I must have a fondness for small handguns as I have had a bunch of them from .25 to 9m/m. My latest is a 10 ounce Taurus TCP .380 that I took to the range this weekend for the first time. I had a Kel Tec .380 and Ruger LCP and I like the Taurus better than both of them for it's superior sights and trigger, and I was quite happy with its accuracy in hitting 8" steel plates at 50 feet. But then when I went to shoot my 1911 .45 I was missing the plates that are normally easy for me at that range. I let my hand rest for a while after shooting the mouse gun but I still couldn't hit anything with my other guns that are usually dead on. I wonder if the kick from the TCP is worse than I realize. I can shoot a 6-1/2" M29 with full house .44 mag loads and then put it down and shoot my other guns just fine, but maybe the mouse gun is more jarring to the nerves because I was just wasting ammo shooting my other guns after I shot that tiny .380.
Do mouse guns screw up your shooting?
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Grayfox
US Veteran
It may just be a problem with the transition from one to the other.
Our IDPA group usually shoots the match twice. For some time there I would shoot each match with a different gun. I used a Springfield 1911A1 and a 4" S&W 586. I discovered that if I used the 1911 first I could switch right over to the wheelgun without any problem. But if I shot the revolver first, I couldn't hit squat with the auto in the first couple of stages. For some reason I just couldn't make a smooth transition from 586 to the 1911. Never could figure out why.
Our IDPA group usually shoots the match twice. For some time there I would shoot each match with a different gun. I used a Springfield 1911A1 and a 4" S&W 586. I discovered that if I used the 1911 first I could switch right over to the wheelgun without any problem. But if I shot the revolver first, I couldn't hit squat with the auto in the first couple of stages. For some reason I just couldn't make a smooth transition from 586 to the 1911. Never could figure out why.
LedFowl
Member
I have a .25ACP Beretta 21a, which I have a devil of a time shooting accurately. Sounds like, if I ever mastered it, I'd lose my touch - such as it is - with the bigger calibers. I think I prefer things the way they are.
Here's the 21a with it's larger mouse brother, a .380 Beretta 84f.
Here's the 21a with it's larger mouse brother, a .380 Beretta 84f.
That's odd. If I get used to shooting nothing but .22s for a couple weeks, it does take me a bit to get used to the recoil of a .45 Auto again, but nothing like what you describe. I can usually do it in a few magazines, but if I shoot both guns in the same evening, I always prefer to start with the .45.
Transitioning does give a lot of shooters problems. I know rifle shooters who will not touch a shotgun during rifle season, and skeet shooters who will not shoot a round of trap, etc. I remember when I first started shooting shotguns I felt like it was adversely affecting my pistol shooting.
Can't imagine what is causing the trouble you describe but of course any time your shooting derails the thing to do is slow down and go back to concentrating on applying the shooting fundamentals you know and always use.
Transitioning does give a lot of shooters problems. I know rifle shooters who will not touch a shotgun during rifle season, and skeet shooters who will not shoot a round of trap, etc. I remember when I first started shooting shotguns I felt like it was adversely affecting my pistol shooting.
Can't imagine what is causing the trouble you describe but of course any time your shooting derails the thing to do is slow down and go back to concentrating on applying the shooting fundamentals you know and always use.
ol' geeser
Member
let's face it...shooting is the on going attempt to master the control one can exert of his (or her) own body...
duplicate a specific sight picture EVERYtime and trigger control...easy, right!
I, long ago, developed a fondness for short barrelled handguns which I have addressed in several past threads. I am currently down to two. A well used mdl 34-2 incher and a nickeled mdl.19 that sports a two inch barrel as well. The 19 is my BBQ gun and, more likely than not, be riding in a Tucker holster at special occasions. I am not a big fan of the midbores.
I read Elmer, Skeeter, and John Wooters as a young man and they got me interested in long range shooting w/handguns. The 357 mag. made it relatively easy, so I began using either the .22 kit gun or the 25-5 or a mdl.29 to add to the challange.
My all time favorite piddlin' piece is the model 34. In the B.G. times (before glasses) I could but 5 of 6 on a paper plate at a 100yds. with it - on demand. Such demands were usually costly for the demander. BUT I was in a situation where I could shoot it every day...a hundred or more times at an infinite variety of targets at unknown ranges...
