Does anyone else feel worse the better they shoot?

maverickmage · April 8, 2009, 01:58 AM

... I am. I'm looking to buy my first handgun and decided to go to the shooting range and try out various guns. I was all set to try and go for an all steel pistol and tried out several ranging from the CZ-75B compact, the Sig P226, P239, and 1911's (from both Springfield and Kimber). I also decided, hey I should try some "plastic" guns. I don't really want them, but I didn't want to have a biased view towards it without trying it out.

I was all set to hate them. Guess which pistols I'm most accurate with. The USP, glocks, and XD... I can consistently make 1/2" to 1" groupings at 7 yards (which is quite good for me) whereas the P226 and 1911 where going all over the place.

evan1293 · April 8, 2009, 02:19 AM

Hehehe....time to buy a glock.

IanS · April 8, 2009, 02:33 AM

Get plastic for defense and carry. Get steel for range and showing off. That seems to be the trend these days anyways.

No but seriously, I think your results were psychological somehow. You weren't thinking or caring how you shot with plastic while you were "appreciating" the metal guns too much. Does that make sense?

voyager4520 · April 8, 2009, 02:36 AM

That plastic absorbs a lot more shock than people think. You don't need a heavy piece of steel to absorb recoil.

maverickmage · April 8, 2009, 11:06 AM

Yeah, I was surprised at how well they shot. I'll try giving steel a few more chances, but if not, I guess I have no choice but to get one of each

rsxr22 · April 8, 2009, 11:12 AM

i am extremely accurate w/ my glock's and hk, but still a target gun in my mind is all steel. I shoot lights out w/ my kimber SIS, but everyone responds differently to different guns. I cant shoot xd's for **** lol

Dingoboyx · April 8, 2009, 11:15 AM

Glocks rock

PhoenixConflagration · April 8, 2009, 03:20 PM

+1 on Glock. If you can shoot better with a lighter, cheaper gun that has a sterling reputation, why would you get anything else?

NWCP · April 8, 2009, 03:24 PM

Get yourself an HK USP in whichever caliber you prefer. All of mine have always been dead on accurate and totally reliable.

Tom2 · April 8, 2009, 06:00 PM

To answer the main question, I feel worse the worse I shoot. Taking a new gun out and seeing it spray all over the bullesye is not happiness. I would stick to whatever gun makes you shoot better or feel you shoot better, unless other factors simply rule it out for the role required of it.

A-Roe · April 8, 2009, 06:45 PM

Im not a fan of poly guns, i haaaate the glock, and the XD's not a favorite either.

BUT

The most accurate i have ever been was with a glock 9mm. It was the first time i ever shot a hand gun. I walked in, rented the glock, pushed my target out to 7 yard, and put a full mag into that target, every shot went in one dime sized hole.

havent been able to reproduce it since.

jpoolsmyd2 · April 8, 2009, 07:09 PM

QUOTE]Get plastic for defense and carry. Get steel for range and showing off.[/QUOTE]

Amen. I was a steel only guy. Then I picked up a p2000sk for sub-compact duty.

I have been converted!!

I love my SIGs. Always will.

But one of my next purchases will be............

a..........

shhhhh......

glock

JDG · April 8, 2009, 07:37 PM

I never seen a CZ not shoot well for someone

Dash · April 8, 2009, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Get plastic for defense and carry. Get steel for range and showing off.

not for me, my range/match gun is my carry gun, nice to know that my defense gun is utterly reliable won't malfunction, jam or blow-up on me, not to mention i am dead accurate and very fast with it.

practice a lot with what you carry.

cerberus65 · April 8, 2009, 11:04 PM

I guess I was just fortunate. A Glock in .45 ACP shot really well for me but luckily every 1911 I've touched has shot just as well. :-)

IZinterrogator · April 8, 2009, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanS

No but seriously, I think your results were psychological somehow. You weren't thinking or caring how you shot with plastic while you were "appreciating" the metal guns too much. Does that make sense?

Ian is correct, you psyched yourself out with the metal guns and tried to force a tight group, you let the plastic guns do the job and did what came naturally, which led to a tight group.

Dash · April 8, 2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

I guess I was just fortunate. A Glock in .45 ACP shot really well for me but luckily every 1911 I've touched has shot just as well. :-)

it's usually the shooter not the gun.

maverickmage · April 9, 2009, 12:51 AM

Quote:

I never seen a CZ not shoot well for someone

Actually, the CZ shot alright. Not as accurate as the poly guns that I tried, but one that I think that I can get used to with practice.

The ones that were really causing me grief were all of the sigs that I tried (plus the P226 9mm kept on stovepiping on me while the glock ate the same bullets without a problem) and the Springfield 1911. The Kimber 1911 was very accurate, although I'm not sure if it counts since it had a crimson grip helping me out...

I'll have to make sure to keep an eye out on my grip the next time I head out to the range.

EDIT:
Oh... and I should point out, besides the stovepiping Sig, the problem definitely lies with the shooter :P . My brother shoots the steel guns very well, but in reverse, the poly's don't really seem to suit him. He has the opposite problem of being a bad shot with polys.

