Freestyle shooting at 25 yds revisited

[JWinTN]

Really, I just mark the sights, make an adjustment, shoot some groups, and repeat until zeroed.

Well, at least now I know that my method isn't entirely unorthodox. Now if I could trust that my shooting actually reflected a problem with the sights. . . .

On that note, I took a class this past week and got in a little shooting off the clock while everyone else left for lunch. At this point I'm pretty confident that the sights are properly regulated. I actually turned in a decent group at 25 on just the backer, somewhat rapid fire (no lowering the gun between shots). Kind of surprised me, because I didn't have anything to present a specific aiming point. Maybe having less to overthink helped, and I wasn't ambushing a specific holding point.

I also had the chance to shoot an M&P with a fitted barrel—I didn't shoot it any better than mine with the stock barrel. I shot them one after the other at ~12 yards, and actually shot a little better with mine. I seemed to have been having a good day and put 8 shots in a paster at that distance. I shot similarly with the fitted barrel, but the group wasn't as tight. I wish I had shot the fitted barrel at 25, where it may have proven its worth, but I didn't get the chance.

[JWinTN]

Inconsistency is killing me. Any tips for keeping it together for ten rounds?

Shot this today, and except for the two extreme flyers, I'm kinda happy with it. It's probably the closest I've ever come to an actual group at 25. Still haven't quite figured the hold on the HD's at 25. They seem to hit on the dot at 10. This is the only one I did at 25 today.

[JMS]

Here's what I did: gradual progression.

Took each shot individually. Bang, come back to compression, relax take a breath or five. Shoot again, take a break and relax. Repeat until 10 shots fired.

Same thing, only taking two shots before relaxing.

Same thing, but 3-3-4.

Same thing, 2x 5 rounds ea.

Fire 10 rounds in a single group from the draw, no time limit. Takes as long as it takes.

Fire 10 rounds from the holster, 3min time limit.

Fire 10 rounds from the holster, 90sec time limit.

All of those but the last....if on any shot...ANY shot, your eyes start to swim, your wobble zone goes crazy, ANYthing hinky....bail on that shot, relax, take a break, breathe, reset.

Still cycling between the last three. It doesn't happen overnight.

[JWinTN]

Here's what I did: gradual progression.

Took each shot individually. Bang, come back to compression, relax take a breath or five. Shoot again, take a break and relax. Repeat until 10 shots fired.

Same thing, only taking two shots before relaxing.

Same thing, but 3-3-4.

Same thing, 2x 5 rounds ea.

Fire 10 rounds in a single group from the draw, no time limit. Takes as long as it takes.

Fire 10 rounds from the holster, 3min time limit.

Fire 10 rounds from the holster, 90sec time limit.

All of those but the last....if on any shot...ANY shot, your eyes start to swim, your wobble zone goes crazy, ANYthing hinky....bail on that shot, relax, take a break, breathe, reset.

Still cycling between the last three. It doesn't happen overnight.

I take a break between each shot and get a couple of breaths. I think I need to do better recognizing when to bail and actually doing so.

I've never thought about, but I like the idea, of progressing to a more rapid pace. I will definitely utilize that strategy if I can ever do this acceptably with slow-fire. Did/do you work with these drills at closer distances, or do you think it's best to work on it only at 25?

Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

[JMS]

I think I need to do better recognizing when to bail and actually doing so.

*Law and Order tone*

It can be a tough lesson to learn...all depends upon how stubborn you are.

[JWinTN]

*Law and Order tone*

It can be a tough lesson to learn...all depends upon how stubborn you are.

Fortunately I am only reasonably stubborn.

[BaiHu]

Finally got the sights fixed today. Took me 3 trips to the smith on the range, but I turned in this 4 shot group with an awful flier at an indoor range.

I believe the 4 shot group was just under 2 inches (judging by the size of the S&B box) and I shot it with S&B 115 gr FMJ.

Attachment 2476

[JWinTN]

Well, another range trip, another try. Did my best to bail if I felt it necessary. Really wanted to try to keep every shot in the black. Instead of cursing, I just went with rage-quit pistol throwing. Still, my results were better than they have been.

The first two I shot in the morning after a couple of warm-up groups at 10 yards. The next three were shot at the end of a long day of drills. All shot with WWB.

Flyers are killing me. It's like I looked in the Bucket of Truth and already knew what was in there.





For some reason I decided to grip the gun harder and try to cut some wobble. May have helped or it may be a fluke, but I called it a day after the next string. Leave on a high note and all.




I'm not really sure what to do to improve or gain consistency. Trying to pay more attention on when to bail seems to have helped, so I guess I'll focus on that for the time being.

[Failure2Stop]

All same ammo?

[JWinTN]

All same ammo?

Yes, all with Winchester White Box from the Walmarts.