1911 shooting question....... [Archive]

Niner

03-04-2013, 10:19 PM

Went to the range today to bust a few caps and test my reloads.
Shooting my 1911, I was a bit disappointed. I was holding "dead on" as they say with the target sitting atop my sight picture, BUT I was hitting way low. I was just about to blame my reloads or thinking I need to adjust the sights somehow when one of the range officers stopped by my lane to chat. I had him shoot a mag to see if it was just me. Well...he put most of them in the black. SO I am doing SOMETHING wrong. Maybe my grip or something????

After that, I broke out my Super Blackhawk and tried some lightly loaded 44 mags. After the first shot flyer, EVERY other round went into the black. After a couple of cylinders the target was just "ate up" in the bullseye. SOoooo then I tried some full power loads that I am working on with some Nosler Partitions that I acquired. Same results...just a lot more flash and bang....many holes where they were supposed to be.

Any of you 1911 guys gots any ideas on what I'm doing wrong with that unit? Guess I need to start carrying the Ruger SBH for my CCW rig. :lmao

LJ3

03-04-2013, 10:38 PM

http://www.gunlink.info/targets/PistolChartR1S.pdf

BarryBobPosthole

03-04-2013, 11:09 PM

After careful study on this, I think I know the problem.

Aim higher.

BKB

Buckrub

03-04-2013, 11:30 PM

We suffer a similar fate, Nine.

We are not tall enough.

Niner

03-04-2013, 11:50 PM

Thanks Len, I'll print that out and keep it in my range bag.
I may have been "dropping my head" as the chart says, because my bifocals were giving me a fit today...and I was having trouble getting a good sight picture with that gun.

What does "Breaking Wrist Down" mean??

I dunno. I think I'll chalk it up to having a bad day. Sometimes I am dead on with that 1911, and sometime, like today, I can't hit worth squat.

No problems with the revolver though. That's the conundrum. I am kindof thinking that the problem might be I need to change the way I hold the 1911. I hold it the same way I do a revolver. Need to do some studying on this.......maybe I can find some good youtube stuff.

LJ3

03-05-2013, 07:29 AM

Cap'n can prolly give the real answer if he can stop painting the tractor long enough but I've always thoughts of "wrist breaking" as anticipating trigger break and letting your wrist move beforehand.

I really need to go shoot my Kimber, that thing could have dry rot at this point :(

DeputyDog

03-05-2013, 04:36 PM

Wrist breaking can be anticipating the shot, and dropping your hand kind of like in the old cowboy movies where it looks like they are throwing their shots out of the gun.

I'd bet it's the grip. I know that I was trained to grip a revolver different than a semi-auto. Most people teach themselves after they peel the skin on their thumb back by the slide recoiling on a semi-auto, but others still keep their thumb up a bit higher in their grip.

Captain

03-05-2013, 09:53 PM

Len hit on one of the biggest reason. Breaking your wrist down at the moment of fire flinching from the anticipated recoil. It is more common with pistols than revolvers. Folks tend to ride the grip down on a pistol because the of the slide action. Everyone has, or knows someone that has held too high on a Pistol and got the old slide cut. The flinching would be my first guess... Another reason that could be hurting you is folks also tend to grip a pistol much harder than a revolver because the weapon needs that solid "bump" to extract/eject the empty round and chamber the next round. Many malfunctions (failure to extract/eject, Stovepipe, or failure to chamber) are caused by folks tending to be "limp" wristed and not holding the weapon tight enough. This results in people gripping the weapon too tight and thus shooting low.
What is the trigger pull weight on the pistol? if it is too hard when it does break this will cause low shooting. Also too much finger on the trigger will make you shoot low left (if you are a right hand shooter) Of course the sites and site picture and cause this. If you have adjustable sights raise the rear sight to raise the group. If you have fixed sights take a little bastard file to the front sight and raise the group.
Have you tried different ammo?
A heavy bullet (subsonic) will raise your group UP. Because of the lower charge and slower exit, the bullet stays in the barrel longer thus exiting the barrel later in the recoil cycle and will hit higher on the target.
Of course a smaller (lighter weight grain) bullet will exit faster and sooner in the recoil cycle and hit lower.
Have you ever had a good spring kit put in that weapon?
Take Care, Larke

Niner

03-06-2013, 12:21 AM

At this point I am pretty sure the problem is that I am gripping the 1911 ALL wrong. I cut my hand-gunning teeth on a 7.5” Super Blackhawk back in the 80’s. Everybody has a gun they wish they’d never let go…that’s the one for me…I could hit ANYTHING I pointed that joker at.

SO, I have just always held handguns like that single action SBH….and that has worked good for SA and DA revolvers. I did some Internet looking today and found out that one is supposed to grip (two handed) a pistol completely different than a revolver. And I thought I knew how to shoot! Guess I'm lucky to still have a left thumb.

I doubt I am flinching with the 1911. The revolvers I shoot are 41 and 44 mag and I have no problem hitting with them.

The 45 loads that I loaded up are a 200gr lead SWC with 5.5gr of Titegroup. NOT a hot load at all. I also tried some Hornady factory loaded 185gr XTP’s and they were hitting in the same place…..and then there was the issue of letting the range officer shoot it, and he was hitting... so that pretty much ruled out everything but me.

I can check the trigger pull weight tomorrow and post that. The gun is a “Loaded” Springfield Armory Champion, and it is bone stock. I have had it since about 1999. Carried it a bunch but haven’t shot it all that much.

Gonna go back the range maybe later this week, or next week and try 'er again.
The REALLY WEIRD thing is, I shot the 1911 last month and didn't do toooo badly with it.

Niner

03-06-2013, 07:37 PM

What is the trigger pull weight on the pistol?
Take Care, Larke

Pull weight is about 5#.

Captain

03-06-2013, 08:39 PM

That is about right for a carry/personal defense weapon. I use to run a little lighter 3 to 3.5 on my comp 45 when I was shooting the 3 gun matches.
I'd work on the grip and making sure you are not putting too much finger in the trigger.
Also does the trigger break clean and is there any over travel after the break. That can be a factor.
Take Care, Captain

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