Beginner Help

[funkcanna]

Thank you guys for the information, I didnt expect anything so in depth and I really appreciate it!

it makes me ask what the specific bullet type is for the rounds you are shooting.

Im not sure but I will be sure to check tomorrow when I go.

Each time you shot a Glock 17.  Is it a "range" gun, or are you shooting with your own weapon? 

Its a range gun.  Unfortunately as an Expat in the UAE I cant legal own my own firearm   However I always check the weapon number and its been the same at least the last 2 times.

Second, are you using the same ammo each time?

I am not sure, but I would assume the range has a standard ammo type, but I will check.

Finally, what was your personal state on each of these trips to the range?

I normally go at 1pm every time (when it opens) so its not busy. Im a photographer so im fortunate (or unfortunate!) to work unsociable hours so I get weekdays to go to the range.  The only difference in mindset for the last visit was that it was very spur of the moment.  I was supposed to have a job which got cancelled last minute and I decided to go.  Every other time was pre-planned by a few days.


Again, thank you all for your responses.

[tombogan03884]

We may beat each other up on political topics but we all work together on gun stuff and cheering on new comers to the sports.

[funkcanna]

I went back again today and decided to try the glock 19 and it felt nice.  It was a good session.

Now the trick is to maintain this sight alignment and sight picture as you slowly press the trigger straight back using your trigger finger's first pad.  Don't slap, jerk, push, or pull the trigger - just a nice slow increasing pressure until the shot breaks.

This I found was a massive help.  I was previously unknowingly curling my finger around the trigger at the first knuckle.  Today I made sure it was only the pad.  This seemed to give me more control over the pressure I applied which in turn made the trigger squeeze much smoother and also felt like I needed to "squeeze" with less pressure to get the shot off which in turn felt like I wasnt flinching my hand away as I shot - it kinda felt like I was only using my finger muscles instead of my whole hand muscles, if you know what I mean?

I also had a few shots with a Sig P226 X5 and found I was WAY more accurate with this, with 3 of the 5 shots going straight in the bullseye and the other 2 very close.  The trigger felt so much lighter than the Glocks.  However, the gun is a bit cumbersome and didnt feel as comfortable as the Glock, so ill stick with the Glock, but it showed me that my main issue appeared to be the trigger pull with me squeezing too hard with my whole hand and sort of pulling the trigger back with my finger and also pushing the grip forward slightly with my hand rather than ONLY bringing the trigger back, which I hope I have fixed today!

Thanks again, feels good to make progress

[funkcanna]

Oh and ammunition is Caracal 9mm.  Caracal is a UAE company I think, so thats probably why its used!

[Big Frank]

Glad you're making progress. I knew there was a Caracal pistol but never heard of Caracal ammo before. They probably don't sell it here.

[Sponsor]

[sledgemeister]

Welcome to the forum mate, btw not everyone here abouts is american, there are a few blowins like myself from across the pond so to speak.
I have found with most new shooters their first few times they do really well and then they appear to get worse, why you might ask and in my humble experience it is because of perceived expectations.
When you first try it, you have no expectations your mindset is completely empty of what you are capable of and you are under no illusions. However after you first have a go you set yourself a benchmark and you expect yourself to excel that every time, well you dont, you cant. Only with time, training and repetition (correct training) will things become natural to you, your stance, trigger control, breathing. If everyone got better at their initial learning curve their would be expert marksman and Olympic quality shooters neck high at the local dump.
Take your time, enjoy the sport of shooting, have fun, be safe and set your mind not to expect unreal performance increases, from now to you die, each performance increase will be a gradual improvement, shooting guns aint like in the movies eh 
cheers
sledge
(from downunder downunder)

[funkcanna]

Thanks Sledge.  Yeah I agree, I had no expectations at first, however at the same time I didnt know what I was doing right (or wrong!).  I few sessions later I feel alot more knowledgable about my technique so can hopefully keep practicing and keeping in check my problems.  Overall though, the whole experience is extremely enjoyable and lots of practice to get better sounds good to me

[tombogan03884]

If you can, get together with others who are already skilled shooters to get some hands on help from them.
You can learn a certain amount here, or from videos, but nothing will compare to having some one right there to say you're doing this right, you're doing that wrong, or try doing it this way.