Heavy vs Light

[Stafford]

I had the opportunity today to shoot free reign on a range set up for USPSA practice. Several bays with steel and a few others set up with paper/steel and activators/swingers, etc...

 

After I had shot all I wanted with my CO Shadow 2, I decided to give my CO Glock 17 some practice time. In every way, the S2 was better and more consistent, but, in fairness, I rarely shoot the Glock.  But the one observation I made was that on longer distance targets, where you slow down and focus, it was easier to get the dot to settle on the lighter Glock. 

 

That being said, I wasn't necessarily more accurate with the Glock at distance, as the SA on the CZ is way better than the stock Glock trigger. But, purely in terms of getting steady to take the shot, the lighter Glock "seemed" better.

 

[Johnny_Chimpo]

3 hours ago, Stafford said:

But, purely in terms of getting steady to take the shot, the lighter Glock "seemed" better.

 

Feelings lie.  The timer tells the truth.

[sfinney]

This. Do it on a timer and see which is better.

 

Plus take a pause and ask yourself why the Glock felt liked the sights settled faster.

Maybe the Shadow is over or under recoil sprung causing the gun to not settle smoothly? To muzzle heavy to balance when going for fine control?
 

Let the timer tell you which is better, and then try to understand any misconceptions with data points. Maybe the gun just needs tuning. Or grip.

[Stafford]

My guess is that the S2 is too muzzle heavy in comparison to the Glock. No big deal during dry fire or slow fire on paper, but under the stress of the timer, maybe I rush the 25 yard shots. Just seemed that the Glock was back on quicker at distance. Again, not that it really mattered. The trigger of the S2 is so much better that it negates any advantage that I may have "seemed" from the Glock.

[konkapot]

Again, gotta do some timer work. Many times the lighter gun or heavier gun or better grip angle or worse grip angle might seem "better" but lack of measurable difference can be shocking. 

[Johnny_Chimpo]

17 hours ago, Stafford said:

My guess is that the S2 is too muzzle heavy in comparison to the Glock. No big deal during dry fire or slow fire on paper, but under the stress of the timer, maybe I rush the 25 yard shots. Just seemed that the Glock was back on quicker at distance. Again, not that it really mattered. The trigger of the S2 is so much better that it negates any advantage that I may have "seemed" from the Glock.

 

Guesses and feelings are useless.  They don't provide any actionable information.

[scroadkill]

I have a pair of limited guns I use - a 53oz 5.5" 2011 and 42oz 6" 2011. the heavy gun definitely soaks up the recoil better, but the light gun seams so much easier to settle on target and transition to next target. Ive been thinking about swapping grip frames on the heavy one from steel to aluminum to lighten it up... but  its a spendy mod.

 

[Stafford]

Not sure this applies very well to USPSA, but anyway... I shot a modified LEO qualifying course to be certified as a SRO at a range. You have to qualify with the firearm you plan to carry so, I took both the Shadow 2 and the Glock 17. I actually shot slightly better with the Glock. Everything was timed but it wasn't difficult to shoot under the limit. There were a few mag changes and distances from 3 to 25 yards. In reality, the speed required on this course of fire was moderate. I'll be carrying the Glock on the range as it is considerably lighter. 

[Bakerjd]

I bought and sold a few polymer CO guns this year. For me, I have nerve damage in the elbows, the heavier guns shot much better. As far as speed is concerned under the timer my splits were pretty much the same between .17-.20. Transitions were about the same as well, .30ish. Yeah I know they are painfully slow. Considering the fact I'm used to a heavy limited gun, 5.4" 60oz gun and just switch to CO this season I had more trouble not passing the next target with the light weight guns. I also noticed with the light weight guns I would dip more amd have to bring the gun back up for the second shot. Where as with the heavier guns, legion with tungsten GR and SSI slug, tanfo stock 2 with brass grips, A01LD with brass grips my they came back to zero pretty much perfect every time. I eventually just stuck with the CZ A01LD simply because it fit my hands dang near perfect and has given me not one single issue at all. All other had some issue at some point. Mostly fail to feed or extract.