I have carried either a 1911(the same Colt) or a mdl. 25-5 at least 8 hrs. five days a week since 1980. The last 8 or 9 years I had to shoot the qualification course twice...once with each...so I did the entire course with nothing but head shots just to piss the young guys off...not braggin' just sayin'
Point is... practice - front sight-squeeze, front sight-squeeze
Getting quality performance from a handgun is alot like cultivating good women...the trick is in HOW you push the buttons, not so much in WHICH buttons you push...once you discover the proper techinque, and can repeat it time after time, the rest(speed and accuracy) will fall into place...it just takes practice-practice-practice
duplicate a specific sight picture EVERYtime and trigger control...easy, right!
I, long ago, developed a fondness for short barrelled handguns which I have addressed in several past threads. I am currently down to two. A well used mdl 34-2 incher and a nickeled mdl.19 that sports a two inch barrel as well. The 19 is my BBQ gun and, more likely than not, be riding in a Tucker holster at special occasions. I am not a big fan of the midbores.
I read Elmer, Skeeter, and John Wooters as a young man and they got me interested in long range shooting w/handguns. The 357 mag. made it relatively easy, so I began using either the .22 kit gun or the 25-5 or a mdl.29 to add to the challange.
My all time favorite piddlin' piece is the model 34. In the B.G. times (before glasses) I could but 5 of 6 on a paper plate at a 100yds. with it - on demand. Such demands were usually costly for the demander. BUT I was in a situation where I could shoot it every day...a hundred or more times at an infinite variety of targets at unknown ranges...
I have carried either a 1911(the same Colt) or a mdl. 25-5 at least 8 hrs. five days a week since 1980. The last 8 or 9 years I had to shoot the qualification course twice...once with each...so I did the entire course with nothing but head shots just to piss the young guys off...not braggin' just sayin'
Point is... practice - front sight-squeeze, front sight-squeeze
Getting quality performance from a handgun is alot like cultivating good women...the trick is in HOW you push the buttons, not so much in WHICH buttons you push...once you discover the proper techinque, and can repeat it time after time, the rest(speed and accuracy) will fall into place...it just takes practice-practice-practice
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Sir, I don't know that it's a size thing particularly, or even caliber. After shooting a Glock, it takes me a bit to "settle down" when switching to the 1911. The different trigger actions seem to be the main thing; I also run into this when switching from a DA revolver to the 1911. The rifle/shotgun difference that others have mentioned is similar, though I think that's more a technique thing than trigger mechanics.
Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.
Ron H.
Just a theory
If you were shooting the small gun carelessly (like I do) maybe getting back into concentration is harder than going from concentrating to being slap happy.
If you were shooting the small gun carelessly (like I do) maybe getting back into concentration is harder than going from concentrating to being slap happy.
Shooting is muscle memory. Changing a grip changes your group whether you have the same fire arm or not. It seems that you need to spend some time holding the gun and telling your hand what is new before firing it especially if the recoil is strong and the impact is on your palm where you might normally grip another gun.
jaykellogg
Absent Comrade
Many small autos require a fairly firm grip to prevent "limp wristing". Then a small gun is usually pretty snappy. You could load up a dummy load and have a friend insert it in your mag to see if you are flinching. I have a Kel Tec PF-9 that is my carry gun. It has about a 5-6 pound trigger and the trigger pull is something like a yard. I then switch to a 1911 and i have a 3# trigger pull and it breaks like a glass rod. I cannot say I have problems switching back and fourth.
Do you do any dry firing at home?
Do you do any dry firing at home?
M3Stuart
Member
I have a .25ACP Beretta 21a, which I have a devil of a time shooting accurately. Sounds like, if I ever mastered it, I'd lose my touch - such as it is - with the bigger calibers. I think I prefer things the way they are.
Here's the 21a with it's larger mouse brother, a .380 Beretta 84f.
I can hit the X on the center of the bullseye at 50' with that Beretta 84 you have there. I used to have the Ber 950 in 25acp but couldn't hit squat with it. Now I have 'The Mighty Bobcat' 21a in 22lr (two of 'em actually) and hit paper plates just fine with it out to about 30' - but no tight groupings or anything.
To the original OP; I have similar experiences from time to time and don't have an explanation. With the Bobcat in 22lr, I know that I wear myself out shooting tons of cheap 22 - so there's a 'tired' factor there.
truckemup97
Member
This may be it. My last range session, I switched back and forth between a Glock 22, an LCP, and a P-32 and had no problems. However, these all have similar triggers. Maybe I should have thrown in my Model 14 to see if it threw me off.
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