# Glock 19 a little to the left??



## spacedoggy (May 11, 2006)

I have bought three 19's brand new in the last year. Each would shoot 6 inch to the left from 10 feet away. I love the size and feel and even let others shoot them to see if it was me. Out of 5 people four shot left and the other was right on. With the Glock 17 I have no problem hitting dead center.
Does any of this make any sense or has any of you found the 19 shooting a tad left. I even adjusted the sights with no luck. I have sold them and guess I will stick with the 17. It fits my Miami rig anyways. Just wanted to down size some.
The weird thing I shoot the compact 9mm XD better than the service 5inch XD.


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

I shot low and left with every Glock I owned until I bought a G34 with a stock, lighter trigger. IT's just the Glock trigger for me.


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## Tuefelhunden (Nov 20, 2006)

First thing I would think of is are you a righty or a lefty? When I am shooting off to the right as a left hander I know what I'm doing. Pulling my shots with my trigger finger. If I was to shoot off to the left as a lefty then I would conclude an equipment issue. Slightly obvious consideration I know but 3 examples of the same model and the same results but not with the larger G17 makes me think of this.

Sounds like the G17 suits and fits you better. Have you tried a G26 out before? Be interesting to hear how it performed for you. For me it is the opposite and the G19 is the sweet spot size. I can't explain the shooting smaller guns better than larger or longer barrel ones. Not supposed to happen but I do the same thing more often than not. Never had a Glock with a noticeable accuracy issue. Certainly possible though.


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## sc020643 (Aug 25, 2009)

*me too...*

i was told by the range master at my range that this is typical for most glock shooters. when you put your finger on the trigger and commence to pull a cavity is formed in the palm of your hand causing the gun to pull to the left :smt102 anyway i had $250 worth of work done to my glock 17L (had a magwell, palm swell, beaver tail, finger grooves, and heavy grit added by tactical solutions in houston) to try to shoot straighter. supposedly the palm swell was supposed to take care of the cavity created when pulling the trigger. now...the gun shoots closer to center but it's still to the left.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

spacedoggy said:


> I have bought three 19's brand new in the last year. Each would shoot 6 inch to the left from 10 feet away. I love the size and feel and even let others shoot them to see if it was me. Out of 5 people four shot left and the other was right on. With the Glock 17 I have no problem hitting dead center.
> Does any of this make any sense or has any of you found the 19 shooting a tad left. I even adjusted the sights with no luck. I have sold them and guess I will stick with the 17. It fits my Miami rig anyways. Just wanted to down size some.
> The weird thing I shoot the compact 9mm XD better than the service 5inch XD.


Have you tried some dry-firing to detect any potential problems in your trigger control technique? Set up in a room with NO AMMO present, and a safe backstop in case anything might go wrong. Initially, don't even use a target, just a blank white wall or sheet of paper. Squeeze the trigger slowly, and carefully watch the sight alignment all the way through the squeeze. If you see the sights dip or pull to the side when the firing pin releases, then your trigger control is the problem. Concentrate on squeezing straight to the rear, all the way through, without jerking or anything other than a steady squeeze. It's not a Bullseye gun, so you don't have to worry about shooting perfect X-ring center hits; squeeze straight back without stopping or twitching the trigger, and next time you use live ammo at the range, you'll have a better group on target (and it might be a lot closer to center, too).


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## sbc_pd10 (Dec 13, 2007)

There are actually a number of things that could be causing it. I have no idea about your experience with handguns so I will go over a few I can think of off the top of my head.

Assuming you are a right hand shooter:
1. Too little trigger finger.
2. Poor grip. And this can be a couple things really. How exactly are you griping the frame of the pistol? Are you laying your thumbs side by side pointed straight at the target or using a thumbs crossed hold? The grip with thumbs crossed is not a bad grip but sometimes you can put too much pressure with one thumb down on the other which will pull your shots. You may also be applying too much pressure with the grip of your support hand.
3. Improper sight alignment.
4. Poor stance. Do you shoot a modified weaver stance or isosceles stance? Try adjusting your stance a bit or completely switching to a different stance.

