New Shield, consistently shooting 8-9 o'clock of bullseye

[Radworm]

New to the Shield. I have put several hundred rounds through it. I been shooting between 7-10 yards at a round pistol target. I use a modified isosceles stance with two hand grip. I am right handed, but left eye dominant. I am consistently hitting to the left and slightly low. I feel like I have a good grip, and I am not flinching or jerking the trigger. Any pointers? More dry fire practice?

My other pistol is a stainless Beretta 92FS of which I am pretty accurate out to 25 yards (not a bullseye shooter, but make decent groups).

 

[shield]

That appears to be a common issue with new Shield shooters discussed in other threads here. I also shot low left at first. I focused on grip and a smooth trigger pull, lots of dry fire, and now shoot reasonably on target.

 

[jepkr]

Sheild shooting at 8+9 oclock

Check you grip and TRIGGER TIME!!!very important on a smaller hand gun. Big difference between a Beretta92 and S&W SHEILD.

 

[Radworm]

Well the chart says too little trigger finger, tightening fingers, and slapping or jerking trigger. I have been pulling trigger to remove slack. Once when slack is gone, then I slowly pull the trigger. Is this a no no?

 

[Fabius]

Mine was shooting a little left and high at 7 yards. Adjusted my off hand grip to make it a little stronger, used a six o'clock sight picture and it was right on the money.

I find that subcompacts magnify the effect of any flaw in my grip or mechanics. Actually, it was good practice to shoot the Shield. After 120 rounds with the Shield, I put 100 rounds from my 1911 in one ragged hole. The Shield helped tidy up my mechanics.

 

[philly3458]

It's a little plastic gun, what do you expect.

 

[Houdini1953]

With any weapon focus on the front sight not the target actually focus, also practice trigger control, if you focus on the front sight and it does not move when you actually fire the weapon you will see a fantastic improvement!

Keep in mind your grip to keep movement to a minimum when pulling the trigger!

Focus on front sights, focus on front sights, focus on front sights... see what happens!

 

[Martya]

I had the same problem at first with my M&P, shooting low and left. While experimenting with grip and trigger pull, I noticed something. Try this-
Empty the gun, check it twice, then rack the slide for dry-fire. Aim the gun somewhere safe, put the front sight inside the rear as normal, then very very slowly pull the trigger. Watch the front sight - as the pin releases, my front sight jumps left about half way inside the rear sight, then returns to the middle again. I attribute this to a new trigger not worn in yet and a little to incorrect finger pull and hand placement. My trigger is still a bit rough and 'hangs' a tiny bit at the point of release. I continue to dry fire to wear it in, but it still has that bit of a rough spot.

This is not a solution to your problem, but it was something I noticed and was able to improve somewhat.

 

[Mikey217]

I had the exact same problem with my new M&P 40c. I am also pretty accurate out to 25 yds with my Glock 19 9mm, but my first trip to the range with the M&P was almost all low and left. My problem was trigger control and a slight flinch every now and then (problemS, I guess). So my solution was to get the DCAEK from Apex Tactical, along with daily dry firing practice. I'm now getting pretty dead on at 7yds. I haven't gone beyond 7 yds yet, though. I'm going to keep practicing until my 7yd accuracy is as good as it is with my 9mm, then I'm moving further from the target.

Oh, and something I'm going to try at the range tomorrow, that I've been practicing with dry fire, is to focus more pressure from my off hand on the front base of the magazine (I have the finger rest on the 40c magazines), in an effort to control the recoil more. I'm anxious to see if that makes a difference. It feels right during dry fire, so we'll see what happens on the firing line.

 

[chief1]

The shield is a SMALL weapon system with a very short sight radius. As a result they are going to be more difficult to shoot. If you don't have a solid fundamentals i.e grip, trigger control, follow through etc.. your target will show it. A lot of people think a small pistol is easier to shoot but that's the complete opposite.

 

[RobzGuns]

As the others have written, this is relatively inherent to Subcompact pistols. I'm on a few Forums and regardless of brand, people who are used to shooting Full-Size Duty weapons (especially Full-Sized SA pistols), regularly have this problem when they transition to Compact DOA and striker Fire Compacts & Subcompacts. (Ruger, KT, XD, Shield, etc).

Larger, heavier pistols with a longer sight radius (and SA trigger) can mask bad habits in trigger control. When transitioning to Subcompacts, many pretty much need to relearn their trigger press from square one, with lots of Dry-Fire practice. Don't use a slow press...or a quick jerking press... just a smooth deliberate moderate press... and practice 'Isolating' your trigger finger (when you press the trigger, ONLY your trigger finger is moving... Not your whole hand [aka milking the trigger])

Next time at the range, have a buddy video your hands while shooting. You may be surprised at the amount of movement.

