Sight alignment, grip and a thank you

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

First off I just wanted to thank those that have replied to threads about grip ( thumbs forward ) and curing a flinch from other threads.

I am really feeling good about the thumbs forward grip now. I was doing it incorrectly before the recent help.

The flinch I’m still working on and honestly I think the only way I’m going to fix that is with the dummy rounds which I need to order.

Now to my next dilemma. Sight Alignment.

I used to set my sights for Bullseye with a 6 O’clock hold. So the target ( black ) was always sitting right on the front sight post. Now that I am mostly interested in practical shooting I find myself wanting to point the sight as close to what I want to hit as possible.

My problem is, as the target gets smaller the sight actually overwhelms the target. As an example, yesterday I was shooting at 25 yards and using the PT.com FAST and Dot Torture. I know they are not meant for that but that’s what I had.

When aiming at the 4x6 “head” on the FAST and using POA=POI, I can barely tell where the target is. To get a center hit the sights block half the target so I’m trying to hit a line basically on a 2x6 horizontal rectangle. My natural wobble is all over that. I can hit the box but might have one shot in and four out.

Next was the DOT Torture target. Although I can see the individual dots, once I focus on the front sight they are 1)too small so as to be obscured by the sight, 2) overwhelmed by my wobble, 3)fade out to the point I actually loose them. Again, I might hit one dot with the remaining four shots over near an adjacent dot.

So my question is, does any of this point to a defect in my thinking and ability on sight alignment and picture? Is it still related to trigger control and flinch? Both, other, etc? Any suggestions for a course of cure.

Oh, bth, blade type target sights if that makes a difference.

Thanks again,

Tom B.

2

Tom, when you get out to 25 yards, as you did in your example, every aspect or error becomes amplified. I am in the same boat as you are in a sense that, while being quite dissappointed in my long-range shooting, I get literally infuriated by the fact that I can’t quite pinpoint my problem.

This is how I’ve been qoing about diagnosing it:

  • I know that I still have trigger control problem because I shoot tighter groups with 1911 than with Glock, even though 90% of my shooting is with Glock
  • I know that I have problems with consistently referencing front sight to a distant target. When I put 3x5 card in the middle of NRA bullseye target (creates high contrast for sights and smaller yet visible reference point) my groups are smaller than without card
  • I know that sight alignment is an issue since groups shot with .125 rear sight notch are smaller than with .140 notch.

I have the same issue with front sight covering the target, but there is nothing I can do about it. That is the reason I don’t particularly like POI/POA at 25 yards. My preferred arrangement is what you had for bullseye - 6 o’clock at 25 yards; at “practical” distances of 7-10 yards it is usually dead-on. I even prefer “12 o’clock hold” (2 or so inches low at 25 yards) to direct POI/POA.

P.S. Ball and dummy are really indispensible in diagnosing issues at long range

3

some of your problem may be your sights. target sights are designed that the front post almost fills the slot in the rear. combat sights have a wider slot (or thinner post) that shows a little more daylight on each side of the front sight.

some of the sights, like the Warrens have a radius on the top corners of the rear sights to give a better view of the target. I have Ameriglo Pro Operators on my SIGs and M&Ps. these give a good picture of the target with plenty of daylight around the front post.

it’s good to want to improve your technique but maybe the problem isn’t all you…