oregon45
08-09-2019, 09:34 PM
Decided that today I would work support-hand (my left hand) exclusively with my newly-acquired S&W M640-1 and my S&W 34-1 22lr. Shooting was done on a B-8 repair center at 3 yards, on a timer, from low ready. Ammo used in the 640-1 was Blazer 130gr FMJ 38spl.
The guns:
https://i.imgur.com/19Xdwru.jpg?1
Warming up with the 34-1 was a joy--no recoil to speak of and my scores were consistently 60 with only the X-count being different between strings. Par time for 6-shots was 5-seconds, and I made that time on 6 out of the 8 cylinders' full I shot. My biggest challenge was getting the sights aligned for the first shot; once I had that alignment, subsequent shots were quick and simple. Part of this I think is that I lack a natural point of aim with my support hand because I so infrequently train with it. Other than training more, are there any techniques for building a NPOA with the support hand? In my case I am right-handed and right-eye dominant, and when shooting support hand I tend to cant the revolver to the right about 15 degrees, with my wrist about in line with my sternum when my arm is at full extension.
The 640-1 was more of a challenge. The gun has the grips it came to me with, and they soon will be replaced by a set of boot grips. I shot 45 rounds, and my scores averaged 47 points. Here is a slightly better than average, but representative group:
https://i.imgur.com/WeT2ZNn.jpg?1
Unsurprisingly, the big challenge with the 640-1 was getting the gun down out of recoil and back on target. I found that the gun recoiled up and to the left, and, coming out of recoil, I was pulling the gun down and to the right while pressing the trigger and aligning the sights, causing my groups to be strung horizontally. Had I slowed down and formed a complete sight picture before the trigger press I likely could have ameliorated that stringing, but I chose to emphasize speed given the purpose of this gun. Even with that emphasis, I only made my par time on 4 of the 9 cylinders' full I shot, with my first shot being by far the slowest.
I found the 640 far easier to shoot than my Airweight and Airlight S&W's, but still after 45-rounds (and not having shot anything with appreciable recoil for over 6 months) I found my hand a bit sore. If I ever take a full-day snub-nose class I likely will run Federal 148gr wadcutters.
All in all a useful practice session, and I intend to make it part of my regular routine to work these snub's with my support hand. Any advice on best practices for doing so?
The guns:
https://i.imgur.com/19Xdwru.jpg?1
Warming up with the 34-1 was a joy--no recoil to speak of and my scores were consistently 60 with only the X-count being different between strings. Par time for 6-shots was 5-seconds, and I made that time on 6 out of the 8 cylinders' full I shot. My biggest challenge was getting the sights aligned for the first shot; once I had that alignment, subsequent shots were quick and simple. Part of this I think is that I lack a natural point of aim with my support hand because I so infrequently train with it. Other than training more, are there any techniques for building a NPOA with the support hand? In my case I am right-handed and right-eye dominant, and when shooting support hand I tend to cant the revolver to the right about 15 degrees, with my wrist about in line with my sternum when my arm is at full extension.
The 640-1 was more of a challenge. The gun has the grips it came to me with, and they soon will be replaced by a set of boot grips. I shot 45 rounds, and my scores averaged 47 points. Here is a slightly better than average, but representative group:
https://i.imgur.com/WeT2ZNn.jpg?1
Unsurprisingly, the big challenge with the 640-1 was getting the gun down out of recoil and back on target. I found that the gun recoiled up and to the left, and, coming out of recoil, I was pulling the gun down and to the right while pressing the trigger and aligning the sights, causing my groups to be strung horizontally. Had I slowed down and formed a complete sight picture before the trigger press I likely could have ameliorated that stringing, but I chose to emphasize speed given the purpose of this gun. Even with that emphasis, I only made my par time on 4 of the 9 cylinders' full I shot, with my first shot being by far the slowest.
I found the 640 far easier to shoot than my Airweight and Airlight S&W's, but still after 45-rounds (and not having shot anything with appreciable recoil for over 6 months) I found my hand a bit sore. If I ever take a full-day snub-nose class I likely will run Federal 148gr wadcutters.
All in all a useful practice session, and I intend to make it part of my regular routine to work these snub's with my support hand. Any advice on best practices for doing so?