Small question of aiming

[Arthur Dent]

When shooting my P95 double action for the first shot my shots go low and to the right. But the single action, remaining shots, are nicely grouped in the center.

Any ideas about what I'm doing on the double action shot? The DA shots end up in the same location regardless of how fast or slow I shoot.

 

[esrice]

Because the DA shots have a heavier trigger pull, you are having a tougher time keeping the sights aligned while you pull through the shot.

Focus on pulling the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing your sight picture.

 

[Coach]

Prep the trigger and bear down on the front sight focus and keep it all in alignment.

 

[trinitrotoluene85]

Because the DA shots have a heavier trigger pull, you are having a tougher time keeping the sights aligned while you pull through the shot.

Focus on pulling the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing your sight picture.

What he said.

The other possibility is anticipating the shot. It's possible that the trigger pull is so light and short on the SA that the trigger simply breaks and shoots where you're aiming it. But on the DA you have a further way to pull to anticipate the shot which lots of shooters do by flinching the moment the gun goes off, and they jerk the gun downward (and to whichever side they're shooting... right handers go a little right) to try and compensate for the felt recoil.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Thanks for the input. It gives me something to work on at the next range trip.

 

[gunman41mag]

When shooting my P95 double action for the first shot my shots go low and to the right. But the single action, remaining shots, are nicely grouped in the center.

Any ideas about what I'm doing on the double action shot? The DA shots end up in the same location regardless of how fast or slow I shoot.

You're jerking the trigger, by pulling the trigger too hard

 

[seamusalaska]

What they all said. I just shot mine and had a similar problem. Try this: load two rounds and see what happens on the 'mystical' third. I was jerking (if there is such a term). I was, however, impressed with the inherent accuracy.

 

[David Rose]

Arthur,
Don’t wait till you get to the range to work on your shooting technique. The problem you are describing can be worked on at home with dry fire practice. Follow the usual safety precautions (no ammo in the room, safe backstop). Then run that double action trigger until the sights don’t move when the hammer drops. Practice the skills you are weak on between range trips and you’ll be surprised how much you improve.

One caution: make sure you are practicing good technique. If not you will be reinforcing bad technique and it will be even harder to fix later. If you have questions on technique you are in the right place. Coach, myself, or one of the other instructors can help you.

 

[lovemachine]

I had the same problem. Another problem I had was as soon as I pulled the trigger, I would immediately look at the target and see where I hit it at. When you do that, you're not allowing time for the bullet to exit the barrel.

Coach helped me out a lot.

 

[farva118]

The answer has already been given, I would just like to also advise you to make sure that the only thing moving is your trigger. I have found that at times my students will squeeze their other fingers as they squeeze the trigger. Just make sure to concentrate on making sure the only finger squeezing/moving is your trigger finger.

Good luck.

 

[GIJEW]

Here's another thing to consider: because of the forward position of the trigger in DA mode, you might be pulling the trigger INTO your hand while getting leverage on it.
Supplement dryfire practice with using a laser bore sighter.

 

[rvb]

I completely agree with the posts above. Most likely it is an anticipation over the long heavy pull that is causing the shot to go off.

Depending of your level of shooting ability, here are some things to consider...

A lighter trigger masks shooting errors, and conversely a heavy trigger amplifies them. How good, really, are your SA groups? Most likely as you fix this DA problem, you will see an improvement in your SA shots as well.

Are you adjusting your grip, finger placement, or the direction you pull your finger from the DA shot to the SA shot at all? Even the tiniest amount? The DA shot requires extra reach to get started, and it's easy to subconsciously do something different to accomodate and then adjust when the reach gets shorter. You want do not want anything to change between DA and SA.

Factory DA triggers are typically very heavy. If you put the trigger more out on the tip of your finger you loose leverage and will strain more. Against more "conventional" wisdom, if you move the trigger off the pad and more into the knuckle, you gain leverage and the trigger weight seems more manageable. That may require your grip to change.

Pay very close attention to where the sear releases in both DA and SA. Sometimes, the trigger is not at the exact same point between the two modes. I'm not familiar enough with the internals of your gun to know if this is common or not. But if there is a difference then that could mean that at the moment the sear releases you are not pressing the trigger at the same angle at the between the two modes even though you think you are. The solution is to find a grip and trigger finger placement that offers a good compromise.

The bottom line is a DA/SA trigger takes some experimentation. Dryfire the snot out of it till you can do either without disturbing the sights. You goal is to just let the shot break whenever it wants while you hold the sights in place. Do not anticipate the shot breaking.

Mastering a DA trigger will make you a better shooter all around.

Just some thoughts from a guy w/ many years of competitive shooting using a DA/SA pistol.

-rvb