New Gun Owner - 1 Month of Shooting Progress

[jimijames]

I am a recent first time gun owner. I have regularly been practicing shooting at the range since I purchased my pistol. Besides the LTC course, I have no training other than YouTube videos and practicing. I thought these videos below were awesome and really helped me develop a more accurate shot. If any new shooters or experts wanna take a look.

I attached a screenshot of my two targets a month apart as well.

Things that really helped me the most:

1. Shoot with both eyes open. (Closing one eye was adding strain and discomfort, both eyes, instantly relaxed my focus.)

2. Focusing on the front sight like a magic eye image. Really focusing on it. (Before doing this I was looking from target to site, to rear, and front with no rhyme or reason and by the time I took the shot, I was hoping, rather than knowing where the bullet was going.)

https://www.magiceye.com/stwkdisp.htm

3. DRY FIRING! (This is the single most important thing. It really helped me stop anticipating recoil and letting the shot go without flinching. I have a lot more work to do with this, but I know its the key to everything else.)

4. I found focusing on my hands as separate sections when holding the gun helps to keep my wrist, trigger finger, and grip way steadier. (Its a mental thing, but when Im thinking about it, I shoot straighter.)

5. I heard a story that at a local hotel hosting a pistol competition, when the manager walked down the hotel hallway, he could hear every guest dry firing their guns like a sea of bugs, in practice for the comp the next day. What works for those cats, works for me.

FRONT SIGHT FOCUSING


SHOOTING WITH BOTH EYES OPEN


DRY FIRE PRACTICE


Looking forward to getting sharper.

-Jimi

 

[Glenn B]

Nice improvement from one month to the next.

I have only occasionally used dry firing as part of my regular practice routine, especially when it comes to semi-automatics. I did it a bit more often in the past with revolvers but found it to be pretty much a waste of time as far as I was concerned. I just practiced a lot with the free ammo I got on my jobs. Now that I buy all of my own ammo, I may go back to it.

I think of dry firing, in places like hotel rooms (heck anywhere except on a range or into an unloading station), to be sort of, kind of, almost begging for a negligent discharge. The one thing I hate about Glock pistols is having to pull the trigger to disassemble them.

 

[Axxe55]

All of that is fine and dandy, and is good information. But, nothing is better or more capable of getting you more accurate at shooting than putting rounds down range.

Are practicing for being able to shoot more accurately at the range, or because you plan on carrying for self defense?

Reason I ask, is they are different types of shooting disciplines and require different techniques in being able to do the intended job. If for self defense, practice instinctive shooting as well. Reasons? Simple, in a SD situation, you are not going to be allowed the luxury of being able to use your sights in the vast majority of those types of situations. You need to practice instinctive shooting not relying upon your sights, and building muscle memory.

All in all, I think you are off to a good start. If possible, find a friend or someone that does a lot of pistol shooting to partner up with. Another point, never take it too seriously. Enjoy shooting and you will naturally get better and more accurate.

 

[rotor]

Welcome to the 2A. They have those laser training devices now too although I have never used one. Start saving your brass though as eventually you will want to reload.

 

[Moonpie]

Good job OP.
Keep it going.

 

[Byrd666]

Looks like you're making good progress.

Besides a laser training device, try putting a dime on your slide when you dry fire. When you can consistently hold, aim, and fire without letting it fall, it will help quite a bit in bullseye/target shooting. And you can incorporate that into your self defense draw, aim, and fire routine(s).

 

[oldag]

Good progress.

Seeing the front sight is key.

Practice, practice, practice.

And practice drawing and shooting, as well as shooting multiple targets in succession. Start more deliberate and speed up as you become more adept.

 

[popsgarland]

Nice improvement from one month to the next.

I have only occasionally used dry firing as part of my regular practice routine, especially when it comes to semi-automatics. I did it a bit more often in the past with revolvers but found it to be pretty much a waste of time as far as I was concerned. I just practiced a lot with the free ammo I got on my jobs. Now that I buy all of my own ammo, I may go back to it.

I think of dry firing, in places like hotel rooms (heck anywhere except on a range or into an unloading station), to be sort of, kind of, almost begging for a negligent discharge. The one thing I hate about Glock pistols is having to pull the trigger to disassemble them.

Don't know what kind of Glock your talking about but the 3 that I'm aware of, you DO NOT have to pull the trigger to disassemble it.
From the instructions for use....
Using your fingers, retract the slide about 1/8 in. and hold it in this position. Using the thumb and index finger of your non-firing hand, pull the slide lock down evenly on both sides. While holding the slide lock down, push the slide forward and off the frame.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I don't know what kind of Glock you are talking about.
After clearing the gun, the trigger is to be pulled.

 

[SQLGeek]

Welcome to the forum OP. You're going to get a lot of advice as you can see.

Looks to me like you're making good progress. Keep it up!

you DO NOT have to pull the trigger to disassemble it.

You do if the striker is cocked. The slide won't pull off the frame otherwise.

 

[popsgarland]

I was assuming that everyone knows you have to remove the mag, clear the gun and pull the trigger before you disassembling.
That's what I get for assuming. It makes an Ass out of U and Me.

I'll try to be more clear on the rest of my posts.

 

[Mowingmaniac 24/7]

No, NOT me...

