as I can with a 1911... hence no accuracy or, indeed, pleasure in shooting it. Then someone told me the trigger could not be altered. Swell. Then someone else told me it could. I still haven't pursued that.

[Guest Larry Cazes]

Aren't there any alternate choices for a duty sidearm? I sold a SIG SP2340 because of the LLLOOONNNGGG double action pull. Maybe they will let you purchase a 1911?

[EricW]

Talk to Ernest Langdon. He can fix your Sig for you (hopefully on the sly so you don't get busted by your dept. armorer). The Sig DA trigger just needs help out of the box, plain and simple.

The second thing you need to do is start dryfiring. I carried a S&W 4506 for many years, I had had to balance a penny on the front sight while dryfiring to learn trigger control. You may need to start with other denominations first. Quarters are easier. Dimes are the hardest. I could generally pull the trigger 10+ times before vibrating the coin off the sight.

Don't give up. Keep your gun out at home (and unloaded of course). Be constantly be handling it and dryfiring in your down time. Use your vest as a safe backstop if need be. There are certain muscle groups that you need to develop and that can only happen through repetition. You *will* get there, but you have to have the diligence to keep after it.

The other thing I'll add is to shoot something that's substantially harder than your qualification as practice. Put a NRA D-1 "tombstone" at 50 yards. Treat every shot that falls outside of the 10 ring as a miss. This is totally do-able with every Sig I've fired (in SA mode anyway - not DA). Once you get your DA fixed, you should expect all of your DA shots to land in the 8 ring. Everything else is a miss. No fives in this game. You get X's, 10's, 8's and 0's. Your qualification targets will look gigantic after this. In fact, you'll actually get lost in them. Make sure you're shooting at a *point* on your qualification target, not just laying your sights somewhere in the middle of the target.

[benos]

Good stuff Eric...

You might also trying shaking it up a bit... Do some slow fire shooting off the bench - really learn what you must feel, see, and pay attention to in order to shoot good groups (single-action only). Then do the same thing, but shoot 5-shot groups with each shot double-action only. Learn what you have think/feel to manipulate each trigger mechanism successfully and consistently. Learn it on the bench first because it's easier, then take it to freestyle shooting. Also, you might experiment with using a different mindset than you would for a DA only or SA only pistol. With a DA only or SA only pistol, maybe without noticing it, we learn to give up conscious control by turning all our actions onto auto-pilot immediately after the first shot. With a DA/SA pistol, however, it can be beneficial to make a conscious focus shift after the first shot and before the second. Which you will know what that is from the results of the above experiments.

Also try shooting into the backstop (not at any sort of target) with 100% of your attention directed to your face/eyes in order to learn what it feels like to not blink as the gun fires.

Think of it like your going all the way back to the beginning and learning to shoot all over again. And you're going to learn each component - not blinking/continuously watching, SA trigger pull/sight picture, DA trigger pull/sight picture, calling the shot - freshly and separately.

Stick with it and you will benefit from it,

be

[m.e.t.]

You can get a shorter trigger for your Sig 229. I got mine through Brownells. I know the 229 is a stubby little pistol but I have even stubbier fingers. There are reduced power hammer springs available through Wolff but that might not be an option. But a good smoothing of the trigger bar works wonders also. Good Luck......

[Speakingwinds]

Thanks everyone for your advice! I hope to qual by the end of next week. I have been doing alot of dryfiring drills and slow aim fire. Going to utilize what you recommend and push on from there.

Thanks!! : :

[EricW]

Speakingwinds,

Good luck! And be sure to keep up the dryfire and practice after you qualify. If you post your location (and/or include it in your profile), I'll just bet there's some great people near you that frequent the forums that would love to have another shooting buddy.

We all learn together.

[Speakingwinds]

I live in Philly and would welcome a shooting buddy! So far, so good! Things are starting to click! No alterations allowed to duty weapon. We have to make due w/ that horrible trigger.

[glockmaster1]

Aren't there any alternate choices for a duty sidearm?  I sold a SIG SP2340 because of the LLLOOONNNGGG double action pull.  Maybe they will let you purchase a 1911?

I agree with Larry Cazes that you should ask if you could purchace a new weapon that you prefer and find more reliable and accurate so you feel comfortable carrying it for defence purposes.

[Flexmoney]

Speakingwinds,

Keep in mind...no matter how crappy the gun (as long as it isn't broken or misaligned)...it is impossible to miss as long as the sights are properly aligned and on target as the bullet leaves the barrel.

This requires that the shooter follows-thru, and sees the sights. (don't go looking at the target to see your holes...trust the sights...stay with them)