Above all else I agree with the previous poster that you need to spend some time dry firing the weapon so you can focus on trigger control as well as the other possible issues I gave you. Personally I like to put a thumbtack or something in the wall or a piece of tape as an aimpoint when dry firing. 

Do some tests and let us know what you find out.


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## spacedoggy (May 11, 2006)

thanks you all gave me a lot to think about. I was down looking at guns at the local shop and held the 17 which I shoot great and held the 19 and found myself wrapping my trigger finger a good 1/4 longer around the trigger. I think instead of trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong I should just get the 17. I had no problem with the g21. 

I had a g30 45acp which I shot real well and bought the 21L thinking I would be the best glock shooter and found I could not hit a thing with it because I think the grip was to big.

I have owned a lot of glocks and I gave them all away to my family and they can't sell any of them until I die. I still like to take them to the range. The only ones I have not kept were the 19's. I think I'll try to find the G17 gen 4 since I still have the gen one.

Thanks again for all your help.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I'm sorry—I've been biting my tongue to keep from writing this, but I can't stop myself any longer.

Glocks were designed in Austria.
Austria has a Socialist government.
Therefore, of course your Glock shoots to the left.
QED

What did you expect when you bought it?


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## Tuefelhunden (Nov 20, 2006)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I'm sorry-I've been biting my tongue to keep from writing this, but I can't stop myself any longer.
> 
> Glocks were designed in Austria.
> Austria has a Socialist government.
> ...


He, He! Nice Steve. Bravo!


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## geauxnavy80 (Nov 17, 2010)

I shoot a 19 as well and have experienced the shooting to the left. The palm cavity was credited with the problem in my instance too. However, no receiver altering was necessary. Just one old, salty, wise man pointed out a fundamental than I forget about nearly every time I go to the range and fire off a whole box. He said, "you're gripping with the wrong hand. Your dominant (firing) hand should grip the gun like you're trying to hold a baby bird, nice and soft. Rather, squeeze and grip with your weak hand to control."...And I'll be darned if it doesn't work EVERY time (as long as I stop to think about it before shooting).


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## EliWolfe (Nov 20, 2010)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I'm sorry-I've been biting my tongue to keep from writing this, but I can't stop myself any longer.
> 
> Glocks were designed in Austria.
> Austria has a Socialist government.
> ...


Wow, not that's an Eli size drift! Funny though! :smt082


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## oldrotorhead (Dec 5, 2010)

*Always listen to old salty wise men*



geauxnavy80 said:


> I shoot a 19 as well and have experienced the shooting to the left. The palm cavity was credited with the problem in my instance too. However, no receiver altering was necessary. Just one old, salty, wise man pointed out a fundamental than I forget about nearly every time I go to the range and fire off a whole box. He said, "you're gripping with the wrong hand. Your dominant (firing) hand should grip the gun like you're trying to hold a baby bird, nice and soft. Rather, squeeze and grip with your weak hand to control."...And I'll be darned if it doesn't work EVERY time (as long as I stop to think about it before shooting).


 My G19 performed better since I began using the same sort of grip as suggested by your old salty wise man. You actually want your "weak" hand to be the stabilizing force while the "strong" hand handles the finesse of pressing the trigger. This is the same concept as supporting a rifle with your weak hand while controlling the trigger with your strong hand. Obvious, but only took me several years to realize.


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## Jed Henson (Sep 28, 2010)

geauxnavy80 said:


> I shoot a 19 as well and have experienced the shooting to the left. The palm cavity was credited with the problem in my instance too. However, no receiver altering was necessary. Just one old, salty, wise man pointed out a fundamental than I forget about nearly every time I go to the range and fire off a whole box. He said, "you're gripping with the wrong hand. Your dominant (firing) hand should grip the gun like you're trying to hold a baby bird, nice and soft. Rather, squeeze and grip with your weak hand to control."...And I'll be darned if it doesn't work EVERY time (as long as I stop to think about it before shooting).


