Took my first gun class last night - question about finger placement

[SarahG]

I finally shot a gun for the first time last night at Point Blank in Greenwood after taking their 4-hour women's handgun class, which included an hour of range time. I was surprised by which guns worked out for me and which didn't since I only used rentals - I went in asking for the Smith and Wesson M&P 9 since I had heard it works well for smaller hands, but couldn't reach the slide release to save my life because I have midget thumbs. After talking with the rental counter to find what fit my hands, I checked out the Sig P320 Compact - instant love. I actually loved it so much that I now have one on layaway (I'm a student, so sadly layaway works better for me).

I would love some input on what seemed to be my main issue with hitting the target well:

Almost all of my shots landed off to the left of center varying from just a little to 5-6 inches. The targets they had us using were the Big Shooter Tutor targets, which told me that the majority of the problem (other than being brand new to this) was improper trigger finger placement. How do I consciously work on this while still getting used to the recoil? I don't want to develop bad trigger habits now and have a hard time adjusting them in the future.

Lastly, if anyone in the Martinsville area wants to go shooting, let me know!  I'd love the opportunity to learn more and practice while making some friends.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Nothing replaces a teacher by your elbow. Always be on the journey, never arrival. Everyone wants to be a ninja, no one wants to stand in horse stance.

Good for you for seeking training. It is the software that matters (you), not the hardware (the gun).

but couldn't reach the slide release to save my life because I have midget thumbs.

Slide stop. Slide stops not in same place in all platforms. Running the slide with your off hand always works. No Robin Hood crap. Get the whole hand involved in the fight.

I checked out the Sig P320 Compact - instant love.

Ok, cool, proof is in the shooting. Let your software (your training) select your hardware. All platforms have pros and cons. All.

The focus now is on the gun handling, not marksmanship. With training will come confidence. With confidence will come awareness. And awareness brings mindset.

Marksmanship will come with time. Your gun handling in paramount. Kirk is a bigger threat to Kirk than anyone else in the world.

Almost all of my shots landed off to the left of center varying from just a little to 5-6 inches. The targets they had us using were the Big Shooter Tutor targets, which told me that the majority of the problem (other than being brand new to this) was improper trigger finger placement.

Meh. Maybe. May be a flinch too. Nothing beats a teacher at your elbow.

Remember the 3 laws of the mind and next time get instruction in dry firing. Remember when you dry fire expect the weapon to discharge so Rule 4.

 

[russc2542]

^What Kirk said.
Reaching the slide stop with your right thumb is nice but not necessary. I'm 6-5 so I have big ol hands and can't reach the slide stop on everything. In action, practice using your off-hand to run the slide because it's more consistent gun to gun. There are also guns that the slide stop doesn't work worth a darn as a "slide release". Some don't have an external slide stop.

How do you work on finger placement? same as anything else: practice. Yes it'll have to be a conscious action the first few (hundred?) times but you'll get there.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

How do you work on finger placement? same as anything else: practice. Yes it'll have to be a conscious action the first few (hundred?) times but you'll get there.

It will depend. Find what works for you and do it.

Have you asked your instructor about hand strength drills?

 

[SarahG]

It will depend. Find what works for you and do it.

Have you asked your instructor about hand strength drills?

I'll email her and see what she recommends. There are $10 "classes" (supervised shooting with an instructor walking around to help you) that I plan to attend after this just to work on shooting.

 

[rvb]

Almost all of my shots landed off to the left of center varying from just a little to 5-6 inches. The targets they had us using were the Big Shooter Tutor targets, which told me that the majority of the problem (other than being brand new to this) was improper trigger finger placement. How do I consciously work on this while still getting used to the recoil? I don't want to develop bad trigger habits now and have a hard time adjusting them in the future.
.

Congrats!

The answer is dryfire!

Watch the sight closely as you dryfire. the front sight shouldn't move when the "shot" breaks. experiment. See what grip adjustments, finger placement adjustments, etc works best. Once you get fairly good at this, you can progress to balancing a dime on the front sight and working to break the "shot" without disturbing the dime.

focusing on the front sight is key!

then, when you get on the range, you might still have some adjustments to make, but they will be minor. And you will have trained yourself to watch the front sight through the shot breaking, which can help avoid flinch issues.

I for one do not think there is a single answer to these questions. The shooter, their grip, and the gun all makes too much of a difference to universally say "oh you need more finger on the trigger." experiment and observe.

You can always hit the slide release with your weak hand thumb. this is how I run 1911s.

-rvb

 

[Benp]

I'll throw my 1 cent in, for what it's worth, and say that one of the things can be difficult to overcome is anticipating the shot and your reaction to it. Anticipating your shot by itself is not bad, but your reaction to it can be bad. If your reaction to it is anything other than keeping the same stance and not moving the gun at all then you are good, but if your reaction is to move the gun in any direction at all then that's not good. Like the others have pointed out, dry firing is going to really help in this regard. Practicing pulling the trigger on an empty chamber with an empty magazine. After you pull the trigger make sure you are exactly still on target and that the only part that moved was the trigger. Try to not get frustrated and enjoy the process of improving in every area. There is a wealth of knowledge here in INGO and there are lot of friendly people here who have the heart of a teacher. Also welcome to INGO!

