I keep shooting to the left

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Glenn
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I keep shooting to the left

Post by Glenn » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:49 pm

I had the day off yesterday, so I spent some time at the range. I was there for about 2 hours and probably shot about 200-300 rounds. On a random sidenote, I had only one failure to feed, despite it being 21F outside. So, the MKIII 22/45 shoots very well in the cold. 8)

I was using a Midway target I found online...at maybe 50 feet away? I'm not sure of the exact distance. I have the gun sighted in faily well, but I kept hitting the target in the upper left area. I did a little digging and it seems I'm either not pulling the trigger smoothly or anticipating recoil.

I know a lot of you have been in this longer than I have, so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

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toyfj40
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Post by toyfj40 » Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:11 pm

there are 'Analysis Targets' (for North -and- South "paws")
to give you a first-level-feedback on what to look for...

many examples exist, here is one I "gurgled"..
http://www.makarov.com/funstuff.html

good luck. -toy

Blindpig

Post by Blindpig » Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:48 pm

Glenn, you didn't say how far you were missing your POA but could some of that be attributable to the cold weather? I know I don't shoot very well when I get that cold. I wouldn't think it was anticipation of recoil; that's usually not a problem with a .22, more likely to happen with something like a .45. Try Toy's suggestion on the analysis targets; they work pretty well for most folks.

Glenn
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Post by Glenn » Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:51 pm

Thanks!

Here's a pic of my targets. Now that I look at them all lined up, I certainly have quite a left bias! I was shooting in gloves because of the temp, but they were thinner and the only dexterity issues I had was when loading my magazines.

Image

greener

Post by greener » Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:56 pm

Toy's link is pretty good. I've also found this one helpful. It has bullet holes for, so I don't have to remember my letters.

http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/grp-analysis.pdf

Glenn
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Post by Glenn » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:22 pm

I'm going back to the range Saturday. It should be warmer out, so that should test the cold weather theory.

greener,
cool link! Maybe I need to adjust my sights as well...

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toyfj40
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Post by toyfj40 » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:38 pm

greener wrote:grp-analysis.pdf
hmmm "Group Analysis"... is that anything like: "Group Therapy" ??
8)

greener

Post by greener » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:11 pm

toyfj40 wrote:
greener wrote:grp-analysis.pdf
hmmm "Group Analysis"... is that anything like: "Group Therapy" ??
8)
I'm Bob, and I have a problem...

Glenn,

Try "natural point of aim". Sight on the target, bring the pistol down, close your eyes and bring the pistol back up. If you are not pointing toward the center of the target, shift your feet to bring it on line. Just a thought, you may be shifted a bit left.

Glenn
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Post by Glenn » Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:30 am

Thanks greener, I'll give that a try.

Blindpig

Post by Blindpig » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:07 am

Glenn, you mentioned wearing gloves because of the cold and I thought I'd share this with the gang. I've always disliked the available shooting gloves for one reason or another but I've finally found something that works for me. I bought a pair of winter golf gloves made by FootJoy. They're only about 20 bucks at the discount golf shops and give you a great feel while still keeping your hands pretty darn warm. I may even use them on the course when spring golf season rolls around. Also, they're black so the guys at the range don't know I'm mixing my sports equipment!

DancesWithSquirrels
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Glove Color

Post by DancesWithSquirrels » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:25 pm

I guess the guys at your range might wonder about pink shooting gloves. :lol:

greener

Re: Glove Color

Post by greener » Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:45 pm

DancesWithSquirrels wrote:I guess the guys at your range might wonder about pink shooting gloves. :lol:
Only if they clash with the rest of your ensemble. At my range, one wouldn't have brown shoes and a black range bag. :D

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Bullseye
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Post by Bullseye » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:30 pm

Well, those shots are all definitely to the left. Have you tested yourself for eye dominance and determined which is your dominant eye? Many folks think just because they're right-handed that their dominant eye is the right one, but this is not true for all shooters. About 30% are actually cross-eye dominant. For one reason or another their brains have swapped their dominant eye over to the stronger of the two eyes - not uncommon for people since we have binocular vision for depth perception.

Image

By cupping your hands in this manner, you can keep both eyes open and use them to see a distant object through the small opening between the fingers. Then retract the hands back toward your face, all while keeping the distant object in clear view. Your hands should align with the dominant eye and move rearward toward that eye. That is your dominant eye.

Another method is to look at the object through the hands (as shown above) with both eyes open. Next alternately close one eye at a time. The eye that allows the object to be seen without moving the hands is the dominant one.

Also check to ensure that your rear sight is close to the centerline of your pistol. If its not then it may be off causing the shots to be left even thought the sight picture is proper. http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3 and http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4

There's a lot to read and try here so I'll let you look at some of this and then I'll comment more if you have some questions.

Here is my version of the target analysis wheel.

Image

Image

Hope this helps.

R,
Bullseye
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Glenn
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Post by Glenn » Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:50 am

Bullseye,
I just read and printed your entire sight thread. Excellent info. I also did the eye test. Looks like I am right eye dominant.

That did bring back some memories though. Back in the day, I used to shoot bb guns once a week with a group. I remember being able to shoot both right and left eye. I should really pick up a rifle and see if I can still do that.

Blindpig

Re: Glove Color

Post by Blindpig » Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:54 am

DancesWithSquirrels wrote:I guess the guys at your range might wonder about pink shooting gloves. :lol:
Not at my club. You should see some of the hats these guys wear! :lol:

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