In another thread their was a topic that came up comparing shooting off a rest & shooting off hand.

I was wondering who sights in their handguns off of a rest or just by shooting offhand ?

If I have a problem, I bench the gun to see if it's me or the gun's fault.

Usually just shoot offhand to sight in but I also try it off a rest to see if I can get a better group or if it's shooting point of aim.

I just use a rear bag with the guns grip end ( Mag. ) resting on the bag to steady my aim, then on the front of the frame to see if that makes a difference ?

My SD40VE does not flex the frame into the slide when it's resting on the front of the frame. I filled it in with Devcon epoxy, It's darn stiff now unlike before.

So do you bench your handguns ?

Thanks,3 out

Of course. Using a rest is the only way to shoot a group tight enough to not just figure out how good it will theoretically shoot, but also tight enough to determine if you sights are on target.
Once I know where the pistol is shooting at a given distance using a rest, from then on, I go freehand and try to duplicate the results I got on a rest.

First of all Decker, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

I do exactly the same thing but I know a lot of guys who just sight in freehand & I ask them WHY ?

They say well I'm not going to shoot off a rest if I have to shoot somebody or a deer. Shooting off of a rested position changes my point of aim, well NO KIDDING because your sights are off, or your doing it wrong somehow ?

Maybe some people have a flaw shooting offhand & if they sighted in off a rest it won't shoot point of aim offhand ?

I like to know where the gun actually shoots rested & try to ( as you said ) duplicate the same results offhand, GREAT RESPONSE, Thanks.

I

To test mechanical accuracy I use a rest. No part of the gun touches the rest -- only my wrists. But I adjust sights only by shooting without a rest. That's the only way to know exactly where your groups will land in a real-life scenario.

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Pisgah

Bench rest is the only way to sight in....... it's about what the gun can do and getting the gun and sights to work together....not how well you can shoot!!!!!

So shooting off a rest the POI is different for you than shooting off hand ? Do you get better groups when shooting off hand ?

Thanks for the reply.

Any body else want to chime in on how you sight in your handgun ?

I find it interesting on how sighting in a handgun & a rifle seem to be different ?

I guess it's how steady you can hold your handgun or how you pull the trigger is why your getting a different POI. off hand than in a rested position ?

As long as the gun groups well for you adjusting your sights while shooting off hand instead of off a rested position is the way to go for some ?

I make fine adjustments with my handgun benched, always have ?

So do you adjust off hand people or by benching the gun ?

Come on their have been a lot of views compared to the amount of posters, only 3 responded to my thread ?

I sight handguns & rifles off a rest. The rifle barrels are all free floated and not on the rest only the for-end. Pistols/revolvers I usually only have my hands resting on the bags, not the barrel, so I am not getting any change in POI. As said above this is to align sights and check the mechanical accuracy of a firearm or new ammo. Then I practice, practice, etc, to improve my off hand shooting. But if I have to take a shot at anything while away from the bench, a tree limb, a tree, fence post, any thing solid, I will use if time permits. Prone off a bipod I will out shoot my off hand shooting with any weapon. Be Safe,

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I BACK OUR BLUE

It CAN, and often is , different -- not always. But often enough, a rested handgun will shoot to a different POI than it will when shot unsupported, and for that reason while I may do a rough sight-in with a rest I will at least confirm it without a rest. You have to consider the fact that the movement of the gun in recoil is part of what determines where the bullet goes and how you'll set the sights, and that movement is different supported vs. unsupported. This is why a gun will often shoot to one point of impact for one shooter, but a different POI for another -- differing grips, differing hand and wrist strength, different recoil effects on the shot.

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Pisgah

For most of my life, my standard for handguns was 25 yards from a rest. It's what my dad and all those gun writers back in the 70's taught me.

But about 10 years ago or so I realized that the groups I shot from a rest at 25 were duplicated by my groups fired offhand at 10.

So now, I'll shoot about a half-dozen 5-shot groups at 10 just to get an idea of what that particular handgun will do. I can usually call the fliers.

Also, as I got older, I started needing reading glasses. I can see the sights much better with my readers on, and a target at 10 yards is still somewhat clear, much more so than at 25.

So now, while I do still shoot from a rest at 25 (or longer) occasionally, most of my shooting is at 10, offhand.

But rifles are still 100 yards, from a rest.

I remember waaay back if I didn't get my deer in archery I used my S&W .44 Mag. Mod. 29 with 8 3/8 inch barrel hand loaded 240 GR. XTP bullets for deer. They were pretty HOT LOADS, any way I was sitting on a side of a mountain on this bench then it went back up again about 20 yards behind me. It was kind of foggy that Morn. the sun didn't burn the fog off yet & I see this figure coming from my right following the bench. Couldn't tell what is was yet, then it got within 50 yrds. & a BIG 6 pointer materialized.
I was sitting next to this real barky tree like a shag bark hickory tree, so the deer stop & starts to go straight up the mountain very slowly sniffing the air. So the tree is on my right & the deer is on my right but I was slightly below the tree so as he went up the mountain I had a perfect broad side shot.

Stupid me never shooting a deer with a revolver before & with no gloves on, ( BIG MISTAKE) rest my wrists against the tree get a good aim then BOOM. Deer goes down, I'M IN FREAKIN PAIN, BLEEDING, CUSSING, holding my left hand. The recoil from those hot loads & resting against the tree with that really rough bark on it ripped the backside of my left hand pretty good.

I sat there picking the bark out of my hand while watching to see if this deer was still down. He stayed down I stayed down trying to get the bark & stop the bleeding. Finally got it wrapped up with some rags I had.

The buck was shot perfect right behind the shoulder but was still alive as I walked up on him but he didn't move, DA++ THAT KILLED ME SO I PUT ANOTHER ONE IN HIM TO FINISH HIM OFF.

I realized after skinning him out I just hit his heart but I had those XTP bullets going too fast & penetration was only about slightly past half way, they mushroomed BIG TIME.

I still have scars till this day decades later to remind me not to do that again, LOL.