 

[Glenn B]

Don't know what kind of Glock your talking about but the 3 that I'm aware of, you DO NOT have to pull the trigger to disassemble it.
From the instructions for use....
Using your fingers, retract the slide about 1/8 in. and hold it in this position. Using the thumb and index finger of your non-firing hand, pull the slide lock down evenly on both sides. While holding the slide lock down, push the slide forward and off the frame.

Must be something fairly new in the instructions. I am currently a certified Glock Advanced Armorer and was twice a regular Glock Armorer and not once did they ever teach disassembly without first pulling the trigger. Maybe it's a feature of the Gen 5 pistols which were not out when I last went through their training or maybe it was something they did not realize could be done until fairly recently (maybe discovered accidentally) but that was definitely not the way Glock formerly told anyone to take down a Glock pistol.

Of course, it could be you are merely confused as to the Glock instructions by way of zeroing in on one section and not another immediately prior to it. As per the armorer's manual - before disassembly you should follow the unloading procedure and safety check. The very last step of the unloading procedure & safety check - as per that very same Glock Armorer's manual - is to pull the trigger with the gun pointed in a safe direction. The very next section in the armorer's manual is the field strip. Guess what it says there:

"The trigger should be in the reward position and the engagement between the firing pin and the trigger bar will have released."

So how did the trigger get into the reward position as mentioned in the armorer's manual? The trigger being in the reward position is accomplished by pulling the trigger with the weapon unloaded and pointed in a safe direction (preferably downrange or into an unloading bay). So as far as I am aware you do indeed have to pull the trigger to disassemble a Glock as per any instructions I have ever seen, at least if you have read all of the instructions. As I said though, maybe things have changed since I last went through one of their armorer courses and maybe now you do not need to do so with the latest generation of Glock but all the ones I was ever trained by Glock about require(d) the trigger to be pulled before a Glock pistol could be properly disassembled.

My last Glock Armorer's class, the advanced one with certification for 5 years, was in 2016 and the manual supplied at the time was dated October 2015. The above quote from the manual is from that one.

 

[Glenn B]

By the way, I just checked the owner's manual for my Gen 4 Glock 30. It plainly states in the disassembly instructions that the trigger needs to be pulled in order to disassemble the pistol. So, unless you were writing about a Gen 5 Glock that may have a new way of doing it, of which I am unaware, where the trigger does not need to be pilled before disassembly, I have no clue what kind of Glock you are disassembling that does not require it.

 

[popsgarland]

Must be something fairly new in the instructions. I am currently a certified Glock Advanced Armorer and was twice a regular Glock Armorer and not once did they ever teach disassembly without first pulling the trigger. Maybe it's a feature of the Gen 5 pistols which were not out when I last went through their training or maybe it was something they did not realize could be done until fairly recently (maybe discovered accidentally) but that was definitely not the way Glock formerly told anyone to take down a Glock pistol.

Of course, it could be you are merely confused as to the Glock instructions by way of zeroing in on one section and not another immediately prior to it. As per the armorer's manual - before disassembly you should follow the unloading procedure and safety check. The very last step of the unloading procedure & safety check - as per that very same Glock Armorer's manual - is to pull the trigger with the gun pointed in a safe direction. The very next section in the armorer's manual is the field strip. Guess what it says there:

"The trigger should be in the reward position and the engagement between the firing pin and the trigger bar will have released."

So how did the trigger get into the reward position as mentioned in the armorer's manual? The trigger being in the reward position is accomplished by pulling the trigger with the weapon unloaded and pointed in a safe direction (preferably downrange or into an unloading bay). So as far as I am aware you do indeed have to pull the trigger to disassemble a Glock as per any instructions I have ever seen, at least if you have read all of the instructions. As I said though, maybe things have changed since I last went through one of their armorer courses and maybe now you do not need to do so with the latest generation of Glock but all the ones I was ever trained by Glock about require(d) the trigger to be pulled before a Glock pistol could be properly disassembled.

My last Glock Armorer's class, the advanced one with certification for 5 years, was in 2016 and the manual supplied at the time was dated October 2015. The above quote from the manual is from that one.

Please read my 2nd post..#11. I clarified my statement. I didn't think that some people would not clear their Glock, or any other weapon, before disassembling it. As I stated in post #11, I'll be more clear in any other post.

Thanks.

 

[Glenn B]

Please read my 2nd post..#11. I clarified my statement. I didn't think that some people would not clear their Glock, or any other weapon, before disassembling it. As I stated in post #11, I'll be more clear in any other post.

Thanks.

Sorry, did not get that far before my long drawn out reply.

 

[oldag]

Was a good thread until it devolved into a tupperware discussion...

 

[Ozzman]

Excellent shooting OP.
That is a superb improvement in just one month.

The key to getting better at anything is to keep practicing. You will find that shooting "accurately" is an art form in itself and is not easy for the weak/timid. It is a skill that is honed over time and usually takes lots and lots of rounds.

If you think you are doing something incorrectly, you may find it beneficial to enroll in a few novice shooting courses to make sure you are not developing bad habits. I'm not sure where you are in Texas, but there are a number of good places that can walk you through proper techniques and point out grip and stance weaknesses.

 

[seeker_two]

Was a good thread until it devolved into a tupperware discussion...

Moonpie ruins everything.....

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[t4r619]

Outstanding shooting, OP. That's a great improvement over the course of a month.

To mix things up, I use snap caps. Helps with anticipating recoil and malfunction drills.