# Shooting low



## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

I generally shoot quite low with handguns, sometimes as much as a foot. I found that I was dropping my head, and corrected this, but the problem is still evident. Any ideas?


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## Gun Owner (Sep 9, 2005)

Squeeze with your trigger finger, not your whole hand. Most people do this with out ever realising it.


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

Also try to center your grip tension, what i mean is apply pressure with your grip with the two fingers below your trigger finger. keep your pinky and thumb from applying any pressure. Remenber only the tip of yer finger on the trigger. See if that helps.


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## dlip (May 16, 2004)

I have the same problem if I haven't shot in a while. Especially with my 1911. If I can get a few boxes down range, I usually can correct it, but I've determined that it was because of gripping the trigger with my middle knuckle(long fingers) instead of the tip of my finger.


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## Alaskan Brown Bear Killer (Feb 22, 2005)

Stop :bop: so much, that might help too :lol:


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Yep it's definitely either grip pressure, trigger squeeze or even possibly anticipation to aim low to correct a perceived aiming high issue from earlier...

Practice dry firing 25 times, paying attention to where your barrel is after you pull the trigger. Keep the gun point exactly where it is after the hammer hits. Where is it pointing at? This might provide an important clue as to what the source of the issue is....


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Developing a consistant form is the way to keep your shots on target. Dry fire practice will help with this. Concentrate on the front sight, but focus on the target. It sounds contradictory, but that is what most accomplished marksmen will tell you. Since you have young eyes, sights shouldn't be a problem, but trying something different may help. I have found that the Express sight systems are very user friendly and aid greatly in quick aquisition. The only other advice I can impart is that you have a gunsmith work over your trigger to give you the best break possible with no creep. Trying to shoot well with a bad trigger is almost impossible to overcome. Good shooting, Burl


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I also notice that many people who anticipate recoil will push forward as the sear brakes. This is a common problem that causes a person to shoot low. It happens with rifles also, but is less common.


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## natemil373 (Dec 3, 2005)

I'm no expert, have you tried aiming higher  I all seriousness though, I find that I often have the same problem if I am shooting a gun with heavy recoil, especially if I haven't shot it in a while. This leads to me think that I am leaning into it in anticipation of the recoil, since this phenomena is not repreated with smaller guns.


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## Dave_w (May 25, 2005)

lol I agree with the last one. Sight alignment might be an issue, or incorrect elevation setting (if the sights are adjustable). If they're fixed, they might be off anyway. Or they could be zeroed at a closer range (if you're shooting a practical handgun at 25 yards, this might be the case), or they could be zeroed with an ammunition that has a flatter trajectory than the one you're using.

With some shooting, instead of adjusting how I align my eyes with the sights, I find it easier just to hold over. My dad's Ruger Mini-14 is like that. Sure, I could just adjust the irons to shoot at 75 yards, but it's much easier to just take a six o'clock hold.


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## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

Sights are not adjustable. To be honest I think I am anticipating the recoil. I have two handguns, a Taurus 22 and this Beretta 96, and only experience the problem with the latter. 40 is by no means a huge caliber but I am just not much of a pistol shooter yet.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

What does your sight picture look like MT. Are you filling the rear sight gap? Your front sight should fill the gap and the top of the front sight should be level with the top of the rear sight. If you are doing this and still shooting low have someone else shoot it. If they shoot low it is easy to bring your point of impact up by filing down the front sight.


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## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

I shoot with my dad at the handgun range as I am not old enough to rent out a lane myself. He shoots quite well with the thing, so certainly the problem is on my end. I am filling the sight picture, and covering the black circle that I intend to hit. I was practicing today with snap caps and found that I have a tendency to drop my head to put the dot on target instead of moving the gun, despite my efforts to not do so.


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## Dave_w (May 25, 2005)

Or he might be subconsciously compensating for the sights being off. Just because they're fixed doesn't necessarily mean they're spot-on.


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