¿ How To Gain Skill/Aim ?

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Snookay

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well i've been pumping rounds through my bersa .380 for about a month now. Its my first gun. At about 23 ft I can NEVER hit dead center. Well i cant hit dead center unless the barrel was on the center but i can hit pretty much where i am aiming when i am around 15ft from the target. I can't find anything online that helps a person raise their aim.

I've been shooting at paper targets and using this (pic) to see what i could be doing wrong.

My shots mainly fall into the "tightening fingers & jerking or slapping trigger" area on my targets. I hold my gun with right hand, then i cup the that hand with my left hand. My trigger finger is usually in the "C" shape, so that the end of my finger is pulling the trigger.
 

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make sure you're not anticipating recoil, try go get someone else to watch you shoot and see if they can see what you're doing wrong.. you might not even know you're doing something :uhoh:

better to not form bad habbits early. if you've only been shooting handguns for a month then i woudln't worry about it, it takes a while to get consistant.
 
So - shooting low left eh. Well - there is no guarantee with any gun - ammo combination that by default you will hit so that POA = POI every time.

My Bersa does pretty good at the 15 to 20 feet distance - adequate certainly from a defensive POV - but I have to say that from this shot distance, every foot further extra does make for errors to magnify, quickly!.

I do wonder whether you favor having weak hand forefinger over front of trigger guard - I find most folks who do this do have an upset in lateral POI. If that not a factor then as suggested, try and get another shooter, with experience, to watch you and also shoot the gun - you may well find this proves most informative.

Best of luck. :)
 
It may take a little longer than a month to become an expert pistol shot. I am 66+ and have been shooting pistols for over 50 years. Still not putting them all thru the same hole at 25 yds although I keep trying.

Seriously, QUANTITY of practice is not enough to improve. If you practice with bad habits, you will only re-inforce those bad habits. To improve, you must also have QUALITY practice (with proper fundamentals). Suggest you find an expert to tutor you or order and study The Pistol Shooter's Treasury ($5.95) from Gil Hebard Guns 309-289-2700.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

ps: A Bersa .380 doesn't impress me as a highly accurate target gun either.
 
LHB1 - heck man - someone older than me!! :D :D Oh hang on - I think Art is ''up there'' :)

I am 60 and on the decline - no more as good as once! I agree Bersa is no target gun but for caliber, a presentable (IMO) option. I'd say that if at 21 feet shots are well within the COM center zone, even if slightly displaced off center - you still have a viable tool.
 
Hi Chris,
It's discouraging to realize that health, eyesight, and shooting scores are all on the decline and will only get worse. Bah! But I'm determined to keep trying and having fun too. Have found that I have to pick my days to go shooting now. Yeah, Art and I have a tenuous connection via Terlingua where he lives. Power to the Senior Generation! You youngsters better bring your "A game" if you want to beat us.

Good shooting and be safe.
 
Hehe LHB - we'll still show 'em - just not so often eh?!! :)

Know what - my IDPA and any compo stuff these days is simply - me vs me - no attempts at ''winning'' - I am pleased if I can prove that I can still ''do it'' sufficient for me. That's what counts.

Keeping oil in the works and knowing that if (heaven forbid) anything goes down, we'll at least give a reasonable account!

Take care. :)
 
the linear addition of distance is also an exponential decay of accuracy and precision
 
It's probably sort of insensitive to say it, but you are probably handicapping yourself with that .380 auto as a learning piece. Not that a lot of guns can't be shot well in spite of X, Y, and Z impediments--but there are easier and faster ways.

About midway through my career my pistol shooting hit a plateau--I was fast enough and ok for "government work", but shooting way below my potential. Went to an NRA firearms instructor's school. The material was all ho-hum, but the instructor was an old Chicago cop and wheelgunner. For some reason we called him "Iron Jaw Jack". He endlessly preached sight picture and perfect letoff, and advocated a lot of ball and dummy work. I started applying those principles and my shooting improved proportionately. He made me a believer and I have never found anything better. And yes, I still have to work at it every day.

Personally, if it were me I would find myself a nice (used?) target sighted K frame S&W, load it ball and dummy, and work on getting those perfect hammer falls. By preference I like the M18 .22 LR but a K-22 would be great. A Model 15 .38 Special would be very hard to beat for this work and be a joy to shoot and own--and with wadcutters, a lot cheaper to shoot that the .380, too.

There are NO short cuts--but intelligent practice gets you there.
 
the linear addition of distance is also an exponential decay of accuracy and precision
Click to expand...

There's my new 'bad day at the range' excuse!


For the thread: Perfect Practice makes Perfect. You need to work up a practice session plan, just like a work out program, diet, or other projects.

Work on things like Keeping all your shots in the black of an 8" bull at 15 yards. Then, once you accomplish that, move up to keeping all the shots in the 8 ring, then 9 ring etc. Then there's all that, but do it one handed, weak handed, longer distances, quicker shot times, etc etc. I've been doing this for 10 years, and it's kinda like the MMPORPGs: I have been at the 9 ring stage for a long time now! Just can't seem to level up and keep em all in the 10 ring yet!

Never ending treadmill level grind mob farming...but for real!

*I now return you to your un-geeked out thread*
 
dieneke ~ Well i plan on making the bersa my carry because of its size n weight. As it is now i know i could defend my self with properly if the kid was 15 ft away. I dont really need to practice anything else because Im unsure if handling somethign else would help me with the bersa.

A guy that worked at a range shot my gun 1 time, he hit dead dead center. :what: I can hit center when i aim up and to the right of center :neener: ill see how much an hour tutor is soon.

