The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - I think I've had it wrong all these years

stephen426 · October 31, 2008, 09:38 AM

I finally made it out to the range. I taped the sights on my Glock 26 and practiced point shooting without using the sights at 7 yards. My groups were not pretty at all and it the target looks like it got hit by a few rounds of buck shot to the chest. Most of my shots still hit upper COM, but I did have a few misses as well (almost all high and to the left). I believe those were a result of double tapping before getting back on target.

I also practiced firing string of 5 rounds as quickly as I could bring the gun back on target. While I didn't unload the gun as quickly as I could pull the trigger, I fired much faster than I normally practice and I focused on pulling the trigger as soon as the gun came back on target. This was mostly with my Glock 26 and my Kahr MK9 since those are what I carry. I did some drills from the low ready position and punching the gun out towards the target.

When I moved to my Les Baer, accuracy improved dramatically. While I know the Baer is much more accurate overall, I attibute most of that improvement to the longer sight radius and the overall pointability of the gun.

My observation from all of this "new" practice...
- Flash sight picture is MUCH more accurate than unsighted fire. Even if you are only looking over the top of the gun, accuracy improves dramatically. Having a consistent grip/stance/position leads to much better accuracy with unsighted fire and help line up your shot faster even with sighted fire. Practicing "rapid fire" is useful since it forces you to become more familiar with the gun's recoil characteristics (snappiness, recoil impulse, twist, etc...). With slow fire, there is too much time for resetting. Consequently, I feel more rapid fire drills will greatly improve my double tap ability since I will become more faimiliar with the gun's "reset position" (not sure of the term for when the gun goes back to the point of aim after the recoil cycle).

It was an eye opening experience and a bit humbling as well. It was hard not printing pretty little groups, but that will come in time. in the meanwhile, I've got some practicing to do!

October 31, 2008, 09:38 AM	#79
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	I finally made it out to the range. I taped the sights on my Glock 26 and practiced point shooting without using the sights at 7 yards. My groups were not pretty at all and it the target looks like it got hit by a few rounds of buck shot to the chest. Most of my shots still hit upper COM, but I did have a few misses as well (almost all high and to the left). I believe those were a result of double tapping before getting back on target. I also practiced firing string of 5 rounds as quickly as I could bring the gun back on target. While I didn't unload the gun as quickly as I could pull the trigger, I fired much faster than I normally practice and I focused on pulling the trigger as soon as the gun came back on target. This was mostly with my Glock 26 and my Kahr MK9 since those are what I carry. I did some drills from the low ready position and punching the gun out towards the target. When I moved to my Les Baer, accuracy improved dramatically. While I know the Baer is much more accurate overall, I attibute most of that improvement to the longer sight radius and the overall pointability of the gun. My observation from all of this "new" practice... - Flash sight picture is MUCH more accurate than unsighted fire. Even if you are only looking over the top of the gun, accuracy improves dramatically. Having a consistent grip/stance/position leads to much better accuracy with unsighted fire and help line up your shot faster even with sighted fire. Practicing "rapid fire" is useful since it forces you to become more familiar with the gun's recoil characteristics (snappiness, recoil impulse, twist, etc...). With slow fire, there is too much time for resetting. Consequently, I feel more rapid fire drills will greatly improve my double tap ability since I will become more faimiliar with the gun's "reset position" (not sure of the term for when the gun goes back to the point of aim after the recoil cycle). It was an eye opening experience and a bit humbling as well. It was hard not printing pretty little groups, but that will come in time. in the meanwhile, I've got some practicing to do! __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!