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Old 08-15-2012, 12:50 PM
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Default Model 52 Shooting

I've had a Model 52-2 for quite awhile. Over the years , I've heard folks say that shooting accurately with this gun can be difficult. I'm not talking about shooting off the bench. Mine will wipe out an X-ring shooting that way. I prefer to shoot from 15 to 25 yards off hand. The gun is accurate, but shooting accurately is another story. At times, I'm dead-on the 10 ring with every shot. Put up the next target and there's fliers all over the place. I've read where folks have mentioned that good "follow through" is essential with this gun. What does that mean?
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Old 08-15-2012, 07:14 PM
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Follow-through is the continuation of the application of the shooting fundamentals through and immediately after the shot. So the five fundamentals of pistol shooting are aiming, breath control, hold control, trigger control, and follow through.
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Old 08-15-2012, 08:11 PM
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I thought "follow through" was, since you are shooting the 52, after you have pulled the trigger and the bullet is still in the barrel, you are still in the firing stance, moving as little as possible. Factors include barrel length, speed of ammo. I have seen shooters who want to see where they hit they move the gun while the bullet has not left. Match ammo is slow, so it takes longer "to get out" of the barrel. This is where shooters can call there shots because they may be off there sight pictue and they can tell where it did hit from that final sight picture after the have pulled the trigger. Rifle shooting shows it the most. That is why coaches tell them to stay put - they shoot up to 28 inch barrels. Long barrel time.
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Old 08-16-2012, 12:57 PM
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A .38 Special Wadcutter moving at 800 FPS or 9,600 Inches Per Second isn't in a 5" barrel for very long. I doubt lack of follow through is the main accuracy issue for most average shooters (which I am), there's so many other variables at work.
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Old 08-16-2012, 05:57 PM
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Yes , FOLLOW THROUGH is important, but what is it ?
The simple answer is , if your hand relaxes when the trigger "broke" you have NO follow through .
Another related point is , if you can see the hole in the white of the target as it appeared , you did not focus on the front sight and THAT is the reason that you shot that bad shot .
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Old 08-16-2012, 08:25 PM
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Heeling the piece while pulling the trigger is a lack of follow thru. A simontanious (sp) action that ends up with lower left hits. My area of expertise - bad about heeling after periods of not shooting. Good follow thru has the piece in the same position before, during, and after pulling the trigger. Some days I am better at rapid fire than slow fire because I am more focused.
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Old 08-16-2012, 09:51 PM
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Default Follow through is very essential in precise shooting

My best description is that everything about sighting and holding the gun a second before the shot goes off is the same as a second after the shot goes off.

Give or take a half second...

As far as speed of the projectile and barrel length are concerned, it matters no matter what discipline you shoot, IMHO.

I shoot a Hammerli FP60 for Free Pistol useing Eley ammo at 1050 fps in a 12" barrel.
If your hold and triggering is right with good follow through, you made a good shot, follow through bad= bad shot+other variables of coarse.

Also shoot a Steyr LP1 with a 9" barrel for 10m air pistol at 450fps, same as the above.

Shot competative Skeet for about 5 years before I got into the pistol discipline, same thing but different for shotgun.
Eye on the target, match gun speed with target speed, have the proper lead, fire and follow through, was a sure dead target.

Follow through has a lot to do with precision shooting.

Just my .02cent worth.

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Old 08-17-2012, 08:16 AM
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Not really follow-through but something a trainer recently told me has helped me tremendously with my pistol shooting. I was holding the strong hand with a death grip and not so much with the support hand. When I concentrate and hold 60% support hand and 40% strong hand (gross estimates of course) I do much better. Use the support hand for most of the grip so the strong hand is mainly manipulating the trigger. I still need a lot of work on it though. My 52-1 is waiting patiently in the safe for me.
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Old 08-17-2012, 10:53 AM
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Thanks to all of you, I managed to at least start getting this problem under control. A bit of history: I hadn't had this gun to the range in quite a while while I shot other guns. I had also taken off the red dot sight. Once I got back to concentrating on the front sight, aiming with both eyes open and holding the sight picture until lock-up was completed, things got better. I'm sending along some photos I took after shooting this AM. The first target was 20 rounds at 15 yards. The second was 20 rounds at 20 yards and then the third was 10 rounds at 20 yards. All were shot with Remington 148 HBWC ahead of 3.2 of W-231. The targets are hardly Camp Perry-worthy but a good start at getting back to shooting at 25 yards





