Tips on Pistol Shooting

[hvj1]

I am a recent member of the IFG, but am a member of the shooting fraternity for the last two decades. My passion has always been shooting with both rifle and pistol. The 'Sport of Shooting' has given me so much, I would therefore wish to contribute to the sport. ALL are welcome to ask me questions on shooting, I give below a brief resume of my shooting career;
Pistol Shooting1. National Level Medals 5 g,5 S, 4 B.
2. State Level (Lost Count)
Coaching:
1. International Shooting Sports Academy (ISSF), Munich, Germany 2001. - 'C' Level Coach
2. ISSF 'Diploma of Honor' for Extraordinary Work (Pistol Shooting)- , Munich 2001.
3. ISSF 'B' Judges Licence in Pistol
4. ISSF 'B' Judges Licence in Rifle
5. ISSF EST (Electronic Scoring Targets) Licence.
6. Coach to the Armoured Corp Shooting Team (1996 -2001)- 9mm Pistol, 7.62 & 5.56 INSAS.
Awards:
1. 'Shiv Chhatrapati' for Shooting 1999- Highest State award for Sports.
Results:
1. Produced 4 Junior International Shooters for India from 2001-2007.
Shooting Ranges:
1. Designed and Developed the Commonwealth Youth Games-Balewadi Shooting Range with Mr. DK Shukla & Anup Vinikar.

[thomast1]

Hello HVJ1,
Good to have one more Professional here.
You can help a lot of us...

Thomast1

[dev]

I am a recent member of the IFG, but am a member of the shooting fraternity for the last two decades. My passion has always been shooting with both rifle and pistol. The 'Sport of Shooting' has given me so much, I would therefore wish to contribute to the sport. ALL are welcome to ask me questions on shooting, I give below a brief resume of my shooting career;
Pistol Shooting1. National Level Medals 5 g,5 S, 4 B.
2. State Level (Lost Count)
Coaching:
1. International Shooting Sports Academy (ISSF), Munich, Germany 2001. - 'C' Level Coach
2. ISSF 'Diploma of Honor' for Extraordinary Work (Pistol Shooting)- , Munich 2001.
3. ISSF 'B' Judges Licence in Pistol
4. ISSF 'B' Judges Licence in Rifle
5. ISSF EST (Electronic Scoring Targets) Licence.
6. Coach to the Armoured Corp Shooting Team (1996 -2001)- 9mm Pistol, 7.62 & 5.56 INSAS.
Awards:
1. 'Shiv Chhatrapati' for Shooting 1999- Highest State award for Sports.
Results:
1. Produced 4 Junior International Shooters for India from 2001-2007.
Shooting Ranges:
1. Designed and Developed the Commonwealth Youth Games-Balewadi Shooting Range with Mr. DK Shukla & Anup Vinikar.

Wow just when I needed a coach for ten meter air pistol. Welcome Master Yoda, I shall be asking a lot of questions soon.

Dev

[hvj1]

Thank you for your response. Looking forward to all your queries.
Regards

-- Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:29 pm --

Thank you for your response. Looking forward to all your queries.
Regards

Use your mistakes.

[socrates]

sir
which is the ideal weapon to start pistol shooting
does IHP CO2 good enough

[highland sniper]

Welcome to the forum hvj1 and thanks for your kind offer to help. I'm for sure going to make use of this offer.

Best,

[hvj1]

Dear Socrates and highland sniper,
Thank you for your post, regarding Socrates query:
1. First and foremost , I would like to know, whether you are interested in buying a pistol to seriously take part in competitive shooting or just have some fun.
2. Sometimes people like to pick up a pistol to have fun, then get hooked onto target shooting, which is all very well, in that case, the IHP compressed air pistol, recently launched, should serve your purpose, since they are reasonably priced and fairly accurate to start with.
Feel free to fire away any questions, one piece of advice: Go ahead and ask fearlessly any question you have on mind, don't think that it may sound silly or stupid, answers to such questions always do prevent silly or stupid mistakes.

[socrates]

dear sir

i started shooting to keep me active as it is good for both the body and mind and can be done indoors

now exited on the game

i have ordered one ihp pistol

[MoA]

What would the correct thechnique be with a pistol to retain sight picture while compensating for recoil with a full bore pistol.

I have trouble with pistols, but am a lot more accurate with a revolver.

