Shooting low and left (was: Not Sure This Is The Right Place For This Question)

[spinmove_]

I recently found that a relatively new Gen4 Glock G17 slide has a misaligned front sight hole. Groups fired with this G17 slide, on my G34 frame, with both left and right hands, were to the left, while the groups fired with this same pistol's original G34 slide were properly centered. User error should be expected to be the same with both slides on this same pistol. This was with Wilson Combat Vickers Battlesights. With the front Battlesight removed, the thread locking compound cleared away, and a fresh front sight inserted, I found that neither the new sight, nor the sight with which I had fired the errant groups, could be aligned correctly along the axis of the bore. Filing the stub, that extends into the mounting hole, will be necessary.

I then looked at my other Glocks, and it seems my new Gen4 G26 is the same way, but the G26 still has its original sights, and the smaller OEM sight apparently causes less of a shift in alignment of the sights. I had been unimpressed with my groups, but I had attributed that to not being able to shoot all that well with the OEM plastic sights, anyway. The G26 was already up for a change in sights, and now I know I will probably have to file the replacement front sight to correct the alignment.

While it is true that low-left bullet impact is normally user error, a misaligned front sight could be a contributing factor, so I reckoned I should mention it here.

While this has been known to happen, this is also why many advocate zeroing and confirming zero on a pistol, especially after installing new sights. It's also a good idea to zero at longer ranges so that any manufacturing errors like that can be minimized when zeroing.


Sent from mah smertfone using tapathingy

[RJ]

While it is true that low-left bullet impact is normally user error, a misaligned front sight could be a contributing factor, so I reckoned I should mention it here.

With a new pistol, I've learned to let someone else shoot it if I have any qualms about whether it is the gun or me (and of course, it's usually me).

Side question (if Cypher doesn't mind the continued thread drift ) let's say you don't have a convenient buddy who can shoot your gun, and you are needing to sight it in. I've heard people say "shoot it from a rest". So far as I've learned, being a noob, this equates to resting both my elbows on the shooting surface (sitting in a chair if need be) and sighting down the front sight while pressing back.

Is this a reasonable approach to "sighting in" a pistol sans one of those Ransom Rest things you hear about?

[Cypher]

Side question (if Cypher doesn't mind the continued thread drift )

Once I hit "Post" it's no longer "my" thread.

[LSP552]

Side question (if Cypher doesn't mind the continued thread drift ) let's say you don't have a convenient buddy who can shoot your gun, and you are needing to sight it in. I've heard people say "shoot it from a rest". So far as I've learned, being a noob, this equates to resting both my elbows on the shooting surface (sitting in a chair if need be) and sighting down the front sight while pressing back.

Is this a reasonable approach to "sighting in" a pistol sans one of those Ransom Rest things you hear about?

Rest and supported positions "can" be different than non-supported for many folks. Using a barricade for support is a prime example where side pressure can move your groups. Everyone is different, but I get better results just shooting prone from 25 then 50 if I'm tweaking sights. And I tend to look at multiple groups in my decision making process. Ammo certainly makes a difference also.

The P239 I'm wearing now hits perfect top of the blade (Trij HD) with Gold Dot 124 +Ps at 25 yards. It's a good 3 inches high with any 147 gr load, shoots 2" left with 124 +P Rem Golden Saber Bonded (once an LSP issue load).

I tweak until I'm satisfied with my carry load and then don't worry about it. I always shoot unsupported to verify any POI/POA tweaks made from a supported position.

[psalms144.1]

Side question (if Cypher doesn't mind the continued thread drift ) let's say you don't have a convenient buddy who can shoot your gun, and you are needing to sight it in. I've heard people say "shoot it from a rest". So far as I've learned, being a noob, this equates to resting both my elbows on the shooting surface (sitting in a chair if need be) and sighting down the front sight while pressing back.

Is this a reasonable approach to "sighting in" a pistol sans one of those Ransom Rest things you hear about?

Rich - I'm against the idea of "resting" the pistol to sight in. I've seen all too often that differences in sighting and hold and trigger manipulation cause different POI/POA results from shooting off-hand. What I do is sight in at a range where I'm pretty sure my technique isn't going to show gross errors (say 7-10 yards), then move out to 25 and confirm. If I find I'm radically off at 25, I'll tweak again, but I find that to be the exception rather than the rule.

[randyflycaster]

Went to the range yesterday. Finally discovered, I hope, why I was pulling my shots low and to the right. (I am left handed.) When I was pressing the trigger the fingertips of my support hand were tightening against the grip, forcing the barrel to drift to the right. Once I became aware of this I was able to correct the defect, partly by changing my grip pressure: With my support-hand fingers I increased the pressure front to back, while maintaining the side-to-side pressure with my support hand palm. Does this make sense? Not sure why I've never read that the support hand fingertips can pull the barrel to the right or left.

Randy

[spinmove_]

Went to the range yesterday. Finally discovered, I hope, why I was pulling my shots low and to the right. (I am left handed.) When I was pressing the trigger the fingertips of my support hand were tightening against the grip, forcing the barrel to drift to the right. Once I became aware of this I was able to correct the defect, partly by changing my grip pressure: With my support-hand fingers I increased the pressure front to back, while maintaining the side-to-side pressure with my support hand palm. Does this make sense? Not sure why I've never read that the support hand fingertips can pull the barrel to the right or left.

Randy

It makes sense from the standpoint that something is changing during the trigger press. Usually this is referred to as "milking" or "torquing" the grip.

The cure can be handled in a combination of 3 ways:

1.) Grip hard and consistently. Yes this seems fairly obvious, but honestly the less you simply "do it" and not focus on it, the easier it is.

2.) Focus actively on maintaining your sight package. This takes your attention away from other things you shouldn't be actively focusing on, like what you're doing with your grip.

3.) Passively focusing on your trigger press. Because your trigger control will affect your shot way more than grip anomalies. It also gives you other things to focus on other than your grip.

Basically, your grip issues are generally all in your head. Worry about other things and your issues will generally stop.


Sent from mah smertfone using tapathingy