This is interesting. I've been squeezing the grip hard with my dominant hand from front to back to control flip. I too shoot left w/my G19. Some dry fire work improved it, but I still shoot left.

Funny thing: The last time at the range, I was actually a little better one-handed!


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## HK Dan (Dec 22, 2010)

Easy fix, it takes about 10 minutes of good instruction and coaching.

Almost EVERYBODY shoots left or low/left when they start with GLOCKs, it's ubiquitous.

Shift your right hand grip around so you get about 1/8" more trigger on your finger (farther in) and concentrate on a straight trigger press. The problem comes when the shot breaks. The sudden lack of pressure causes you to move the gun. Easy as pie to fix.

Btw--you WANT a cavity between your palm and the pistol. All grip should come from the middle pad on the two middle fingers (the trigger finger and the pinky are just there for the beer) and the heel of the thumb. Think of it like a crab claw. There should be no side pressure from palm or thumbs, ever.

The main force of your grip is with the left hand, in about a 60/40 proportion. Again, leave the pinky loose to avoid sympathetic tension with the trigger finger. The stance is irrelevent. You can shoot good groups standing on one foot leaning around cover, sideways, upside down, or on the move. Sight picture and trigger control is what you want to work on. Stance is for bullseye shooters with too much time on their hands. <g>


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## RiverDog (Dec 7, 2010)

HK Dan said:


> Easy fix, it takes about 10 minutes of good instruction and coaching.
> 
> Almost EVERYBODY shoots left or low/left when they start with GLOCKs, it's ubiquitous.
> 
> ...


 You are not going to get a boat load of approval hear. But what you said in your last paragraph is really true. It is one of my peat peeves. Thrity yard stance and shoot means nothing in the real world. The second shot being a bit to the left is a moot point. They all work well. Say you were shooting from the ground? Me? Point and shoot. Very fast. Nobody trains to do that, but that will be your best friend.

Point and shoot without ever looking at the sights. Very fast. It's not that hard. It's just a training thing. Handguns were only ever meant be be a 10' to 15' type of gun. I liked your comment where you can be standing on your head. That is so true.

However, it can be very misleading. The barrel of the gun will only ever point one way. If you train that way, it becomes very easy. Double tap, triple tap. It's not so much the sight, but the barrel. I don't know how to explain that, but it is true.


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## HK Dan (Dec 22, 2010)

You're describing a Type One focus. Thats a target visual focus with the handgun aligned by body feel. There are five types of focus, and IMHO, we need to train in all of them to be effective combat shooters.

There will be times when a sighted shot is quicker than a point shot--true story. Been there, done that, have the tee shirt. So, we need to be efficient timewise, with the sights, and on the trigger. Confidence is everything.

Type II Focus--Visual focus on the target, sights "ghosted" and aligned roughly. Capable of great accuracy very quickly.
Type III Focus--acquisition of the target first, then flashing on the front sight as the shot is about to break. Probably 60% of the shots in IDPA/USPSA are this type.
Type IV focus--Visual focus on and remaining on the front sight. More typical bullseye shooting here.
Type V focus--visual focus on the front sight, but concentration is on the trigger. Picture a 100 yard shot on a clay pigeon on the berm.


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## RiverDog (Dec 7, 2010)

HK Dan said:


> You're describing a Type One focus. Thats a target visual focus with the handgun aligned by body feel. There are five types of focus, and IMHO, we need to train in all of them to be effective combat shooters.
> 
> There will be times when a sighted shot is quicker than a point shot--true story. Been there, done that, have the tee shirt. So, we need to be efficient timewise, with the sights, and on the trigger. Confidence is everything.
> 
> ...


I can understand that.


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## RiverDog (Dec 7, 2010)

I think we are becoming a bit off centered.

I thought we were talking about why a Glock may tend to twist to the left?

Isn't that all semi-autos? Isn't that how they they all work?


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