Shooting left, with a twist.

Axion · July 10, 2007, 11:41 PM

I know there are lots of "I shoot left what's wrong" threads out there but I think this one is just a bit different. Since I started shooting I've focused on improving my accuracy with mostly slow controlled shots, not worrying about controlling the recoil for fastest possible follow up.

That said one of the one things that bothered me is that the muzzle has tended to flip up and to the right when it recoils rather then straight up. Until this last weekend when I tried holding the gun more centered in front of my body and standing more square to the target. Now low and behold the gun recoils straight up and returns back to the target much quicker.

The issue is that holding the gun more centered in front of my body, as opposed to in line with my right eye, seems to cause me to aim a bit to the left. It's not a huge amount, less the 2inches at 50ft, but I still feel there should be some way to counter this.

Tanzer · July 11, 2007, 12:48 AM

Google Brian Enos. He's got a few different styles of grip. Many might blame thumbing etc. I suspect you may need a better grip with your weak hand and revisit the push-pull.

Lurper · July 11, 2007, 10:07 AM

The gun will torque to the right because of the rifling. Where the gun is relative to your body will have no impact on whether you shoot to the left or not. You don't want to push/pull. You should have a neutral grip/stance.
Shooting left can be caused by a couple of things. What type of pistol are you shooting?

You can find help here: www.pistolmaster.com

This may help w/the grip:

JWT · July 11, 2007, 12:32 PM

This site has targets that can help diagnose shooting 'problems' and might be useful for you. (
(Correction Target for Right Handed Shooters and Correction Target for Left Handed Shooters)

www.bghi.us/index.php?x=targets

Axion · July 12, 2007, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Where the gun is relative to your body will have no impact on whether you shoot to the left or not.

I believe you that if I wasn't making some mistake the guns position in front of my body wouldn't matter. Based on how I'm shooting right now however, it does seem to matter.

As I said, when I stand with my body 45 degrees to the target, with the gun between my right eye and the target I don't pull shots to the left. However when I turn my body closer to square with the target and hold the gun more in the center of my body I start to shoot a bit left.

I don't think it's a grip thing because a) my grip doesn't change and b) it happens in fast and slow fire.

Lastly I happens with both my Sig 229 and my Walther P99.

I curious to see what some of you guys think I might be doing wrong here.

Lurper · July 12, 2007, 07:51 PM

I guarantee it's not in where you position the gun relative to your body. It is almost certainly something that you are doing with your hands. One of the likely causes is too much finger on the trigger. But without more information, I can't say for certain.

Axion · July 13, 2007, 06:55 PM

Quote:

I guarantee it's not in where you position the gun relative to your body. It is almost certainly something that you are doing with your hands. One of the likely causes is too much finger on the trigger. But without more information, I can't say for certain.

Actually, according to the link in this chart my problem is too little finger on the trigger. This is a distinct possibility for me because I have somewhat small hands and I have to choose between not having much finger on the trigger or not having the gun parallel to my forearm.

Lurper · July 14, 2007, 12:22 AM

Without more information, I can't tell you for sure. However, the charts are typically designed to diagnose bullseye shooting and do not have a lot of relevance if you are shooting using two hands.
But, I could be wrong, after all this is only what I do for a living.

zenner22 · July 21, 2007, 11:01 AM

I had no idea these charts were not designed to diagnose two-handed shooting problems! I don't think very many other people are aware of this either, these charts always come out when someone wants to fix a shooting problem.

So, if these charts are for one handed bullseye, is there a similar chart for two handed shooting?

Axion · July 23, 2007, 05:41 PM

Quote:

However, the charts are typically designed to diagnose bullseye shooting and do not have a lot of relevance if you are shooting using two hands.

Did not know that.

Quote:

after all this is only what I do for a living.

I know, that's why I value your input.

Lurper · July 24, 2007, 04:12 PM

To determine how much finger to use on a single action auto, try this:
Bite your index finger halfway across the fingernail. The line from the bite across the pad of your finger is as far as you want your finger to be on the trigger. With a DA or striker type pistol, you should use about to the first knuckle. I have had one student who had a similar problem and it did turn out to be not enough finger, but try both and see.

July 10, 2007, 11:41 PM	#1
Axion Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 619	Shooting left, with a twist. I know there are lots of "I shoot left what's wrong" threads out there but I think this one is just a bit different. Since I started shooting I've focused on improving my accuracy with mostly slow controlled shots, not worrying about controlling the recoil for fastest possible follow up. That said one of the one things that bothered me is that the muzzle has tended to flip up and to the right when it recoils rather then straight up. Until this last weekend when I tried holding the gun more centered in front of my body and standing more square to the target. Now low and behold the gun recoils straight up and returns back to the target much quicker. The issue is that holding the gun more centered in front of my body, as opposed to in line with my right eye, seems to cause me to aim a bit to the left. It's not a huge amount, less the 2inches at 50ft, but I still feel there should be some way to counter this.

July 11, 2007, 12:48 AM	#2
Tanzer Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2007 Posts: 884	Google Brian Enos. He's got a few different styles of grip. Many might blame thumbing etc. I suspect you may need a better grip with your weak hand and revisit the push-pull. __________________ Only the ignorant find ignorance to be bliss. Only those of us who know better will suffer from it.

July 11, 2007, 10:07 AM	#3
Lurper Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2006 Posts: 943	The gun will torque to the right because of the rifling. Where the gun is relative to your body will have no impact on whether you shoot to the left or not. You don't want to push/pull. You should have a neutral grip/stance. Shooting left can be caused by a couple of things. What type of pistol are you shooting? You can find help here: www.pistolmaster.com This may help w/the grip:

July 11, 2007, 12:32 PM	#4
JWT Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Southern Arizona Posts: 3,888	This site has targets that can help diagnose shooting 'problems' and might be useful for you. ( (Correction Target for Right Handed Shooters and Correction Target for Left Handed Shooters) www.bghi.us/index.php?x=targets

July 12, 2007, 07:51 PM	#6
Lurper Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2006 Posts: 943	I guarantee it's not in where you position the gun relative to your body. It is almost certainly something that you are doing with your hands. One of the likely causes is too much finger on the trigger. But without more information, I can't say for certain.

July 14, 2007, 12:22 AM	#8
Lurper Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2006 Posts: 943	Without more information, I can't tell you for sure. However, the charts are typically designed to diagnose bullseye shooting and do not have a lot of relevance if you are shooting using two hands. But, I could be wrong, after all this is only what I do for a living.

July 21, 2007, 11:01 AM	#9
zenner22 Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2006 Posts: 229	I had no idea these charts were not designed to diagnose two-handed shooting problems! I don't think very many other people are aware of this either, these charts always come out when someone wants to fix a shooting problem. So, if these charts are for one handed bullseye, is there a similar chart for two handed shooting?

July 24, 2007, 04:12 PM	#11
Lurper Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2006 Posts: 943	To determine how much finger to use on a single action auto, try this: Bite your index finger halfway across the fingernail. The line from the bite across the pad of your finger is as far as you want your finger to be on the trigger. With a DA or striker type pistol, you should use about to the first knuckle. I have had one student who had a similar problem and it did turn out to be not enough finger, but try both and see.