Why is my handgun shooting low

Some years ago, when I was competing, I was shooting several thousand rounds of. I discovered that during this time of my life, my accuracy at speed greatly improved. When I began taking it easy again, only shooting a couple hundred shots a month, my low left misses came right back.

The time it takes to get to the range, reload, clean your gun etc really adds up. This is why many good shooting instructors advise to do dry fire practice. You are correct that a handgun is one of the most difficult firearms to shoot well. Here are some reasons why and how you can help improve your accuracy when using a pistol. Handguns are smaller than larger guns like rifles and this can impact your shooting accuracy. That translates to a greater chance of user error in the aiming process.

Although some may pull the trigger to the left or the right, the most important aspect of pulling a trigger is using more than just the tip of the finger to pull. If you are unable to pull the trigger accurately, your grip will pull the shot one way or the other.

Essentially, you can steady the gun before firing without affecting the trigger. With a pistol, the pressure applied from your finger can directly affect the movement of the firearm. This may negatively affect your shot. Just as the shot begins, the shooter pushes the right thumb against the side of the frame, causing the aligned sights to move to the right. This target area is known as the 'lobster' area - just as a lobster's claw clamps together, the shooter's hand clamps or snatches at the last second.

This movement causes the front-sight to dip low and to the right, pushing the shots to the to 5 o'clock zone. SHOTS directly below the point of aim: The shot string in the 5 o'clock to area is caused when the shooter 'breaks' the wrist - another form of anticipation.

The shooter expects the handgun to recoil at a known instant and tries to fight or control this anticipated recoil by cocking the wrist downward. The shooter may subconsciously believe that the recoil can be lessened by holding the wrist down. This shot group can also be caused by a shooter who relaxes too soon. A new shooter usually does not consistently repeat one particular error, but instead commits many different errors.

The result is a target with shots scattered in many places.