I've also been trying to double shot. Sometimes i can get the 2 shots to hit pretty close to each other and other times..... Any tips for double shots? I was thinking that maybe I should shoot the first round regularly and then force the gun back to it's neutral position while squeezing the 2nd round off.
 
I'd suggest getting a good instructor. I'm a newbie too and I like that reference chart in the picture. However, I learned that sometimes it takes someone else to watch me shoot and identify what I was doing.....often a combination of things. I was doing some things wrong without even realizing it. Plus, my instructor also knows how to teach....not just how to identify what I was doing wrong, and he showed me some exercises I can do at home to help improve and develop proper techniques. Incidentally, I got my first bullseye during my first instruction lesson :D
 
Avoid the trial and error, relearning and frustration..get some formal instruction..expensive initially but it will work itself out over a period of time..

I would also encourage you to take part in some competition so you can have an idea of how you measure up.. and what needs further work...
 
In target shooting emphasis is placed on aiming and placement, as it obviously should be. However, there are other aspects that are not important for hitting the paper, but just as important as aiming if you want to cut the X. That’s because as the size of the desired target decreases, the effect of these other aspects increases.

One aspect that people don't speak much of is strength. With strength comes steadiness. Exercises should work the entire body…legs and torso are just as important to steadiness as strong arms. A good strong grip is important as well.

Check your caffeine intake. If you have a few cups of coffee just before going to the range, you won’t be able to hold as steady. It could take 24 hrs to get all the caffeine out of one’s body, so skip the coffee and pop for the entire day before shooting.

One thing that people never seem to do is to become comfortable with the recoil of their gun. Devote a hundred rounds to shooting down the range with your eyes closed. Concentrate solely on the feel of the recoil. Try to simply accept it and give way…like a ball falling on a pillow…the pillow simply gives, and that’s what you should do. Don’t stiffen up for the shock. Hold the gun looser and looser…you’ll be surprised how loose you can hold a gun and still shoot. The idea here is to become fully acclimated with recoil and the range of your reaction to it, so that when you shoot it’s not an issue.

As for aiming...you’re not supposed to try to shoot when your slight and unavoidable movements take your sights across the X ring. When I squeeze the trigger I don’t consider the shot “done” until I feel that the trigger has stopped moving. As I start to squeeze I try to hold the sights on target until I feel the pressure increase on my trigger finger…telling me the trigger has stopped moving. Dry-firing is very good for practicing this. This insures that you’re not trying to time the release of the shot with sighting, and avoids jerking the shot.

Oh...and get a .22. You simply cannot go wrong with a 5.5” bull barreled Ruger Mark II. Stay away from longer barrels.

Good Luck!
 
In addition to many of the good suggestions posted I'd recommend you do a lot of dry fire practice.


Make sure your gun is unloaded, then aim at a spot on the wall (TV is good for this) and squeeze the trigger ... watch your front sight (ALWAYS keep focus on the front sight).

Your goal should be to dry fire the pistol without the front sight moving at all.

I like to keep practicing until I can pull off a string of 3 or 5 perfect shots (zero front sight movement) both single action and double action.


While range practice is a good thing, you can dry fire practice every day and for free.
 
One neat trick an instructor once taught me.

To ensure that you are focusing on the front sight all the way through the shot, make sure you can see the muzzle flash. It should be distinct for every shot (lighting conditions are obviously important here). Once I started doing that, it was amazing how much tighter my groups got.

Remember that your pistol is just fine, it is YOU with the aiming problem :p
 
You have only been shooting for a month so don't get too worried about a lack of bulls eyes. It takes quite a while to develop muscle memory and you have barely begun. Shooting a handgun accurately is a lot harder than they make it look on TV. Keep practicing and you'll get there
 
At your level of experience the gun going off probably still feels like there is an explosion going off at the end of your hand, that will go away with practice but it causes a lot of problems like flinching, left and low. You are also blinking almost certainly. Have you ever heard the expression "the game slows down", this is really true of shooting. So its a good idea to break the process down in segments at the beginning. Good idea to take lessons. You will get more out of spending on an instructor than an equal cost of ammo. It doesn't sound like you have a good grip. Look up thumbs forward grip on Youtube. I like this video by Rob Latham. He suggests that aiming when you first start shooting is a distraction. The most important thing is learning to work the trigger without moving the gun. You don't need to aim to learn this. Aiming is a distraction at this point. You can learn to do this by dry firing.
I'm going to suggest this since you say your finger is in a C-shape. You are pushing the gun left. This can work with a small gun but my experience is the smaller the gun the more finger you need on the trigger. Not true for everyone of course. But how much finger you put on the trigger is unimportant as long as it doesn't move the gun when you work the trigger but most people need more finger on the trigger to do this. Dry fire is free, does not require a dedicated training area and you can do it while watching TV.
 
Zombie thread! I wonder if he ever got any professional instruction? My bet, nope and his shooting is only marginally better. That Leatham video is great. Aiming isn't the problem or why people miss (I doubt anyone ever makes the "fire" decision with sights off the target). Disturbing the gun when firing due to trigger press or anticipation of recoil is why they miss.

If the sights were somewhere within the acceptable target zone when the firing decision was made...and the gun discharged w/o disturbing that...the bullet will hit as near to that point as mechanical accuracy will allow.
 
Jonesy814 said:
You have only been shooting for a month
Click to expand...
Actually, he's been shooting more about 12 years....since the thread you bumped is about 11.5 years old. I'm pretty sure that by now he's either gotten better or just given up...in any case he hasn't been back to this forum since 2006.

Please don't revive necro threads like this. If you have something important to share, start a new thread
 
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