Hey Guys,

I have very short fingers and believe it or not even a Glock 43 is almost too thick for my fingers to properly reach trigger. The tip of my finger is causing shots at 21ft to print about 2" to 3" to the left of point of aim. In order to get my shots to compensate I have drifted my rear dove tail sight over to the right.

I know without pics it is hard to describe how much I drifted my sights and of course when I go to range I will find out. But for practical purposes the right side of the rear sight is almost flush with the right side of the slide. It looks pretty extreme but my G43 was already drifted over to the right but was still printing left, So I pushed it over even more to the right. Anybody have experience drifting rear sight over to the right to compensate?

I think if I slow fire, my shots will go to the right of bulls eye target because my aim will be true. but as I do quick double taps or controlled pairs, this is when I notice my shots go over to the left about an inch to sometimes two.

If you measure how far your shots are off, at what distance, and how far it is between the back of the front sight and the back of the rear sight, I will calculate how far to move it for you.

Bring plenty ammo and your drift to the range.
Just no way to tell how much will be required....you may have hit it perfectly....in my experience it takes more back and forth to get it right.

You can do calculations all day long...but with a hand guns short sight radius only shooting is going to tell the tale.
Fast accurate shooting just takes a good deal of practice...
hang in there , the practice will pay off.
Gary

Even moving the sight to its extreme range is appropriate if that is truly what it takes to bring the point of impact to where it needs to be However, since you have already described your shooting technique as the source of the problem, I would suggest that it might be better to take corrective action upon the shooter.

Shooting left is a common problem encountered by folks trying to master Glock-type pistols, and using dryfire practice to re-learn how to pull the trigger is quite effective. Gun unloaded, sight on a small target. Pull the trigger in your normal fashion while focusing your attention on the sight alignment. You will see the front sight move left at the point of trigger release. Correct for this (usually) by moving your trigger finger's point of trigger contact from the tip more to the center of the trigger finger's pad. Do not attempt to "stage" your trigger pull; rather, concentrate on making a smooth, uninterrupted trigger "stroke" while keeping the sights aligned.

Now, this usually works, but I will freely admit the possibility it won't work for you -- individuals are, well, individuals -- but give it a try before dismissing it. I have coached numerous folks through this problem with great success -- including myself!

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Pisgah

Dawson Precision has a really nice sight math page on their web site.
Sight Calculator

I think that in the long run you would be best off sighting in from a rest. Get it to where it shoots to where the sights are. If shots are going to the left after that, then the problem is your technique. It can be fixed with a lot of practice.

Find a gun that fits you better. IMO a revolver with a custom made (thin) grip may be the answer. A short trigger may be another solution. Good luck.

Yeah, sorry marathonrunner but I agree with others above that your going about this all wrong. The fact that you actually said the above quote proves the point. You don't go about drifting the sights every time you want to switch from slow deliberate shooting to fast shooting! You can't blame this on the tip of your finger.

You need to teach yourself how to shoot the same technique fast or slow. Since I'm almost certain you don't have a ransom rest (which actually lets the gun recoil but returns it to the same spot), I would recommend you sight it in for hitting when you shoot "slow fire".

After that, it's just lots and lots and lots of practice. There may be an instructor in your area that can help you. Also, if you can work on the ergonomics of your particular gun, by all means get it fitting better. Or simply buy one that fits you better.

I have put a lot of rounds down range over the years. I used to own a Glock 23. It shot a few inches to the left for me at 25 yds. I ended up buying an adjustable sight and adjusted it all the way to the right. I also had to put the rear sight in the far right side of the dovetail. After a lot of rounds, I ended up selling it. My suggestion is to buy a pistol that works for you instead of "learning the Glock". There are far too many good pistols out there to fight one that really doesn't suit you. Glocks are fine pistols, but they aren't for everyone. I don't have that trouble with the Sig P 320, Kahr CM-9 or other semi auto pistols I own or have owned.

Yes the Glock pistols are too fat and chunky for people like me who have small digits. If I rotate my hand so I can have proper placement on trigger, then my shots will be all over the target as the wrist bone will be off. The only option I have is to have proper placement of hand with barrel of gun in line with my arm, but then my tip of finger is pushing trigger diagonally, thus causing shots to to left.

