# n00b question



## darksithlord (Dec 1, 2008)

I am new to pistol ownership and a new CPL holder. I purchased a Glock 19 and have been getting a lot of practice with it. I am curious what kind of techniques would be best to help hone my skills more?


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## Redwolf (Nov 29, 2008)

Do you practice by yourself, the reason I ask is bad habbits get worse with practice. Have you taken any classes on handguns. I enclosed a link to check out. Practice is a good thing with good habbits. craw walk run Good Luck

http://www.triad-tactical.com/

"Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence" JFK


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## tekhead1219 (May 16, 2008)

darksithlord said:


> I am curious what kind of techniques would be best to help hone my skills more?


Enroll in a Basic NRA course for handguns, then, practice, practice, practice.:smt023


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## darksithlord (Dec 1, 2008)

Redwolf said:


> Do you practice by yourself, the reason I ask is bad habbits get worse with practice. Have you taken any classes on handguns. I enclosed a link to check out. Practice is a good thing with good habbits. craw walk run Good Luck
> 
> http://www.triad-tactical.com/
> 
> "Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence" JFK


I practice weekly at this point and I am always with a friend at the range. So I have been asking for advice on technique from them.
The only class I have taken so far "officially" was the course to obtain my license. I will see what is in my area.
That site is pretty good thanks for the link.



tekhead1219 said:


> Enroll in a Basic NRA course for handguns, then, practice, practice, practice.:smt023


When I go to the range tomorrow I will find out which one they recommend. I have definitely been practicing every chance I get!

Thanks for the replies guys.


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## Dynamik1 (Dec 23, 2007)

First, congrats on everything you have accomplished to this point and Kudo's to you for wanting to improve your skills even further. There are a couple of NRA classes that I would recommend. In my area they are offered at local ranges. The first would be "Personal Protection Outside the Home" and the other would be "Personal Protecttion In the Home". Both offer great training technique. The other very valuable tool in my opinion is defensive shooting - something like IDPA competition. Usually you can find a gun club or range that offers IDPA-style shooting competitions on a weekly basis. This is a great way of reinforcing the skills that you learn in a classroom.

Good luck!!


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## darksithlord (Dec 1, 2008)

Dynamik1 said:


> First, congrats on everything you have accomplished to this point and Kudo's to you for wanting to improve your skills even further. There are a couple of NRA classes that I would recommend. In my area they are offered at local ranges. The first would be "Personal Protection Outside the Home" and the other would be "Personal Protecttion In the Home". Both offer great training technique. The other very valuable tool in my opinion is defensive shooting - something like IDPA competition. Usually you can find a gun club or range that offers IDPA-style shooting competitions on a weekly basis. This is a great way of reinforcing the skills that you learn in a classroom.
> 
> Good luck!!


Thank you for the input. I want to make sure no matter what I am safe yet prepared for whatever situation I may be presented with. 
I have been keeping track of my progress by comparing my targets and I see a huge improvement from the beginning. I also have found that I am better when I am not using the sights, but just going off of instinct. Even though I am right handed I noticed I shoot better with my left, so my right hand needs much more work.


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## bruce333 (Sep 1, 2006)

darksithlord said:


> Even though I am right handed I noticed I shoot better with my left, so my right hand needs much more work.


You might be cross eye dominant. What I mean is. You are right handed but you left eye is the dominant one.


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## Ptarmigan (Jul 4, 2008)

I think Bruce is on to something. I am cross eye dominant myself. Once I figured that out my shooting improved greatly.


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## darksithlord (Dec 1, 2008)

bruce333 said:


> You might be cross eye dominant. What I mean is. You are right handed but you left eye is the dominant one.


That is something I never even thought about. How would I go about finding out, just a regular visit to the optometrist?



Ptarmigan said:


> I think Bruce is on to something. I am cross eye dominant myself. Once I figured that out my shooting improved greatly.


How do you work with it?


