Looking for Drill Suggestion

[RickT]

My wife and I started shooting Steel Challenge about 4 months ago. Mechanics, including draw, are getting better, but we have a long way to go. My wife is fighting a systematic POI issue as follows: many of her hits (and misses) are low left/left, this on targets that under deliberate fire would be near center hits (e.g., 12" plate at 10 yards). This happens on the first target out of the draw and from subsequent targets. I believe the misses are too systematic to be simply a bad sight picture; my "theory" is that she's squeezing her strong had fingers as she operates the trigger. These are 9mm 1911s with soft loads and here trigger is 3-1/4 lbs with zero creep - a great trigger.

I've suggested (always dangerous ground) that she might not be establishing her grip early enough in the draw (or perhaps tightening her grip in anticipation of recoil??). In any event we're open to any and all suggestions regarding causes and drills!

[b1gcountry]

Pulling low left usually means poor trigger control. Pulling the trigger fast will make a big difference. Do some trigger drills. Put the dime on the slide and pull the trigger. Make sure the dime doesn't move. Repeat with a time constraint.

[CZinZA]

Definitely trigger control. It's a very common problem - I have it myself when I rush

[Hi-Power Jack]

Very common ....

Dot torture drill.

[Nimitz]

white wall drill in dry fire and dot drill in live fire ... both can be found in Ben Stoeger's books ...

if you don't solve your trigger control issues first, doing other drills won't really matter. i would spend whatever time is necessary to fix this issue ... most people don't do this because it appears to be boring ... of course, most people never make it beyond B class either ...

Edited April 23, 2015 by Nimitz

[gng4life]

The other thing to watch for for low/left hits is too much finger in the trigger guard. You can can learn to overcome this but you don't have to...just make sure there to watch next time you go practice. Like CZ and B1 said, definitely trigger control...

[b1gcountry]

Here is a drill. Cock the gun. Put a dime on the slide-flat side down. Have her watch the sights and slowly squeeze trigger until it breaks. Sights should not move. Dime should not move. This should be relatively easy for her.

Next repeat the drill, but go faster.

Next have her repeat the drill to the sound of a timer. See if she can pull the trigger before the buzzer stops ringing. Make sure nothing moves.

[g17drumr]

Here is a drill. Cock the gun. Put a dime on the slide-flat side down. Have her watch the sights and slowly squeeze trigger until it breaks. Sights should not move. Dime should not move. This should be relatively easy for her.

Next repeat the drill, but go faster.

Next have her repeat the drill to the sound of a timer. See if she can pull the trigger before the buzzer stops ringing. Make sure nothing moves.

and after she masters that, lay the dime on the front sight instead of the slide...thats fun. sometimes its harder to get the gun into shooting position without dropping the dime than it is to break the trigger without dropping it

[mlmiller1]

If you want a drill to help with first shots from a draw, try this. Draw & shoot a few times, recording the time. Take an average of that time & add 2/10 second to it. Set par on your timer for this time. Beep, draw, get on target, wait on par beep, fire when beeps. Do a few like this making sure of good form & hit target. Reduce par time by 1/10 of second & do a few more. As she increases her wait time on the par, reduce par again. Keep doing this until shes not waiting on par, remembering good form & hitting target consistently. Now remove the par & just start her normally. She will probably be a fair amount faster & have the confidence & skill to make that first shot count!
Try it, you will be surprised I think.

Edited April 26, 2015 by mlmiller1

[bobapunk]

My wife and I started shooting Steel Challenge about 4 months ago. Mechanics, including draw, are getting better, but we have a long way to go. My wife is fighting a systematic POI issue as follows: many of her hits (and misses) are low left/left, this on targets that under deliberate fire would be near center hits (e.g., 12" plate at 10 yards). This happens on the first target out of the draw and from subsequent targets. I believe the misses are too systematic to be simply a bad sight picture; my "theory" is that she's squeezing her strong had fingers as she operates the trigger. These are 9mm 1911s with soft loads and here trigger is 3-1/4 lbs with zero creep - a great trigger.

I've suggested (always dangerous ground) that she might not be establishing her grip early enough in the draw (or perhaps tightening her grip in anticipation of recoil??). In any event we're open to any and all suggestions regarding causes and drills!

That bold part, it is either that or she is slapping/jerking the trigger.

[bobapunk]

Here is a drill to diagnose and possibly fix.

Insert loaded mag and chamber a round (this is a live fire drill, so don't do it in your basement...)
Eject mag.
Take careful aim at a target, the target should be either small, or far so that fundamentals are important.
Fire your shot, executing all the fundamentals including follow-through.
Aim again and fire a second shot.

Watch what the muzzle / front sight does on the second shot.

That will show you the problem.

[bobapunk]

Also, ensure that your eyes remain focused on the front sight. She may be dropping the gun to try to see the bullet impact on the target.