Shooting off center

[Marshal Hangtree 1,098]

Took my new to me .45 Gaucho's to the range for an abbreviated trial.  When shooting right handed, rounds were hitting about 6" left at 15 yards.  Shot 1 round two handed with a death grip and the round hit dead center.  Shot a few rounds left handed, and they all went about 6" right.  Obviously the error factor is my grip.  I've shot semi-auto's for the last 30 or so years, so the single action grip is still fairly new to me.  Any suggestions?

 

Also, do most here shoot with a fairly loose grip and let the revolver roll back upon recoil, or do you apply a very firm grip trying to control recoil.  I've always used a two handed "death grip" with my semi's, squeezing the grip so hard that your knuckles turn white.  But, this may or may not be the most efficient grip on old single actions.

[Springfield Slim SASS #24733 329]

You can do what a lot of trainers do. Leave one or two of the chambers empty, then spin the cylinder so that you don't know which ones are loaded. I bet when the gun clicks on an empty chamber you will see what the problem is. IMHO a death grip is rarely the best grip.

[Matthew Duncan 691]

Pulling the trigger with too much finger.  As you curl your right trigger finger you are pulling the firearm left?

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 1,982]

Too much finger, and possibly even a flinch.

 

The trigger should be pulled by the center of the pad above the first joint of trigger finger.  If you get trigger in the joint bend, it is SO easy to pull a revolver left (right handed) or right (lefty).

 

A flinch is suppressed by a tight two handed grip.  But a tight grip is not conducive to quick trigger work and fairly accurate shooting.  So you need to learn to pull trigger properly.  ESPECIALLY so if you want to shoot duelist style.

 

Yes, it's you, not the guns.

 

Good luck, GJ

 

 

 

[Howlin Mad Murdock SASS #4037 50]

I have the same problem, tried all the usual fixes, could not consistently move my point of impact towards point of aim.

 

I just hold on the right edge of the target for right hand and left edge of the target with left hand.  Been pretty consistent and successful with that technique for 20+ years now.  I don't even think about it now.  I can get nice groups about 4" right or left depending.

 

YMMV.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 5,652]

Maybe the start of 'flinch'.

What part of the finger, do you put on the trigger?

I hook my little finger under the grip.

OLG

[Widder, SASS #59054 4,907]

I like the 'too much trigger' info.

AND...I would also close my non-dominant eye because you may be 'cross viewing' your front sight 

if both eyes are open.

 

..........Widder

 

[J-BAR #18287 3,307]

Have a friend who is a good shot shoot your guns before doing anything else.

 

Grip pressure affects how the gun recoils, and recoil affects point of impact, as you have already proven to yourself.

 

You are looking at some range time for experimentation,  which is a great excuse to burn ammo.  

 

I personally don’t like to use Kentucky windage.  I can tolerate vertical dispersion better than horizontal dispersion but each shooter has to decide what degree of imperfection they can tolerate.  For me, 6”  to the side would make me nauseous.

[Jailhouse Jim, SASS #13104 470]

What you are doing is over gripping, that is, gripping the handgun too tight.  As you press the trigger, subconsciously you are tightening your grip even more which will push the muzzle towards the support side.

 

You are likely doing the same thing with a two-handed grip but are able to compensate with your support hand.

 

The remedy is to lighten your grip to have control but not a death grip.  Use the pad of your trigger finger to press the trigger steadily until the discharge.  Concentrate on your sights as they come back on target while keeping the trigger fully depressed.  Release the trigger as you cock the hammer.

 

Dry fire practice and ball and dummy drills help to gain control of an engrained bad habit.  Another good drill is to hold a retractable pen between your thumb, middle, and fourth finger while pressing the button as if it were a trigger without increasing pressure with your gripping digits.

 

Remember, gripping tighter, especially one-handed, will make it worse.  Some folks benefit from using the first joint of your trigger finger to help compensate for over-, gripping.

[Lazy Eeyour 26]

This was written for a 1911 but worth looking at.

http://bullseyepistol.com/training.htm

[Ramblin Gambler 831]

This is similar to lazy eeyour's link. 

 

 

And if I understand what you saw, this is one with more information on it.  I think this is likely your problem because I personally put too much finger on the trigger of an SAA due to the dimensions of it.  To answer your other question, my grip is loose with an SAA because I want it to roll back for cocking.  BTW, I'm assuming a gaucho is an SAA clone because of where you posted this.  I don't think I've ever heard that phrase applied to a pistol before. 

 

 

[Nasty Newt # 7365 259]

18 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Maybe the start of 'flinch'.

What part of the finger, do you put on the trigger?

I hook my little finger under the grip.

OLG

I do the same thing with my little finger.  Remember Choctaw?  He used to win Senior at EOT every year, and everywhere else he shot.  I once heard him opine after a match at West End that serious shooters might as well just amputate their little finger, as all it does is get in the way.  But he still had his little finger.   

[The Original Lumpy Gritz 5,652]

I do recall-

The little finger is an aid for me for SASS/CAS, as it helps to control the 'roll' of the revolver in recoil.

I won't do the finger under the grip thing, when shooting my Freedom Arms .454 Casull with full loads. 

OLG

[Cholla Hill Tirador 38]

  When I got into SA shooting at beyond 25 yds., I spent lots of time bending front sights because all my revolvers shot to the left, or so I thought, ... same as most everyone else's. It has/had nothing to do with the revolvers, but my lack of the application of a principle known as follow though. I actually learned this in High Power competition, but never thought to apply it to revolver shooting. It basically means allowing the firearm to physically "do its thing" after the sear breaks, and not influencing with various pressures on the grip and trigger. A handgun silhouette shooter said to think of your handgun as a flintlock with a veeeery slow lock time. The idea is to NOT move or influence the revolver between the time the sear breaks and the bullet exits the barrel. It's not difficult to do, it just takes concentration. Here's a pretty good write-up on the subject-

 

Follow Through in Pistol Shooting

 

 Regarding grip, somewhere between a death grip and limp wristing, but always consistent.

 

 Cholla

[Waimea 513]

Shoot Outlaw.

All your current troubles disappear...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....only to be replaced with a new set.