ITS NOT THE GUN: Its YOU!

[fiasconva]

I used to shoot really well a few years ago. Then they started making the guns with the fuzzy sights....

 

[jspick]

My biggest accuarcy problem is my eyes!!
When I was young and had good eyes I couldn't afford good guns. Now that I can buy what I want when I want I can't focus to shoot well! oh well.

What the OP said is how I feel sometimes reading on most gun forums.

John

 

[Denver Dick]

My biggest accuarcy problem is my eyes!!
When I was young and had good eyes I couldn't afford good guns. Now that I can buy what I want when I want I can't focus to shoot well! oh well.

What the OP said is how I feel sometimes reading on most gun forums.

John

I'm now 60 years old. I began wearing bifocals when I was around 40 years old. I notice, as many of us probably have, that when I'm shooting a handgun, either the target is crystal clear and the sights are fuzzy (looking through top part of lens) or the sights are razor sharp and the target is just all fuzzed out (bottom part of lens). In around 1999, I had my eye doctor make a pair of "computer glasses" for me so that the screen on my work computer, about 24" away, would be sharp and clear. I took the computer glasses to the indoor range with me and tried them while shooting. Basically, it's like "splitting the difference" between the bifocal lenses. Neither the sights nor the target are razor sharp, but the sights are pretty clear and the target is clear enough to shoot good accurate groups.

FWIW HTH

 

[BCDWYO]

Relevant story:

I’ve been shooting Glocks since 1992. After cursing my first Glock during the first 3 or 4 range sessions back in '92, I (that's me, not the pistol) finally got it and the group shrunk by 60% and move near the x ring. Since then I have always shot Glocks well.

About 7 years ago I was visiting my local indoor range . . . a lot! On many occasions a guy or gal with his or her new Glock would be shooting one or two positions over. The group (if one could call it that) would be all over the place and even if the group was decent, it would be low and left. On several of those occasions, the person would see my target (shot with one of my Glocks) and start a conversation with something like, "Hey that's good shooting. Yeah, my new one just won't do that. I guess I'll have to move the sight."

Since they would always be shooting factory ammo (I don’t shoot other people’s reloads), I would respond with, "Well, why don't you give me three rounds and let me see what I can do with it?" They would almost always smile and say sure. On each and every occasion, I would get a nice little 3 shot group either in or very close to the x ring at 7 yards. I would say, "Well, it doesn't appear to the the pistol. You know Glock triggers can take some getting use to. Concentrate on keeping your sight picture all way through the trigger pull."

In every case, the person’s groups and placement would improve by the end of the session. I think it was just the reassurance that "the gun's okay" that forced them to step up to the plate and concentrate, and that would result in the improvement. It took away the all too easy and often said, "Something’s wrong with this one."

FWIW

Good story...I was that guy when I started shooting so I know it is true that you just have to concentrate.

 

[august1410]

My biggest issue with accuracy turned out to be which hand I was shooting with. I am right handed and left eye dominant.

I trained myself to shoot lefty and....imagine this.....I started shooting better.

 

[Gunzuki]

Intersting

Intersting thread here , First I am 61 Now and find that I can barley make out the front sight of my Mosin totally blurry. Guess I am going to need some shooting glasses Sigh.

Second I had this Piece of Nazi **** P-38 AAARgghh Could not hit anything with it. I mean all over the place at 30 feet I could not hold any kind of group not low left Nothing !!At 30 feet I can do 6-8 inch groups in the x-ring with my 1911 or 5943 or even bersa Thunderer ( honestly for an inexpensive fire arm i was very surprised). But that Walther was more than I could deal with. ( oh yeah lets see the little thingy under the barrel would come loose so you could not release the slide and finally even the slide would not lock back after the last round , it was just goin to pieces) Sold it to a dealer at a gun show. (did tell him about the problems but he could not have cared less) Was it me ? I dunno but I am sure glad it's gone.

 

[jspick]

I inherited two Nazi P-38's that my F-I-L liberated in WWII. I too felt they were a big piece of garbage. One was mint and the other has seen some use. Both shoot all over the place and could get not get a real group. I tired different ammo, reloading for them too. I can shoot a 1911 with ease and my revolvers I shoot very well. Although with aging eyes I'm not as good as I use to be.

If all the germans had were P-38's against our 1911's, no rifles or anything. The war in Europe would have been over in a month!!

John

 

[Dude]

I'm blaming Ruger. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I inherited two Nazi P-38's that my F-I-L liberated in WWII. I too felt they were a big piece of garbage. One was mint and the other has seen some use. Both shoot all over the place and could get not get a real group. I tired different ammo, reloading for them too. I can shoot a 1911 with ease and my revolvers I shoot very well. Although with aging eyes I'm not as good as I use to be.

If all the germans had were P-38's against our 1911's, no rifles or anything. The war in Europe would have been over in a month!!

John

What a relief it is to read this! A few months back I posted about how I couldn't hit anything with my P-38, but surmised that it may have had more to do with me. A few members agreed. But now I know better; there's nothing wrong with my shooting. It's just the $!)* gun.

