March Range

I went to the Range last week. Friday. To practice my 1911 shooting skills. I had a couple of minor epiphanies! Is my shooting WAY better now, cloverleafing the bull like Brigid does? No. It is noticeably better, though. More than 'baby steps' improvement. Toddler, maybe.

But first!

I rented a snubbie. I have never fired a good snub nosed revolver. I wanted to try one in case I hated it. No use buying a gun you know you hate, and a snub nosed revolver is on my list for future acquisitions. And the range had a nice bubinga-wood grip Model 60 in the case so...







Ok. I feel like a fool. I was letting the front sight ride too high in the notch. As though there was an invisible adjustable rear sight I was peeking through, instead of the back strap groove that serves as the rear sight on snubbies. So my shooting sucked until I grokked that out. That front sight just fooled me by being so big on this particular revolver. Once I leveled the top of the front sight with the rear sight groove I was then happy as a pig in poop. It shot as well as my 686 using Double Action. You can shoot a Model 60 Single Action, but then Ahab and Xavier will laugh at you, so I mostly did DA. Very serviceable, and I'd trust one as a pocket carry pistol EASILY. Very happy with that. The trick I gelled from one of Tam's old posts is to just squeeze through on double action. Don't stage or 'take up the slack.' Just squeeze it.


I used wad cutters for this. They punch nice holes when they down tear away huge strips of target paper.

This is the first target of the session. 5 rounds of .38 and 7 rounds of 1911.





Yeah, crappy all around.

Here is a later target where halfway through I figured out what I was doing wrong with the revolver sights and started landing in the black. They are the big clean round holes:







(The others are raggedy 1911 ball ammo. All ranges are 25 feet. The .45 ACP is Remington. No name .38 wadcutters.)



~~~



Back to the 1911.


Remember, my flaw is low and right. The standard explanation for lefties with this flaw is jerking the trigger or anticipating the boom and flinching a little bit.


Well, a while back I wanted to see if maybe I wasn't also pinching a bit. Pinching is when you move OTHER fingers on the shooting hand while you are pulling the trigger. It's natural to pinch your fingers to pick up something and the hand just wants to do that. This natural tendency is bad for shooting. To test if it was hurting me I extended my little finger of my shooting hand, as if I was drinking tea with the Queen.


Well, what do you know! HIGH and right now. It's an awkward way to shoot, with that finger sticking out, and I need to test to see what ELSE my darn sympathetic hand movements are doing, but it makes me SEE that I can effect where the bullet falls. Dry fire practice where I consciously move only that trigger finger will be key. The 1911 and other Single Action semi-autos and me must be a little picky with tiny movements.

Note the mostly raggedy hole low and right. These are from regular gripping. The scattered high and right on that bottom shoot-n-see is pinky extended. I still leave that left side all clean...

More importantly, I've improved my trigger squeeze with single action with a single word. That word is: Tickle.

You've heard people say "Squeeze, don't jerk" and "Front sight, presssss." So I've been using/thinking those words when I am shooting.

"Aim. Squeeeeeeze." Goes through my head. Or, "Front sight. Pressssss." And they work ok, but it's not getting me the ideal squeezed trigger.

When I think to just tickle that trigger into firing it is just sneaking up on the Single Action break of the trigger. It's a lighter, gentler squeeze. When I think 'tickle,' I am not slowing down, but I am doing a proper trigger pull. It's surprising me better. And a tickle is probably helping to keep those other fingers moving sympathetically. "Front sight.... Tickle..."

Does a tickle put my rounds on the bull? No. But it does densely group them in the same neighborhood. Yay! Look at that target and compare to the target at the very top. All in the black shoot-n-see for the most part, and the cold target would have most OUTSIDE the black. All 'tickle,' helping, there. And warming up. And the shoot-n-see positive feedback.

~~~

Oh, and last time I had issues with the slide not being strong enough to chamber a round. The theories at the time was not enough lube on the slide, or loading 8 rounds in a magazine. I have more lube and didn't shoot 8 rounds at a pop this time, and didn't have the minor Failure to Feed malfunction. I'm not going to lube up so much after cleaning this time, and test it with 8 rounds in a mag versus 7 next time at the range. I am betting Tam is right again, and a dry gun plus 8 rounds will malf, and 7 won't.