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Practically Shooting

Why?


Pablo

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Why am I so darn accurate with both my 1911's and just a total bad shot with both my P225 and P229 Sigs?

I'm not bragging but the last couple outings with my 1911's have been lights out. I can almost say my Sig Target 1911 is a tad more accurate at 20 yards than the Colt 1911, but really both make me proud. At 7-10-12 yards I can drill the bulls eye out with either 1911. Even with my crappy vision. Oh, btw I shoot my 6.5" barrel Ruger revolver with great accuracy as well.

At 7 yards with the small Sigs, phew - pure garbage 3 or 4 or 5 inches all around the bulls eye. I just keep guessing at why I'm so terrible. I had a range officer guy shoot my P229 (.357 Sig) and he really liked the gun, he shot it pretty well. I shot his P226 and I was lousy. So it's me not the guns.

I'm not going to list my guesses. Please provide some input as to why you might think I can't shoot these small black guns very well. Thanks.

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Some guns magnify certain errors. As an example, Glocks, probably due to the grip angle, seem to exaggerate the low and left pull most of us have. Have them shoot a different gun, and it might still be there, but you might also have to look close to see it.

I can't think of how that would fit with your Sigs though. At least comparing them to 1911s. The grip angle is similar, so my first thought was the Sig grip width that locates your hand differently so your trigger finger placement might not be optimal...but...you say the problem is there with the P225 and it's grip is not wide at all, so that shouldn't be it.

The Sig boreline is high compared to 1911s. While that might influence muzzle climb, I don't know how it would exaggerate any shot stringing.

What about trigger control? That is pretty much The Thing. Is there any chance you are letting your finger come off the trigger as the gun is fired? Don't answer now- wait until you shoot again because sometimes we don't know we do it until we are actually looking for it when shooting (I found I was doing it with a SA revolver lately and had no idea). That can cause mostly vertical errors, and like most things, some guns show it more than others.

You never know. It could be something simple like the shape of the trigger face causes your finger to move during the trigger press.

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Paul,

My opinion is 2 things.

1. The trigger/grip.

2. Sights.

The sights on the 1911 and blackhawk have longer between them and it does make a difference to someone who is having "issues" with eyesight. I'm having some problems in the last 6 months with my shooting going in the hole with some weapons and just getting slightly poor with others. I've found that shorter/smaller weapons I have a heck of a time shooting all in the black as I used too.

Like above, I don't really care for the Sig bar/dot system. Either make them all dots (like the MP/XD and others) or plain black (like the 1911 and Blackhawk). The white outline with a red front sight are okay (like some Smith & Wesson) as is red front with black rear (Ruger) but for me I really like just plain sights.

The way my eyes are going I'll prob be shooting rifles with scopes only within the next few years.

If I slow WAY down I still can shoot the smaller weapons well, but end up with a headache. So far nothing the eye doctor has done has helped. frown

Take care, bill

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I just spent nearly five hours at the range. Wow - what a blast.

Anyway, I found the secret of the P229 357 Sig. Really really firm grip. I just held on tighter and really concentrated on a smooth pull, way more concentration than the 1911 or any other of my pistols. I just kept getting better as time went on. Later after the all the centerfire action, I switched to the 22/45 and man I was deadly accurate. Severe fun!

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Hmmm. Next time, could you try an experiment? Shoot those guns again with your lower two fingers really loose on the gun so they are applying no pressure at all. Basically hold it with your thumb and middle finger. With your support hand, apply just enough contact to steady things a little.

Most of us have a bad shooting habit we don't even know about, and that's tightening the grip with the bottom two fingers as the trigger finger comes back. That really "steers" the gun.

I know about it and how much of an effect it has, yet I catch myself doing it anyway. From what I can see, 99.99% of people do it to some degree.

The effect can be somewhat covered up by tightening the entire grip on the gun. If the fingers are gripping hard, it's not easy for them to squeeze tighter. That's not so much a cure, but a band-aid and maybe an indicator.

If tightening the grip shrinks the groups, that does not mean lower finger tension was the problem, but it is a strong possibility.

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Further weirdness.

When I went to clean the P229 yesterday I notice the lower left grip screw is long gone. And all three of the remaining screws are very loose and hanging on by a thread. Well, shucks I never messed with the grips, but then again I never checked or tightened them from the factory.... blush

Loose grips, hmm............

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Further weirdness.

When I went to clean the P229 yesterday I notice the lower left grip screw is long gone. And all three of the remaining screws are very loose and hanging on by a thread. Well, shucks I never messed with the grips, but then again I never checked or tightened them from the factory.... blush

Loose grips, hmm............

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I get that on some guns. The Browning HiPower, with only a single grip screw for each grip, is one of the worst offenders.

I use blue Loc-Tite, which is a nice compromise of providing security while still being able to get the screw out without extra effort.

I have had it happen on revolver sideplate screws too.

Any gun that might see serious use, like an AR, gets Loc-Tite on a lot of things and and witness marks painted on almost everything. I learned not to skimp on the Loc-Tite during my first carbine class. Even though I checked the security of everything thoroughly before the class, I found my Aimpoint's mount rattly loose on the third day.

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