Gun Help

[Randy McFall]

I recently purchased a Taurus Millennium Pro 9mm in titanium. I am having a problem when sighting the gun. The gun has heine straight 8 sights. I am used to lining up the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight. When I aim like this I am hitting about a foot low and and about 3inches to the left. I have tried to aim the gun several different ways but still with no success. I am pretty sure part of the problem is me, however I think that I can shoot better than I have been able to do with this gun. I do not have much experience with pistols but I grew up shooting a 22 pistol with a 6 inch barrel and I could shoot it pretty well. This gun only has a 3.25" barrel. I have been shooting between 20 and 25 feet. Can someone give me some pointers on these sights or this gun. I have read comments on other sights that says it is common for a new shooter to shoot low and to the left. If this is correct, what can I do to improve my aim. I want to improve my shooting so I can take the course for the CCW permit. Any help will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks

RM58

 

[Greg Meyer]

Gunsmith time... Rich Heine's (childhpood acquaintance, we grew up in Quincy, Illinois, where he still lives and works) sight is "drift" adjustable for windage... That is a "skill" left to professionals. Low, indicates that the dront dight is too tall.



All of the testing/sighting in should be from a supported hold... (resting the heels of both hands on something solid like sandbags...



Just as with a rifle, don't try to sight-in from an supported hold, off-hand.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

And Greg's "windage" just went over my head.:huh: I understand the 'Drift' Greg but what the heck is a 'Dront Dight'?

As for sighting I agree 100% that it should be done with a solid/supported hold. Just makes sense!



Uncle Billy

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Unk - He meant FRONT SIGHT! The "F" is next to the "D" on the keyboard. LOL

 

[fatrap]

How are you holding the pistol? Teacupping? Douple grip? One handed? That pistol is a Double Action only and takes more trigger pull than a single action. Shooting low may mean your torquing the front of the pistol down while pulling the trigger. Shooting to the left puzzles me as most right handers shoot to the right with hold problems. Have at least two different people shoot the pistol and see how they do. If they're a mirror copy of your problems you might have a gun problem. More than likely with that modle it's a matter of practicing, practicing. With an unlnoaded weapon pointed in a safe direction dry fire it and have someone watch the muzzle to see if it's jumping or pulling one way or the other up or down. Most ranges will have an experience individual who can watch your and diganose your problem if you have one.

I spent some serious change $$ changing one of my 1911's to a adjustable rear sight only to find out the problem was me. A little observation and correction and it's amazing how accurate that 45 got. Good luck

fatrap

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

:lol::lol::lol: I know Bill!:lol::lol::lol: I've done that more than I want to remember but in this case I just wanted to tease Greg a little bit.. I know he'll get me back



Uncle Billy

 

[Carlos Hathcock III]

Agree with Greg and fatrap.



More then likely as youa re getting ready for the trigger to break, you are having to exert an extra ammount of force to get the trigger to break and this happens just as the hammer is getting ready to fall and recoil commences. The error is then hidden by recoil, so the shot looks like it was "good" to your eye and you think that the zero is off. This is also compounded by your short barrel length.



Try this and be HONEST with yourself.



NO AMMO in the pistol and dry fire. Watch your sights all the way through the trigger pull and then watch then "bounce" when the hammer is ready to fall. It also helps that you have an assistant that stands over your right shoulder and can watch the trigger pull and hammer fall to see what happend.



A possible way to fix is to DRY FIRE a lot to get used to the triger pull. Plus, it may help that you do nto try and squeeze the double action all the way though the full range until the hammer falls. You may need to pull the trigger until the hammer gets ready to break and then slow down and squeeze the last couple of ounces so that the hammer falls smoothly and not with a trigger jerk kind of action. This also helps when you have quick draw kind of situations.



Hope that this helps somewhat. I am sure that you will get some more answers from other folks that are more pistol shots then I am as my forte is really the rifle.



Carlos

 

[Greg Meyer]

The "Front Sight" is too tall if it shoots low... But, fiorst, I agree wholeheatedly with the advice to dry fire and watch the sight picture.



"Pushing" in anticipation of the recoil will cause right handed shooters to fire low and left (low and right for left handed shooters.



A possible improvement in the "hold" might result from using a technique that involves (I hope this gets through... it's easier to show than describe) laying your head and right cheek down against your right shoulder, locking your elbow and your right arm "straight", face forward with both feet slightly spread 12-16" (a line between your feet would be at 90 degrees from the line to the target and the target face would be parallel to your feet). Use your left hand to wrap around the fingers of your right hand and then pull back against your rigid right arm with your left elbow bent slightly. This turn the right arm into a "rifle stock". Now, squeeze that double action triger slowly. Also, in DA don't udse the tip of your finger. Instead, use the area under the first knuckle (it imparts the straightest movement of the finger in the long double action pull).



Good luck.



And, now I disclaim any control over my stupid fingers at the keyboard! With a pistol I might just put your eye out!

 

[Larry Morganstern]

See if this correction chart might help.



http://shootingsafely.com/correction.jpg

 

[Randy McFall]

Thanks guys for the pointers. Is it ok to dry fire the pistol empty or do I need some dry caps. I am fairly new to this so I don't know much about dry caps but have seen them mentioned in some threads on other websites.



Thanks,

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

With a pistol I might just put your eye out!

SooooOkieDokey, I guess I'll stop teasing Greg now.:unsure: If he can shoot my eye out from Elgin, IL with a pistol, he's NOT to be messed with!! Even if he wasn't Airborne.



Uncle Billy

 

[Randy McFall]

Fatrap, usually using a double grip.



RM

 

[fatrap]

What helps me (A little trick I was shown) when your in a double grip have the thumb of your left hand ontop the thumb of the right hand. As your squeezing the trigger put pressure on your right thumb with your left thumb pushing downward slightly. This helps counter the torque your trigger finger applies to the pistol.

The front sight should harldy move when doing dry firing (with a checked empty pistol)drills.

Practice, practice and then practice again. Once you make it instinct you can pretty much shoot any revolver/pistol and do well right off the start. I have RARELY encountered a quality pistol that was off from a factory oversight. I've had one that didn't like a certain ammo as well as others. My .40 loves 180 grain bullets not so much 155 grains. Ditto with the .10 mm. 180's. All of my .357's love 158 grains better than 125's. And so on.

fatrap

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

For home protection, I have a shotgun. Plain and simple, I can shoot from the hip...multiple times (full auto) and be pretty confident I'm not going to hit the neighbors house.:lol: Problem is with the wife. Gun safe, trigger lock, and tucked away in the lower level, my chit would be at the pawn shop before I could get to it!!:lol::lol:



TOXIC

 

[Bill McElroy]

LOL @ Tox,..Deanna's just protecting your Menards!!...My wife had the same feelings when my kids were little,....but now that they're both away to college AND we had two B&E's a block from my house recently,..not to mention 40% of the cops in Pontiac (5 miles away) laid off....she doesn't say squat when she see's my heat on my hip or in the bedroom!!



Tox,...have her sit down with you sometime and watch about 3 episodes of "Cops" or "Cold Case Files".....she won't have any more issues with you wanting to protect your chit or HER!