Learning to Shoot a Handgun

[Pinecone]

Yeah, I'll have to disagree with your statement.

Are you a certified instructor? In anything?

 

[mike_in_md]

Dry firing on a blank wall at home with no target is a excellent way to fix a lot of problems for the following reasons:

1. It helps you to concentrate on the sight alignment and see what mistakes you are making. You will be able to try different gripping of the gun, stance, finger placement on the trigger, and how much pressure to apply and how fast to squeeze the trigger. Modifying any or all of the above can improve the end result of perfecting a perfect sight alignment the moment the hammer falls. Everybody is different, you get to see what works best for you.

2. It helps cure flinching. The only way you can see what mistakes you are making is to keep your eyes open the moment the hammers falls. Dry firing trains your mind to keep your eyes open during live firing to take a mental snap shot picture of sight alignment the moment the hammer falls and helps train your mind to ignore the noise of the shot that causes flinching.

3. You learn when the trigger will drop the hammer during actual firing of live ammo. I do not like a surprise shot, but I like being surprised that my eyes stayed open and took a mental snap shot picture of the sight alignment. A surprise shot to me means my eyes were open and not because I didn't know when the hammer would fall.

When you get proficient at doing the above it will help you to be able to call your shots without being able to see the bullet holes. When you can call your shots you will better at correcting mistakes by yourself.

 

[lx1x]

three words.. in order.
grip
sight
trigger

 

[DaftPict]

I also need some help. I've been shooting a couple years and have not improved much much. I'll start on the dry-fire exercises that have been suggested but I think that an hour or two with a good instructor who help immensely.
Any recommendations for someone in my area? I'm in carroll county and am a member at AGC.

 

[Blaster229]

Are you a certified instructor? In anything?

Nope. why do you ask?
You don't mean to say that someone who takes a 2 day NRA basic pistol instructor course is certainly more certified than someone who has 20 years experience in a field that is centered around shooting a pistol, do you?

 

[davsco]

Are you a certified instructor? In anything?

c'mon now. we've all had 'certified/credentialed' teachers/professors in high school, college, etc that totally sucked, so a piece of paper certainly doesn't make one an awesome instructor. and we're talking about the very basics of shooting a handgun, not building a nuclear sub, not ccw & the law, not room clearing, not golf lessons, not even drawing from a holster.

seems those that have volunteered to help, or those that suggest a paid, 'certified' instructor is not mandatory, are stepping on toes of those that want to get paid to help this guy, a forum member and fellow shooter, out.

 

[lx1x]

Nope. why do you ask?
You don't mean to say that someone who takes a 2 day NRA basic pistol instructor course is certainly more certified than someone who has 20 years experience in a field that is centered around shooting a pistol, do you?

hey now... took mine in a day.

edit: to clarify.
i had my basic instructor training class beforehand. (thats the other day blaster referring too..lol)

 

[Blaster229]

hey now... took mine in a day.

You're a quick learner You also have shooting experience

Someone with ZERO experience can become "certified".

 

[SCARCQB]

You're a quick learner You also have shooting experience

Someone with ZERO experience can become "certified".

Fully agree

 

[pittsaero]

Like many above said, find a GOOD instructor. It's amazing how 10 minutes with someone that knows what they are doing can show you what you are doing wrong. Every 6 months or so, no matter how much I have other shooters critique me, I need a good instructor to help me undo the little habits I've gotten into that hurt my accuracy.

 

[lx1x]

You're a quick learner You also have shooting experience

Someone with ZERO experience can become "certified".

lol

there have been people sent packing home for sure. it all depends on the training counselors.

luckily all the classes ive taken were from great instructors/counselors.

 

[SCARCQB]

Just my two cents.....

Suck it up, spend the money on a good instructor like mdeng, nothing beats a good foundation.

Practice those skills. Lots of dry fire drills, develop muscle memory. Practice

Fine tune..... By shooting at targets set farther out or shooting smaller groups.

Focus/ emphasis on sight picture, grip, trigger control, breathing, stance.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. One day.. You will be able to pistol snipe cans at 100 yards.

 

[lx1x]

back to topic..

op
first.. work on your grips first. google combat grip..

believe smokey had a great thread in here somewhere on it.

then work on sight alignment.


lastly.. trigger control.

all three have to be consistent to have a good grouping.

start at 5 yards.. once you get good grouping.. move the target back.

