Aiming Question

[funkcanna]

Hi All,

Im still a new shooting and I think im doing ok, however when I aim I ALWAYS have to compensate to hit the middle of the target.

For example if I place the sight picture so the middle is dead center I hit low left.  To correct this I aim hight right, which is all good.

My question is, is this normal?  Do all guns require certain aim compensation for whatever reason?  I think the most likely answer is that I am messing up the trigger pull causing my aim to drop low and left when I release the shot but I hear about people "sighting in" their aim and I wondered what this is and if it applies to me.

SOrry about the basic question, im self teaching and the staff at the range arent much help!

Im shooting a Glock 19 mainly if its available, if not a Glock 17 - both give me the same issue.

Thanks!

[jaybet]

Some guns require sight adjustments to hit dead center, some cannot be adjusted, and you must adjust your "elevation" and "windage".  It may also be that you are doing something slightly wrong CONSISTENTLY. I am not an expert on shooting but I am an expert at being a lousy shot, and it could be a consistent problem with your trigger pull, etc.  If you can get a laser bore sighter you would work on the sights.
Does the problem occur when you shoot from a rest as well? If yes, maybe it's the gun- if no, maybe it's your technique.

[ellis4538]

I suggest you have an experienced shooter try your pistol.  If it shoots low left for him/her it is the pistol...if not it is you.

FWIW


Richard

[alfsauve]

++ What Ellis said.

See if a really good shooter has the same problem.   And as Jaybet said try shooting from a sand/bean bag to take as much of the "shooter error" out of the equation.

Windage (left-right) can be adjusted on most guns with "fixed sights", Glocks included, by drifting the rear sight left or right.  Elevation (up/down) however on a Glock is something you have to compensate for at different ranges.  No gun will shoot dead on, elevation wise at all ranges anyway.  The bullet starts below the level of the barrel, rises above the line of sight a few yards out then eventually falls below the line of sight at some distance away.    Most pistols will be within a couple of inches from muzzle to 25 yds though so it shouldn't be a problem for defensive shooting.

[MikeBjerum]

Jaybet and Alfsauve both hit what I'm thinking:

Put the gun on a solid rest.  An experienced shooter and instructor would be a great benefit, but even they should start off a solid rest.

[Sponsor]

[JoeG]

It could be the gun.

Usually it is reasonable to assume it is the shooter's habits. Get some snap caps (dummy rounds made of aluminum or plastic) and mix them into your mags as you load them in a random fashion so that you do not know when they will be fed. You can load 2-3 mags at once and mix them up or have someone else load for you. The key is to not know if you are getting a live round on a dummy.

If you have a flinch in your trigger pull this will make it obvious. The first few times it can be embarrassing how much the gun moves when you think you are not flinching. It also gives you practice clearing a jam, Tap/Rack/Fire  tap to seat the mag, rack the slide and try to fire again.

My experience was that early on I would slide back into bad habits between range visits so i did this exercise on every visit. After about a year or so my muscle memory was ingrained enough that I do the drill less often. I find that these days it is more a function of loss of focus on breaking the shot and old eyes that get me into trouble on the action pistol range. As MB would say trying to get the monkey to do too many things at once!

Good luck and have fun!

PS not a dumb question! I would say 2/3 of the folks I see shooting at the public range have basic flaws in their fundamentals as can be seen by the spray of holes evenly distributed across their target boards. If you see a good shooter do not be afraid to start up a conversation and get some tips. the game is a lot more fun if you can hit the target!

[Solus]

Check out this link.  It shows possible causes for off center shot placement.

http://www.gunlink.info/targets/PistolChartR1S.pdf

[funkcanna]

Thank you all.  I tried dummy rounds today and I DO move the gun down and left slightly when I pull - youre right about it being obvious when its a dummy cos i did not notice it at all when using live rounds.  That was great advice and I appreciate it.  Once I seen this my shots were way better.  Thanks again!

[twyacht]

JoeG has good advice and a cost effective test. Have a friend load a mag with live rds. and snap caps,. and have him watch your movement when a "click" instead of a bang occurs.

I've done it myself. Go to the Defense and Tactics section and watch the "Wall Drill" video....It really helps.

Best of luck!!!. Sounds like you've identified the answer.  We're all striving to be better and more consistent shooters.

Although, I wish ammo were cheaper...

Take Care.

tw

[funkcanna]

Although, I wish ammo were cheaper...

Speaking of that, usually how much is Ammo at ranges in the US? Or do most people buy their own and just rent time on a lane? If I rent a gun and 75 rounds it works out at 290AED which is about $75, so $1 per round.  Not sure if its expensive here or not! Additional rounds are 70AED for 25 rounds - 70AED is around $20.