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Newbie to handgun shooting, question....
rich1317
Member Posts: 15 ✭✭
Hey guys, perhaps you can all help me out with a problem I'm having. I am one of those freaks who do things righty and lefty. I throw lefty, bat lefty, play golf righty, write righty and shoot righty. When I was young, my dad noticed I held my toy guns as if I shot lefty but I would shut my right eye to aim. He did research and found out about the dominant eye and how it was used to aim. My right eye is my dominant one so he got me started in holding the gun righty. Now it's second nature and I couldn't imagine shooting lefty. I shoot a rifle, bow and shotgun all real well and have been doing so for 15 years. I just purchased a Beretta 92FS in 9mm and have took 3 or 4 trips to the range with it (about 600 rounds) and am HORRIBLE! My groups stink and there is no consistantcy. This is the first time ever shooting a handgun. This idea just came to me today though, I currently hold the handgun in my left hand, could this be the problem? I know you are supposed to shoot with both eyes open so I didn't think that it mattered what hand I held the gun in but now I'm thinking I may need to switch hands. I feel just as comfortable with in my right hand as my left. Here's the other thing that made me think this, I like to shoot trap and can't hit anything with both eyes open. When I shut one eye though I am pretty good. Needless to say I'm pretty untradtional in the way I shoot. Any suggestions??? I think I'll make a trip to the range later this week and give righty a try. I never heard of it but does anyone shoot a handgun with one eye shut? Thanks for any help.
Rich
Rich
Comments
What kind of stance are you using? Is this 9mm your first pistol?
"When I cease learning...I'm dead"(Me)
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also iif you are right eye dominant you should be shooting with your right hand
Hey guys, perhaps you can all help me out with a problem I'm having. I am one of those freaks who do things righty and lefty. I throw lefty, bat lefty, play golf righty, write righty and shoot righty. When I was young, my dad noticed I held my toy guns as if I shot lefty but I would shut my right eye to aim. He did research and found out about the dominant eye and how it was used to aim. My right eye is my dominant one so he got me started in holding the gun righty. Now it's second nature and I couldn't imagine shooting lefty. I shoot a rifle, bow and shotgun all real well and have been doing so for 15 years. I just purchased a Beretta 92FS in 9mm and have took 3 or 4 trips to the range with it (about 600 rounds) and am HORRIBLE! My groups stink and there is no consistantcy. This is the first time ever shooting a handgun. This idea just came to me today though, I currently hold the handgun in my left hand, could this be the problem? I know you are supposed to shoot with both eyes open so I didn't think that it mattered what hand I held the gun in but now I'm thinking I may need to switch hands. I feel just as comfortable with in my right hand as my left. Here's the other thing that made me think this, I like to shoot trap and can't hit anything with both eyes open. When I shut one eye though I am pretty good. Needless to say I'm pretty untradtional in the way I shoot. Any suggestions??? I think I'll make a trip to the range later this week and give righty a try. I never heard of it but does anyone shoot a handgun with one eye shut? Thanks for any help.
Rich
I actually shoot best with one eye shut; though that technique is frowned upon for several reasons, not the least of which is because it induces more tension in your face when doing it.
I do it because though I am right handed, I am left-eye dominant, so its easier for me to see clearly when I do that.
Most target shooters do use some sort of patch/blind for the their non-dominant eye, but they leave it open. An easy thing to do (which I usually do when shooting targets) is just to put a piece of scotch tape over the non-dominant eye of your shooting glasses. It lets in enough light for your eye's pupil to still work in conjuction with the other eye, but blurs things enough so that that your eyes arent fighting each other on the sights and giving you double-vision.
For defensive shooting (as opposed to bullseye. . .different objective), most advocate shooting with both eyes open to get a wider field of view and better depth perception. When you're life is in danger, and the adrenaline is pumping, you effectively get tunnel vision anyway. Keeping both eyes open is even MORE important at that point!
In terms of right hand vs left hand, just do whichever works best for you. If (and only if) they work *equally* well, I'd say pick right, because most guns are intended for use by right handers (including all revolvers), so you might as well get used to that. Nothing wrong with being able to shoot with both hands, but given the choice, realistically you're probably a lot better off excelling with one hand and being lousy with the other than being "average" with both!
In terms of "horrible" groups. . .shooting pistol IS EXTREMELY TOUGH! Most people don't realize just how hard it is to hit a 12 inch target from 25 yards using a pistol one handed (or even two handed). Keep practicing, and remember *ALL* the fundamentals:
Stance
Grip
Breath control
Sight alignment
Trigger squeeze (not pull!) and
Followthrough.
Of all of those things, sight alignment is actually the most important. . .minute variations in sight alignment add up to large variations in group size when multiplied by the short pistol sight radius and long distance to the target. Second most important is trigger control. . .bad trigger control, and you move your sights. . .see above!
Teach them young ! Teach them often !
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Hope things improve for ya!
Throckmorton SASS #23149
Go back to square one and learn to handle and shoot a handgun, starting with a .22. When you become proficient with that, then move up to a larger caliber.
Very small amounts of movement at your wrist, when shooting a handgun, translate into significant changes to the impact points of your bullets down-range.
Tightening the muscles in your entire arms is helpful, but particular focus on locking your wrists tight will probably help you the most.
"Strength is the outcome of need; security sets a premium on feebleness." -- H.G. Wells (The Time Machine)
Veritas vincit "Truth conquers"
There are 2 theories on breath control. I prefer to hold my breath on the inhale and shoot. The Army taught holding your breath on the exhale as supposedly there is a natural pause between the exhale and inhale.
Sight picture?
Make sure you focus on the front sight. Target and rear sights should be blurry.
Trigger pull?
Not sure if you can do it with the 92 but in SA trigger mode, how much finger are you putting on the trigger? I find the tip or pad behind the finger nail is the way to go. Using the tip ought to control some of the jerking of the trigger.
I'm a lefty and shoot best with my left hand left eye. Growing up I shot both eyes open but now find I'm more accurate with my right eye closed. Rifles I can usually shoot either hand but am better with the left.
If you shoot rifles righty shoot handguns righty too. Find which hand that works best for you but also remember to practice with the other hand every so often. If you ever join a combat shooting club you will find being able to shoot with both hands very useful. Also if this is your 1st handgun you really need to go buy a 1000rds of ammo and practice as much as you can. Then keep buying ammo a 1000rds at a time.
Regards,
Time to clean the gun but just wanted to thank everyone again.....