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Author Topic: How well do you shoot?  (Read 8446 times)

Offline ssb73q

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How well do you shoot?
« on: October 21, 2016, 10:12:23 AM »
Hi, there are some that are natural handgun shooters, I'm not one of them. I practice, practice, and practice some more to be able to come close to those with natural ability. The benefit of not being a natural is that I can enjoy incremental improvement in accuracy. There is a saying to beware the man with only one gun. I have many and want to be able to shoot accurately with all my firearms.

Tell us on your method to improve accuracy and if you ever felt you were a natural handgun shooter and why you have that skill.

Regards,
Richard
There’s nothing better in the morning than the smell of bacon and black powder smoke!

Offline Dave Shooter

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2016, 11:28:15 AM »
No one is a natural handgun shooter.  Human beings are not born knowing how to shoot; it is a learned skill.  Some people do learn faster and earlier than others.  I have seen novice shooters shoot decent in short order because they did not have ingrained bad habits and actually listened to instruction.  I'm fortunate to know several world champions; they all worked very hard to get to that level.

There are quite a few books out there on shooting performance.  A ton of information and for a lot of folks a lifetime pursuit.

Some high level ways to shorten the curve:
-Identify your objective, what are you trying to accomplish?
-Determine how to measure performance.  It needs to be quantifiable.  If you can't quantify it how will you measure improvement?
-Figure out specific areas for improvement. Coaching and target analysis can help here. Build plan to get better in specific areas.
-Practice with a purpose!  The best shooters I know pick one or two areas they will work on per session.  Plinking or blasting, while fun, generally don't contribute much.

Down in the weeds advice:
-One simple dry fire drill is to balance a fired cartridge case on top flat of pistol held out in firing position.  Break the "shot".  The case should not fall off or even jump.  An excellent drill to learn trigger finger isolation from the rest of the grip.  With no recoil, blast, or noise to mask them errors can be readily seen.

Good Luck!

Happily Retired USAF ossifer
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Offline Hawg

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2016, 01:39:39 PM »
No one is a natural handgun shooter. 

Yes, some are. My dad was a natural with pistols and rifles both. He never aimed just raised the gun and pulled the trigger and rarely missed. He always told me to think about where you want the bullet to go and it will go there. Never worked for me. I'm pretty good if I do say so myself but practice tho I may I've never equaled some of the things I saw him do. When my niece was in college her dad was against guns and she had never even held one but she took a forensics course and part of that was she had to pass an FBI qualification course of fire. She borrowed a Glock 19 and qualified. Later on after her dad died I gave her my 10/22 and she shot it almost as well as I did.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and tasteth good with ketchup.

Offline Krylandalian

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2016, 01:45:56 PM »
I shoot   r e a l   well.  One way to get a grasp of how not to fire a handgun etc, is to watch a closeup of someone firing a blackpowder weapon on a DVD movie.  Run the firing in slow mo.  You ll  see, more likely than not- a closing of the eyes well before firing, . Notice the grip! The hand will collectivelly close, squeezing the weapon causing excessive movement. Eratic breathing etc.

Yeah yeah.  Just a movie.  However, it is a good way to observe how not to do it, in turn taking a closer look at one s  own shoot posture. Perhaps revealling a negative aspect previously not realized.

Offline 45 Dragoon

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2016, 03:15:04 PM »
My nickname is ransom 


                                                                              (7+"



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Offline Captainkirk

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2016, 04:55:07 PM »
Honestly, I seem to shoot a lot better when I quit worrying about form and let fly at the gongs.
"You gonna pull those pistols, or whistle Dixie?"

Offline Suntiger

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2016, 05:15:20 PM »
The first rule is don't think...

Offline Hawg

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2016, 05:39:27 PM »
I've never worried about form, never had a form to worry about. (7+" I shoot one handed for the most part. The only time I use two or more is for really long shots.  *6' I like recoil, I like smoke and flame, they do not intimidate me. Can I show really impressive groups on paper? Not usually. I suck at it because I hate doing it but lets shoot inanimate objects and I'll most likely hand you your ass on a platter.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and tasteth good with ketchup.

Offline 45 Dragoon

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2016, 07:55:05 PM »
Point shooting/intuitive shooting is awesome! You gotta shoot a lot to stay "on edge" but folks that have the "touch" can pretty much do what they want when they want. It's a gift.

Mike
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Offline Hawg

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2016, 11:34:18 PM »
Point shooting/intuitive shooting is awesome! You gotta shoot a lot to stay "on edge" but folks that have the "touch" can pretty much do what they want when they want. It's a gift.

Mike
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That's the way my dad was. He might go for years without firing a shot then pick up a .22 rifle he'd never fired before and put four shots in the pic of the dude on a Prince Albert tobacco can from 50 yards firing from the hip. I've seen him do that. I've seen him make head shots on running dogs from 50-75 yards with a .38 special.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and tasteth good with ketchup.

Offline 45 Dragoon

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2016, 01:23:51 AM »
That's amazing Hawger!!  Your dad definitely had the touch!
My mom would show my dad how to sink a beer can (with one shot!) after my dad had scared hell  out of it!!
 (7+"      !! With a freekin little ol Beretta 25 acp!! (That thing was junk!!)


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Offline Hawg

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2016, 06:49:25 AM »
Yeah he did. He taught me to shoot from the hip when I was about five and I got to be pretty good at it but I'm not so hot at it now. One thing he liked to do was take one of those old heavy glass Coke bottles, spin it up in the air with the mouth down. Shoot through the mouth and bust the bottom out. I have wasted many thousands of rounds trying to do it. Yeah I could do it every now and then but I never saw him miss, not one single time. When he did shoulder a rifle he never took time to aim. As soon as the stock touched his shoulder he pulled the trigger, same way with a shotgun.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and tasteth good with ketchup.

Offline sltm1

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2016, 08:59:00 AM »
I do real well when I just point and shoot....that's my 1st shot, after that I start thinking about it and my accuracy suffers.

Offline Suntiger

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2016, 10:32:07 AM »
I found my pistol shooting got a whole lot better as my shotgun practice increased ... A lot of carryover ... And learning not to think !

Offline Fingers McGee

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Re: How well do you shoot?
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2016, 04:41:51 PM »
I do real well when I just point and shoot....that's my 1st shot, after that I start thinking about it and my accuracy suffers.

I've found the same is true with my shooting.  Of course, using an 1851 or 1861 Navy helps.
Fingers (Show Me MO smoke) McGee - AKA Man of Many Colts; SASS 28564-L-TG, rangemaster and stage writer extraordinaire; Frontiersman/Pistoleer, NRA Endowment Life, Central Ozarks Western Shooters
Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they should be.  Ambrose Bierce