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## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

darksithlord said:


> That is something I never even thought about. How would I go about finding out, just a regular visit to the optometrist?
> 
> How do you work with it?


IMO, the best way to find out, is by shooting. If you have better control of the trigger, and shoot better with your left-hand, then I would say you're cross-eye-dominant. There are a lot of cross-eye-dominant shooters out there, and it only requires a slight shift of the pistol. If you practice this way, you will eventually automatically bring the pistol up to the right position.

I am probably more of an ambidextrous shooter than most, since it is not all that uncomfortable for me to shoot right-handed (I'm a left-handed shooter). Although I shoot a touch better with my left-hand, I very often practice off-handed (or right-handed for me) shooting at the range. When I do this, it's still rather easy to use my dominant eye (left, for me). It probably helps that I am right-handed in most things in life (everything except shooting, writing and eating), but you may develop as a left-handed, cross-eye-dominant shooter. Now would be the best time to find out. :smt023

-Jeff-


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## Ptarmigan (Jul 4, 2008)

Here is a simple test to find out which eye is your dominant one:

Use both your hands to make a triangle and hold your arms straight out from your face. Look at an object through the triangle with both eyes open. Then close one eye (let's start with the right eye) and look at the object. Do the same thing with your left eye closed. One eye will be like looking with both eyes and the with the other eye the object will off center in the triangle. The eye that is like using both is your nominant.

Do that and let us know which eye is your dominant.


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## kg333 (May 19, 2008)

darksithlord said:


> That is something I never even thought about. How would I go about finding out, just a regular visit to the optometrist?


Oh no, nothing that complicated. Here's a link with simple instructions:
http://vision.about.com/od/contactlenses/ht/Eye_Dominance.htm

Basically, you just focus on an object about 15 feet away, form a triangle between your hands around it, and bring it back to your face while keeping the object centered. Your hands will naturally come back to your dominant eye.

KG

EDIT: Gah, double-ninjaed...


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## darksithlord (Dec 1, 2008)

WOW that is some excellent information guys. Thanks so much :smt023
I did the test three times and each time it appears my dominate eye is my right, so perhaps it is more how I hold my pistol or the amount of force with squeezing the trigger? I am going to try and get to the range tomorrow and work some more and seriously pay attention.
Maybe I will have my wife come along, she is good with criticizing :smt082


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## Ptarmigan (Jul 4, 2008)

O.K. now we have that figured out. Next time you go to the range, focus on your grip. Do not grip too tight. The trst here is to hold your weapon and squeez until it shakes. Then let up just enough that it stops shaking. That is the amount of force you want to use. Also, squeeze the trigger so slowly that it surprises you when the gun goes off. Last but not least, get some dummy rounds and load them in with your live ammo. Have your wife watch when you shoot and her her tell you if you dip the gun when you hit on one of the dummy rounds. This is very common because many shooter anticipate the shot.


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## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

Ptarmigan said:


> O.K. now we have that figured out. Next time you go to the range, focus on your grip. Do not grip too tight. The trst here is to hold your weapon and squeez until it shakes. Then let up just enough that it stops shaking. That is the amount of force you want to use. Also, squeeze the trigger so slowly that it surprises you when the gun goes off. Last but not least, get some dummy rounds and load them in with your live ammo. Have your wife watch when you shoot and her her tell you if you dip the gun when you hit on one of the dummy rounds. This is very common because many shooter anticipate the shot.


All _great_ advice (as usual), especially the dummy rounds. Have your wife load your magazines for you with some random dummy rounds in there. Often times, you won't even need her to tell you if you've flinched. The first time I had this done for me, I felt like a dummy when I pulled the trigger on a dummy round. :anim_lol: This has helped _many_ people I know, including myself. :smt023

-Jeff-


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## darksithlord (Dec 1, 2008)

Excellent, I am really looking forward to getting to the range tomorrow so I can work this out. For the first time I wish I lived in the middle of nowhere so I could just go out to my yard.


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