what in the world am i doing wrong?

[atxgun]

I went down to the range today w/ my XD too keep in practice since the past few times I'd gone I just brought my rifle. My aiming was horribly off. At 7 yards most of the shots were ending up low and to the left by a good 4 or 5 inches. Had a firm grip, wasn't anticipating the shot, had my focus on the front sight w/ it centered level between the rear.

Any thoughts?

[MoJo]

Flinch. Were you "pushing" the gun forward in anticipation of recoil? Have someone load your magazine with a dummy round in the mix and watch you when you shoot if you are flinching it'll show up when the dummy comes along.

[WildBill]

atxgun - You are probably jerking or tightening fingers. This is exactly what I do. It's a hard habit to break. As Mojo says, try it with dummy rounds and it will be very obvious.

Try checking this out:
http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/Pisto ... alysis.pdf

[txinvestigator]

If you are right handed then you are anticipating recoil and pushing just before the shot.

Consider what MoJo suggested and have a coach watch your gun as you press the trigger.

[Thane]

You're not "flinching" from the anticipated recoil, so much as you're anticipating the trigger break. One of my firearms instructors refers to is as "make the gun go NOW syndrome." As you are pressing the trigger, you're "pushing" the gun down and to the left, just prior to tripping the sear. It IS a VERY difficult habit to break; I'm fighting the same tendency with my duty H&K P2000.

Best advice I can give is to obtain some snap caps, and load them in with your regular ammo while practicing (or better yet, have someone else load your magazines, so that you don't know precisely where each dummy round is). If you jerk the pistol when you hit a snap cap, notice where and how you're jerking it, and minimize that jerk. Your goal is to have a completely motionless pistol when you drop the hammer on a snap cap.

Run through a thousand rounds like this.

You'll notice a marked improvement in your shooting. I know I have (but I'm still not where I want to be).

[atxgun]

What's interesting is this is something that popped up out of the blue, albeit after not firing it for a month or so. While I don't claim to be a super hot shot I didn't have this problem when I started with this gun. I have some snap caps I've practiced dry firing, clearing and chambering in the house, but of course then I didn't have anything to anticipate. I'll try them out at the range next time and see what I can figure out.

[SC1903A3]

atxgun - You are probably jerking or tightening fingers. This is exactly what I do. It's a hard habit to break. As Mojo says, try it with dummy rounds and it will be very obvious.

Try checking this out:
http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/Pisto ... alysis.pdf

I see I'm not the only one that has a copy of the Wheel of Misfortune

[flintknapper]

Personally, I've never found snap caps or dry firing to be beneficial (in the long run).

Snap caps will show a new shooter that he/she is flinching or "pushing" against the anticipated recoil. After you've done this once...you shouldn't need to do it again to "diagnose" your problem.

"Where" your shots are landing will tell the story.

Now that you know what the problem is...its time to correct it.

Flinching is not corrected (for long) by dry firing IMO.

Good instruction on how to best control recoil, proper trigger manipulation, follow through, and making sure the trigger finger is acting "independently" will ensure your technique is correct. After that, it is "mental discipline" that will keep you shooting straight.

When your shooting starts falling apart (and you know you are capable of better), go back to the basics (front sight, press, follow through) then coach YOURSELF through each shot until you're back on track.

I can't tell you the number of students I've taught that start a session poorly and lose confidence. As soon as I get behind them and am right in their ear instructing "front sight, press, follow through" the hits come right back. You MUST coach YOURSELF.

Another thing I try to get folks to do (with less success) is to shoot with both eyes open and DO NOT blink at the shot. This goes a long way toward controlling flinch. If you don't have arthritis or some other physical reason why shooting a handgun would be painful, then there really is no good reason to flinch.

It's mental, beat it!

[SRVA]

There could be multiple causes of the problem you describe. The only way to diagnose the problem and apply appropriate correction is to have someone who knows how to diagnose and correct problems watch you shoot. I suggest you find someone you trust and have them go to the range with you.

[HighVelocity]

[jhearne]

If you are right handed then you are anticipating recoil and pushing just before the shot.

Consider what MoJo suggested and have a coach watch your gun as you press the trigger.

I am a lefty, sort of ambidextrous, who shoots right eye right handed. My shots fall left and low, today mainly, yesterday was nice and tight left/right but loose up/down. Granted I was learning my sight picture with my new pistol, but still I know that I anticipate the shot and when I pull the trigger the gun drops its aim. My grandfather has a glock with a laser on it and each time I would be able to see the laser fall about 6 inches at about 15 feet. Longtooth saw me do this yesterday. Today I wasn't as deliberate with my shots as I was with LT, and noticed my accuracy fall low/left from where I was aiming. 7 yds aiming at his chin, hitting in the ribs his right side below the armpit (if it were a full size target). If I slow down and can picture the target past the sights and think about the shot I can get past pulling the gun and pull the trigger only and hit my marks.

Josh

[Houston1944]

When I have been unable to get to the range for several weeks I find the best thing to do is take my 22 and fire a few hundred rounds. If you do not have a 22 I highly recommend you get one. To me the best way to get back in the groove is with a 22 pistol. It is a cheap and fun way to keep the skills up.

[seamusTX]

When I have been unable to get to the range for several weeks I find the best thing to do is take my 22 and fire a few hundred rounds.

Ditto that.

- Jim