First trip to range with my first gun

[sloughfoot]

Don't let the cold weather stop you from practicing. Put all of your ammo and magazines in another room and dry fire. Hundreds of times while watching TV. It won't hurt your pistol and gets you familiar with the trigger and handling the gun.

Pick a small spot on a opposite wall and dry fire while keeping that front sight precisely on that spot. I use a light switch sometimes. Not the plate, the switch.

Excellent choice in handguns and congrats for getting the training.

 

[Tripp11]

Also on my list! How's the drive to ACC? The overhead shots on Google Maps sure look impressive.

I live around the 96th and Fall Creek Road area, and I can get to ACC in about 30 minutes.

I like ACC because I can have an entire bay to myself, set it up with steel plates, steel poppers, cardboard targets, etc.. and I can run just about any stage I want. I typically go out around 10 a.m. on a work week day and I'm the only person out there.

On Black Friday, when most of the working world is off, we arrived at 10 a.m. and we were one of two groups shooting. When we left, there was only one other bay open.

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

Just keep practicing. You'll get it worked out.

 

[perry]

Don't let the cold weather stop you from practicing. Put all of your ammo and magazines in another room and dry fire. Hundreds of times while watching TV. It won't hurt your pistol and gets you familiar with the trigger and handling the gun.

Pick a small spot on a opposite wall and dry fire while keeping that front sight precisely on that spot. I use a light switch sometimes. Not the plate, the switch.

Well, I'd read about possible problems with the striker retaining pin after lots of dry firing, so I have some snap caps on the way.

I like ACC because I can have an entire bay to myself, set it up with steel plates, steel poppers, cardboard targets, etc.. and I can run just about any stage I want. I typically go out around 10 a.m. on a work week day and I'm the only person out there.

We used the bays at MCFG and I think I like that better than the firing line at ECPR simply because I can go check the targets and shoot at my own pace in the bays. Looks like 17 miles to ACC from my house, and 31 miles to MCFG.. that's why I'd be more interested in ACC than MCFG. HCFG is just 10 miles away; I can't figure out much about their setup from the overhead shots... need to figure out how to pay them a visit.

 

[goColt]

Two weeks ago I took the NRA Basic Pistol class at MCFG with INGO'er goColt and I learned A LOT. I was sorta on the fence about buying a handgun, but the class gave me the confidence I needed.

Earlier this week I ordered a gun from KyGunCo and it was ready to be picked up this morning. I went to Gander Mountain to get a cleaning kit, stopped by Staples to get my LTCH laminated, then went to pick up the gun from Richard's Guns.

Then it was off to ECPR with a box of Tulammo and a box of Federal Champion from Wal-Mart. I got the safety briefing, waited a few minutes for a lane, then started shooting.

I was wide right on probably 75 of 100 shots - hitting the paper, but missing the rings of the targets. I'd get one or two on target, and then go way off to the right for some reason. I'm left handed and right eye dominant, so I also spent most of the time try to get comfortable with that. I tried right eyed, left eyed, and right handed. Most of the time was spent shooting with both eyes open but aiming with my left eye. One of the range officers thought maybe I had too much grip on the support hand and was pulling the gun right.

Two things I would have liked to have been different - a less busy day and having an all day pass. So part of the pressure was in my head (people waiting), but I also just had an hour there and I wanted to get rounds down range. I would have liked to have been able to shoot 5 or 10 rounds one style and evaluate how I did. But, just getting the experience of firing the gun was good for me and I feel encouraged to go back and get more practice.

I bought the XD after only having held it at the last 1500 for a few seconds, but it feels fine in my hands - not that I have my handgun experience to go on. Just wish it weren't winter so that I'd have more good days to go practice.

Perry,
I am glad you liked the course and learned a lot. I am really impressed on how much you advanced during the course. Even with the cross-dominance challenge that you have, you are a good shooter.

As we discussed during the class and afterward, you have several options for dealing with the cross-dominance. Each of them have their pluses and minuses and it's going to take some range-time to figure out which one works for you the best. Just remember the fundamentals: Aiming (sight alignment and sight-picture), Hold-control, Breath-control, Trigger-control and Follow-through.

As for your shots impacting to the right of the target, that could be attributed to the cross-dominance or it could be your finger placement on the trigger. If it's your finger placement; since you are left handed, try moving your finger more to toward the knuckle (away from the tip) and see if that moves your shots more to the center of the target. Your gun may also shoot different ammo more or less accurate, so you might want to buy a box of several different kinds to see what works best in your pistol.

I think you will be happy with the 9mm, I think that is a good choice for a 1st handgun caliber. It is cheaper, less recoil the .40 S&W and is very easy to find. With the right ammo, it is a perfectly fine self-defense round.

Read your student manual, it will reinforce what was covered in the course as well as provide you a lot more information. Then, get out to the range and practice the fundamentals. You can even create a "cheat sheet" for the range that you can use as a check list until they are 2nd nature.

As always, you can contact me with any questions that you have about what we covered in the course, what is in the handbook or anything else you may have a question on.

Finally, I'd recommend getting as much training as you can afford, even if it's not from me. There are a lot of different trainers in and around central Indiana. Of course, I do hope to see you again in one of my courses. You were a great student...the kind that make instruction so worthwhile. You can also get involved with with organized shoots that can help you with your shooting skill. Steel shooting such as Friday Night Steel at MCF&G is a great way to learn to shoot under-pressure and fire rapidly as well as pick up pointers from more experienced shooters.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the range sometime.

Sincerely,
Chris