# Some easy stuff to fine tune your pistol marksmanship...



## Diamondback 2/2 (Feb 2, 2008)

1. Dryfire against a white wall, practice until you see no movement in your sights when the hammer falls.

2. Bullet hole drill, starts at 3 yards use a white sheet of paper. Fire one shot, the hole that it makes is your target. Try to keep your group size under 1inch. Move back when you feel ready.

3. Ball and dummy, use some spent casings or you can buy some dummy rounds. Load up 3 or 4 mags with mixed live and dummy rounds. This will help you see any anticipation/ flinching problems. BE SURE TO DRYFIRE OUT A PROBLEM, DO NOT JUST EJECT THE DUMMY AND FIRE ANOTHER LIVE ROUND.

4. Call you’re shot, set up at 25 yards with a bullseye type target (about 6 inch around). Fire slow fire course of fire, 5 shots in 5 minutes. Use a spotting scope to confirm the shot, fire one shot, call where you think the shot broke at use the clock method. (i.e. 3, in the 9 ring) Confirm it with your spotting scope. The idea is to be watching your front sight post so much that you know where it was on the target when the hammer fell.

5. Buy a .22 conversion kit for your pistol, so you can stand in brass and not pay an arm and a leg for it.


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## Firosche (Feb 2, 2008)

Thanks for the tips. :cool:  I will be putting those to good use. :)


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## Cabbage Head (Feb 2, 2008)

With the dry fire practice - add (if your slide/barrel allows) a coin on top by the front sight.

This adds trying to make the shot without movement of the weapon at all.  If you anticipate the coin will fall off.

Another vareint is to place a piece of tape or some type of mark on the wall.  Stand up to the wall so far that your barrel is only about a 1/4 inch away.  Do the dry fire drill and see if there is movement when you dry fire.

Big safety reminer.  Before even doing dry fire drills.  Remove any and all live ammo from the area that your practicing in.  Then dry fire.  Always use a safe backstop.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Feb 2, 2008)

Cabbage Head said:


> With the dry fire practice - add (if your slide/barrel allows) a coin on top by the front sight.
> 
> This adds trying to make the shot without movement of the weapon at all.  If you anticipate the coin will fall off.
> 
> ...


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## JustAnotherJ (Feb 2, 2008)

awesome tips Cab...if i could add one (something that helps me a lot) is to draw a letter on the front sight with a sharpie (very fine and very small) and only when i see that letter clearly, and I'm on target, do i fire.

take it or leave it, but it helps me;)

another tip is to break the habit of looking to see where your round hit after each shot.


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## 8'Duece (Feb 3, 2008)

Those are great drills...................................I think I heard something about them when training with Vickers and Howe...........:)


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## Cabbage Head (Feb 3, 2008)

J.A.B.;128800][QUOTE=Cabbage Head said:


> With the dry fire practice - add (if your slide/barrel allows) a coin on top by the front sight.
> 
> This adds trying to make the shot without movement of the weapon at all.  If you anticipate the coin will fall off.
> 
> ...


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## Cabbage Head (Feb 3, 2008)

JustAnotherJ said:


> awesome tips Cab...if i could add one (something that helps me a lot) is to draw a letter on the front sight with a sharpie (very fine and very small) and only when i see that letter clearly, and I'm on target, do i fire.
> 
> take it or leave it, but it helps me;)
> 
> another tip is to break the habit of looking to see where your round hit after each shot.



I like that one with the letter on the front sight!  I will use it.  Thanks.

What I like to hear what others do in this reguard.  It allows me to step out of the box and listen to what others do and have been doing.

I only wish that we could do this in person and see first hand how its done.  Talk it out and show each other so that we can share it with those that need to know!


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Feb 3, 2008)

Cabbage Head;128849][QUOTE=J.A.B.;128800][QUOTE=Cabbage Head said:


> With the dry fire practice - add (if your slide/barrel allows) a coin on top by the front sight.
> 
> This adds trying to make the shot without movement of the weapon at all.  If you anticipate the coin will fall off.
> 
> ...



Okay you have some of the right ideas, but you are getting things confused. Yes every one has a wobble area, and that is an uncontrollable movement. The issue is using a coin on the sights, if you are focusing on not making the coin fall. Then you are not focusing on the sights. 

The reason to watch your sights for movement on a white wall is so that you can adjust your grip, trigger finger, and trigger control. So that the sights do not move, each pistol is different and each pistol requires a different grip, placement of trigger finger, and trigger control. Using a white wall during dryfire, allows you to build your basic platform, adjust your fundamentals to that pistol, before you go to the next step. 

