Shooting Errors....99.99% of the Time it's NOT the Weapon!

 

So I'm helping a guy at the range today who's very earnest but has a tendency to most times blame his inability to be accurate on the piece, and not his lack of skills (he doesn't dry fire much, and when he does, it's perfunctory).  He only shoots every 6 weeks or so, and that's if he doesn't get side tracked with something else.

He's shooting a factory Glock today, new (whether factory new or new to him, I didn't ask).  It's stock.  He has the target at 10 meters and is either shooting way high or way low.  

I told him to move the target in to about 15 feet.  He still is shooting really high or really low (this is where I start to feel like 'Gunny Highway' in, "Heart Break Ridge," when he's on the range with the kid who can't hit Maggie's Drawers standing next to them).  I ask him if I can shoot a couple rounds to see if it's functioning correctly.  I put 5 rounds in the black.  He get's upset - so I tell him, "Look, it's all about sight alignment, sight picture, breathing, trigger depression, and doing that consistently every time you take a shot."  He says, "I'm focusing on the front sight!"

Sigh.

I tell him, "Great, but you have to do more than that.  You have to keep the front sight aligned top to bottom and side to side with the rear sight while not focusing on the rear sight, keep the sight itself centered on your point of aim, while keeping your focus on the front sight, keep your breathing rythm correct until you pause, and then keep your trigger depression steady until the sear breaks and your pistol shoots the round."

He tries it.  It works.  He asks, "So how do I do that all the time?"  I tell him, "Dry fire.  Lots of dry fire.  And I don't mean simply pointing it somewhere safe and depressing the trigger.  It has to be purposeful demonstrated by you going through each phase of the firing sequence each time.  Get a laser training bullet that lets you see a red dot on the target when your sear breaks.  It's like a bullet, goes in the chamber, and allows the striker to activate a small laser for a second, just long enough for you to see where you hit your aiming point.  Do this a couple times a week for 10 minutes a session.  Eventually, move your tempo up to daily, 5 or 10 minutes a session, and you'll see your shooting improve a whole bunch."

He thought it was the weapon itself.  The weapon functioned as designed, and was accurate as it should be at reasonable ranges for the caliber size.

He got it, I think.  He said, "I got a lot of work to do....."

Great guy; humble enough to know he needs a LOT of time with his pistol performing meaningful practice if he wants to get proficient.

More people should get to that point....

We'll see what he does....