Qualifying with your gun.

[JLH81]

How difficult is it to qualify with your service weapon? I currently have a Glock 19, and a Glock 27. I am not an LEO, but I try to shoot on a regular basis. A lot of the times I have an issue where I anticipate the recoil, which is causing my shots to be off. I guess my main concern is will the instructors in the Academy help me correct this issue? Also, is there anything that I can do to work on this while I am at the Academy? I practice dry firing at home, but it seems like when I first shoot I have this problem. After the first bang, I usually do pretty good. If anyone could offer some advice, that would be great. Has anyone experience this issue before? Is it an issue that comes about often?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Kieth M.]

Instructors will break you of bad habits. Their job is to make the occasional, or novice shooter into someone who shoots the same way, every time. You need to listen to, and learn from them.

Any book on shooting will tell you what mistakes are being made by where the rounds land on the target. Keep firing until they are nestled into a group. Then, and only then, do you get to play with any sight adjustments.

[ford123]

Snap caps. Placed randomly in your magazine.....You need someone to load your mags....

You are halfway there.....problem identified....

You have to welcome the recoil, not be afraid of it.....(jedi master once told me)

[ask80]

most people anticipate the recoil when they are beginner shooters. it's natural.. once you get over the habit it should be easier.

qualifying during the academy and at your dept is not that hard. just practice and try to hit the body. we test 3 times a year. 30 shots at 25 yards. i think you need at least a 210 to pass out of 300...

[irishdep]

Anticipating the recoil is probably making you push the shots to one side or the other depending on what hand you shoot with. Keep shooting and you'll get used to it and be just fine. I did that too sometimes when I would shoot guns I wasn't familiar with, it's natural. The snap caps or dummie rounds are a good way to practice. Good luck!

[GPOC]

practice cures all in my opinion. Not shooting between quals is the kiss of death

I requaled last week and the guy next to me shot a 5( yes that is right) on the back half


Thats a 5 out of a possible 130 Needless to say I was shocked and dumbfounded on that one

[lionheart45]

We have to qual two times a year, must make 48 out of 60 shots in FBI Q target. Start at the 1 yard line and goto 25 yards. Then 40 rounds at night.

Here is our coarse in Jersey, scroll down to page 44.

http://www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/njptc/pdf/bfcman04.pdf

[j706]

Shoot ,shoot shoot and then shoot some more. Practice is what its all about. I don't think anything takes the place of putting rounds down range.

[EMVAMPYRE]

Shooting well is all about muscle memory. The more you practice, the more your body will "remember" what it did last time and do it again. There have been some great ideas posted above, and they all will help. Especially the one that said shoot, shoot, shoot.

[kingsman]

We shoot the Customs Course and Must get 210 out of 300 possible points. I shot 214 the first time with these lousy old revolvers we are required to carry.
This after shooting a consistent 298 with my Glock on the customs range. But I practiced with my revolver and second qual got 276. Now I have one of the revolvers we actually use and I hope I will shoot better with practice.

Practice, practice, practice. But where possible practice with the same gun you will carry on duty. If they carry glocks, buy a glock and practice. If they carry S&W revolvers, buy a S&W and practice.

[Guams]

Jeff, if I remember correctly you will be attending an academy in Wisconsin, am I correct? If so, unless you have a job lined up for you right out of the academy, chances are you'll be applying for LTE Ranger jobs, like I'm doing right now. In this case, qualifying with your weapon is quite easy. I just qualified on Saturday with my XD by shooting a 40/42. If you're a proficient shooter, you'll qualify.

As for the flinch on your first round, I had the problem too. The instructors in the academy will break you of that habit. Keep doing the dry firing. Once you get the feel for the way your trigger pulls, you'll break that habit. Someone also mentioned snap caps. You'll use those during qualifying to simulate malfunctions. Again, pick some of these up if you haven't and have a friend, g/f, wife or someone other than yourself load the magazine.

Best way to learn your weapon is to practice, practice, practice, and practice some more. Get to the range as much as possible and just fire one round at a time. This will also help break the first round flinch you have.

[scratched13]

CAREFULLY unload your weapon at home. Check, double check and then check againn that it is unloaded. Then dry fire 25 in the morning and 25 at night. Make sure that your gun doesn't "flinch."

Helps a ton.

[patroldog]

Safety First,,, be absolutely sure your weapon is unloaded, check, recheck and then check again. once you are sure, put a nickel on the front sight, dry fire, if the nickel falls off, you are flinching, practice until the coin remains on the sight after the pull/release of the trigger.