Firearms qualification issues :(

[damode]

Alright, i have to qualify with my firearm by next tuesday and as of now i havent qualified in any of the practice relays.

The first 3 days or so i was practicing with my messed up gun that had problems bringing the slide forward after i pulled the trigger.

After 2 days of guessing it was the recoil spring or maybe i had "limp wrist", our firearms instructor found out the major problem and it was simply that my firearm was to dry and it had to be lubed.

Yesterday for the last hour of the day i was finally shooting a decent gun.

Now, i know its impossible to rate me on what im doing because none have seen me shoot.

But i would like to hear your stories on your experiences qualifiying with the firearm. What you guys did to fix your accuracy, if you had any problems yourself qualifying.

Right now im feeling down in the dumps because im running into my first hurdle. Im doing great on my tests, havent messed up and im a month in on the academy.

I wouldve never thought a hurdle of mines would be shooting a gun, but its really messing me up.

Any words of wisdom, or stories will definately bring up my morale.

Thank you all in advance, take care.

[JTShooter]

Alright, i have to qualify with my firearm by next tuesday and as of now i havent qualified in any of the practice relays.

The first 3 days or so i was practicing with my messed up gun that had problems bringing the slide forward after i pulled the trigger.

After 2 days of guessing it was the recoil spring or maybe i had "limp wrist", our firearms instructor found out the major problem and it was simply that my firearm was to dry and it had to be lubed.

Yesterday for the last hour of the day i was finally shooting a decent gun.

Now, i know its impossible to rate me on what im doing because none have seen me shoot.

But i would like to hear your stories on your experiences qualifiying with the firearm. What you guys did to fix your accuracy, if you had any problems yourself qualifying.

Right now im feeling down in the dumps because im running into my first hurdle. Im doing great on my tests, havent messed up and im a month in on the academy.

I wouldve never thought a hurdle of mines would be shooting a gun, but its really messing me up.

Any words of wisdom, or stories will definately bring up my morale.

Thank you all in advance, take care.

First and foremost, calm down and take a breath. Not just now, but when at the range. Don't worry about time limits or if you just missed. Worry about the fundamentals. Concentrate on your breathing, your body position, your front sight post and how you're holding your firearm.

Fortunately shooting is a skill that can be learned. Just take your time and rely on what your instructors have taught you.

If it wasn't the holidays I would offer to meet you at a local range and try to help you out, but I'm visiting family up north.

Let me ask you a few questions. First, what weapon are you shooting? What caliber? When you shoot are you hitting the paper? If you're hitting the paper, are most of your shots grouping in the same area or are your shots scattered? If they're grouped, is the group high, low, left or right?

It kinda worries me it took your instructor that long to figure out that you just needed to lube your weapon... which academy are you attending?

[k9 max]

I'm sure it's been preached in your academy, but trigger control and sight picture are crucial. Focus on those two and best of luck.

[LeanG]

First, in target practice....remain calm. It's not the real thing, so don't allow your stress level to rise when you're still practicing.

Second, when you're shooting the target should be blurry. You need to concentrate on your sights. This is what beginners neglect a majority of the time. Align your sights and slowly squeeze the trigger. The target should be in the background and not focused on. Your sights determine whether you hit the target or not so your sights should be your primary focus from before you pull the trigger to the follow through. Do not focus on the target!!!!

What are the academy hours?

[DaisyCutter]

Practice dry firing at home if you can. Watch your sight picture as you pull the trigger and as it breaks. Don't jerk the trigger. MAKE SURE ALL AMMO IS STORED AWAY ELSEWHERE. I generally watch TV and practice shooting the images on screen. Practice NOT BLINKING when you pull the trigger, I.E look through the shot. Many novices tend to blink when they shoot. Try watching movies where there are actors shooting. Most actors blink wildly when they shoot. You don't want to do that. Accuracy suffers when you shoot with your eyes closed.

