Can't hit the broad side of a barn...

2370 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by ministerofdeath, May 29, 2006

G

Discussion Starter · May 22, 2006

Went shooting my M9 today and can't figure out what is going on. I'm fairly new with a handgun but I shouldn't be having the trouble I'm having. I set up a small target about 30 yards away and I hit all around it. When I tried to compensate one way or the other I messed up even more. Any shooting advise would be appreciated. I'm also having a misfire every 10-15 shots. Pull the trigger and nothing happens. I have to eject the bullet in the chamber and reload a new one to shoot again. Is there a maintenance issue here? The gun is brand new by the way.

Thanks

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madecov

· #2 · May 22, 2006

You may need to strip the slide and clean the Firing pin channel. The M series was discontinued years ago and old lube may have caked inside.
If you lube the firing pin use a Q-tip and very very lighly lube the metal/spring.

As for aim, sight picture of the Steyr sights is just like the logo on the box.

Align the front triangle sight evenly between the the 2 rear angled lines with the triangle covering the point of aim/impact. lightly squeeze the trigger while holding your breath. Be sure to have a decent proper grip on the handgun. Take your time. Practice, practice, practice. It will "click" into place after a while.

bigtaco

· #3 · May 22, 2006

whoa whoa whoa!!!!

new to handguns and trying 30 yards? that's a fairly long shot with a handgun for experienced shooters. most schools of combat handgun only really deal with 25 yards as a maximum.

there are too many pointers to get into on a forum post like this but, start with idpasteyr's grip tutorial. dry fire at home a lot. (dry firing won't hurt your pistol) you want to hear click and see sights stay on target through the whole trigger pull.

start at 10 yards and aim at a black dot the size of a quarter. when you can make one ragged hole, move it to twelve yards etc... on back to 25 yards. probably won't get one ragged hole past 15 yards. bound to be a flyer. the gun is capable of 3" groups at 25 yards. some shooters can improve on that, but consider 3" at 25 yards a good grouping to strive for.

as far as the trouble you're having, it sounds like your trigger isn't resetting. take the sub-frame out of the plastic grip and thoroughly clean everything. there is a good basic cleaning tutorial in the tutorials section. give that a try, get it good and broken in (about 500 rounds) and we'll go from there.

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hud

· #4 · May 22, 2006

It could be you are running the gun a little too dry. I had a problem with my S40 not returning to battery because it was too dry. I thought it was misfiring, but it just wouldn't fire because it wasn't locked up! After I found out what the problem was, and lubed it I haven't had a single incident since.

G

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 22, 2006

heck, move into 5 or 7 yards to start, that way you can instantly see our shots.

But don't shoot, then look up then shoot agin, do everything in 3 (or later 5) shot groups and try to make each shot just like the last one. Then average your group and adjust your next group.

try shooting it "from the bench". Rest the gun on something (like sandbags) to steady it and just work on learning your sight picture and squeezing the trigger nice and easy.

Dry fire as mentioned (triple check gun is empty), balance an empty case on your slide and pull the trigger so the sights don't move and the case doesn't even wiggle.

on a new gun do the suggested maintenances and break-in before you start blaming the gun (also try the grip tutorial mentioned and/or let others shoot it, it could be you).

but all this is just armchair coaching; try to see about getting into a local class or find someone w/ more experience and good abilities to help you
hands on.
What area are you in? maybe one of us is close, or even knows a good instructor in your area.

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alagator

· #6 · May 22, 2006

SAFETY TIP FOR DRY FIRING--
A reminder to newcomer to pistols--when you drop the magazine, the pistol is not completely unloaded- there is still a round in the chamber. After dropping the magazine, rack the slide to remove the chambered round. Visually check for empty chamber, release the slide, visually and/or tactilely check the loaded chamber indicater, then be sure your first dry-fire snap is pointed at something you can afford to replace. Some people even have a special place for dry-firing only. They empty the pistol in another room, leaving all magazines and ammunition outside the area where they dry fire, then only dry-firing in that special place. When finished, they reverse the procedure, and remind themselves several times that the pistol is now loaded and they are no longer practicing.
If you alredy know this, sorry for the redundancy. Hope you get the problems solved, Steyrs should be fun to shoot.

Syntax360

· #7 · May 22, 2006

bigtaco is right - you are trying to shoot way too far if you are new to this. I would start off a brand new shooter at 5 yards, then 7, 10, 15. Beyond that, don't expect quater size groups - they are great pistols, but a far cry from precision rifles.

