Pistol sights

[Pappaphoward]

I recently completed a chl class and during the shooting portion I noticed that my pattern was off center below and to the left of center where I was aiming. I compensated by aiming high and to the right and that helped but the further away the target was the more I had to compensate. I have a Springfield XP 40. Are the sights off or am I doing something wrong. Is it possible to adjust the sights?

[Flightmare]

I recently completed a chl class and during the shooting portion I noticed that my pattern was off center below and to the left of center where I was aiming. I compensated by aiming high and to the right and that helped but the further away the target was the more I had to compensate. I have a Springfield XP 40. Are the sights off or am I doing something wrong. Is it possible to adjust the sights?

I'm not familiar with the Springfield XP 40. If the sights are adjustable it IS possible for them to be off. A buddy of mine has a Ruger P95 which had the sites off. I loaned him my 9mm boresight laser so that he could see how far off it was. He was able to make adjustments and was good from that point on. That being said, this chart may help you out. I've found that more often than not, the issue is the shooter and not the firearm.



This chart is for right handers. For left handed people, reverse it.

[Middle Age Russ]

If you are right handed, what you are experiencing is likely one of trigger control rather than the sights being off. When we grip or curl one finger, the adjacent fingers sympathetically move as well. Unless we train the trigger finger to move independently, when we add pressure to the trigger, we also grip to a lesser degree with the other fingers of that hand, resulting in points of impact different than what we initially saw through the sights. Slow fire, focusing on exactly how the sights are moving as you gradually add pressure to the trigger, can help train the trigger finger, as can purposeful, slow dry-fire practice.

[parabelum]

Distance you shoot during your CHL qualification is nowhere near the distance at which you should need to compensate. Your poa/poi should be very close to center unless you're firing a wheel gun, especially in 44 mag or 454 casull version

Did you let your trigger travel to reset then fire, or did you go all the way forward?

[cmgee67]

First mistake was a Springfield

[parabelum]

Springfield sights are adjustable for windage, elevation not so much.
Having replaced the sights on a number of XD pistols it is my firm belief the croatians install them cryogenicly with assistance from a 20 ton hydraulic press and a very aggravated mountain gorilla with an exceptionally large hammer.
You can press, or drift the rear sight left and right to adjust POI/POA - Im sure someone will come along and recommend "the absolute very bestest" sight tool - in all honesty though it is a roll of the dice. I have broken Whelers, MGW, and other less well known models and now do not even bother. I have gone to Advantage Tactical sights on almost all of my pistols and use a dremel with a cut off wheel to remove the factory sights.

Maybe they just drink too much Rakija?

As a fellow ex-Yugo that would be my suspicion.

[Wag2323]

I would practice more first and work on trigger control. If you can hit POA even a few times it is likely that you just need to practice and it isn't the gun.

I am left handed and with any gun will shoot low and right if I do not have good trigger control. The most prevalent is my smallest pistol a Kahr CW9 but if I do everything correctly it still will hit the POA. This is less prevalent with my full size handguns a XD9 and HK VP9 but happens time to time. My VP9 is a real tack driver if I allow it to be.

I shot a Ruger LCP this weekend and also the same low and right. But even it hit POA once I figured out how to hold it and have proper trigger control.

[Jigo23]

If you had good consistent group's low and left that's good news as in whatever the cause (mechanical - the gun, or mechanics - the shooter), it can be corrected. A few questions...do you shoot all handguns with the same result? Have you let anyone else shoot your gun? If that's your only gun, either rent one at the range or shoot with a buddy and let him/her shoot your gun and vice versa. You can also ask one of the folks that work at the range to shoot it for you or another fairly competent shooter. Both of those things will lead you to a solution. That pie chart is very helpful also in diagnosing. I agree that it is likely trigger control. A good drill for that is to let someone else load up a magazine for you to shoot at the range. Have them arbitrarily load in a couple of snap caps (or dummy round) somewhere in the mag and shoot normally. Take note of any muzzle movement when the snap cap cycles up. Yes you can make sight adjustments/replacements (in this case drift rear sights to the right and get a shorter front sight) but before I did any of that I'd try to iisolate the problem first. Unless the sights are obviously not centered in the dovetails, I'd try the other things before doing anything to the sights.

[MechAg94]

I tend to do the same when I am sloppy. When I concentrate better on trigger control and focusing on the front sight, I do better.

[Bitter Clinger]

First mistake was a Springfield

Good point. The Glock would have amplified the condition.

[bayou]

I am left handed and had the problem of shooting about 2 inches low and to the right at the distance of 7 1/2 yards which is the left handed equivalent to what you are doing. When I realized I was putting my index finger of the non trigger hand in front of the trigger guard rather than under it and corrected this it moved the pattern to an inch directly to the right. The next correction I had to make was that I was not using enough of the trigger finger and it was pulling the gun to the side when I fired. I use more of the finger than the tip and shoot dang near dead center now. Hope this helps.

[Medley86]

I am left handed and had the problem of shooting about 2 inches low and to the right at the distance of 7 1/2 yards which is the left handed equivalent to what you are doing. When I realized I was putting my index finger of the non trigger hand in front of the trigger guard rather than under it and corrected this it moved the pattern to an inch directly to the right. The next correction I had to make was that I was not using enough of the trigger finger and it was pulling the gun to the side when I fired. I use more of the finger than the tip and shoot dang near dead center now. Hope this helps.

I always shoot with my off hand index hooked on the front of the trigger guard. It helps my accuracy tremendously.

[bayou]

I never meant to imply that the way I have my off hand's index finger was the correct or only way. Its just that when I have it wrapped around the front I do something goofy such as flinch or pull the gun to the side or something. It took me several months to figure it out. I'm still working on being able to cut holes in the center of the target at the 15-25yrd range.