 

[Areoflyer09]

I'll throw my 1 cent in, for what it's worth, and say that one of the things can be difficult to overcome is anticipating the shot and your reaction to it. Anticipating your shot by itself is not bad, but your reaction to it can be bad. If your reaction to it is anything other than keeping the same stance and not moving the gun at all then you are good, but if your reaction is to move the gun in any direction at all then that's not good. Like the others have pointed out, dry firing is going to really help in this regard. Practicing pulling the trigger on an empty chamber with an empty magazine. After you pull the trigger make sure you are exactly still on target and that the only part that moved was the trigger. Try to not get frustrated and enjoy the process of improving in every area. There is a wealth of knowledge here in INGO and there are lot of friendly people here who have the heart of a teacher. Also welcome to INGO!

This is huge one for me. On days that I'm calm and relaxed it all goes well and the improvement continues. On days where something has me frazzled its like starting over again. On those days, every pull has to be calculated and walked through step by step or I'm all over the target from anticipating every shot.

Practice, practice, practice and then we practice some more.

 

[NHT3]

Most people need to break their grip to get the the slide stop.. Some find using the "slingshot" technique on the slide rather than trying to use the slide stop more efficient.. Welcome aboard.

 

[ogtruckin]

congratulations. like said before dry fire and range time practice. It gets very addicting

 

[IndyDave1776]

Given that you are a student, one surmises that you are young. The best piece of advice that I can offer is to understand that proficiency comes from experience, and that you should be patient with yourself in this regard.

It appears that the technical advice has been adequately covered, so I will recommend that you approach it with the understanding that you are not going to become Annie Oakley overnight and simply work to be a little better than you were last time each time you practice with or without professional assistance.

 

[SarahG]

Given that you are a student, one surmises that you are young. The best piece of advice that I can offer is to understand that proficiency comes from experience, and that you should be patient with yourself in this regard.

It appears that the technical advice has been adequately covered, so I will recommend that you approach it with the understanding that you are not going to become Annie Oakley overnight and simply work to be a little better than you were last time each time you practice with or without professional assistance.

I'm 28 - took a little break between my undergrad and grad school. I definitely know I'm not going to be a great shot and look forward to lots and lots of practice. I'm shocked at how nice and supportive everyone has been so far, both in online communities and in person.

 

[71silverbullet]

This may be helpful. Its for right handed shooters, reverse if you are left handed.

 

[Twangbanger]

Congratulations on your new hobby & wishing you much enjoyment! It sounds like you're going about it intelligently. And the Sig 320 is a neat gun.

Did you see the left-shooting pattern with all guns? Or just your Sig? (Sometimes...it really can be the gun, so just thought I'd ask).

I'll post this up because I think it's a really good video (although I know you don't want to worry about shooting "fast" at this point):


[video=youtube;li0rGtXh23I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li0rGtXh23I[/video]

Welcome aboard, listen to your instructor & have fun!

 

[Areoflyer09]

INGO has a wonderful community. As a whole, the people here are friendlier and more polite than other forums I'm involved with.

 

[MCgrease08]

INGO has a wonderful community. As a whole, the people here are friendlier and more polite than other forums I'm involved with.

So you're saying an armed forum is a polite forum?

 

[Areoflyer09]

So you're saying an armed forum is a polite forum?

Something like that! it probably helps that the majority hold similar views on subjects, so the disagreements tend to be more mild when compared to disagreements from both sides of the aisle.

 

[churchmouse]

Something like that! it probably helps that the majority hold similar views on subjects, so the disagreements tend to be more mild when compared to disagreements from both sides of the aisle.

Have you cruised the political section yet.....

 

[Areoflyer09]

Have you cruised the political section yet.....

Still nicer than other forums! It does get a bit more wild there though, but at least here people are allowed to have opinion without being afraid of having the thread closed because someone finds that view offensive but it's not a total free for all either.

 

[Spike Jones 5 2002]

Question are you shooting right handed?
How far to the target?
Not being there to observe. you are receiving suggestions and not advice.
Are you Absolutely positive you are using your strong eye only.
I seen right handed shooters sight the back sight with there right eye and front sight with their left eye.
They will always hit to the left.
The opposite for the left handed shooter.
Place something over your weak eye (left) lens.
That way you are assured you are using only one eye.
If you watch the "Outdoor", "sportsman" channel. it has many shooting courses programs.
You will see a lot of professional, experienced shooters still covering their weak eye.
Some times you will grip the gun so hard it throws you off.
You are afraid of loosing the gun. You put a strangle hold on the grip.
Then you hand shakes.
When you go to grip you gun. make sure you jam web between your thumb and first finger tight up to the receiver. then wrap your fingers around the grip. Your trigger finger will always settle (rest) just above the trigger.
When you are ready to shoot. You lower your finger down onto the trigger. the pad of you first finger index should pull the trigger and not the joint.

relax and enjoy