[hvj1]

Dear Eternalme
Sorry for the delay in replying to your pm. As you have mentioned, that you have shot a 10 shot group in a 1 inch group at 50m. 1 inch=2.54 cms=25.4 mm. From the size of the 9th and 10th ring, you can see that you can get all your shots within the 9th ring. Which is quite creditable! Assuming that you hit the 10th & 9th ring in the ratio of 50:50, then your score outwould bein the region of 570/600. In prone you need to shoot above 590/600. To get there, please consider the following extremely important points;
1. 'POSITION' The position the shooter takes, is extremely important and can only be taught correctly by a good coach. A good position will help you improve your scores quite quickly.
2. The rifle must also be new or at least of decent quality.
3. You amo has to be imported not KF.
4. Your shooting jacket,trouser and other paraphernalia must also be correct.
5. Finally you must decide how much time and money you wish to devote to the sport. Even if you wish to take it up as a hobby, the time spent in shooting will benefit you immensely. More on this subject will be posted shortly.
I am also copy/pasting this on the original post, as this would benefit our general viewers. Also request you to post queries directly on the post 'tips for shooting' for the same purpose.
Finally, I congratulate you for taking the lead on the RKBA on line posting issue.
BR
50 Meter Rifle Target10 Ring 10.4 mm (±0.1 mm ) 5 Ring 90.4 mm (±0.5 mm )
9 Ring 26.4 mm (±0.1 mm ) 4 Ring 106.4 mm (±0.5 mm )
8 Ring 42.4 mm (±0.2 mm ) 3 Ring 122.4 mm (±0.5 mm )
7 Ring 58.4 mm (±0.5 mm ) 2 Ring 138.4 mm (±0.5 mm )
6 Ring 74.4 mm (±0.5 mm ) 1 Ring 154.4 mm (±0.5 mm )

-- Sun Nov 22, 2009 12:57 pm --

What would the correct thechnique be with a pistol to retain sight picture while compensating for recoil with a full bore pistol.

I have trouble with pistols, but am a lot more accurate with a revolver.

Dear MoA,
First of all, WHAT A DAMNED GOOD QUESTION! I will take great pleasure in answering this one.
1. What is 'Recoil Pattern'?
- The movement of the sights, when the gun is fired, beginning from stationary to tracing an arc(s) and then settling back to the same position before the shot. This is what we call as 'recoil pattern'.
2. What is 'correct recoil pattern'?
-(a) The ‘correct recoil pattern’, is the one, which starts with the aligned sights (front with rear), REASONABLE POSITIONED/HELD within the ‘aiming area’.
-(b) During the shot, the relation of the front sight with the rear sight is disturbed, for example, the front sight may oscillate in the direction of 10 o’clock. Then settles back again in the aligned position (more or less) after the shot,
-(c) The ‘amplitude’ or the circumference of the arc, traced by the front sight MUST BE CONSISTENT from shot to shot. By consistent, I mean, that the front sight must recoil with the same amplitude and in the same direction ( say 10 o’ clock).
-(d) Also, the aligned sights must COME BACK TO REST WITHIN THE SAME AIMING AREA.
Hence for achieving the above,
(i) The shooter must have a consistent grip (applying consistent pressure) from shot to shot.
(ii) The trigger finger placing must also be consistent (same position for each shot).
(iii)The hold, that is the wrist lock and the tension in the shooting arm (either single or double) must also
be consistent from shot to shot.
(iv)Finally, the ‘mental preparation’, before the shot is taken is extremely vital. Hence I will elaborate
on the same.
4. What is ‘mental preparation’ before the shot?
- Before taking the shot, the shooter, ‘rehearses’ the shot sequence;
(a) He begins by taking the correct grip, with correct trigger position and then assumes a ‘stance’/stable position.
(b) He sees himself in his mind’s eye, lifting the pistol, with the aligned sights settling into the aiming area. The sights are held steady within the aiming area, while the trigger finger begins exerting a continuous pressure on the trigger in the rearward direction (in a straight line back towards the shooter).
(c)During this time, his MENTAL GOAL is to continue holding the sights aligned within the aiming area before, (during) and after the shot. He accepts mentally, that ‘during’ the shot the recoil will follow the accepted recoil pattern, but he will CONTINUE maintaining the sights aligned within the aiming area.
(d) So when the actual shot is actually being taken, it is almost a replica of the rehearsed shot and most IMPORTANTLY, he WILL continue holding the aligned sights, within the aiming area, after the shot has occurred.
The shooter has to PROGRAM, the above steps in him mind, by practicing each step again and again, till it is INGRAINED in his subconscious mind. When the shooter achieves this, he will learn to shoot very tight groups. But one needs to PRACTICE, PRACTICE ,PRACTICE.
Personally, firing the 9mm, 5 shots in 60 seconds (1 min) I refer to the recoil pattern as a flash back. When I see in flashback, that the recoil pattern was inconsistent, then I check my gripping. It is very natural for the grip to tighten, without the shooter realizing it, from shot to shot. Also, sweating makes the matter worse. Hence for powerful hand guns, most shooters prefer the Pachmayr grips, since they absorb recoil better, give a good tacky grip and are not too much affected by moisture or sweating.
BR

