My son really enjoys shooting. He's been plinking with a Baretta NEOS .22, Henry lever, and CZ bolt .22 for years. He's 16 years old. He's always shot pretty well with open sights.

He recently acquired a Certified Pre-owned Sig P226 (9mm). It looks like a new gun. My FFL guy is really into semi-auto handguns and he checked it over for me (he shoots a modified 5" M&P Pro). He saw no issues and thought it looked like it had been fired very little. It might even have a new frame.

We shot the Sig today for the first time and my son was shooting a large box size group. He shot about 250 rounds. We were shooting from about 10 yards.

I recently bought a new Sig P226 that I had brought with us, but didn't necessarily plan to shoot. I got it out and it shot a pretty good group for me (and I'm a rookie shooter at best). It made me wonder about my son's gun, so I set up fresh targets and had him shoot a magazine through each gun. His groups were about the same for both guns, so it probably isn't his gun. He's taken Hunter Safety, etc., but no formal training with shooting. I'm going to ask my FFL guy to give him a hand because I don't want my son to get frustrated and give up shooting.

My son watched some You Tube videos on shooting and I'm kinda wondering if that didn't hurt more than help. Maybe it's just the additional recoil of the 9mm, but he swears it doesn't bother him (he's bigger than me, so it's not too much gun for him).

His "groups" were all over the place. Not just low left, etc.

I know it's difficult to give advice without seeing a guy shoot, but are there some basics that he might be doing wrong? I can't figure out what he's doing wrong. He appears to be holding the gun correctly, etc.

Any advice is appreciated. BTW, I really like the Sig. We shot over 300 rounds and no issues. Mine has night sights and the SRT trigger. I really like it.

Practice, practice, practice.

Hope he's shooting seated at a bench with the gun on sand bags to start. Neighbor lady couldn't hit the broad side of a barn either with her new snubby .22LR, standing, one handed, at about 20 yards!

I got her at a bench from about 20 feet and it made a huge difference, lol.

Maybe something as simple as breathing control or simply telling him to squeeze each round off gently until the gun almost surprises him.
He'll do fine and has plenty of time to get better. Just encourage him
and get him as much range time as he wants.
Personally i'd hand him a nice old revolver, "S&W" of course, and see
how he likes them. He can practise shooting SA and then work his way to DA. A good old model 10 or 15 with .38spl loads are about the same
recoil wise as a 9mm
Main thing tell him to be patient and don't get frustrated.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

my guess is that while he can handle the additional recoil from a sensory standpoint, he hasn't figured out how to handle it in the control sense.

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it just needs more voltage

Thanks for the suggestions. I just spoke to my son and he seems more determined than frustrated.

I think we will try shooting off a rest and get the sight picture figured out. It was pretty windy today and I found myself being pushed around by the wind.

More suggestions are welcome. I won't be offended.

I know it is Bullseye, but the USAMU Marksmanship Guide is a great place to start any new shooter on fundamentals...

Encyclopedia of Bullseye Pistol

The AMU also has a kick you-know-what Action Shooting Team and they do give Junior Clinics from time to time. Here is their website and they are IIRC also on Facebook.

United States Army Marksmanship Unit

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Run Fast, Bite Hard!

Thanks for the links. I sent them to my son.

wifey could not hit a thing when she first started. no matter what i showed, told or had her read or watch.
signed her up for an NRA pistol course because she was really uncomfortable with a firearm.
this worked wonders for her. she shoots 3-4 inch groups now.
the instructor took time with all that needed help. showing all the proper grip, sight picture and protocols needed to be a good shooter.
i even learned something as she said it would be a joint venture.
we had a good day and highly recommend it.

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is it just me?

What tork'd said:
NRA pistol course - That covers it.

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In dog years I'm dead.

In my experience, most new shooters especially those making a jump to a more powerful gun, will anticipate the recoil and flinch. You might have him try some dry-fireing. Many new shooters will try to fight the recoil which causes them to tighten up and jerk.

I'd also suggest LOTS of dry firing both from DA and SA mode so he can get used to the trigger pull. Also, coach him again on focusing on the front sight, and maintaining sight picture throughout his trigger pull. Then shoot at close range to build his confidence.

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Even older, even crankier....

Thanks for the replies!

I'll have to check into the NRA course and see where they offer it around here. It would be good for me, too.

I suspect he is flinching from the recoil as well. Dry firing is a good idea.

He spent the morning cleaning the gun. He's pretty motivated to figure this out.

Sometimes it's just, they are trying to hard and get tensed up.

Load several mags with just one round. Shoot single action, the DA to SA will really throw him off. Shoot at no more than 10 yards, big target (8" or so) Practice, Practice.

Just relax, deep breath calm down, grip firmly but not a death grip (no offense to DG).

Kinda like Zen shooting.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I didn't ask him if he had his eyes open. Maybe he had his eyes closed and the Force was not with him. I think his girlfriend might have distracted him.

Good suggestions, Rule3. Thanks for the reply.

I have been shooting a P226 for a long time. It makes me look good. Recoil is minimal.

Be the Gun, Be the Bullet, See the Target

Caddyshack - YouTube

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Still Running Against the Wind

My FFL guy invited us to go shooting, but unfortunately, my son was working. It did give my FFL guy a chance to shoot the Sig and it did quite well.

I shot my P226 and did pretty good for a rookie. My biggest problem was that I sometimes "peeped" to see where I hit. Every time that I did, I shot low. Otherwise, I did pretty well.

My friend (the FFL guy) suggested that I get the Sig .22lr conversion kit for my son to practice with, so I ordered one today. I really think the recoil (or anticipation of the recoil) is throwing him off.

My friend has a 9mm M&P Pro with a 5" barrel, some trigger mod, and aftermarket sights. I shot his and while I liked it, the Sig just fits me better. My friend did say that he was really impressed with the Sig's, especially mine which has the short reset trigger and night sights. He commented about how pricey the Sig's are, but I probably have less money in mine ($750) than he does his.

The girlfriend distracting him is quite possible.
Do you have pictures so that we can make a better determination?

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In dog years I'm dead.

No, but she is a cutie. Real nice girl.

My son let her shoot his 9mm. Although there isn't a lot of recoil, it really surprised her. He should have started her out with his Beretta Neos .22.

Same here Steve. Only way to really tell if it's the gun or the shooter. Only real way to adjust sights. Best way there is to instill confidence. Once one becomes proficient from a rest, then is the time for standing shooting two hands and then on to strong hand/weak hand. Truth is, some folks just shoot some guns better than others. Grips, grip angle, balance and type of sights all come into play. I doubt recoil is a factor, probably much less than trying to impress a hot babe. Sometimes shooting at paper gets boring and folks get lazy. Keep the shooting fun and use reactive targets that give instant feedback. Many times new handgun shooters try to line up the sights like they're used to with their rifles. On most handguns this is impossible to do. By trying to keep the front and rear sights on a handgun focused, the focus on the target gets lost. Have your son concentrate on the front sight and the target once he alines the front and rear sights. I have a mantra I chant everytime I go to the range........."front sight....front sight...front sight".

Hey, Buck. I missed your post. Posts move down the list in a hurry on this site!

I suggested that he focus on the front sight and he did better. We're gonna shoot off of a bag the next chance we get to shoot. We've got the .22lr conversion kit now which should help.

The crazy kid is already planning how to spend his detasseling check. He wants to build an AR-15 (with the help of my friend), so he's researching the parts. I guess he likes guns.