Today I went to the range, I had to re adjust my dove tail on a few of my pistols because I went too far over to the right. Once I did that, my shots were spot on. However, past 30ft and taking aim at 50ft, it was a bit ify. None of my triggers have light pulls so it was obvious my sight picture changed too much at that distance. I was still combat accurate and in the crush cavity

The only pistol that fits me perfectly is the Shield because of the short trigger reach. the Apex duty carry also brings the trigger closer in to enable better reach. The only reason I do not carry my Shield .45ACP that much is because it only has 7, and 8 rounds .I like to have 10 minimum in the mag and why I go with Glock 30S but that is hard to reach but still shoot well with it

Yep single stack and 9mm guns like the Shield is the only gun that fits small hands. The Sig P938 does as well but that gun is too small and unreliable to trust for a carry gun.

I also tried using my middle finger since it is longer and I am getting awesome grouping as it allows me to reach the trigger and have proper wrist alignment. My GLock 30S I can use proper finger placement but then the wrist alignment is way off and causes shots to look like a shotgun pattern.

COMBAT CRUSH & CAVITY ACCURATE??? You are listening to the wrong cavity.

Stop being a troll. It's bad enough we got enough of you on these forums. If you don't have anything positive to contribute please do not be a jerk

marathonrunner, you may want to take a look at Kahr pistols or the new Sig P 365, if you want the higher capacity in a very small (single stack) size.

The P365 has issues involving failure to go into battery, slide lock locking back(thumb hitting slide release), mushrooming RSA into slide or something like that. The Kahr is a pistol I would never consider.

I really love my Shield .45ACP and that is one of my favorites. My Mod 2 is also another favorite. I went to the range and got my dove tail pushed over enough where my groups are now dead center.

I know that there is one video of a P 365 having these issues. Are their more? I don't know why you'd never consider a Kahr, but that's your prerogative. My point is that unlike being in the military or police, you don't have to adapt to and shoot a particular pistol. Find what works for you.

Perhaps one of those Swedish finger enlarger pumps might help. Just trying to help.

The thing I'd worry about with this technique is having enough grip on the frame with my ring and pinky fingers . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Several potential solutions. This is one of those times when a laser and someone knowledgeable to spot it works well. Tough to coach someone over the interwebs, but here goes.

First off--what target are you using? It sounds like you're using silhouettes of some sort, which frankly suck out loud. Simple circular bulls are good, as are the classic dinner plate with a hand-drawn circle.

(1) Why do you presume that your slow fire shots are the accurate ones?

Typically, it's the opposite that's true. Shooting under moderate time pressure (5 in 10s or 5 in 20s) forces you to make uninterrupted trigger pulls. Shooting without time pressure affords you, for lack of a better phrase, time to screw up.

(2) If you're getting better groups by using your middle finger, that pretty clearly shows that your problem isn't trigger length. It's in the fundamentals of sight picture and trigger control (which has precisely nothing at all to do with ergonomics).

How much experience do you have shooting with your middle finger? Probably, like most of us, not a hell of a lot. Okay, how did you figure out how to do that? You went back to the fundamentals of shooting. Ever buy a new gun, and shoot it great the first time or two out, and gradually have it slide back into sucking as bad as all your other guns? Same phenomena: bad habits.

(3) If you're adjusting your sights and the point of impact isn't shifting, it's because you're not using your sights.

First, focus on keeping your eyes open before, during, and after the shot. Most pistol shooters actually shoot with their eyes closed. They have them open, squeeze the trigger carefully, and then close them when the trigger breaks. At which point, all that time taking such careful aim literally didn't matter. They might as well not have sights at all.

Second, actually look at your front sight. Start off by turning your target around and shooting at the blank back. This removes the visual distraction of the target, so all you have to look at is the front sight. If you shoot better like this, consider a moving over to a sub-6 hold.

(4) How tiny are your fingers? Serious question. I use a large beavertail backstrap on my 34, and measuring my hand with the web compressed, trigger finger is about 5" from the web. I've got more than enough room to position my finger on that doublestack 9. The 43 is a compact singlestack.

If you're deliberately using the tip--God, don't. That right there could be the whole thing. Go about 1/4 of forward of the distal joint (crease in your finger).

Like Pete said(post no 8).Not that I know that much but I've had the luck a few decades ago to have an instructor who took time to explain me the bio/mechanical relationship between the human body and the gun and while I read what Pete wrote,I thought he was the reincarnation of my old coach.