DA/SA, consistently missing right on first shot

Shooting right on the first DA shot is a very common practice with DA/SA pistols. The heavier trigger pull of the first shot requires more effort and often times causes the firearm to point right slightly for right handed shooters and vice versa for left handers.

There are a few ways to correct this depending on your goals. If you are training just for accuracy, fire your weapon mostly in single action. So at the range, immediately cock back the hammer on your Beretta and take every shot in SA.

If you are training for carry or defense, practice. And you are taking a good step in that direction already. Shooting entire mags in DA is a good way to strengthen your trigger finger to the longer pull of a DA first shot. You can also "Kentucky Windage" your first shot and aim slightly to the left for the first round. I don't recommend this for a carry or defense situation as it is something to remember.

The third option is the most costly. Get a firearm that has consistent trigger pull such as 1911s, Glocks etc.

Herr Walther has some good points. I would also add that with time, you will learn exactly what the breaking point of the DA trigger feels like.

I've put ~12,000 rounds through my 92FS, and qualified with the M9 with both the Army and Air Guard. For the latter, the course of fire requires several DA shots. My technique is to "stage" my shot: squeeze back the trigger indelicately to its breaking point, slow down almost to a standstill, then reacquire my sight picture and finish the stroke. At 10 and 15 meters, I can always make the shot.

The downside to this technique is that if I'm cold, wet, and terrified, I'm not sure I'll have the patience or where-with-all to stage the trigger. I'm either going to throw the shot or hope I have enough time to cock the hammer. However, under range conditions, my technique works. I just hope that I've done it enough to translate to panic conditions.

The best advice is to master the DA trigger pull as opposed to aiming left or staging it. The DA trigger press should be a smooth and constant motion with no stopping/starting or change of speed. At combat speed it is very fast, but still a smooth motion, not a jerk.

I practice the DA shot the most (Sig P226) and do so usually from the holster. Once my hands have come together in position 3 (gun at center of body, pointed down range), I press the trigger as I punch the gun straight out. The instant it gets to full extension, the shot breaks. You can also just de-cock and come back to Position 3 and do it again.

Do a lot of dryfire and start slow working on the timing of a smooth pull while extending the gun, nano-second to verify flash front sight just before the shot breaks. If you are waiting until your sights are perfect, then squeezing the DA trigger, that is why it is jerking off target. The sights were perfect when you started the press, not by the end but the flash and recoil masks it. Dryfire won't mask it. The sights don't need to be perfect, they just need to be "good enough" to hit the vital zone, then the trigger pulled without disturbing that (all in the orange @ 5 yds is a reasonable expectation and that doesn't need a perfect sight picture).

I would listen to Strambo, his advice sounds better than mine.

In addition to yanking the trigger, it sounds like he's using more muscle pulling the trigger than he is holding the gun. Or, he's milking the trigger, squeezing the gun as if pulling the trigger with all the fingers.

It's also possible he's putting too little finger on the trigger. The center of the first joint should be centered on the trigger.

If using two hands, apply 70% of the grip pressure with the support hand.

Meanwhile, dry fire so you know how to work the trigger.

I had the same problem 30 years ago when I started shooting my Beretta 92S...had a problem pulling the first shot DA. A lot of dry fire practice solved it and also moving my finger to get more of it on the trigger. I shoot my Px4 SC very well in DA and I shoot it like a DA revolver.

In fact, I cross train with several revolvers shooting DA only. I spent a lot of time dry firing my guns and holding them on target and concentrating on watching the sights and adjusting my finger placement so that the gun does not "snap" or move when the hammer drops at the end of the pull.

It really surprised me that the gun can jump so much depending on finger placement. I find I shoot well with DA style finger placement in SA but not the other way around....in other words I shoot all guns (I prefer DA/SA pistols) like it was DA. I also strength train my wrists and fingers (guitarist/musician) and hand that finger strength and forearm training can make a huge difference in trigger control in DA. Stuff like squeezing balls and doing wrist curls with a dumbell or using those finger squeezer deals made for guitar players helped me a lot.

VooDoo

Ask your gunsmith about a trigger job to reduce the DA pull.It is easily done.I believe the key is substituting a hammer spring from a DAO 92 or a 1911.I had this done on my Ruger P90 and it made a big difference on the DA pull and smoothed up the SA pull.

Big Change After Much Bad Practice

"My technique is to "stage" my shot: squeeze back the trigger indelicately to its breaking point, slow down almost to a standstill, then reacquire my sight picture and finish the stroke."

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Good advice if you are shooting for score.

Bad advice if you are going into combat.

When I was shooting for score in our recurrent LEO qualification, I would use the same staging technique with my revolver and I would shoot a max score and maintain my "Distingusihed Expert" status.

Then one day I was in my first LEO shootout (very different than from in-country) and there was no time to stage my revolver with the perp shooting at me. After firing 5 times I lucked out and hit the perp in the head once. The wall behind the perp looked like a shotgun pattern at way over 25 yards.

I promised myself that from then on it would be only combat shooting at the range. My scores fell, but rose steadily for the next two months back up to Distinguished Expert.

It paid off in my next two shootings where there were non-combatants nearby. I didn't have the luxury of an open field of fire as in the first shootout.

Get an instructor to fix the problem and then perfect practice will make perfect.

Duly noted, thank you.

Dry fire is your friend and you can do it right in your living room.

Dry fire as noted.

Additionally if you do wish to make a mechanical change to your Beretta, a "D" spring is a good investment. It is a lighter hammer spring designed for the DAO version of the 92, which lightens the trigger pull a bit. They're cheap too, I think I paid $20 for mine. Takes about 2 minutes to install, and most of that is pulling off the grips.

-Jenrick

My only DA/SA is an old Ruger P-series. In all honesty I haven't shot it much in a while as I have other guns I have been using for carry. When I was working on learning the double action trigger on it I spent a lot of time dry firing with a penny balanced on the front sight. It helped me learn trigger control.

The old formula still works: Keep the sights lined up and squeeze the trigger.

After a while, the trigger will take care of itself and you can get off decent groups in a "point and shoot" situation. Of course, 5 yards is in "combat" distance and that target would represent a very unhappy opponent.

Jim

The addition of a laser during your dry-fire exercise might help you see where your trigger pull is moving your muzzle. It helps me!