I suck with a pistol - UPDATE with pic

[snubbyfan]

Looking good, group looks good to me. Try using just a bit more finger on the trigger. Sometimes if you don't have enough trigger finger it'll cause the gun to shoot a little left for a right hander. You want that finger to move straight back.

 

[ginzo]

This is my thought also. I use 8" targets out to 45'. If I hit paper, I'm good. Don't forget to practice with your off hand also.

The "average" torso is about 11"x18". Take a target that size and with your thumbs and index fingers on the upper corners, hold it under your chin about even with your shoulders and look down. See what I see? You are well on your way. Practice makes errr...... pretty accurate anyway!

Personally I like to do two types of shooting practice. The first is take your time calculated get it dead center get a 10 score. This is ego boosting, but slow. The other is to quickly raise the M&P, fire 4-8 shots rapid fire and see where they go. A home intruder or carjacker is NOT going to give you 20 seconds to get your sight picture right or pull out a sandbag.

I have had people at indoor ranges ask what I was doing firing 4-8 rounds so fast and getting 4"-8" groups at 7 yards. They say I am blazing away ammo foolishly. I tell them I am practicing saving my life and my families lives.

To me, a GREAT group is 4-8 rounds in less than 3 seconds and measuring 4-8" of chest.

I believe CWP trainers use the phrase: stop the threat For me that means no sandbag and 20 seconds between shots

 

[ginzo]

I have to look into this being southpaw, I get this also sometimes. You have to concentrate on so many things, I definitely missed this may be an issue for me also. Frustrating when it happens. This is the 1st thing I'm looking at next range outing.

As a lefty I had a bad habit of squeezing w/my other fingers along the grip as I pulled the trigger. That made all my groups go low right (low left for right handed shooters) and it took awhile for someone to identify my problem, then for me to correct it. The smaller the grip surface the more pronounced the problem and only practice takes care of it.

 

[Explodingvarmints]

Put some moly on the trigger sear.need to put The ar will break smoother and it will lessen the trigger pull too. It's a big difference in accuracy.

Please explain this further. what is moly and where do i need to put it? Sorry for all the questions. 1st time pistol guy here.

 

[Explodingvarmints]

It's actually 2" tape I think. I would shoot, breathe, and shoot again once I got a sight picture. I'm so used to rifle triggers that it makes me really have to concentrate . Hell, my benelli shotguns seem to be a sniper trigger compared to this.

QUOTE=gordon21;137799164]Assuming that is 2" wide duct tape, I say damn good shooting for a newbie. It is well within 1 minute of dead intruder. BUT, if it is that new 8" wide duct tape I saw the other day at Home Depot, not so good.................

Personally I like to do two types of shooting practice. The first is take your time calculated get it dead center get a 10 score. This is ego boosting, but slow. The other is to quickly raise the M&P, fire 4-8 shots rapid fire and see where they go. A home intruder or carjacker is NOT going to give you 20 seconds to get your sight picture right or pull out a sandbag.

I have had people at indoor ranges ask what I was doing firing 4-8 rounds so fast and getting 4"-8" groups at 7 yards. They say I am blazing away ammo foolishly. I tell them I am practicing saving my life and my families lives. A couple range masters have confronted me about rapid fire. I tell them what I am doing and I have never once been asked to stop.

I have subscriptions to about a dozen gun magazines. Nothing irks me more than to see an article or review about how the author got a 2.71" group at 20-25 yards off a sandbag rest and then he starts pissing and moaning about poor accuracy in the test gun. To me, a GREAT group is 4-8 rounds in less than 3 seconds and measuring 4-8" of chest.

I believe CWP trainers use the phrase: stop the threat For me that means no sandbag and 20 seconds between shots[/QUOTE]

 

[Watchdog]

This was at 10 yards with 15 rounds. Is this an 'acceptable' grouping for that distance given my lack of experience? Wonder why most shots are left of the tape? Still have a lot of practicing to do, but this was a confidence booster.

I think "acceptable" is too vague a term here. Face facts...everyone isn't going to shoot 3- or 4-inch groups, especially with a gun like that. Don't sell yourself short or start doubting your abilities. If you doubt yourself, you're shooting with a defeatist attitude.

Personally, if I'd shot that group at 10 yards, I wouldn't be all that disappointed.

The only thing I'd suggest is stop with the homemade targets, unless all you're interested in is a type of plinking. If you're going to shoot at 10 or 15 yards, get yourself a dozen regulation slow fire pistol targets and shoot at those. You can't even give yourself a numerical score shooting at a square of duct tape. You need something to shoot for, not at.

 

[M&PmikeC]

did you mention this is your first time firing the gun... bro that's great man. and everything everyone mentioned above is dead on.. my groupings get better and better and better everytime Im at the range... but the trigger upgrade to apex fss was by far the best investment ive made yet

 

[pineappleshooter]

+1 to everything said above. I would add that lying a coin on the front of slide during dry fire will help smooth you out. I do not know where you shoot, but try to focus on every shot 10 X's are better than 50 7's. Since you are new you want to try to do it correctly each time since it is easier to create good habits than it is to break bad ones. Be Safe,

Your laser is also good to practice your trigger control. Turn on the laser and, while dry firing, try to keep the dot on the center of the target.

 

[ginzo]

When you get good at this you can switch to a .22 empty casing for even further trigger control.

Trigger practice Dry Fire .22 casing - YouTube

+1 to everything said above. I would add that lying a coin on the front of slide during dry fire will help smooth you out. I do not know where you shoot, but try to focus on every shot 10 X's are better than 50 7's. Since you are new you want to try to do it correctly each time since it is easier to create good habits than it is to break bad ones. Be Safe,

 

[JimmyRay]

Assuming that is 2" wide duct tape, I say damn good shooting for a newbie. It is well within 1 minute of dead intruder. BUT, if it is that new 8" wide duct tape I saw the other day at Home Depot, not so good.................

If that is 8" duct tape then that's a really big gun

 

[Bozz10mm]

That shot group doesn't suck at all.

 

[Explodingvarmints]

did you mention this is your first time firing the gun... bro that's great man. and everything everyone mentioned above is dead on.. my groupings get better and better and better everytime Im at the range... but the trigger upgrade to apex fss was by far the best investment ive made yet

I've got about 200 rounds thru it. It's my 1st pistol. Hopefully run a few more mags thru it today. Picked up some dirty bird torso sized targets. To try. All of help here is really appreciated .

 

[leas327]

Not bad at all for an inexperienced shooter. Stock M&P triggers are nothing to write home about. Apex makes a nice kit.

At your house take your unloaded gun and point it at a blank wall, don't aim at anything. Line up you sights with a hard focus on your front sight. Now squeeze the trigger until the gun fires. Any amount of sight movement is unacceptable. Repeat this until you can do it all the time. Try it a few times a week if you have free time. Then go to the range and shoot another group.

Right handed people squeezing with their whole hand instead of just their trigger finger will cause shots to go left. A little less grip pressure with your right hand and a little more with your left will help. If you are right handed.

 

[ginzo]

Those are the ones I was talking about earlier to hold under your chin. Fire up one of those and it puts it into perspective. Kinda makes the red dot bulls eye irrelevant if your in SD mode.

I started with those and then sized down to 8" after about a year or so. I try to get to the range every 6-8 weeks. Burn at least 100 rounds each time.

I've got about 200 rounds thru it. It's my 1st pistol. Hopefully run a few more mags thru it today. Picked up some dirty bird torso sized targets. To try. All of help here is really appreciated .