Consistently shooting 1.5" right

Try this.

EDIT= Probably just "mirror" it for a left-handed shooter.

are you shooting off a rest or freehand?

What could cause this?

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I'd look at your grip and trigger control as the primary culprits.

Grip: Check to see if you are exerting any excess pressure on the left side of the gun, which is pushing the round right. Since you are left handed, it's possible you are actually pulling the gun right with your support hand.

Trigger control: Check to see if you are using enough trigger finger on the trigger. Too much, and you can pull the shot to the strong side, not enough, and you can push the shot to the support hand side. You want to use the part of your trigger finger that gives you enough leverage to comfortably, and smoothly, press the trigger to the rear, no more, no less.

Aiming: Check to see if you are canting either your head or the gun, which will influence the strike of the round, despite an apparently clean sight picture.


If you can't troubleshoot and identify any fundamental error you are making, than it's probably just the way you see the sight picture, which can be different for some folks. Adjust the sights accordingly.

Do you wear glasses for astigmatism by any chance?

progrmr, it's about impossible to squeeze too hard. A hard grip helps prevent sympathetic movement of the fingers while pulling the trigger. Try this - relax your hand. Now slowly mover your index to touch the palm of you hand with your index finger. Notice how the other fingers move? Now repeat but do it quickly. If you are slapping or jerking the trigger, your other fingers are going to pull the gun off center when it fires. Also a hard grip helps prevent the involuntary reaction of gripping tighter in anticipation of recoil.

1. Dry fire. Watch the sights as you pull the trigger. Start with a blank target or a blank wall. Keep the sights aligned throughout the entire motion of the squeeze and follow through -- keep the trigger to the rear with the sights on target, count "one thousand one", then release the trigger, keeping the sights aligned. Repeat ad nauseum.
2. More dry fire. Dry fire until your anticipation of recoil is reduced, then add a bullseye to your practice, obtain correct sight picture and squeeze the trigger. Start slowly and increase the pace. Dry fire a "case" of ammo before shooting more live rounds.
3. Dummy rounds. Get at least five of them. Have a friend load your magazine/cylinder with all dummy rounds, and one live round. You don't know if there will be a live round or a dummy. If it goes click, hand the gun to your partner (if it's a semi-auto) and have him cycle the slide and hand it back to you. Do eveything just like your dry fire practice. I bet your first live shot will go to the center of the target. Reload and repeat five or ten times.
4. Repeat the drill several times, increasing the number of live rounds, but keeping the number of dummy rounds if your magazine will hold them all. Keep both eyes open - don't blink when the gun is fired - and watch the sights during firing, recoil, and follow through with the sights back on the target.
5. Fill the magazine with live rounds, but have your shooting buddy place one dummy round somewhere in the magazine. If you are cured of your malady, you will pull the trigger, "click", and your sights will not move from the spot you put them... if they do move, and you don't blink in anticipation of the blast and recoil, you will see exactly why your shots are not hitting the center of the target.

If you start pulling shots, go back to step one and start over. Also double up on heaing protection (plugs + muffs); it will go along way to reducing flinch/anticipation and keeping your eyes open.

move the sight...fixed
load, shoot, repeat

Miked7762 said:

Do you wear glasses for astigmatism by any chance?

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I'm curious why you ask. I have severe astigmatism corrected with glasses.

kludge has given you some great advice. Definitely read up on "milking the grip" (basically the first paragraph of kludge's response) and try to mentally (and physically) disconnect your trigger finger from the rest of the fingers on your left had. Just the smallest amount of sympathetic movement can throw your shot off. This is the type of issue that would be very consistent as well, since your fingers would tend to move the same sympathetic amount each time.

The good news is that it's very correctable and it sounds like everything else is going pretty well. You just need consistent, focused practice time.

move the sight...fixed

Click to expand...

Only if its off when shooting from sand bags or a rest should to adjust the sights.

I'm curious why you ask. I have severe astigmatism corrected with glasses

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The cylindrical axis correction for astigmatism distorts objects that are not perpendicular to, and on the center line of sight -- the screen of my notebook turned in to a trapezoid when I wore my reading glasses with the astigmatism correction.

This annoyed me enough that I rarely used them, and was the main motivation for having Lasik as the astigmatism made it very hard to read while the correction made everything distorted that wasn't straight in front of my eyes -- I work needing a wide field of view. Its wonderful to be able to use iron sights again!

I'm curious why you ask. I have severe astigmatism corrected with glasses.