[damode]

glock 23.
40 caliber.
5.5 lb trigger push.

~~~

I know i can hit the targets. Yesterday on a practice run we shot 12 shots with no time limit from 25 yards away.

I hit 10.

The problem is that im not consistent, i think one of the factors was the excessive recoil malfunctions.

1st day it jammed like 3 times, and by yesterday it was jamming after every shot.

For the last hour the glock was shooting fine, but after 8 hours of frustrations and stress, i would assume my shots are not going to be accurate as if i was calm.

[GCPD0171]

A Glock jamming after every shot? I would say you either don't have a firm grip on the gun or there is a problem. You can't limp wrist a Glock but it shouldn't malfunction that much. Try shooting with both arms locked out in front of you (Isoscoles). It will give the gun more resistance to recoil against.

[JTShooter]

A Glock jamming after every shot? I would say you either don't have a firm grip on the gun or there is a problem. You can't limp wrist a Glock but it shouldn't malfunction that much. Try shooting with both arms locked out in front of you (Isoscoles). It will give the gun more resistance to recoil against.

The OP already said that the issue was that he hadn't properly lubed the firearm

Ok, well, go to a local range tomorrow, with your clean and lubricated firearm, and shoot. Tell us what happens then. Keep in mind your breathing, trigger squeeze (not pull) and sight picture and you should be good to go.

Let us know your results (with pictures of the targets if possible).

[SPC-1]

Front sight, front sight, front sight

[Blackdog F4i]

DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT worry about scores while shooting.

Once the bullet has left the barrel it no longer exists. Nothing matters except preparing for the next shot. Don't even look at the target (shot holes). The only thing you should see clearly for the entire session is your front sight.

These hold true no matter if you are struggling to qualify or struggling for that x-ring count.

Shooting is a Zen experience. To shoot well, there can be no anxiety, no tension.

[LongRange]

After 2 days of guessing it was the recoil spring or maybe i had "limp wrist", our firearms instructor found out the major problem and it was simply that my firearm was to dry and it had to be lubed.

1. get a new instructor.

[LongRange]

If you're shooting a standard b-27 target/Silhouette you probably can't see the holes you're making from 25 yards, but....are you aiming at the hole you previously made or aiming at the same portion of the target each shot?
Believe it or not, I see this a lot.

What are you considering inconsistent?

It sounds like you're new to shooting. I would strongly suggest getting some hands-on training. Asking for help over the net is fine, but shooting is a sport that requires hands-on experience and the see/do method of training. Trying to explain hand placement, trigger control, reset, etc. is futile in a text environment.

Relax and ask for help. You're not the first trainee that had issues, I promise.

[GroundPounder01]

Some really "kewl" techniques I have learned to work through these problems (just like yours) is to control breathing and use the same firing technique you use repeadily. Another thing that helps, dont anticipate the discharge, that seems to cause alot of the spread of shot patterns.

Use the same sight picture over and over! That helps!

As for your limp wristing (you are not alone!), it doesnt sound like its a major issue you may be having, as with glocks the one thing we learned is that Glocks will tell you when you are limp wristing... The empty casings will "bean" you in the head, letting you know you are limp wristing! LOL!

I had alot of issues when I first qualified in the civilian law enforcement sector.. to top it off, I had a bad magazine which really didnt do alot for my self esteem!

You will work it out.... Dont worry!!!

[Gene L]

I agree totally with not scoring your target until the shooting is over. I had a student who would shoot (and this is in timed shooting) and squint at the target to see where she'd hit. I admonished her, because she always saved about three or four rounds.

With a Glock, another student who was a good shot had problems with his magazines feeding...and he tried several mags. I finally noticed that he was holding his right thumb up as he shot, and this was touching on the slide just enough to cause it to mis-time and mis-feed. He didn't believe me at first (ah, youth) but several others shot the same mags and got excellent results, and he finally put that thumb out of the way.

[Highwaystreets]

i just went thru an academy so i understand what you are going thru. first off don't worry about the shot you just took, no matter how ****ed or angry you are at that missed shot no amount of mental energy will ever change where the hole is in the paper, you can't change it but you can change what happens with your next shot.

Don't keep track of your score ( i always do this anyways) and ignore the others around you ( i always keep score of the people to my left and right, bad habit, but i'm competitive). like others have said, trigger press. dry fire at home, try and place an empty casing on the front sight and try trigger pulls without the brass coming off, hard to do and some argue its not worth the time but i liked it. other then that, calm down, take a breath and enjoy it, common you're being paid to shoot!! doesn't get much better...