If the sight breaks left, right, up, or down on a white wall. Well you know that you need to adjust to stop the issue. Either by changing your grip, your trigger finger placement or changing the control of the trigger as it moves. If you do not do this first, and you use a coin to teach your self not to move the sights. You are simply enforcing a bad habit, and figuring out a way to compensate for the bad habit, so that the coin does not fall. This is bad, especially when you start to put the other variables in affect. Such as recoil, weight difference with ammo, lighting conditions. 

The army use to use the old dime and washer drill, it was ineffective. That is why they went to the EST, and Beam hit system in stead. However, unless you have the money for those types of equipment, the above guide is a proven process. Distinguished shooters, presidents hundreds winners, and a Gold medallist taught me this. All of them taught the same thing, and it brought me to a level that is unreal.


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## DA SWO (Feb 3, 2008)

Re the coin.  Have a friend (retired SF CWO) who can routinely fire without losing the coin, and his groups are tight.  Best part is watching him shoot, and seeing the paper flutter as the bullet goes through the existing hole.


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## phridum (Feb 3, 2008)

SOWT said:


> Re the coin.  Have a friend (retired SF CWO) who can routinely fire without losing the coin, and his groups are tight.  Best part is watching him shoot, and seeing the paper flutter as the bullet goes through the existing hole.



With the coin on the barrel?


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## 8'Duece (Feb 3, 2008)

phridum said:


> With the coin on the barrel?



Putting a small coin (money) on the top of the slide towards the front.  Practice dry firing until you can keep the coin from falling off the front of the weapon. 

I shoot the H&K USP with a cartridge case sitting on the front end of the slide near the front sight. the slide is flat and supports the cartridge pretty well but it takes alot of finese to dry fire the weapon and keep the cartridge from falling off the slide. 

I liken it to forcing you to "squeeze" the trigger and not "pull" it.  After practive you'll be  "squeezing" out of sheer muscle memory.


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## DA SWO (Feb 3, 2008)

phridum said:


> With the coin on the barrel?



Coin on the slide, barel is not exposed, but yes (and yes the coin comes off with recoil).


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## The91Bravo (Feb 3, 2008)

Never done the coin with live ammo.. I always dry fire with one....


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## Cabbage Head (Feb 14, 2008)

J.A.B.;128915][QUOTE=Cabbage Head;128849][QUOTE=J.A.B. said:


> Okay you have some of the right ideas, but you are getting things confused. Yes every one has a wobble area, and that is an uncontrollable movement. The issue is using a coin on the sights, if you are focusing on not making the coin fall. Then you are not focusing on the sights.
> 
> The reason to watch your sights for movement on a white wall is so that you can adjust your grip, trigger finger, and trigger control. So that the sights do not move, each pistol is different and each pistol requires a different grip, placement of trigger finger, and trigger control. Using a white wall during dryfire, allows you to build your basic platform, adjust your fundamentals to that pistol, before you go to the next step.
> 
> ...



Ok, here is where we fell into this. 

 In my first post I said place the coin on top "by" the front sight.  Not "on" it as you misquoted me.  The rest we can agree on.


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## irnbndr (Feb 14, 2008)

Dime washer drill... that is pretty common in our basic marksmanship drills.  We usually do it with rifles, but I am sure it will work with an M-9 since the barrel is exposed.  Another way to do it is to put a dowwel or a cleaning rod in the barrel and rest the washer or dime on that.  Good dry fire drill.


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## The91Bravo (Feb 14, 2008)

We had our instructor put some dummy rounds in the box(box of a hundred or so loose rounds) of rounds we loaded into our service weapons (without our knowing it)  

You can see friggin clearly who is anticipating with that simple technique...


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## irnbndr (Feb 14, 2008)

The91Bravo said:


> We had our instructor put some dummy rounds in the box(box of a hundred or so loose rounds) of rounds we loaded into our service weapons (without our knowing it)
> 
> You can see friggin clearly who is anticipating with that simple technique...



That works too.  Another method... we have a partner stand behind us and load one round at a time, live or dummy, then hand the pistol over the shooter's shoulder.  It's really easy to see anticipation and encourages concentration on trigger squeeze.  

All good techniques.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Feb 15, 2008)

Cabbage Head;132771][QUOTE=J.A.B.;128915][QUOTE=Cabbage Head said:


> Ok, here is where we fell into this.
> 
> In my first post I said place the coin on top "by" the front sight.  Not "on" it as you misquoted me.  The rest we can agree on.



:doh: I am an ass :doh: sorry brother...


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## Cabbage Head (Feb 15, 2008)

No problamo, amigo!


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## The91Bravo (Feb 16, 2008)

J.A.B. said:


> :doh: I am an ass :doh:



Finally...


Something that makes sense.....:confused::eek::doh:


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Feb 16, 2008)

The91Bravo said:


> Finally...
> 
> 
> Something that makes sense.....:confused::eek::doh:



uhuh......:uhh:


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