 

[trickg]

You're a quick learner You also have shooting experience

Someone with ZERO experience can become "certified".

True - I see it in the world of Information Technology too. I've worked with "certified" folks who didn't know jack about how to fix or work on anything, and it was those of us with years of experience who wound up shouldering the burden of the work.

There are a lot of interesting comments here. People suggest getting lessons from a certified instructor. I tend to see things Blaster's way - I'd rather work with someone who really knows and understands what they are doing from years of experience doing it. If they have a certification too, awesome - otherwise, I'll hedge my bets with someone with experience.

I guess I was lucky. My Dad was both a competition marksman, and later an NRA certified instructor, so growing up with him, it was only natural to gain a certain familiarity and facility with a firearm.

Here's a pic of my Dad back in the 50s. When he worked for Diamond Alkali in the Houston area of Texas, (they plant where they made chlorine/caustic soda) they did a quarterly newsletter publication and did a story on him. Here he's posing with a target where he put 6 shots into the 9, 10 and X rings, rapid fire from 25 yards with a Model 19. I didn't even know this photo existed until about a month ago.

 

[BradMacc82]

Either one would be a good option IMO - Instructor or experienced shooter.

Certifications are nice, but don't always mean that the person holding them is a great shot themselves.

Good example of that, the MD HQL Instructor live fire exam. One of our resident IP Instructors scored a 249 out of 250 on it. I did the same course of fire under the same conditions, scored a 249 out of 250. Have ZERO certifications or formal training.

 

[lx1x]

Either one would be a good option IMO - Instructor or experienced shooter.

Certifications are nice, but don't always mean that the person holding them is a great shot themselves.

Good example of that, the MD HQL Instructor live fire exam. One of our resident IP Instructors scored a 249 out of 250 on it. I did the same course of fire under the same conditions, scored a 249 out of 250. Have ZERO certifications or formal training.

Two different things...

dont have to be a sharpshooter to be a good instructor.

more scary part.. those that require that ppc test only have to pass 70% or 80%.. yep those that carry daily for work.

 

[mcbruzdzinski]

Dry firing on a blank wall at home with no target is a excellent way to fix a lot of problems for the following reasons:

1. It helps you to concentrate on the sight alignment and see what mistakes you are making. You will be able to try different gripping of the gun, stance, finger placement on the trigger, and how much pressure to apply and how fast to squeeze the trigger. Modifying any or all of the above can improve the end result of perfecting a perfect sight alignment the moment the hammer falls. Everybody is different, you get to see what works best for you.

2. It helps cure flinching. The only way you can see what mistakes you are making is to keep your eyes open the moment the hammers falls. Dry firing trains your mind to keep your eyes open during live firing to take a mental snap shot picture of sight alignment the moment the hammer falls and helps train your mind to ignore the noise of the shot that causes flinching.

3. You learn when the trigger will drop the hammer during actual firing of live ammo. I do not like a surprise shot, but I like being surprised that my eyes stayed open and took a mental snap shot picture of the sight alignment. A surprise shot to me means my eyes were open and not because I didn't know when the hammer would fall.

When you get proficient at doing the above it will help you to be able to call your shots without being able to see the bullet holes. When you can call your shots you will better at correcting mistakes by yourself.

We recommend this as a drill for all of our pistol students and even for those who just come for the basic HQL class.

Low cost and very effective.

 

[BradMacc82]

don't have to be a sharpshooter to be a good instructor.

Very true.

A good instructor (IMO), shouldn't be worried about showing their own skill, but observing the student and assessing the student's strengths/weaknesses.


ETA: That's why I couldn't be an instructor, kind of a dick at times. Probably just leave this in front of the student and go have a smoke.

View attachment 125190

 

[lx1x]

Very true.

A good instructor (IMO), shouldn't be worried about showing their own skill, but observing the student and assessing the student's strengths/weaknesses.


ETA: That's why I couldn't be an instructor, kind of a dick at times. Probably just leave this in front of the student and go have a smoke.

View attachment 125190

made me chuckle.. lol

 

[BradMacc82]

Thought about printing a few out for range trips.