Adding weight to the muzzle end, what does it do?

[prohjac]

I am new to bullseye pistol shooting. I am shooting a sig trailside and am shooting in the 80's for slow fire, 70's for timed and 60's for rapid. Would adding a little weight under the muzzle help bring the sights back on target quicker and more easier?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

hjac

[Guest]

It helped me but I think if your shooting 60's and 70's your grip is more important then weight at this point. Do you shoot timed and rapid the same way? I shoot the timed and rapid at about 8 seconds for each. I feel thinking about the shot hurts me. I was shooting in the low 90's and added the weight and have cleaned 30 percent of my targets and am in the high 90's now. It may just be the practice but I know it didn't hurt.

[Guest Twenty]

If you are shooting 60s and 70s you need someone to critique your technique - someone to observe you. It cannot be done here in a few words. Most likely you are trying for speed for and trigger control and sight alignment are taking a back seat. Try for perfection before quantity. Proper trigger control is of utmost importance.

[Isabel1130]

It is your trigger technique, not the weight of your gun. You need to learn to pull the trigger faster without disturbing the sight alighnment on your gun. This technique should be applied to slow fire as well as timed and rapid fire. Try shooting every shot in slow fire like it was your first shot in timed or rapid fire. If you don't get a good sight alignment and pull the trigger smoothly within about three seconds after the gun has settled on the target, you should put the gun down and try it again. Speed will come after your trigger technique is correct. K

[prohjac]

Thanks for the info, I will work on the trigger control, but I also think I will purchase the weight for under the muzzle.

How often do you guys practice?

hjac

[Isabel1130]

I try and actually shoot three times a week, If I have a match on the weekend I will shoot twice during the week and then shoot the 2700 or whatever on the weekend. The other days I really should be dry firing 15 to 20 minutes but can get lazy about it because it is boring. For practice live fire I will generally do three slow fire targets and 2 timed/rapid fire targets for each gun. I usually only shoot 2 guns during practice, always my .22 and then either my .45 or my LEG gun with iron sights which is a Beretta. The guy I shoot with is getting close to high master and he rarely shoots his .45. He practices just with his .22 which is a Marvel conversion.

[2650 Plus]

I believe the answer to your orriginal question is as follows. Weight at the end of the barrel slows and shortens the distance the front sight moves out of allignment caused by the recoil of firing the shot. There is a slight slowing of recovery after the recoil momentium has been overcome. Every other post directly addresses the real problem you need to be dealing with. Develope a smoothe steadily increasing pressure on the trigger as quickly as you can after the pistol fires , Recover into your aiming area with precision, permitting the trigger finger to continue applying the steady increase of pressure until the pistol fires again, Use the time after recovery to. Focus your eyes and attention on perfecting sight allignment and allow the pistol to fire its self. Do this three more times for the live firing and one more time to finish the string properly. If any one dissagres take your best shot at the problem. Good Shooting Bill Horton

[Isabel1130]

I believe the answer to your orriginal question is as follows. Weight at the end of the barrel slows and shortens the distance the front sight moves out of allignment caused by the recoil of firing the shot. There is a slight slowing of recovery after the recoil momentium has been overcome. Every other post directly addresses the real problem you need to be dealing with. Develope a smoothe steadily increasing pressure on the trigger as quickly as you can after the pistol fires , Recover into your aiming area with precision, permitting the trigger finger to continue applying the steady increase of pressure until the pistol fires again, Use the time after recovery to. Focus your eyes and attention on perfecting sight allignment and allow the pistol to fire its self. Do this three more times for the live firing and one more time to finish the string properly. If any one dissagres take your best shot at the problem. Good Shooting Bill Horton

The only thing I want to add to what Bill said is remember you talking about adding muzzle weight to a .22. This is a gun that has very little recoil and muzzle flip to begin with. If you think the recoil of a .22 is something that needs to be reduced, in order to align your sights more quickly, you are in for a horrible shock when you see your timed and rapid fire scores with a .45. My advice is that learning how to work the trigger smoothy and align your sights quickly will do more for your 2700 scores by far than attempting to compensate for something that you will have to deal with anyway when you shoot a bigger caliber. There are a number of shooters that do very well with a .22 but when they shoot center fire and .45 their scores are down over a hundred points. I don't know about you but I don't want to be a master or high master with a .22 but only a sharpshooter with the .45 because I did not learn to handle the recoil. K

[jackh]

Another addition to the fray is your hold and your recoil management. I firmly believe that most trigger errors cascade from hold errors. When the hold control breaks and the movement is seen in the sights, the mind tries to compensate in some way. When the hold is solid and steady, the rapid fire rhythm is so great, the trigger works so nice, the shots click off so fine.

Whatever makes the hold better, is a good thing. If the fit and feel of the gun are made easier with weight and balance particulars, do it.

[prohjac]

I went to practice today and concentrated on trigger pull. I shot my highest practice rapid fire at 82. I also tried to shoot some slow fires with the trigger control more like the rapid fire. I rest between shots, but when i do fire, I am trying to pull the trigger quicker and straight back. In the rapid and timed it is amazing how far off if the trigger is not pulled back straight.

Match on wednesday night, hopefull i can break 231 (my best match score).

hjac

[Guest]

I went to practice today and concentrated on trigger pull. I shot my highest practice rapid fire at 82. I also tried to shoot some slow fires with the trigger control more like the rapid fire. I rest between shots, but when i do fire, I am trying to pull the trigger quicker and straight back. In the rapid and timed it is amazing how far off if the trigger is not pulled back straight.

Match on wednesday night, hopefull i can break 231 (my best match score).

hjac

The trick in rapid fire is to know your trigger really well, at what point it breaks, and to recover your sight alignment quickly. It takes lots and lots of practice. You also need to get a feel for the turn of the target and have the slack out of your trigger and be ready to fire when it turns.This will give you a few extra seconds if your first shot breaks quickly and reduces the feeling of being rushed. Rapid fire is something that it took me about 14 full 2700's to start getting the hang of as I have no turing targets where I practice. One of the books that I have on pistol shooting said that a rapid fire champion from Germany by the name of Ralf Schumann fired 5 or 6 thousand rounds a week when he was practicing for rapid fire. He won the three gold medals so it must have worked.There are shooters I know who will work the trigger on their gun with their shooting hand while they are driving down the road. :-) Kate

[prohjac]

Thanks for the help, Since my last post I shot 233, then 235, then 241 in my league all new highs for me. I did purchase the muzzle weight, but I think the trigger control is the toughest part for me. it seems in slow fire when i have all the time to take off a shot, i am much more aware of how I am pulling the trigger back. if the economy ever turns around maybe I will get a scope, but part of me wants to remain traditional.

Thanks again,
Hal