Shooter

· #8 · May 22, 2006

alagator said:
SAFETY TIP FOR DRY FIRING--
A reminder to newcomer to pistols--when you drop the magazine, the pistol is not completely unloaded- there is still a round in the chamber. After dropping the magazine, rack the slide to remove the chambered round. Visually check for empty chamber, release the slide, visually and/or tactilely check the loaded chamber indicater, then be sure your first dry-fire snap is pointed at something you can afford to replace. Some people even have a special place for dry-firing only. They empty the pistol in another room, leaving all magazines and ammunition outside the area where they dry fire, then only dry-firing in that special place. When finished, they reverse the procedure, and remind themselves several times that the pistol is now loaded and they are no longer practicing.
If you alredy know this, sorry for the redundancy. Hope you get the problems solved, Steyrs should be fun to shoot.

Great ideas here..............my dryer sacraficed itself to save my washing machine last year taking a 40cal federal in the "ribs"
from my G35 ....... :roll: needed a new one anyway :lol:

ScottW

· #9 · May 22, 2006

Shooter said:
....my dryer sacraficed itself to save my washing machine last year taking a 40cal federal in the "ribs"
from my G35 ....... :roll: needed a new one anyway :lol:

Good thing the washer survived so you could launder your undies afterwards, eh? :lol:

Shooter

· #10 · May 22, 2006

ScottW said:
[Good thing the washer survived so you could launder your undies afterwards, eh? :lol:

It was surprisingly quiet. All the sound surpressing materials in the house, like carpet, couches etc really deadened the sound. I was expecting what you hear at the range, but it didn't even bother our ears a bit, it was just a surprise 8-O . I was glad it did not make it to my neighbors house................ :!:

alagator

· #11 · May 22, 2006

That's why I always stress safety, when I was a kid I had a .22 make it to a neighbor's garage/workbench. Luckily, he had just stepped outside for a smoke. I could have sworn that rifle was unloaded. Now I check every weapon I handle-- I like to see daylight shining down the barrel. If I can't see the chamber, I get my pinky finger into it. My father left the hole-punched windowpane in my bedroom until I was grown-- a silent reminder.

bigtaco

· #12 · May 23, 2006

proof positive that smoking saves lives!!!

there's still a mirrored closet door in my parents house from a bb gun AD.

my croatian army buddy says that every unloaded gun goes off once. i've never seen him dry fire any gun, and never seen him point the muzzle anywhere other than down range. even when it's in the case!

but i feel we've hijacked the thread.

back to noob handgun shooting techniques.

G

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 24, 2006

As everyone else said start at five yards and prepare to have a lot of patients-it will not happen over night. After a thousand rounds or so you should be comfortable enough to start seeing poor gripping and trigger technique. You are probably mashing the trigger trying to "snap" off a shot as the sights align. As you get more comfortable with explosions in your face you will start leaving your eyes open during the break. This is when you'll see the front post deviating just before the break. You will know that it was a good or bad shot then without even having to look. Lastly, to become a good marksman you must not only practice, practice, practice you must also educate yourself in the displine. Read books, online articles and ask others. Markmanship is an aquired skill. Try picking up a quality .22 auto and cram ALOT of ammo through it, but not more than your endurance can handle at a siting or you will just be wasting money.

G

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 25, 2006

I appreciate it everyone. I'll keep on shooting.....

ministerofdeath

· #15 · May 29, 2006

Hey,

Best thing to do is get enrolled into a basic pistol class taught by an NRA certified instructor. Classes around here take about two days with about three hours a day instruction and really is the best way to go. The price of one Basic Pistol class in my neighborhood is about $60.00 and in some cases they provide ammunition like 9mm (have to buy .40 on your own or any other).

It is just SOOOO hard to learn shooting from reading articles on the internet as there are just so many tiny things a shooter can do that will equal poor shooting. If you can't afford to take a Basic Pistol class than I would just start with a basic military pistol shooting manual and be very strict in your form taking your time to make sure you are in proper stance, grip, sight alignment, and breathing before you start shooting.

FLACHEF was 110% right when he said to go for strings of 3-5 shots so that you can check your grouping and because going out of proper stance and sight alignment will only mess you up more than help. FLACHEF was also right when he said to start at 5-7 yards...build up confidence with your pistol first. I mean CONFIDENCE IS HUGE in the world of shooting I see so many guys at the range who I know could be better shots, but they are just so worried they'll mess-up or don't have faith in their pistol yet that they shoot like crap.

Not a Single Person I have ever met (and I've met some great shooters) have ever picked up a gun for the first time and shot like an Action Hero from the movies right off the bat. It is a skill like golf or any other sport that takes time to perfect.

Good Luck...Keep Shooting...Stay Safe...Things will get Better.

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