hi im new to this forum and im looking for answers/advice i recently went to the range with a couple friends some were more experienced shooters then myself and had the same issues with my gun. we ended up just shooting 100 rounds from my new shield the first shots were hiting around the area i was aiming at but as we kept going through clips it came to a point were i lost sight of where the bullets were hitting so we started experimenting with the gun we ended up pointing a couple inches higher then the bulls eye and it would hit around the bulls eye so i feel my gun is shooting downwards instead of straight has anyone ever had this issue with there sheild is this just a matter of putting rounds through it till it breaks in??? or do i need to adjust sights on my brand new shield already? all your help would be gladly appreciated thanks

The first step is determining if it's you or the gun.

Did you shoot if from a rest or just off hand?

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from rest. and me and my other friends were shooting glocks, ar 15's and a kelteck is the name if im not mistaken all of us were succesfully hiting our targets but when we shot the shield we were all off unfortuanetly thats why i was wondering if maybe the sheild has a phase where they need to be broken in i was also shooting hollow points and full metal jackets so idk if the change in the actual bullets had to do with it shooting off target aswell

What distance were you shooting? It's tougher to judge whats going on if one starts out from 30ft.
Also... Were any in your group already familiar with the Shield, or other .40 cal Subcompacts? Subs need a slightly different technique from FS

I use the same method with every new pistol and/or trigger platform:
10Ft until satisfied with grouping and accuracy
15Ft until satisfied
21Ft until satisfied
THEN
30Ft

Sometimes it only takes 1 mag at each distance, other times several mags, depending on how different the new pistol is from my others.

Also... I don't waste HPs in any pistol until I have put around 250 rounds of Brass (not Aluminum or Steel cased) FMJ through it. Kind of an unofficial Break-In.

na we were all new to the sheild and none of us had shot a big caliber like that from a hand gun so maybe it has to take more time getting used to it /: next time at the range im gonna take my time and do what u said about starting off at 10 ft and working my way futher

99%...not gun. Unless you have one with some catastrophic barrel or ammo issues. Next most logical question is.... Are the sights loose ? Doubtful. You are not capable of out shooting the gun if it was in a rest.
So most likely you have a sight picture issue. Target on top or target covered..? Target half covered..? I do not know what Smith does with factory sight picture ? Or to what distance they zero. Use the rest and start at 15 feet. Change sight picture until you are close. Act on that information. Good luck

I had to adjust the sight picture on my FS9 compared to my Glock. A buddy tried mine and shot it better (so I knew it was me) but said the picture was even different from his FS9. I ended up placing my center of my front sight even w/ the top of the rear. Try placing the front sight at various levels above/below the rear and see how it does. Best of luck and welcome to the forum.

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9/40FS, 9c, 9 Shield, MP22

Since you shot from a rest, it could be the gun. Look closely at the muzzle and see if there are any anomalies.

There is no break in period.

The proper sight picture is with the top of the front sight aligned with the top of the rear sight. Equal light on either side of the front sight. Aim at the center of the target.

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thanks to all will put all of this info into practice on my next visit to the range

Since...

1) it was shooting accurately at first, then too low
2) and this is the first time any of you shot a .40

...my guess is you are anticipating the snap by pushing the gun down.

At least for me, so much power in such little package is hard to get used to.

It's the gun, sell it to someone who knows how to shoot it. =-)

By urself a Taurus, it'll shoot better. =-)

PS: Does anyone use the SEARCH function on this forum. Just curious

FYI 99.99% of the time shooting low is a result of anticipating the recoil and "pushing off". Basically it's a flinch where you push the handgun forward and down. It's also a result of shooting a relatively powerful centerfire handgun and it doesn't matter how many years you have been shooting. Shoot a powerful caliber long enough in a lightweight handgun and you'll develop a flinch at some point.

Steps to deal with a flinch.

Step one is to confirm it. Easiest way to do that is mix a few snap caps into a magazine as you load it. One way to help prevent your "tracking" when you'll hit a snap cap is to load your magazine with your eyes closed using a loose pile of bullets and snap caps on the shooting bench. If you have developed a flinch you'll know it as soon as you hit that snap cap.

Step two is to correct for that flinch. What has worked for me is to use a bit of Zen and concentrate on achieving a perfect state of relaxation when the gun fires.

No... and that pretty much goes for every forum out there

I'd wait to adjust the sight just yet........It's a lot of round for a small compact pistol. Had it for going on 3 months now, and finally getting comfortable where i'm putting my rounds where i'm aiming. Don't give up on it, I love it....

Tossing in a few snap caps will show if you are flinching. You can not know when they are coming up, so let someone else load the mag. A good way to eliminate a flinch, is do not pull the trigger. Just a gentle squeeze until it fires. Don't anticipate the firing (break) point. Pull slowly and when it fires, it should surprise you. You flinch when you are expecting the shot/recoil. If you don't know when it is actually going to fire, it is very hard to flinch. Practice dry firing, until there is no extra muzzle movement at break. Then take that same pull feel to the range. Very slow and continuous pull, and a surprise break, don't anticipate.

If you really want to see where the POI is at, when using your POA, shoot off a rest/sandbag in a sitting position. Use the above same "surprise" trigger pull. That will tell you where you aim and POI is at. Left or right can be changed by drifting the sight. Elevation can be influenced by not only POA or sight image, but by different distances.

Bob