 

[kamloops67]

My biggest issue with accuracy turned out to be which hand I was shooting with. I am right handed and left eye dominant.

I trained myself to shoot lefty and....imagine this.....I started shooting better.

i am right handed and left eyed as well,and have considered learning to shoot left handed. ive tried of course,but, it seems really awkward ,how long did it take before it "felt right"?
also im missing the tip of my right trigger finger from first knuckle, so double action reach is kinda compromised anyway..

 

[novalty]

Completely agree with the OP, I have a 5906, and have owned a 4566TSW. They are two completely different beasts, they are also not build on the same frame, and I agree to it being the shooter issue. As with my 5906 with factory fixed novak sights, it hits POA at 10 yards perfectly, but with the 4566TSW my targets at 10 yards looked like I was shooting buckshot. Even tried 3 different grips styles on the gun, and still couldn't get it right. Sold it and bought a S&W 1911, right out of the box with a gun I hadn't shot before I was grouping and hitting POA.

 

[Pasifikawv]

I once owned a Sigma that grouped about a foot low of POA at 10 yards. At first, I blamed the jerk behind the trigger (me) as I wasn't used to the long, heavy, gritty squeeze of the Sigma trigger. Had to be a trigger control issue.

Since it was new, I took some time to really concentrate on sight picture, sight alignment and trigger squeeze fundamentals. Still hitting way low at 10 yards during slow-fire fundamental drills. Still had to be me.

Frustrated, I called up my brother who is a certified instructor and a long-time LEO. I figured he could watch me shoot and help me straighten out whatever I was doing wrong that day. He shows up and sees no flinch when I shoot. He hides a few snap caps in the mag and still no discernible flinch or pull on the click. Finally he takes the Sigma for a walk and the same thing happens with him behind the trigger. But he isn't used to the trigger either. So we break out the sand bags to create a stable platform. Still a foot low at 10 yards.

Only after all of my trial and error and a second opinion from a "professional" did I send the Sigma back for authorized S&W repair. In this case, I did have a bent barrel on a brand new gun. Most accuracy issues are the fault of the shooter and I am no exception. But there are rare occasions when mishaps happen in the manufacturing process - even from quality makers like S&W. The 'smith actually called me to tell me it was one of the extremely few instances when a pistol was sent back for shooting low and there was actually a problem with the firearm.

Once the new barrel was installed, it hit POA reliably - except when I screwed up the shot...

 

[Coldshooter]

Don't ever buy an Anschutz .22 the darn thing will hit exactly what you were pointing at when the trigger was pulled.

 

[jspick]

What a relief it is to read this! A few months back I posted about how I couldn't hit anything with my P-38, but surmised that it may have had more to do with me. A few members agreed. But now I know better; there's nothing wrong with my shooting. It's just the $!)* gun.

Well I sure can't get mine to shoot. It could be us!!! LOL But really, I can't get mine to shoot off the bench no matter what I do!

On the left eye dominate issue I have this to say and maybe it can help some of you. I am right eye dominate and right handed. But As I have aged I have found that not only do my eyes not focus like they use to, but my right eye gets tired faster. A few weeks ago my oldest boy was home and we were shooting 617's off the deck and I was missing more swinging targets than I was hitting. My right eye was tiring fast, on a whim I started shooting right handed and using my left eye!!! I cleaned house. I could docus much better with my left eye and for a longer period of time.
Give it a try! It can't hurt. I adjusted quickly to using the left eye. I think because I was shooting so much better I chose not to let it feel awkward.

John

 

[Shooting Padre]

I was shooting low and left. I moved the target low and left. Bulls eye! Actually, it was me.! Many rounds with my M&P22 made a big difference on my POI with my M&P9. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Every firearm I've ever owned has been more accurate than I am, and I know it. But damn it I still hitting low and left

Aim high and to the right!
Bill to follow.

 

[novalty]

Aim high and to the right!
Bill to follow.

Bill here

 

[Powder Burns]

Yep. It's me, too. I shoot way lousy with some handguns, and just the right one, I can get it up to mediocre. I learned on rifles, shoot shotguns pretty well at moving targets, and am pathetic with hanguns (by my own expectations) on average. But I am working on it.
But then again, I was pretty shocked last time I went to an indoor range where I could easily see most of the others splattering all overt the paper at 5 yards.
The correct grip, to me, is more effective than a superior trigger pull.

 

[writerinmo]

What if you shoot low and left with one handgun and high and right with another?

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I bought a Walther P1 that was made in 1986. It is the post war P-38. I find that it shoots well for me and others. The range officer at the SO range, who is also on the SWAT Team, was getting 1" groups at 15 yds with it. I did not do that well. Any time I feel that a gun is not shooting well, I let him shoot it to show me that there is nothing wrong with the gun. There must be something to shooting a lot.

This thread reminds me of what I tell people when I play Racquetball with them. They make a bad shot and then look at their racquet. I tell them that if it was a mirror, then they could tell what the problem was.