Thank you, that answers my questions and helps me help you.
First lets talk about grip. This is the basic pistol grip:
With your firing hand, put the back strap in the center of the web between your thumb and fore finger. Then wrap your fingers around the grip with your trigger finger along the frame (Reference Point, more on this later). It should look something like this:
Note that the bore of the gun is in line with the shooting hand forearm. (Yes, I'm a lefty, just use the mirror image if you're right handed.) Get your hand as high as you can in the grip. This will help control recoil. Put your thumb on top of the safety. This will help keep your grip high. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but it will help your shooting in the long run.
Now, bring the support hand up. Put "fingers on fingers" around the shooting hand fingers on the grip and as high as you can. The whole grip should look something like this:
Create some tension by pushing a little with your shooting hand and pulling with your support hand. This will help steady the whole gun and control recoil.
Even as you add this tension, the overall grip is not tight, just firm. Your thumbs should be relaxed and your pinkies should be relaxed. The majority of the grip is done with just the middle and ring finger of your shooting hand. (This is why some people shoot better with a compact grip where the pinky doesn't fit on the grip.)
It's important to note that this is not the "be all, end all" of the grip; it is just the starting point. You may find slight variations that fit you better. I just recommend this when starting out.
Now, let's talk about the "three secrets." They're not really secrets, but it seems like it when you see most people shoot. They are, Sight Alignment, Sight Picture and Trigger control.
Sight Alignment:
Align the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight. Ignore the dots for the moment. Ensure there is equal daylight in the rear notch on either side of the front sight.
Sight Picture:
Here is the proper sight picture for the M&P-
The front sight should be in clear focus, the rear a little out of focus and the target will be a little blurry. Notice that the top of the front sight is in the middle of the target. This is called a center hold. It is how the M&Ps are set up at the factory. This has been verified by many owners. This will put rounds in the center of the target out to ~15 yards. You may have to hold a little higher at 25 yards.
When shooting, your focus must be on the front sight. Failing to do this will dramatically open your groups up.
Trigger Control:
This is the most important part of shooting a handgun. Without trigger control, the sights/muzzle will be pulled off line and misses are guaranteed.
When the trigger is pressed, it must be smooth and straight back. The only finger that moves is the trigger finger. As you can see in the diagnostic target posted above, moving or tightening of the other fingers will pull the gun off target.
The trigger finger builds pressure until the sear breaks. It should be a surprise break. This is exactly the same way it's done with a rifle. After the sear breaks, trap the trigger back. Then release the trigger smoothly until the trigger resets. Do not take your finger off the trigger. Then, after it passes the reset point, take up the slack again and get set for another press. It's not that you're looking for the reset, just don't let your finger fly off the trigger after the shot. Remember, this is about control.
Now, there is a fourth secret, but this one is so uncommon it must be top secret; follow through.
Follow Through:
After the shot has been fired, re-acquire the sight picture. Stay on target. Use all the fundamentals just discussed above, but don't fire. This should be familiar because of your shotgun experience. After the shot with the shotgun, it is important to keep swinging the gun. The same here, but you're just not moving. So, re-acquire that sight picture just like you're going to shoot again. Those who don't do this, usually give up on the shot early. By developing good follow through, most of the other issues will take care of themselves.
One last thing; Reference Point.
This is not a shooting skill, it's a safety issue. When not ready to shoot, the trigger finger goes along the frame above the trigger. Find a spot on your frame that you can feel with the tip of your finger. Develop a habit of keeping your trigger finger there until you are sighted in on the target. As you can see in my first pictures, it is clear to anyone standing on either side of me that my finger is not on the trigger. This is valuable when shooting with others and by yourself. It helps to reinforce the safety aspect of trigger control.
There is a lot in this post. Even so, it just scratches the surface of shooting a pistol. The NRA Basic Pistol class will go more in depth on what I've talked about here. Sorry, but there are no shortcuts. If you want, I'll go into the dry fire rules in another post.
