I would appreciate some pistol shooting advice.

[Cake_14N]

No Sir. Not headed to a competition and thinking about this reply, I might have figured out my problem.

I like the M&P because it does not have a mechanical safety switch. As a lefty the safety is usually on the wrong side of the pistol frame unless you spend some cash get a specific left handed version. I am used to not having to flip a safety switch off as part of the draw motion when I draw from my usual carry configuration.
I also believe the trigger pull on the M&P is harder as it is double action only. Compared to the 1911 single action trigger I am guessing this increased force required to pull the trigger is altering my point of impact. I will get video to confirm.

Long story short, I could just sell the M&P, but would need to re-learn a habit of flipping a safety off before the round goes off. Since I have spent a considerable amount of time without a mechanical safety, I hesitate to make the change on my CCW pistol.


Rob: I use the middle of the pad of my index finger on the trigger.

Koz: I will check those out. Sounds like a good investment to make.

Thanks all.

Cake

[B_2XLT]

Originally Posted by koz

Also for grip strength - I used to use the "sporting goods store variety" (30-40lbs) and thought I had good grip strength. Then I tried a guy's grip spring and could barely close it once. Look at Captain's of Crush grippers. My' buddies was a #1 (140lbs). I bought the first three. Three mins with the Guide (60lbs) or Sport (80lbs) will do wonders. Do sets of 50-75 with the Trainer (100lbs).

I purchased the level 1 gripper 8 years ago and the level 2 more recently and both are very well made. Like koz said they are no joke.

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by Dusty

The problem is prolly the "safe" trigger mechanism.

When I shot a G19 the first time, my rounds went low and left.

Like I said, if you hitting the x with the .45, what's the problem? Are you going into some kind of competition, or something?

Concur. The safety bar that has to be depressed to release the striker is placed off center and untill your grip and trigger pull can "sense" and compensate for that, it'll be frustrating.

I used to shoot USP compact, and when I switched to Glock, I wondered why I started flinching/jerking based on the group and B&D drill. As always, you don't blame the pistol. At some point though, one has to wonder when the problem keeps persisting after remedial training.

Dry fire has been mentioned, but I'd emphasize perfect-sight-alignment dry fire to max its benefit. With striker fired pistols, perfect means not even a wobble/vibration when it clicks! Should stay still as if you're dry firing a rilfe with iron sights on well-supported position. Yes, it's possible. Ensure white background so you can verify symmetrical left and right spaces between front and rear sights. Then to start, rest both arms on a table, so you can discount muscle fatigue/strain/wobble zone. Now it's just your grip, trigger pull, and eyes. If you got a pistol flashlight, attached it then do the drill in completely dark room facing the white wall. Your eyes are still focused on front sight before, during, and after "click," and if you wooble even a tiny bit, that circle of light will move and your peripheral vision should pick it up.

I'd wager you'll see some wobble with these striker pistols. Then start the remedy process. Do an Edisonian approach. Don't hesitate to experiment, and find what works for you. Vary pressure at your gripping fingers, as well as location of trigger on your index. I found mine to be more pressure on middle and ring than pinky (like in NRA HP with M1A, or long range). Thumb relaxed but pointing up, straight or bent at the end, it doesn't matter, and trigger at 2/3 from the tip to the first joint. I also found first joint as good location too with more leverage, resulting in smoother pull, but it doesn't work well 1 hand. Location of trigger especially will vary. Master Gene Econ taught me there is no one size fits all. We got different finger length, so the optimum location to enable straight pulling to the rear will vary. When pursuit of accuracy and precision takes off, just like we fit the weapon to the shooter, we fit the technique to the shooter as well, not the other way around. Once you got perfect allignment before, during, and after "click" with arms rested on table, then do it completely unsupported, then strong hand only, then weak hand only, and so on. I doubt one can simply go to a shooting school and accomplish fine muscle tuning. All the instructors give are tools and observation/feedback. It's then up to the student to spend countless hours and effort to make appropriate adjustment to improve.

After about a year of doing this, I shot a 1.5 to 2" group with G17, one-handed at 25yards today. A reserve pistol shooter heading for Perry this year can verify that claim. We were practicing the P100 rapid string with MCP-made, AMU-serviced M9 and 1911 when we decided what the heck, let's see just how bad the glock with its spongy trigger can do. We were both surprised. The mental state was optimum too as there's 0 pressure, no stress, and I expected scatter gun pattern. Of course, the $2k M9 shot a tighter group as it's designed to hold the x-ring at 50 yards

I'd also recommend pistol-training.com That's one center of dedicated pistoleer with 15k+ rounds pistol testing, endless drills and standards, even Roger's shooting school walkthrough/G2 to game it. Also if I were you, I'd run keywords on this site search engine for all shooting advices given all the way back to 2004. I once did that and my understanding, approach/mindset, and technique took off.

No instructor here. Just a novice multi-discipline marksmanship competitor who's enthusiastic in sharing what works, and always glad when it works for others too . It has helped some so far. I always do a remedial station during once every 100 years M9 and M16 qual for the medical officer type.