Help with 25yd pistol accuracy

[bjxds]

I have been shooting with some family members, and they are getting better with one exception, well maybe 2.

While working on accuracy we started with 2 inch circles at 3 yards, then 7. The majority of shots 5/6 are within in the circle. When we moved to 6-8 inch circles at 25, things fell apart. Approx 3/6 in the circle, but there is no consistency to the grouping.

Obviously I am not an instructor, but it seems fundamentals are good. I would assume if not, the 7 yard 2 inch groups would not be what they are. The majority of shooting is done with a 4 inch PPQ.

Also, the dry fire speed times seem to be much better than live fire. Although I can't see if they are actually on target with dry fire they claim to have sights on target at trigger pull. There seems to be a hesitation during live fire that is is not present during dry fire. Dry fire seems to be much more relaxed and confident. I am not sure if this is natural when progressing from dry to live fire?

[Voodoo_Man]

I run 25y accuracy drills as a standard I use for myself, you can see them on my blog

http://vdmsr.blogspot.com/search?q=200+drill

25y shooting is not something that most can do without practice and good working knowledge of POA/POI of your sights and barrel as they relate to specific ammo loads.

Dryfire is an extremely important part of 25y accuracy shooting and requires a substantial time investment in order to achieve very high accuracy at 25y.

If you have never run one, as I linked above, run a 200 drill. Get an NRA B8 target and keep track of where you are with what ammo, what sights and what barrel. some will be more accurate, some will be less accurate and your score will reflect where you are and how much work you need to do in order to increase your accuracy.

[125 mph]

What type of ammo are you using?

[bjxds]

VDM: I will try the 200 drill with them the next time out to get some baselines. Might start with at about 10 yards. I shot it 4 times today, 136,157,147,146, so I have some work to do as well. What a difference an inch makes on the score! Also lots of very interesting info in your link.

125: Mostly Freedom Munitions 115 and 124 grn reman and new.

[Voodoo_Man]

It is called a "drill" but it is really a standard for pistol accuracy.

Try not to run it too often or multiple times in one sitting, you will start to suffer learners fatigue - I get pretty annoying after the second or third one depending on what type of 200 drill I am doing.

You should always shoot it cold, first thing when you get to the range. Keep track of your progress.

[Slab]

Run some ball and dummy exercises with them...

[26 Inf]

Just in case this is a pretty good description of 'ball and dummy' - http://pistol-training.com/drills/ball-dummy-drill

I sometimes work folks with dummies at known intervals to make sure they see a perfect shot - 'okay the next one is the dummy' - the sights shouldn't move, if they do the shooter has other issues besides anticipation.

[equilibrium]

25 yards isn't a range that most pistol shooters can even achieve. 3/6 is good for anyone that isn't interested in competition shooting. I shoot at 25 yards to end all of my pistol range sessions and still have some flyers.

[equilibrium]

Practicing with the same pistol and ammunition is the only way to get better. I used to shoot with a guy who could hit a 100 yard steel plate with his handgun. Amazed me. He is the one who taught me how to shoot at 25 yards and there wasn't much training involved. It only consisted of practicing and learning my weapon.