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Old 08-17-2012, 11:10 AM
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That is some nice shooting there! I would be happy with that model 52
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Old 08-17-2012, 12:59 PM
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My model 52-1 is the most easy shooting accurate semi auto I have ever owned. Follow through is when you achieve that surprise break on your shot.
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Old 08-20-2012, 04:16 AM
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For me the 52's are muzzle light & hard to hold without the barrel weight . Also size & shape of grip frame doesn't always fit everyone's hand . Trigger control & follow through must be precise for best results ie 3" @ 50yds , the 10 ring @ 25 easily . At 25yds if your group is not 1 ragged hole your technique is lacking . Where were the sights aligned on the target when the gun went off ? This is calling your shot & can not be done without good follow through IMHO . Many loads will work but 2 of my favorites are 1x fired R-P brass trimmed to 1.145 , Fed 100 primer , 148 HBWC ( either Remington or Zero ) , 3.1 - 3.2 W231 or 3.6 VVN340 , bullet seated flush & taper crimped to .369 . I'd recommend a whole lot of dry firing , that and maybe some holding drills while you dry fire , this'll let you see what the sights are doing as you pull the trigger . Quite frankly the gun is very demanding to shoot it well . That's why most these days shoot a .45 in Centerfire part of Bullseye matches instead . Great old guns , but as demanding as having 3 wives . It takes alot of practise .
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Old 08-20-2012, 12:40 PM
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Thanks one and all for the input. My conclusion is that I'm going to have to invest a lot more time in that M 52 to be able to shoot it to its potential. What I'm up against is giving-up the range time with my other fine pistols and revolvers that I shoot a whole lot better than I do the 52.
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Old 04-12-2018, 10:48 PM
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Originally Posted by boatbum101 View Post
For me the 52's are muzzle light & hard to hold without the barrel weight . .....
Not sure if this thread is still active, but if anyone is still here, how does the barrel weight help in improving the accuracy?
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Old 04-12-2018, 11:53 PM
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Not sure if this thread is still active, but if anyone is still here, how does the barrel weight help in improving the accuracy?
The barrel weight helps control barrel upward flip.
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Old 04-13-2018, 12:00 AM
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Way back in the last century, I found that the barrel weights were more effective when shooting 50yd slow fire vs. 25yd timed or rapid fire. The weight seemed to minimize and/or slow down the muzzle movement (horizontal figure-8). I used the weights on my Model 52 as well as on my HighStandard Military Trophy. A model 41 has replaced the HS and I leave the light barrel weight in the 7 3/8" barrel for slow fire and switch to the shorter barrel for timed and rapid.
In my advanced age, the weight only makes the guns heavier.
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Old 04-13-2018, 08:20 AM
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I shot mine with the "Cal-Grip" weight on the frame. Made it feel steadier.
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Old 04-13-2018, 09:39 AM
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Jeff Foxworthy did a bit on southern words: “usetacould”. As in “I usetacould shoot pretty good”.
My two favorite pistols are the model 52 and M41. I have Herrett target grips on both. Although I don’t practice near as much as I did 20 years ago, I still go to the range. When my shooting starts drifting off, I will stop and make a couple of dry fires using snap caps. A term I call “recoil anticipation” is what is causing the drift. It is easy to see when you dry fire.
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Old 04-13-2018, 05:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Model52guy View Post
Jeff Foxworthy did a bit on southern words: “usetacould”. As in “I usetacould shoot pretty good”.
My two favorite pistols are the model 52 and M41. I have Herrett target grips on both. Although I don’t practice near as much as I did 20 years ago, I still go to the range. When my shooting starts drifting off, I will stop and make a couple of dry fires using snap caps. A term I call “recoil anticipation” is what is causing the drift. It is easy to see when you dry fire.
An even better exercise is to have a friend load the pistol and hand it to you. Only they know whether it contains a loaded round or a snap cap. This is an excellent way to expose flinching habits.
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Old 04-13-2018, 07:39 PM
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In the book "The Pistol Shooter's Treasury" (hard to find now), the recommendation was that a full box of hardball would cure any flinch. I tried it, and it worked (Les Baer 1911), but towards the end of the box I was getting bored - so I took five magazines and loaded a different number of rounds in each. I tried deliberately to not pay attention to when the magazine was out, so I would attempt to fire when the gun couldn't shoot. By the time I went home, the flinch was gone, and my hands were tired.

With the 52, I had two reloads that didn't fire - at least not until the second attempt. The gun went [click] instead of [bang], and I was pleased to notice the gun didn't move at all.


"Cal-Grip" ?? I need to look that up.
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