 

[gdauth]

Had a similar problem with my XDm 9mm. I solved it by dry firing and carefully observing whether the front sight appears to move as I pulled the trigger. If the sight appears to move to the left you will shoot left. I used a soft BB gun and dry fired that. Took a lot of practice to get rid of it.

 

[RIDavid]

I have been shooting low left too. I put 200 rounds through it today and am getting tighter groups closer to target. I just need to keep practicing!

 

[Rotty37]

Looks like to me that your "knuckling" the trigger. Meaning that your using the first knuckle on your index finger ( shooting finger) and which causes low left or left of target shots. As you pull back on the trigger that way, your pistol will naturally move left of POA (if your right handed). Opposite if your left handed.

Try using just the pad of your index finger which cause less movement of the total finger and you will have tighter groups. Also pull back slowly and let it surprise you, you will eventually get better and find out where your flaws.


Good luck!!

 

[Radworm]

Shot another hundred rounds today at about 10 yards. Still left and slightly low, but not as bad as the other day. Have pretty tight groups, just need to hit more of the bullseye. I concentrated on the push-pull grip, holding my breath, and a slow deliberate squeeze with my trigger finger pad. Seems to have helped, but need to keep practicing. I used my Beretta 92 as a comparison. Dead center with it. Too bad it is not a good CCW.

 

[chief1]

Dont do the push pull grip, that's old and antiquated. Get into a good modified iscoceles stance, punch both arms out equally, get a good grip on the pistol, not too loose but not too tight either.

Check out my training video on what a grip for a SA pistol should look like.
Proper Semi Auto Pistol Grip - YouTube

Here's another video i did for a Drill called the Bill Drill. It's 6 or 7 shots as fast as you can shoot while keeping in the kill zone normally 7" to 8" in combat shooting. Look at my stance and arms. BTW there I'm shooting a .45 1911.
Threat Solutions Group's Tactical Breakdown Bill Drill - YouTube

BTW, Threat Solutions Group is my training Company.

 

[ccpacker]

The pattern you describe is typical for cross dominant shooters from what I have been reading. I am cross dominate also. I shoot tight patterns, but they are usually to the left of center. I am still researching what the fix might be. I know one solution suggested was to convert to left-handed shooting (Bill Rogers). Another was to shoot with a slight cant toward the master eye, about 15 degrees. Problem may be limp-wristing. A third suggestion was to tilt you head to the right to bring you left eye over the sight (Jeff Cooper). It is a challenge though.

 

[chief1]

It's easier for cross dominant shooter but that stance and grip works for everyone. It's also the natural position the body goes to under stress. When was the last time you saw a LEO or soldier shooting from the Weaver stance sunder extreme duress in a fire fight. That stance is a true fighting stance.
I'm former military, trained and worked with SF, was a PMC contractor when I got you and I still continue to train with some very serious organizations. This is the stance taught to serious shooters.

Don't take my word on it, go out an find some very qualified and reputable school and attend it. They'll work out all those bugs out of your shooting. With some practice you'll be running that pistol like a real operator.

 

[Radworm]

Dont do the push pull grip, that's old and antiquated. Get into a good modified iscoceles stance, punch both arms out equally, get a good grip on the pistol, not too loose but not too tight either.

Check out my training video on what a grip for a SA pistol should look like.
Proper Semi Auto Pistol Grip - YouTube

Here's another video i did for a Drill called the Bill Drill. It's 6 or 7 shots as fast as you can shoot while keeping in the kill zone normally 7" to 8" in combat shooting. Look at my stance and arms. BTW there I'm shooting a .45 1911.
Threat Solutions Group's Tactical Breakdown Bill Drill - YouTube

BTW, Threat Solutions Group is my training Company.

Thanks for the video links. I use the modified isosceles stance and my grip is similar to the one in the video. I played around with the modified weaver and the push pull grip to see if it made a difference. I am keeping my groups in the 7" circle. It just is off 3-4" left and slightly low from the bullseye which I think is mostly due to trigger control. Cross dominance is not an issue with pistols as I shoot fine with my Beretta.

 

[chief1]

Thanks for the video links. I use the modified isosceles stance and my grip is similar to the one in the video. I played around with the modified weaver and the push pull grip to see if it made a difference. I am keeping my groups in the 7" circle. It just is off 3-4" left and slightly low from the bullseye which I think is mostly due to trigger control. Cross dominance is not an issue with pistols as I shoot fine with my Beretta.

SOunds good. Yeah without watching one shoot its hard to determine what they are doing. But since trigger control is IMO the hardest fundamental to master I would venture to say that's what the problem is. With good practice and some dry fire one can be very surprised how much improvement gain there can be.