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Move the sights or is it me...

1812 Views 41 Replies 33 Participants Last post by  1977loadstar
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Background-former Glock 30 guy, switched to 1911's last year. AKA, went from near to the finger joint to the finger pad.
I'm right-handed, but left eye dominant.

7 yards-SA Ronin .45 on the left and Ruger CMD .45 on the right. Started at the top targets, alternating 5 shot strings, and worked my way down.

Since they're both shooting left, I'm wondering if it's me.

Moved out to 15 yards. The Ronin hits are marked, the rest are from the Ruger.
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Is it time to buy a sight pusher?
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No. It is you.

You will be dead on shortly. Be patient my friend.
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Pulling left is a common mistake and most people do not realize they're doing it because the amount of push is very small. Concentrate on pressing the trigger straight back. You should be surprised when the shot breaks. That way you're seeing what is happening. The front sight should lift straight up and settle straight back down where it was. Dry fire and watch the front sight intently to see if it's moving.
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Try using a firm two-hand hold from a rest if possible.
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View attachment 674360
Background-former Glock 30 guy, switched to 1911's last year. AKA, went from near to the finger joint to the finger pad.
I'm right-handed, but left eye dominant.

7 yards-SA Ronin .45 on the left and Ruger CMD .45 on the right. Started at the top targets, alternating 5 shot strings, and worked my way down.

Since they're both shooting left, I'm wondering if it's me.

Moved out to 15 yards. The Ronin hits are marked, the rest are from the Ruger.
View attachment 674364
Is it time to buy a sight pusher?
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Thanks for the tips, gents! I'm going to keep working on it.
Can't explain it, but I prefer the Ruger.
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Use dry fire between range trips, you could always buy a training system. You are close though.
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Some of that could very well be your sights, but some of that is also you. I would work only on reducing the group size for now. Then you can see where your true personal point of impact is. A small group will also be an indication that you are not doing anything wrong.

Use lots of targets and limit the groups to five shots each. You might see 4 shots in a small cluster with one flyer (an outlier). You can consider the main 4 shots as the group in that case. A five shot cluster is best of course. When you have small groups that are a consistant location relative to point of aim, then adjust the sights. Pay no attention to the error from point of aim until then.

The "wall drill" is a good way to practice dry fire. Aim at a blank wall, and pay attention to nothing but the alignment of the front and rear sights with each other. The front sight should not move within the rear sight notch when "firing".

During actual live fire, you should be able to have a mental picture of exactly what the sights looked at the instant the gun fired.

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Working blank and with a good grip definitely solves the problem, make for a little tear that left hand strokes produce
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I think it’s important to note that you are probably pressing the trigger with the “pad” of your finger. Move your finger on the trigger to where your first joint break is.

Also, start dry firing at home and when you are at the range put a random empty case in your magazine. It will help you identify flinching.

Lastly, blue print your shot cadence. What I mean by this is shooting at the range and working fundamentals is not a race, it’s a very deliberate approach to fixing your problem. Shooting should be intentional and, you should understand what is happening with every shot.

You can’t duplicate or make a habit of something until it’s blue printed. You cant get faster until you master all the steps…. My blue bring is as below:
1. Grip:is the firearm in my hands properly
2. Trigger finger; where is my trigger finger placed
3. Sights, “front sight-Target”. Accept you can not stop the front sight from moving. I’m looking throigh the rear sight to the front… rear sights gonna be blurry, front sights going to be clear, target is going to be blurry…. If I’m shooting a dot. It’s simple. Dot-target…. Just know as with the front sight, the dot will not stop moving.
4. First sight picture, best sight picture,

Those first four are kind of happening all together but be connected to iAll above yes…
5. Deep breath
6. Internal thought “let’s go”
7. Front sight/dot on target….Press-press-press-press…. Bang!

Mentally be in the moment, train yourself to understand you are not taking the shot unless you are 100% certain your hitting the bull or black.

I also highly recommend shooting 25 yards on a B8. This will really allow you to see the mistakes and how much improvement you need towork toward.

90+ on a B8 is what I would personally consider good shooting.
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May just be”how” you see things. I have found it interesting that since getting my cataracts removed that all my guns have shot to the right & low, used to be high and left, pretty much the exact same amount. So as I’ve been going through my collection I’ve been adjusting things to compensate. Again, it may just be how you see things, if you keep shooting and getting the same results, I would drift the sights a bit to get things centered. The 5 shot strings is good advice.
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Probably you. At that distance you are shooting, your group size is fairly large. Left is the common direction for a grip issue for a right handed shooter.

My suggestion is work on your grip and trigger control first. Then, work on your sights. You'll probably find that your sights are pretty close.

Btw, there are plenty of YouTube videos that show grip techniques. Good luck and have fun.
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Yeah I have the problem of tightening fingers or something with smaller grip frame guns. I am dead on with 1911, 2011, big Berettas, etc. but with guns that have a smaller grip area I am making great groups at about the 8 o’clock just outside the center of the target. It doesn’t help to have big hands like I do.
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Just move the rear sight to the right. If you suddenly develop perfect technique later or change the load...adjust again.
I'd try 15-20 yrds from a rest to see what grouping confirms.
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If you have a range buddy, have them load 4 mags for you. Have them randomly put 2 dummies or empty casings in each one. Then have them watch closely as you shoot and pay attention to where the muzzle went on the dummy rounds. The surprise "no-bangs" will show if you are pushing the trigger or anticipating the recoil.
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Around 25 years ago I was having a bit of trouble myself problem was I belonged to such a small Club everybody's advised was different ( and most of them couldn't even group as good as I could ) in the end what I decided to do was sight the pistol in on a ransom rest then taught myself to shoot straight took a while but it works .
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As mkk41 said above “a firm left hand grip”. Quite often shots at the proper height but left are caused by subconsciously tightening the left grip as the shots breaks. A very firm left hand grip May do the trick for you.

You could also try moving the trigger closer to the joint.
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Hard to beat training for any aspect of marksmanship. Consider myself very, very fortunate to have been on AMU team. Been shooting since 7-8 years old and doing many things wrong. Training conditions ones to reflex habits in every aspect. Grip, locking wrist and elbow , trigger position and control, sight alignment, breathing and follow through. I know lots of target shooting actions does not apply to combat but automatically gripping the same way, sight alignment and trigger control sure apply.
A cheap at home drill is an expanded “ blank wall” drill. Tape a piece of heavy white cardboard to a wall at eye level. position yourself so muzzle of pistol is 1/4” from wall. In set sharp lead pencil , align sights on white cardboard, focus on sights, depress trigger( use joint of finger or just in front of joint). Once pistol “ fires”, cock hammer push pencil back to breech and aim at the dot from first try. You will easily see whats going on. Use chart above and focus on each aspect of “ firing”. BTW, this was a AMUTU training aid taught to us by an old Master Army shooter.
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The "wall drill" is a good way to practice dry fire. Aim at a blank wall, and pay attention to nothing but the alignment of the front and rear sights with each other. The front sight should not move within the rear sight notch when "firing".
Umm.. Don't be like my brother: make sure the pistol is clear - several times - before you dry-fire at the walls, m'kay?

(and the insane part is: he goofed with a revolver!)
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A few years ago I had to adjust the sights to the left on everything I had with adjustable sights, rifles included. Just a change in my eyes.
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