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I do as well. If I'm not careful about which part of the lens I look through while sighting, the front post appears curved. Instead of the vertical | it looks more like a ( if my head is turned too much. Generally it isn't a problem if I use only the notch and post portion of the sights. However, if I use the high contrast portions it changes the point of aim significantly.

Miked7762 said:

I do as well. If I'm not careful about which part of the lens I look through while sighting, the front post appears curved. Instead of the vertical | it looks more like a ( if my head is turned too much. Generally it isn't a problem if I use only the notch and post portion of the sights. However, if I use the high contrast portions it changes the point of aim significantly.

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Interesting. I've never noticed this even though my optometrists over the years have told me that my astigmatism is very bad.

I'm giving serious consideration to Wavefront LASIK.

"Only if its off when shooting from sand bags or a rest should to adjust the sights"

Really

Why are sights adjustable then.

Sandbags...how about a ransom rest and remove all human in put?

If the grip is consistant and the group is normal for the type of gun and ammo, why change anything other than the sight??

Sorry to over simplify a non-problem.

No one asked about time of day indoor/outdoor, position of the sun relative to the shooter or target, some more variables to consider...or not.

How about the sight finish, recently blackened, reflective shiny spots...more variables to think about...or not.

My body is not a Ransom Rest, and it never will be.

I am right handed, and my Glock groups are consistently left, and just a little bit low.

The chart would say I'm milking the trigger or some such.
OK... matters not to me.

I push the sight over to the right until my group comes to center, and I call it good.
Group prints exactly where I'm aiming.

If I have to shoot with my left hand, I know I have to aim about 6 inches left of where I want the bullets to land if the target is far enough away that I need to use the sights to guarantee a hit.

I don't hunt gnats or fleas with a pistol.

W.E.G.
How simple is that
My point exactly
If the grip is comfortable, consistant and repeatable, shooting a good group, why do anything but move the sights...
Load, shoot, repeat

Besides, who wants to carry around a bench, chair, and sandbag

Adjust your trigger finger

Hi Progmr,
Experiment with where your trigger finger is on the trigger.
1. make sure you are pressing strait back, our natural tendency is to press the trigger with a slight curve.
2. If you place the trigger within the fold between the first & second bones of your finger, try using just the tip of your finger to press the trigger.
3. If you are already using the tip of your finger, then try positioning the trigger in the fold.

Here's a website that explains uses the Handgun Target Analysis Guide and explains the cause of each error, and how to solve it.

Hope this helps.

"Only if its off when shooting from sand bags or a rest should to adjust the sights"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Really

Why are sights adjustable then.

Sandbags...how about a ransom rest and remove all human in put?

If the grip is consistant and the group is normal for the type of gun and ammo, why change anything other than the sight??

Sorry to over simplify a non-problem.

Click to expand...

Why? Because the OP had this nugget:

However my brother, who is a really good shot, is able to sight it property and hit center which makes me go back to my form!

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His Brother

Good, maybe he can sell the gun to his brother or call him when he wants to shoot it.

OP is left handed, brother is right handed...no variables there.

Does the factory sightin a gun for a lefty or righty?

Oh wait, the sight is centered in the dovetail and must remain there...forever.

Grip the gun harder, get a good very tight grip on it prior to placing your finger on the trigger, aiming, firing. Also, pull the trigger with the tip of your finger, if possible.

It sounds like you are pulling your grip fingers tighter simultaneously with your trigger finger, thus pulling the gun to the right.

Although I admit the trouble could be elsewhere, but I'd try this first.

Tilos, there are exactly two variables:

1. Where the muzzle is pointed when the bullet exits the barrel
2. Ammunition variance

Left or right eye/hand dominance is not a factor in proper sight alignment, sight picture, grip, stance/posture, trigger squeeze, breath control or any combination of things that the shooter is responsible for in variable #1.

If the sights are off, they would be off for his brother too.

If the gun is shooting to POA for a "really good shot", moving the sights will only reinforce the shooting form/habit causing the OP's "gun" to shoot left. So why not focus on being a better shooter instead of blaming the equipment or saying "that's just the way I shoot"? The OP didn't do that. He noticed a difference in the way he and his brother shot and came and asked a good question, and a shooting coach would probably be able to diagnose the issue after watching him shoot a few rounds or having him do a few ball and dummy drills.

The position of the sights in the slide is not sacred, on that we agree. My XD40 shoots POA=POI with the sights as they came from the factory, but if Massad Ayoob shot my gun and said it was shooting left, I would move the sight and try to figure out what I was doing wrong. Probably even pay him to tell me.