Will dry fire help me?

[mattdennis3]

Let me help you with that..
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Thanks.

 

[mattdennis3]

One other quick thought. Are you sure you know which eye is dominate? I am right handed but left eye. When I try to shoot using the right eye for sighting my patterns are always low and left. Just a thought.

Yeah. I'm definitely right eye dominate.

 

[bwframe]

...I've picked up the nasty habit of consistently shooting low left (call it 6:30, but any where between 5:45 and 7:15)....

It would save you time and money to spend a few hours training with this guy :

If the dime is on the front sight instead of the slide it will tell him what he needs to know and he can still see the front sight.

 

[Coach]

If you are pulling the trigger straight back and not disrupting the sight alginment during dryfire you are building a successful habit of pulling the trigger without a flinch or any other bad habit.

 

[mattdennis3]

It would save you time and money to spend a few hours training with this guy :

For sure. And I plan to in the near future.

 

[mattdennis3]

If you are pulling the trigger straight back and not disrupting the sight alginment during dryfire you are building a successful habit of pulling the trigger without a flinch or any other bad habit.

I will keep at my dry fire practice. And then dry fire some more. Thanks Coach.

 

[rvb]

Sorry, I didn't learn it on the internet. When I struggled with my aim and flinch I picked up a book called "The Experts' Guide to Handgun Marksmanship" with excerpts from Jack O'Connor's Sportsman's Arms and Ammunition Manual (published in 1952). Page 65 covers positions for handgun shooting..."To apply correct trigger squeeze, the trigger finger should contact the trigger between the tip of the finger and the second joint (without touching the weapon anywhere else). Where contact is made depends on the length of the firer's trigger finger. If pressure from the trigger finger is applied to the right side of the trigger or weapon, the strike of the bullet will be to the left" The OP said he was low to the left so there is a chance his contact w/ the trigger needs adjusting.

Read my posts in the link I provided. I agree with the part in red, and the part you bolded.

And I didn't learn it from the Internet either, or a book. Rather through LOTS of rounds and dryfire.

-rvb

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I don't know if it's right... But I've attached a laser (if you have that ability) and sighted it just above the front sight post for the distance I practiced. Then, dry firing, you can see if the laser dot is shifting during the pull while still sighting like normal.

It helped me right to left... but I still tend to shoot a hair high in real life (I don't use the laser when shooting).

 

[scottka]

I will be spending some quality time with the .22 this weekend.

I'm not totally convinced its a flinch because I do it with every pistol I pick up. I mean it could be, but I'm wondering if its more of a grip or trigger problem.

And yes, I do agree with the posters who have suggested learning to truly see the front sight and being able to call my shots.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I've got my work cut out for me to get ready for the 2013 competition season.

I definitely think the time with the .22 will be well spent. Having said that, don't discount adding a snap cap into a magazine of live rounds. This will give you immediate feedback. If you are keeping the sights steady and on target while dryfiring, throughout the pull), I doubt it is a grip issue. A grip issue may be more apparent during a rapid fire exercise, but if the sights are on line and remain so through the pull, the bullet will strike there (assuming zero). I still believe it to be a live fire issue (i.e. flinch, anticipating recoil) ad the above drill will give you immediate, humbling feedback as it has to me many times.

 

[Latewatch]

Quality dry fire practice and then ball and dummy drills at the range will definitely help. You may also consider working with a good coach at the range who can observe your technique.

 

[Soonerdoggy]

spend a little time with an instructor

 

[greed]

So I struggle with similar issues. My issues are two fold. First is glance at the target during follow through. In this instance I am dipping the gun as I glance over the front sight. Second is just good old flinching as I anticipate recoil.

Dry firing at slow speed when you know you are dry firing will not fix your issue. You know there is no recoil coming. Mixing in snap caps with live ammo at the range will prove to you you have an issue.

To fix the issue go back to the basics. Start at the ground, build a good stance and grip the ground with your toes. Build a good forward posture. Punch out with solid arms, and a good grip. Then concentrate on the front sight and say to yourself front sight front sight and press the trigger to the rear.

Work on this and your shots will move up.

 

[rvb]

load a snap cap(s) into your magazine along with live rounds but not let you know where it is. It will become VERY apparent whether you are flinching/slapping the trigger

Clarification: When doing "random snap cap" drills, focus on sight alignment, when u get to a snapcap, it will be very obvious if you are flinching.

adding a snap cap into a magazine of live rounds. This will give you immediate feedback. ... ad the above drill will give you immediate, humbling feedback as it has to me many times.

The above posts, I all agree with. The snap cap drill mixed in with live ammo CAN indicate a flinch (pushing down can also be a non-issue in some cases if it is just proper timing in controlling the recoil). But that's all it does is indicate a problem. It is not a cure.

Dry firing at slow speed when you know you are dry firing will not fix your issue. You know there is no recoil coming. Mixing in snap caps with live ammo at the range will prove to you you have an issue.

I completely disagree with the bold part. If the snap cap drill is the indication of the problem, learning to see the sights through the ENTIRE firing and recoil process is the cure. You cannot flinch and push the front of the gun down if you are focused on the sight through the ENTIRE process. This is what we can learn in dryfire.

-rvb

 

[rvb]

another cure I have found to help people is to convince yourself the recoil is not a big deal. Align on target and close your eyes. Break the shot and let the gun recoil (don't try to control it). Do this a few times and make the conscious realization it doesn't hurt, it won't flip out of our hands, etc. FEEL the recoil.

Take a few sighted shots, and see if there is a difference. Then repeat the eyes-closed thing every few rounds.

A flinch exists from fear. Take away the fear.

-rvb

 

[Coach]

So I struggle with similar issues. My issues are two fold. First is glance at the target during follow through. In this instance I am dipping the gun as I glance over the front sight. Second is just good old flinching as I anticipate recoil.

Dry firing at slow speed when you know you are dry firing will not fix your issue. You know there is no recoil coming. Mixing in snap caps with live ammo at the range will prove to you you have an issue.

To fix the issue go back to the basics. Start at the ground, build a good stance and grip the ground with your toes. Build a good forward posture. Punch out with solid arms, and a good grip. Then concentrate on the front sight and say to yourself front sight front sight and press the trigger to the rear.

Work on this and your shots will move up.

Get the information you need from the sights and that takes away the need to look over the gun. Call the shots.

 

[indiucky]

A flinch exists from fear. Take away the fear.

-rvb

I agree but one could also say that a flinch exists from anticipation as well as from fear. IMHO ofcourse...

 

[rvb]

ancticipation = $2 word for fear in this context. imho.
-rvb

 

[Coach]

Use of the word fear helps me not to do it. I would prefer to not be afraid of anything except running out of ammo, and so I have to man up and hold still. Tougher to do than to say.

 

[rvb]

Use of the word fear helps me not to do it. I would prefer to not be afraid of anything except running out of ammo, and so I have to man up and hold still. Tougher to do than to say.

excellent excellent perspective.

many folks hate when I call it fear, because they don't want to ADMIT they are afraid of the recoil ("it's ONLY 9mm"). so it becomes a denial thing...

"A flich is a result of fear; proper timing is a result of control."
-me

(both look the same if you sneak a snap cap in the mag. only one results in the bullet going where you want.)

-rvb

ps. I think the common mantra of "let the shot surprise you" encourages a flinch... people squeeze so slowly, slowly adding pressure... in the mean time getting more tense and building "anticipation" (fear) of the surprise(!) shot.
Align the sights, pull the trigger w/o disturbing the sights, let the sight lift.

-rvb