NWCP · April 9, 2009, 04:34 AM

I really prefer my polymer HKs for carry. As for metallic pistols my most accurate centerfires have been my HK P7PSP and P7M8. Another fine shooting metallic pistol is the Walther P5. Both of mine are exceptionally accurate and reliable though not as accurate as the HK P7. The better I shoot the better I feel. Therefore I prefer a pistol that assists me in shooting my best not just looking cool on the line. 1911s look cool, in fact some are just downright beautiful pistols. I still shoot better with my 'plastic' HKs.

thinkingman · April 9, 2009, 03:07 PM

I am pretty accurate with all my handguns but Glocks have nice white sites and something about the wide, flat slide that lines up nice.
They do not point as naturally as 1911's for me but that's muscle memory, not a fault of the gun.
Some handguns come with really basic, black sights and are useless for my eyes.

April 8, 2009, 01:58 AM	#1
maverickmage Member Join Date: April 1, 2007 Posts: 20	Does anyone else feel worse the better they shoot? ... I am. I'm looking to buy my first handgun and decided to go to the shooting range and try out various guns. I was all set to try and go for an all steel pistol and tried out several ranging from the CZ-75B compact, the Sig P226, P239, and 1911's (from both Springfield and Kimber). I also decided, hey I should try some "plastic" guns. I don't really want them, but I didn't want to have a biased view towards it without trying it out. I was all set to hate them. Guess which pistols I'm most accurate with. The USP, glocks, and XD... I can consistently make 1/2" to 1" groupings at 7 yards (which is quite good for me) whereas the P226 and 1911 where going all over the place.

April 8, 2009, 11:15 AM	#7
Dingoboyx Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2009 Location: South East Queensland, Australia Posts: 1,513	Get a Glock Glocks rock

April 8, 2009, 02:19 AM	#2
evan1293 Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2007 Location: CT Posts: 783	Hehehe....time to buy a glock.

April 8, 2009, 02:33 AM	#3
IanS Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2000 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,632	Get plastic for defense and carry. Get steel for range and showing off. That seems to be the trend these days anyways. No but seriously, I think your results were psychological somehow. You weren't thinking or caring how you shot with plastic while you were "appreciating" the metal guns too much. Does that make sense?

April 8, 2009, 02:36 AM	#4
voyager4520 Senior Member Join Date: April 1, 2009 Location: SE Colorado Posts: 840	That plastic absorbs a lot more shock than people think. You don't need a heavy piece of steel to absorb recoil.

April 8, 2009, 11:06 AM	#5
maverickmage Member Join Date: April 1, 2007 Posts: 20	Yeah, I was surprised at how well they shot. I'll try giving steel a few more chances, but if not, I guess I have no choice but to get one of each

April 8, 2009, 11:12 AM	#6
rsxr22 Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2009 Location: Youngstown, OH Posts: 1,825	i am extremely accurate w/ my glock's and hk, but still a target gun in my mind is all steel. I shoot lights out w/ my kimber SIS, but everyone responds differently to different guns. I cant shoot xd's for **** lol

April 8, 2009, 03:20 PM	#8
PhoenixConflagration Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2008 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 517	+1 on Glock. If you can shoot better with a lighter, cheaper gun that has a sterling reputation, why would you get anything else?

April 8, 2009, 03:24 PM	#9
NWCP Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2006 Posts: 1,903	Get yourself an HK USP in whichever caliber you prefer. All of mine have always been dead on accurate and totally reliable.

April 8, 2009, 06:00 PM	#10
Tom2 Senior Member Join Date: June 23, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 5,676	To answer the main question, I feel worse the worse I shoot. Taking a new gun out and seeing it spray all over the bullesye is not happiness. I would stick to whatever gun makes you shoot better or feel you shoot better, unless other factors simply rule it out for the role required of it.

April 8, 2009, 06:45 PM	#11
A-Roe Member Join Date: March 17, 2009 Posts: 19	Im not a fan of poly guns, i haaaate the glock, and the XD's not a favorite either. BUT The most accurate i have ever been was with a glock 9mm. It was the first time i ever shot a hand gun. I walked in, rented the glock, pushed my target out to 7 yard, and put a full mag into that target, every shot went in one dime sized hole. havent been able to reproduce it since.

April 8, 2009, 07:09 PM	#12
jpoolsmyd2 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2009 Location: NoVA Posts: 178	QUOTE]Get plastic for defense and carry. Get steel for range and showing off.[/QUOTE] Amen. I was a steel only guy. Then I picked up a p2000sk for sub-compact duty. I have been converted!! I love my SIGs. Always will. But one of my next purchases will be............ a.......... shhhhh...... glock

April 8, 2009, 07:37 PM	#13
JDG Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: West Michigan Posts: 673	I never seen a CZ not shoot well for someone

April 8, 2009, 11:04 PM	#15
cerberus65 Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2008 Posts: 384	I guess I was just fortunate. A Glock in .45 ACP shot really well for me but luckily every 1911 I've touched has shot just as well. :-)

April 9, 2009, 04:34 AM	#19
NWCP Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2006 Posts: 1,903	I really prefer my polymer HKs for carry. As for metallic pistols my most accurate centerfires have been my HK P7PSP and P7M8. Another fine shooting metallic pistol is the Walther P5. Both of mine are exceptionally accurate and reliable though not as accurate as the HK P7. The better I shoot the better I feel. Therefore I prefer a pistol that assists me in shooting my best not just looking cool on the line. 1911s look cool, in fact some are just downright beautiful pistols. I still shoot better with my 'plastic' HKs.

April 9, 2009, 03:07 PM	#20
thinkingman Senior Member Join Date: March 27, 2008 Location: western WA Posts: 691	I am pretty accurate with all my handguns but Glocks have nice white sites and something about the wide, flat slide that lines up nice. They do not point as naturally as 1911's for me but that's muscle memory, not a fault of the gun. Some handguns come with really basic, black sights and are useless for my eyes.