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1st time shooting 9mm advise needed

Johnny, don't feel bad and don't get discouraged. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a new shooter as well, just got my LTC this winter. I also have a .22, which I can shoot respectably for a noob.

But when I tried my brother-in-law's Ruger P89 9mm, I was all over the place. Some shots I couldn't even figure out where they went. I was limp-wristing it so bad I was getting stovepipes every third shot or so.

Nevertheless, I'm not getting scared off - I know it's just a learning experience. This weekend I picked up my own 9mm - a Beretta 92FS - which I'm going to go shoot this afternoon for the first time. I'm sure I'll suck, but I don't care. I'm going to keep at it till I can shoot it well.

Hang in there.
 
Thanks, I shot again yesterday and did much better with both the sr9 and the m&p. I am used to the bang now and I am not flinching


zzrider said:
Johnny, don't feel bad and don't get discouraged. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a new shooter as well, just got my LTC this winter. I also have a .22, which I can shoot respectably for a noob.

But when I tried my brother-in-law's Ruger P89 9mm, I was all over the place. Some shots I couldn't even figure out where they went. I was limp-wristing it so bad I was getting stovepipes every third shot or so.

Nevertheless, I'm not getting scared off - I know it's just a learning experience. This weekend I picked up my own 9mm - a Beretta 92FS - which I'm going to go shoot this afternoon for the first time. I'm sure I'll suck, but I don't care. I'm going to keep at it till I can shoot it well.

Hang in there.
Click to expand...
 
Practice will help

One thing I find helps is to shoot .22 for 10 rounds...then 3 in the 9mm. Then 10 .22, back to 3 in the 9mm. I post up 2 targets and can gauge my accuracy with each caliber. From there you can see if it's a bad habit cuz it will show on both targets...or caliber/gun related. There is a target out there too that shows all the positions and wherever your group is can tell you what you are doing to cause the problem. Another consideration too is the sight may be off. My .22 was way high and needed a different front sight for example.

Take your time...at first do ONE shot at a time...take a break in between...breath, sight allignment, stance, trigger pull, follow through, etc...do that religiously until you are happy then you can loosen up a bit and have some fun.

You will develop your routine in time...but seriously good advice in the replies...take it back to basics - go slowly and deliberately, you'll get it!

Do yourself the BIGGEST favor, pick up Combat Focus Shooting by Rob Pincus. It will take you above and beyond where you could get in 2 years on your own.

http://www.icestore.us/servlet/the-DVDs/Categories

Good luck!

Steve
www.zombieoutfitters.net
 
i have a couple of suggestions that are the based of what we teach, First, download and print the following
http://www.neshooters.com/awerbuck.pdf and
http://www.neshooters.com/anatomy.pdf

The first is the shooting error chart developed by Louis Awerbuck and the second is an article that I wrote that covers everything that you need to know about how to shoot one perfect shot.

Someone mentioned flinching. There are a number of good ways to cure this bad habit. Wear ear plugs under your muffs. Do the ball and dummy drill.
The best way to cure it is with trigger control. Pick up the slack in the trigger, press the trigger very slowly and continue to add pressure until the shot happens. You goal is for the shot to happen as a complete surprise to you. You are not stupid and you know that if you continue to add pressure to the trigger the gun will shoot. All that should be a surprise is the exact moment when it happens. If the shot is indeed a surprise, than how can you flinch? You body and mind will not know exactly when to flinch. This is the way that I shoot all of the time and, yes, it can be done very fast.

Do Not look to see your hits until the sights are back on the target. If you look earlier you will miss.
 
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Great suggestions; I thank you, because I myself have had some difficulty when going from my SR9 to a Glock 21. I was great with the first mag in each, and then I think I just got lax, anticipated the recoil/bang, started flinching, etc. Johnny & ZZ: I, too, am a noob, and I feel your frustration at times. Good luck!! Happy shooting!
 
A week ago, we were teaching a group of armed guards to shoot and pass the Mass Police shooting qualification. The next to worst shooter in the class was shooting poorly and he had been coached for a day and a half. It was now 1 hour before he was due to shoot the qualification. We spent a few minutes with him shooting during a class break. We finally got him to get surprise breaks without ambushing the target. After everyone had shot the qualification, he had the best score and beat a combat Marine.

There are a lot of ways to teach someone to shoot and to break their bad habits. The problem is that the coach or instructor has to know which technique to use and when to use it. The coach also has to know what he is seeing to cure a problem. Some of the things that we look for are very subtle and easy to miss. Once a problem is diagnosed and the proper correction applied and practiced, now you need someone to shoot with that can correct you when you err. Join me some time and I will see if I can help you
 
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting with Johnny P and found that he could, indeed shoot a 9mm very well. The problem that he was having was, (are you ready?) the abysmal trigger on his Smith M&P 9, His trigger was very close to the worst trigger that I have ever encountered. We gave up on his gun very quickly and I had him shoot my M&P 9 which has a LaRocca trigger job. After a bit on the basics and 50 rounds, I demonstrated a one hole drill and asked him to do it. He did the drill very well with astonishing results. Thus I am forced to say the Johnny P is a fraud, He can shoot a 9mm. I suspect that his M&P will be in the talented hands of Mike Larocca very shortly.
 
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Jim/Johnny,

I'm glad you two got a chance to meet up. I'm a little sad because MY M&P 9 was formerly the worst you've ever seen. I guess I'll have to pass the torch to Johnny. I knew Johnny could do it, his first ever outing with his MkIII he was getting all his rounds on the target at 50'!
 