[hvj1]

Baikal-IZH-46M-1.jpg

Lesson No.1
Adjusting the Pistol to yourself.
1.The grip of the pistol has 4 main supports, from top to bottom,
(a) The part of the grip in contact with the 'V' formed between the thumb and forefinger- web.
(b) The part of the grip which is in contact with the upper portion of the forefinger (triggerfinger)
(c)The part of the grip seperating the forefinger and the balance fingers, just under the trigger, also forming the trigger guard.
(d) The part of the grip in contact with the small finger and lower portion of the palm.(Palm rest)

2. You begin by keeping the forefinger(trigger finger) and thumb firmly CLOSED AND STICKING TO EACH OTHER. Then holding the barrel with the left free hand you force open the thumb and forefinger, creating an opening, and maintaining the pressure of thumb and forefinger, slide into the wooden grip, till your thumb comes to rest on the 'thumbrest' on the left hand side of the grip, while your forefinger comes around to reach the trigger. The pistol with the left hand should be firmly shoved deep into the web formed by the thumb and forefinger.
3. Maintain a firm pressure between the thumb and forefinger, allow the three remaining fingers to contact the left hand side of the grip.
4. The middle digits of the three fingers must be in contact with the slightly rounded side of the grip, just under the trigger.
5. NOTE: the tips of your finger must NOT curl around to exert pressure on the left hand side of the grip below the trigger.
6. Finally, the palm rest, must firmly hold the three fingers and and palm, in such a way that YOU should be gripping the pistol instead of the grip holding you.
7. The palm rest may be adjusted, to make sure that the hollow of the palm is uniformly in contact witht the grip and should never be cramped.
8. The forefinger or trigger finger must be placed on the trigger,preferrably with the last digit of the finger placed in the middle of the trigger shoe.

More to follow.......

[jitu sati]

dear hvj1
l need to start right from the beginning. hence how about starting with the basics of stance, holding and trigger operation and breathing
jitu

[jitu sati]

thx for the holding tips
does the small finger do any work in the hold or the hold is only between the thumb web and the middle finger and the ring finger
jitu

[hvj1]

Lesson No.1 (Contd....)
1. The small finger is placed just the same as the other two fingers, make sure that the tips of the finger do not press the gripp on the left hand side.
2. The small finger is in contact with the palm rest. Make sure that the fingers are not compressed, the palm rest must firmly support the palm, not cutting of the blood circulation of the small finger, or causing the entire palm to cup.
Lesson No.2
Sight adjustment.
1. The gap between the front sight and the rear sights must be in the ratio of 1:2:1, or another way of explaining this is that the gap between the front and rear sights should be 1/2 the width of the front sight. Therefore, if the front sight is 4.5 mm, then both gaps, left and right of the front sight should be half of the front sight or roughly 2.2 mm.
2. Checking the natural alignment of sights:
(a) Take the grip as directed, face a blank white wall, lift the pistol to shoulder height, check the sight alignment, do not make corrections. bring the pistol down, lift it again, check the natural alignment of sights. Repeat the process and confirm which direction the front sight is positioned in relation to the rear sights.
3. If the front sight is consistently to the left edge of the rear sight or consistently towards the right edge of the rear sight, then,TWO adjustments are available in the rear sight itself. You will see two small screws at the base of the rear sight, one placed on the left and the other on the right. Tightining the screws, will make the rear sight edges close.
Therefore if the front sight is moving to the left, then open or move the rear left screw in the anticlockwise direction, very slowly, check whether the rear edge of the left hand rear sight has moved away from the front sight. If it has, then proceed very gradually to create an opening between the front sight and the left hand rear sight to desired gap discussed in point 1.
Likewise, the right hand screw of the rear sight should be closed so that the gap reduces to the desired distance.
4. Do not force the screws at any point, because they have a limited travel distance.
Do these things and then post your reply, we will take it up from there.

[shooter]

dear hvj1,
thanks to google, i know who you are and am now able to blackmail you into writing a similar thread for rifle shooting.
I had made a similar request 2 yrs ago to another shooter but i guess he didnt have time.
many thanks.