Pistol Marksmanship Advice

[fjmas1976]

Hey Marines,
I need some tips/advice on how to improve my pistol shooting. I'm not consistently hitting the bulls-eye or shooting in tight groups. I have been also hitting low and to the left fairly often. (I shoot a Glock 27 and Smith and Wesson J-Frame 442)

I never had pistol markmanship training in the Corps, just had it while at Police Academy. If any Marines can give me some advice or tips on how to improve my shooting I would greatly appreciate it.

Semper Fi:usmc:

[Mikewebe]

A friend of mine and my E-6 over seas is an IPSA shooter he had us switch from the weaver to the Iso, however you spell that triangle. It is a much more stable platform and if you are using body armor it puts your whole vest to use and doesn't expose your sides.

Bend your knees crouch a bit and get stable you should improve.

[Quinbo]

One commen error that occurs in pistol marksmanship is caused by the fact that you can often see your shot hole from your position. Meaning you are shooting at short enough distances to see the hole in the target from there. Some shooters will actually begin to raise up out of their stance before completing aim fire follow through. They don't even know they are doing it. Steel yourself to only look at the target through a good site picture. Shooters who are raising their head to see where the round impacted end up have a lot of rounds impacting low and to the left ;)

[crate78]

Try different stances. I've found, myself, if I use a single handed stance with my left hand in my pants side pocket I'm steadier than if I use a two handed stance.

I think what it is, if I use a two handed stance I contract my shoulder muscles and my arms quiver.

Doesn't hurt to experiment. It's interesting though, the other day I was messing around with my SA Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 mag shooting .44 Specials and was also hitting low and to the left. I adjusted the sights to put me on target. I'll have to use a barrel rest one of these days.

[thewookie]

Low left for right hand shooters is due to anticipation and jerking -- the most common pistol mistakes.

The pistol can be a mean biotch to master.

Having taught the best, and having been to a few of the best shooting schools out there -- I'll give you my 2 cents....

Use a combat stance, screw the cup and saucer -- keep your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and be aggressive in your overall stance. You are in a fight, a gun fight, be aggressive in your stance.

Both arms should be locked out in front of you in a sort of rolled forward position, tough to describe online, but similar to the Isosceles stance. The goal here is to have the weapon recoil through your upper body as one, so you can deliver quick and accurate follow- ups. In this link here -- http://www.rogers-shooting-school.com/Home%20page.htm
go to that link and notice how Mr. Rogers is holding the weapon. If you look closely you'll notice that Bill has fired 3 rounds (see the brass in the air - 2 above the weapon, 1 below) BUT his upper-body and pistol have not moved at all. With a proper stance and grip, the weapon shouldn't move, well, the slide should but nothing else.


Hold the pistol with a death grip, yes, this goes against "conventional" wisdom, but it's right and it works. The idea here is to control the recoil of the pistol as much as possible so you can deliver another round on target ASAP. By using a death grip you can also control the swing of the pistol on target. You SHOULD see the white in your finger tips if you are holding it tight enough.

You need to get comfortable "prepping the trigger", this means pressing the trigger to the rear before your sights are completely lined up, getting some of the slack out of the trigger helps to eliminate the jerk or anticipation that most people get with the pistol. By prepping the trigger you are able to deliver shots from the holster faster

You really have to focus on the front sight post and not the target, more with a pistol then any other weapon. Once you have proper sight alignment, all your concentration should be on the front sight post. If you look at the target to see your hits, or where you want to hit you'll anticipate the shot and drop it low right.

Dry fire, dry fire, and dry fire until you remove the anticipation from your dry fire and then see if you can do it live.

Actual studies have been done that prove the mind/brain shuts down the moment the round is fired, this is one reason why it is critical that you not anticipate your shots -- almost all new or inexperienced pistol shooters do this. The only way I know how to get past this is with dry firing. When I shot with the BN pistol team we had this "shootin shrink" come talk to us and the one thing he kept harboring on was the mental aspect of it. The only way you can overcome the mental aspect of shooting is with dry firing -- not glorious but it will save you money.. and make you accurate,,, someday.

Good luck and safe firing.

[thewookie]

A friend of mine and my E-6 over seas is an IPSA shooter he had us switch from the weaver to the Iso, however you spell that triangle. It is a much more stable platform and if you are using body armor it puts your whole vest to use and doesn't expose your sides.

Bend your knees crouch a bit and get stable you should improve.

This might be like splitting hairs.... And nothing against a good IPSC shooter: they are good with trick weapons; however, I would take a good IDPA shooter over a good IPSC shooter any day.

[testforecho2112]

Just to add a bit to what the Wookie said, but think about getting a lasermax guide rod laser to add to your carry weapon. Not for target aquisition, but for the dry fire phase. Turn it on and practice dry firing...find your natural point of aim. Watch what happens to the laser dot when you pull the trigger, you'll find out where the 'throw' is happening. It probably has something to do with your grip. Change up your grip until you find that you can consistently keep the dot on target while dry firing. Once you get that down, take it to the range and see how it works.

Good luck!

[Wyoming]

One commen error that occurs in pistol marksmanship is caused by the fact that you can often see your shot hole from your position. Meaning you are shooting at short enough distances to see the hole in the target from there. Some shooters will actually begin to raise up out of their stance before completing aim fire follow through. They don't even know they are doing it. Steel yourself to only look at the target through a good site picture. Shooters who are raising their head to see where the round impacted end up have a lot of rounds impacting low and to the left ;)


... as in golf, you should always see your tee or divot after you hit the ball. Looking early is going to do no good at all.

[fjmas1976]

Thank you for all the comments and advice so far. Keep em' coming, I really appreciate it. Semper Fi:usmc:

[imajarhed]

I agree with thewookie. I was a range coach back in the day but the game has changed since then. I worked nuclear security after 9-11 for a few years and we put a lot of rounds down range at the combat course. My personal weapon is a Glock 23 and my service weapon was a S&W mod 66. I was a pretty decent shot already I thought but the more I practiced getting a proper grip every time before it left the holster, the higher my score got.

W/ the glock, ride the grip as high as you can without losing skin . Your hand will be in a more natural/neutral position putting less strain on your wrist while keeping a good firm steady squeeze.

W/ the j frame, keep the same high grip but you don't have to worry about losing skin.

If you are right handed, and consistently low and left, the higher grip will help bring the strike of the round up some. If you are right handed, it is possible you don't have enough finger in the trigger well and pushing the front sight to the left with your finger tip. If left handed, you may have too much finger on the trigger pulling the business end that way. Practice dry firing as often as you can stand squeezing the triger straight back as opposed to merely clinching your fist.

Make sure you are consistent with your grip everytime and seeing the same sight picture everytime. (Sight picture is aiming at center mass with clear front sight tip centered and level with the rear sight... make it go boom)

Take to heart about "prepping the trigger". If you are anticipating the trigger's "break-over" you are not in control.

Something the D.O.E. was also driving home to us is good nutrition to maintain proper blood sugar to avoid the shakes. Every advantage is essential in a gun fight.

Good luck and have a party in the v ring.