JimConway said:
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting with Johnny P and found that he could, indeed shoot a .9mm very well. The problem that he was having was, (are you ready?) the abysmal trigger on his Smith M&P 9, His trigger was very close to the worst trigger that I have ever encountered. We gave up on his gun very quickly and I had him shoot my M&P 9 which has a LaRocca trigger job. After a bit on the basics and 50 rounds, I demonstrated a one hole drill and asked him to do it. He did the drill very well with astonishing results. Thus I am forced to say the Johnny P is a fraud, He can shoot a .9mm. I suspect that his M&P will be in the talented hands of Mike Larocca very shortly.
Click to expand...

Might wanna check your caliber. [wink]
 
I am holding a press conference soon to retract all my previous statements. 1 hr with Master Jedi Jim Conway was enough to show me that even I can shoot a gun accurately. Jim is an amazing shooter and a very interesting storyteller. Thanks Jim!!!!



JimConway said:
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting with Johnny P and found that he could, indeed shoot a .9mm very well. The problem that he was having was, (are you ready?) the abysmal trigger on his Smith M&P 9, His trigger was very close to the worst trigger that I have ever encountered. We gave up on his gun very quickly and I had him shoot my M&P 9 which has a LaRocca trigger job. After a bit on the basics and 50 rounds, I demonstrated a one hole drill and asked him to do it. He did the drill very well with astonishing results. Thus I am forced to say the Johnny P is a fraud, He can shoot a 9mm. I suspect that his M&P will be in the talented hands of Mike Larocca very shortly.
Click to expand...
 
Yes Mike, I am now a charter member of the crappy trigger club.


eisenhow said:
Jim/Johnny,

I'm glad you two got a chance to meet up. I'm a little sad because MY M&P 9 was formerly the worst you've ever seen. I guess I'll have to pass the torch to Johnny. I knew Johnny could do it, his first ever outing with his MkIII he was getting all his rounds on the target at 50'!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, Johnny P.
Every shooter that I work with presents a unique set of chalenges. One of my pleasures is solving puzzles, but it takes a shooter that wants the problem solved before I can do any good.
This thread offered a number of ways to improve his shooting and I am sure that all of the ways are good suggestions.
 
JimConway said:
Thanks, Johnny P.
Every shooter that I work with presents a unique set of chalenges. One of my pleasures is solving puzzles, but it takes a shooter that wants the problem solved before I can do any good.
This thread offered a number of ways to improve his shooting and I am sure that all of the ways are good suggestions.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jimmy... Looking forward to shooting with you again soon. Have a good night...

Jp
 
Johnny P
It is great when a plan works. I have you hooked and all that I have to do now is to reel you in. Lets see, You want to master the 9mm and then start on a .45 ACP. I think I see a nice paid vacation coming up, maybe another trip to Gunsite.
 
JimConway said:
Johnny P
It is great when a plan works. I have you hooked and all that I have to do now is to reel you in. Lets see, You want to master the 9mm and then start on a .45 ACP. I think I see a nice paid vacation coming up, maybe another trip to Gunsite.
Click to expand...

Where is gunsite? That sounds like a cool trip for sure. Yes you are correct Jim, the bug has bitten! I may be up at Westford Sat am about 9:00 am to kill some cardboard.
 
JOHNNY P said:
Once I master the 9mm I want to try out a .45
Click to expand...

Ignore the recoil. Concentrate on the basics you already know. Advanced shooting techniques are just mastery of the basics.

Besides, .45ACP recoil is nothing. .44 Magnum is where it begins to get interesting.
 
Jose said:
Ignore the recoil. Concentrate on the basics you already know. Advanced shooting techniques are just mastery of the basics.

Besides, .45ACP recoil is nothing. .44 Magnum is where it begins to get interesting.
Click to expand...

I am now considering adding the M&P .45 to my collection which will soon be put in for a trigger job. Damm this hobby is getting expensive
 
you need more practice thats all , when i first shot a 9mm i couldnt hit the broad side of a barn, now i can get well inside the bullseye with my 9mm it take spractice on the sights cuz they are harder to aim then a rifle sights.
 
Johnny
I suggest that you do not get another M&P. It has just come to my attention that the LA Sherriff's Department has dumped the M&P for too many malfunctions. Consider a 1911
 
Its good to mix it up some with variety anyway... two M&P's seems a bit redundant even if the caliber differs. Now, two Glocks or two 1911s, I could go for. The only guns I have in multiples is AR15.
 
JimConway said:
Johnny
I suggest that you do not get another M&P. It has just come to my attention that the LA Sherriff's Department has dumped the M&P for too many malfunctions. Consider a 1911
Click to expand...

Good idea Jim, I was looking at the 1911's last week. Sharp looking piece. I am beginning to get deadly with both my m&p and the sr9 even with the crappy trigger. I shot at 50 ft indoor this week and was mostly in the black. It's starting to get fun now
 
JimConway said:
Johnny
I suggest that you do not get another M&P. It has just come to my attention that the LA Sherriff's Department has dumped the M&P for too many malfunctions. Consider a 1911
Click to expand...

I would withhold judgement until I know more about this.

One PD's experience makes it a rule? I don't think so.
 
While I'm not a huge M+P fan, I wouldn't dump a gun strictly because some LE agency decided to dump theirs. There are lots of factors and politics that go into LE duty gun selections, among other things, a lot of which don't really apply to us. As an entity, we're some guy that owns a few guns, not a "fleet" of 1000 of the things or whatever the PD
uses.

-Mike
 

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