[ASR]

I started shooting production class not too long ago and using Glock 17 and 21. Recently switched from Glock 21 to Glock 17 using 115 grain ammo.. I shoot better with the 9mm due to better control and less punishing. I don't reload rightnow so I am limited to factory ammo..
Need pointers or suggestions on how to hit the 50 yard targets consistently. I know practice will help a lot but I want to hear the rightway of doing it. Do I need to compensate for the bullet drop or do I zero my sights at that distance?

Thanks,

ASR

 

[Recon]

ASR,
Get a copy of Matt Burkett's book he goes into a lot of detail on sighting in and accuracy. You will just have to spend the trigger time and start at 5 yds. and work your way back to 50 yds. See where your gun and load is hitting. Every gun and load is different. The good thing is that not too many places shoot 50 yds. anymore.

 

[pingun.45]

It might help to put some good target/combat type sights. The Heinie comes to mind, very similar to the Bomar. I have been shooting my buddy's G19 with night sights and if you are looking for accuracy, different sights and a good crisp trigger will go a long way. good luck and be safe, Doug

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front sight is good, front sight is good!

 

[Ankeny]

And I have just the opposite problem...I love to shoot long yardage from all of those years shooting PPC. Alas, I have been shooting IDPA and IPSC for about one year and the longest shot I have taken was about 30 yards with 95 per cent of the targets at 10-20 yards. I would love to see an array of pepper poppers at 40 yards some day with an 8 inch stop plate at fifty. Ain't gonna happen.

To answer your question, sight in for the majority of your shooting. I have Burkett's manual and I also have Enos' book. Both of them discuss the relationship between sight picture and trigger control. In a nutshell, you need good sights with total visual focus on the front sight and mental focus on the relationship between thinking the shot off (trigger control) without disturbing the sight alignment. As for sighting in at 50, I wouldn't recomment that at all. Sight in for the majority of your shooting then compensate a bit for the long stuff.

[This message has been edited by Ankeny (edited 04-04-2001).]

 

[Nicholas]

In my case, I figure that 90% of shooting is in the head. Found too often if things aren't going well both myself & other shooters want to start looking at (blaming) the sighting in of the gun. I sighted it in on a 50 yard range. First of all, things looked a lot different at that distance. Took a while to get used to it and hit the target consistently enough to have something I could consider a Mean Point of Impact. I adjusted the sights till this was centered on a standard IPSC target. Now I figure that at other more typical IPSC target ranges my shots are going to hit a couple of inches high which is not enough to matter given the large size of the "A" zone (anyway, because of the "B" zone at the top there's a tendency to shoot too low by excluding the "B" zone and aiming at the body centre of mass). Now I don't ever blame the sights and a bonus was learning to score at longer distances. Our IPSC matches typically have max. 15 to 20 yard targets and all too often they're in so close there's a lot of hosing. Shot one match which had a stage that was two targets at 45 yards touching a no shoot in the middle. Of 49 Standard class shooters, everybody from #16 to #49 zeroed the stage. I scored.

 

[kbear38S]

I've been shooting IPSC for 5 years and have yet to shoot a stage where there's been at target much over 25 yards. I think maybe 30 once or twice but that's rare. There is one classifier that has 50 yard targets I think but it's rarely used.

Truth is 90% of the shots are 15 yards or less and that's really where you have to concentrate your training. That is not to say you have to ignore 25 yard shots, but as a percentage of all the possible points you are likely to encounter, you will gain more match points by excelling at 15 yard shots than 25 at the expence of the closer stuff.

 

[ASR]

The match I shot this weekend had a Clasifier
stage that has three targets at least 45 to 50 yards away, you have to shoot them inside a box free style and it is Virginia count. Then you move to the next box closer to the targets using free style then strong hand then weak hand. I did not hit the long distance shots at all but did alright on the closer ones.
Yes that is probably not even 10 % of the match but still have to able hit them.

Thanks for the replies.

ASR

 

[Ankeny]

kbear38s hit the nail on the head. Still, sooner or later, to be a well rounded shooter, you ought to be able to smack pepper poppers at 50 with no problem.