I went to the range today to sight in my Beretta M96 with an older fellow who's got a lot of time behind the trigger.

He eventually got it shooting pretty good, but I was ALL OVER the paper. I'm beginning to think I have some bad habits, but I'm not sure what they are, if any. Since it is a .40, I may be subconsciously afraid of it, but I have no known fears of the thing. I must have put at least 150 rounds through it, and they were all over.

I think part of the problem is my lack of experience. I need to spend time with the gun, and lots of it. I need to dry fire it hundreds of times. The problem with dry firing, however, is that it feels great and the sights don't move at all.

I use an Iscosolese (spelling) grip, right handed, with my left thumb pointed directly forward running right under the slide. I don't normally put my left hand pointer finger on the front of the trigger guard, but may try that if I need to.

Any suggestions? I've got a .22 pistols I can use to refine or rebuild my skills with. And drills that I can use to help me out? Thanks!

Quoted: The problem with dry firing, however, is that it feels great and the sights don't move at all.

that's the idea

you get used to that and then shooting live rounds you dont flinch

dry firing to actual firing ratio should be more like 5:1 meaning you dry fire 5 times as much as live fire

"muscle memory"

Thanks, guys.

I had that idea in mind already, but figured there must be something else more complicated. Go figure. I haven't tried it yet, though.

I have Snap-Caps, just need to use them.

And other ideas?

Go back to the basics.

1. Use a bench rest to show yourself you can get good groups with the gun and use proper technique while doing it.

2. Practice correct sight alignment and correct sight picture.

3. No one can hold the sights perfectly still, they will move. Take up the slack in the trigger let the sights move through the black. When you are ready, let the trigger break while the front sight post is in the black. Remember to take a deep breath, let half of it out and hold it. If you hold it too long before firing, start over. You need positive feedback to build good habits. Don't just throw lead down range, make every shot count.

4. Immediately check to see after the round goes off that you still have correct sight alignment. Your eyes should be open and you should be able to quickly return to sight alignment and sight picture.

5. Trigger control is the most important single factor. If you pull the trigger the barrel will move off target. Practice a two hand grip using your off hand thumb to cover the tip of your trigger finger and moving the two back like a bar across the trigger. Keep your eye open and on the sights as the trigger breaks, both dry firing and using live ammo.

Fire three round groups and see if you can find a pattern in your misses. A right handed shooter who jerks the trigger will pull everything low right. If you aren't lining up the top of the front sight post with the rear sight aperature, you will be consistantly high or low.

You should be able to 'call' a flyer if your technique is good and you are on the sights as the trigger breaks. If you can't, you aren't sighting the gun as the trigger breaks.

Good luck and practice but practice without proper technique doesn't help much.

To me half the secret of accurate shooting is learning to shoot from the reset. Most trigger have a certain amount of take up you must use before the trigger breaks and the shot is fired. The trick after the first shot is to hold the trigger back and then release just far enough for the trigger to reset for the next shot.

To learn this dry fire (DRY FIRE PRACTICE) the gun, hold the trigger back. Rack the slide (with trigger held back. Go back into your shooting stance and slowly let the trigger out until it clicks. Then pull the trigger again. Watch the front sight and make sure it does not move. Repeat this 50 times (each of them perfect) or more a day.

You will benefit 2 ways. First because you’re using less trigger movement you will be more accurate. You will yank the trigger less, and refine your shooting mechanics. Second you will learn to shoot faster. Shooting from the reset is the key to double tap accuracy

Since you are all over the place, you  might want to print out this correction target and take it with you next time:
www.sportshooter.com/improving/images/correction_chart.gif

Dryfire is good if you do it right. Trouble is that most people don't. Learn to do a proper trigger pull and the rest is gravy. You do this by pressing smoothly through the trigger at once, no stops and starts, and by doing this repeatedly until it is hotwired in your little brain.

If you want to learn quick, go to a good 5 day pistol training course and they will MAKE you control the trigger.

I've got a Beretta 92 and was REAL spotty on accuracy until I figured out two things.
#1 Only the middle of the top pad of your trigger finger belongs on the trigger, and make certain that the second and third pads DO NOT contact the grip. This was screwing me all up until I corrected it.
#2 I shoot best when my trigger finger is closer to the BOTTOM OF THE TRIGGER. Seems to give me a smoother, straighter pull on the trigger.
And BTW, I dry fire mine A LOT. It helps tremendously. Keep yer chin up-it took me a few hundred dollars and I don't know how many rounds to start shooting respectably. You'll get there.

Hey, thanks guys! I talked to a good friend of mine who's in the Phoenix SAU team. He told me basically the same thing you guys did. Dry fire. Every day. If I'm watching TV, dry fire during commercials. Dry fire when surfing the net (unless I'm typing). After a session or two of dry firing, I find that I DO tend to blink when the hammer drops. Not good. Over time I'm sure this will get better. It's going to take a good amount of time both behind the trigger and on the range to get better. Thanks for the help!