Trouble Hitting The Target - GRRR!!!

[teds787]

I have a Kahr CW9 that I've put about 450 rounds through so far. At seven yards I can put 20 out of 21 rounds inside a three inch circle (I always seem to loose focus on one). I know that's not masters level shooting, but I'm happy with it. Last night at the range I tried a new exercise. I drew three 8-10 circles with a dot in the center of each on the back of a target.

Hand Drawn Target

Target.PNG (2.96 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

The objective was to put 2 rounds in each circle as quickly as possible. I loaded six rounds in each of my three magazines and fired away. I did this three times (total of 54 shots fired). If those circles had been BGs, I'd be in serious trouble. The first two rounds were usually inside that first circle. After that it was as if I had my eyes closed.

So... Does anyone have any pointers on how I can make improvements in this exercise? I know... practice, practice, practice. But if I'm doing something wrong I could just be solidifying bad habits and subsequently, bad shooting.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Ted S.

[PeteCamp]

Ted....My advice would be that you are not going to get the solution by asking on the internet. Find an expert and have him evaluate your shooting and I bet you'll improve - pay for his time. It will be worth more than all the time you put in browsing for the answer.

[Commander Cody]

Where are you located? I'm not an expert, but may be able to recommend one.

[wally775]

Just my .02

Try putting six rounds in the same target then observe your performance.
If it is acceptable, your issue is engagement and not shooting ability.
Your mind may be moving to the next target before your body finishes pulling the trigger.
At seven yards you should be able to see your hits. Work on the major premise, hitting the target first and the minor, speed, second.
It may also help you mentally to make your circles different colors so your mind will be
able to process the difference.
Always accuracy first and repetition will increase your speed.
Private instruction or observation by a friend may shed some light also.

JMO.

[NOS]

I have a Kahr CW9 that I've put about 450 rounds through so far. At seven yards I can put 20 out of 21 rounds inside a three inch circle (I always seem to loose focus on one). I know that's not masters level shooting, but I'm happy with it. Last night at the range I tried a new exercise. I drew three 8-10 circles with a dot in the center of each on the back of a target.

Target.PNG

The objective was to put 2 rounds in each circle as quickly as possible. I loaded six rounds in each of my three magazines and fired away. I did this three times (total of 54 shots fired). If those circles had been BGs, I'd be in serious trouble. The first two rounds were usually inside that first circle. After that it was as if I had my eyes closed.

So... Does anyone have any pointers on how I can make improvements in this exercise? I know... practice, practice, practice. But if I'm doing something wrong I could just be solidifying bad habits and subsequently, bad shooting.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Ted S.

Unless you are having trouble with form or trigger pull, I think you are just rushing the sight picture and not allowing for it to rest on the target.
IMHO if you can't hit the target while running this drill, you are simply going too fast. Speed drills are only good if you slow down enough to hit the target reliably. I would try using two targets at once. Shoot one as fast as you can and see how far off you are from your mark. Then slow down slightly on the second and see what your groups look like then. You would be surprised how good your grouping gets if you just slow down slightly. In my experience groups can improve by slowing down as little as a tenth of a second. You are going to have to experiment with your speed to find a happy medium of speed and precision, but it's worth it in the end. Defensive shooting is only defensive if you actually hit your target. I've seen too many people that think you have to pull the gun, get a site picture once, and then start pulling the trigger as fast as you can. There is no logic behind this. Once you can reliably hit your target at a quick but accurate pace, you will be able to speed the process from there. It's like trying to beat Bob Munden at quick draw on your first day shooting... It just ain't going to happen. It's only a speed drill if you hit your target, otherwise you are just wasting ammo.
Hope that helps.

[teds787]

Where are you located? I'm not an expert, but may be able to recommend one.

I live in Austin and I usually go to Red's Indoor Range (north) to practice.

I think a coach/instructor is an excellent suggestion and I like to find someone who is very good at it, but will cost me less than $100 per hour.

Ted

[Hoi Polloi]

I am the opposite of an expert but it occurs to me that your issue is that your objective of speed outdid your abilities in accuracy. My suggestion would be to slow it down enough to have consistent accuracy--and I am an expert on that particular tactic --and only when you have the accuracy down that you work on speed. Even then, I would only speed up enough to where you're challenging yourself but remaining largely accurate and consistent. Stay at that speed until you are consistently accurate, then get faster again, and so on. That way, you are staying accurate and truly only challenging yourself on speed, which is your goal.

Then practice can make perfect.

[mctowalot]

Have you considered drawing larger circles?

+1 on hiring a good instructor, worked well for me.

Good luck.

[Tamie]

You said you can put 95% in the circle when shooting at one target with your carry gun. That's good. For multiple targets, how about stepping down to a full size .22 pistol so you can focus on changing aiming points, getting a good new sight picture, and trigger control. Also slow down until you're getting good hits. Speed up only as much as you can while getting good hits. When you're comfortable then switch back to your carry gun and build up speed with it. You can't miss fast enough to win.

[The Annoyed Man]

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

[tauruspt145]

Shoot first then draw the circles

[Commander Cody]

tauruspt145... you shoot like I do.

[silverbear]

Shoot first then draw the circles

made my afternoon -

[SecedeTX]

Shoot first then draw the circles

I learn something new EVERYTIME I get on this forum!

Adding too much speed really messed up my shooting. My local range mandates 5 seconds between shots...I do pretty good at that speed. Out on my buddies ranch shooting much faster...I wouldn't exactly call my shots a "group"

Trigger control is very important due to the gun you are shooting (I shoot the same).