How to diagnose handgun accuracy issues

Do you normally shoot pistols so that your shots land right in the middle of the targets? If you don’t, there may be some technique issues that are causing the shots to move out of center. Chris Cheng, Top Shot Champion, has produced a video for the National Shooting Sports Foundation that can help handgunners diagnose accuracy problems. You can diagnose your mistakes (or correct them) by shooting three-shot groups, and examining the pattern and location. Here are a few examples. This process is best suited for shooters who tend to place their shots in a single target zone. If you are shooting all over the place, your form will be inconsistent and it will be difficult to diagnose problems. 1. Low Left — Jerking Trigger Here we see three (3) shot at the 7 O’clock position. This shows the shooter jerking the triggering, which means that the shooter pulls the trigger too fast and forces the barrel to fall when breaking the shot. This is a common problem, especially with novices who react to the noise/recoil from the pistol. 9 O’Clock – Too Little Trigger: If you see three (3) shots in the 9 O clock position, this could be an indication of too little trigger on the trigger. With every shot, your shots will be pushed to the right. Try moving your trigger on the pad of your index fingers. Try dry firing drills. 3. High Left — Anticipating Rebound: In the next example, three shots are seen around 11 O’clock. It is possible that the shooter is anticipating recoil and is lifting the gun when he fires. We recommend slowing your pace, working on breathing, and again, doing dry-firing exercises. Three (3) shots at 3 O’clock — Too Much Trigger-Finger: If you see three (3) consecutive shots at 3 O’clock, this could indicate that the trigger finger is overloaded. When the shot breaks, the shooter pulls each shot to the RIGHT. Note: Each of these descriptions are for a right-handed shooter. If you are a right-handed shooter, you will want to reverse the descriptions in regards to shot positions left/right of centerline. In example 4, the lefty would place his shots at the 9 o’clock position.Similar PostsTags: Accuracy. Chris Cheng. Handgun. Iron Sights. Marksmanship. Pistol. Pistol training. Revolver.