Tips on Pistol Shooting

[airgun_novice]

[SNIP]
Apologies for doing so much chest thumping, I am desperately trying to bolster my self image.

Regards,

Dev

Hey Dev, Sorry for snipping off your bhashan like this - but you did a swell job - shooting wise; not the chest thumping. What you did deserves to be tom-tomed (Remember the Phantom?) all across India and actually be taught as a lesson in handling oneself. That was quite a performance bro. Good job and way to go. BTW, your experience is certainly encouraging for novices like me. Thanks a tom, err, ton.

[amarinder]

I am Amarinder singh sandhu from chandigarh . I am 22 and want to start Pistol shooting .
I dont have any knowledge of any cost of guns and the cost afterwards like Pellets and other things that are required .

I would very thankful to you if you could tell me Price of Pistols which are good enough to help me win at National Level and also the cost of pellets .

Regards
Amarinder singh sandhu

[shooterz]

This is for MoA:
The answer to your question about compensating for the recoil of as you described them "full Bore" handguns. You DON"T compensate for recoil. As hvj1 was explaining in his post, you align the sights, focus is mainly on the front sight ONLY: remember humans can't focus on 3 different focal planes, only 1. Slowly squeeze the trigger, and continue to focus on your front sight. This handgun shooting game is weighted much more to mental challenges, than a physical manipulation of the gun. 90% plus, is not thinking about the recoil, that is the key to mastering the handgun. Your JOB as the shooter is to focus on what you are doing, not recoil! You say that is easier than it seems right? It is! What is so disconcerting about recoil? It moves the gun upward and rearward, but does that actually produce pain? No it doesn't. But it makes this loud bang and explosion in front of my face, does that produce pain, no! Yes recoil is shocking and scary to some, but generally those fears are unfounded. Tell yourself mentally, just focus on my task. If you feel yourself starting to flinch before the shot, don't take it. A little backgrond on my shooting life: I started shooting at the age of 6, my first time was with a 2 inch S&W 38 special revolver. I am now 51. I am ex US Marine, pistol instructor and pistol competitor. Here is the link to my youtube video with a 500 S&W magnum. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask them. Thanks, and God bless IFG

[dev]

I am Amarinder singh sandhu from chandigarh . I am 22 and want to start Pistol shooting .
I dont have any knowledge of any cost of guns and the cost afterwards like Pellets and other things that are required .

I would very thankful to you if you could tell me Price of Pistols which are good enough to help me win at National Level and also the cost of pellets .

Regards
Amarinder singh sandhu

The pistols are the Steyr Lp 10, Morini 162ie, Pardini, Walther, Anschutz, Feinwerkbau... The prices In India range from 90,000 to a lakh plus. Which is why you must first shoot and get a hang of the game at a shooting club, handle as many air pistols as you can. Decent pellets through a club are Rs.400, through the scalpers it could go up to Rs.600 for a five hundred pellet pack. these pistols shoot till the Olympics whether you can is another matter.

[dev]

This is for MoA:
The answer to your question about compensating for the recoil of as you described them "full Bore" handguns. You DON"T compensate for recoil. As hvj1 was explaining in his post, you align the sights, focus is mainly on the front sight ONLY: remember humans can't focus on 3 different focal planes, only 1. Slowly squeeze the trigger, and continue to focus on your front sight. This handgun shooting game is weighted much more to mental challenges, than a physical manipulation of the gun. 90% plus, is not thinking about the recoil, that is the key to mastering the handgun. Your JOB as the shooter is to focus on what you are doing, not recoil! You say that is easier than it seems right? It is! What is so disconcerting about recoil? It moves the gun upward and rearward, but does that actually produce pain? No it doesn't. But it makes this loud bang and explosion in front of my face, does that produce pain, no! Yes recoil is shocking and scary to some, but generally those fears are unfounded. Tell yourself mentally, just focus on my task. If you feel yourself starting to flinch before the shot, don't take it. A little backgrond on my shooting life: I started shooting at the age of 6, my first time was with a 2 inch S&W 38 special revolver. I am now 51. I am ex US Marine, pistol instructor and pistol competitor. Here is the link to my youtube video with a 500 S&W magnum. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask them. Thanks, and God bless IFG

Wow and welcome shooterz,
Nice to have a marine teaching us.

Warm Regards,

Dev

[amarinder]

Earlier I wanted to start Rifle shooting but its starting cost was around 2 lakh so I moved to pistol but , that too is very high .

I went to meet the coach , he is straight away asking me to buy the High-end gun .Which I dont want to as first I want too see if I really like it once i start shooting .
Where can i get guns before really buying them , our club doesn't provide any .

Also one more question , If I really work hard, put All i have got into shooting once I start it , Can I win nationals before October ?I mean are Nationals organized before October as I want to get sports Quota for Admissions in MBA college .
I m most likely to start shooting in december month and currently I m among the fastest runners In University (gold and silver in 800 m and 1500 m ) but I want to start shooting now as I want to reach the highest level in Sports and my body has stopped growing physically , so I want to start some mental sport .

[shooterz]

Dev, thank you for the kind words.
May I expound on my comment about handgun shooting being a mental game. It is a much more mental game as you progress in your skills. You must have the fundamentals clear to you first, everything statrs from the ground up....literally! First you must have a proper stance. I like to tell new shooters to take a more aggressive stance than you would think. Don't stand as if you are waiting for the bus. I like a 45 degree angle to my weak side stance. For me it provides good balance. If you stand straight with both feet pointing ahead of you, and not spread out a bit, you will tend to string your shots vertically. As recoil makes you slightly bob backwards. There are some very good videos on the fundamentals of pistol shooting on Youtube. There are also some that you need to hold your nose for, so be selective. Good day all, and keep your powder dry.

"A mans got to know his limitations" - Clint Eastwood

[dev]

Earlier I wanted to start Rifle shooting but its starting cost was around 2 lakh so I moved to pistol but , that too is very high .

I went to meet the coach , he is straight away asking me to buy the High-end gun .Which I dont want to as first I want too see if I really like it once i start shooting .
Where can i get guns before really buying them , our club doesn't provide any .

Also one more question , If I really work hard, put All i have got into shooting once I start it , Can I win nationals before October ?I mean are Nationals organized before October as I want to get sports Quota for Admissions in MBA college .
I m most likely to start shooting in december month and currently I m among the fastest runners In University (gold and silver in 800 m and 1500 m ) but I want to start shooting now as I want to reach the highest level in Sports and my body has stopped growing physically , so I want to start some mental sport .

Hi Amar,

Your coach probably gets a cut from the pistol dealers. I apologise if you think my words are harsh but this is the truth in most cases. If you can spend about three hours a day, then you will be national level in a year and maybe even better. Of course this is all theory as we don't know if you are a natural or can't shoot the broadside of a barn.
Please try to find a range which has pistols and remember you don't need to buy one till you start shooting high scores. I have shot matches with club pistols, it is a cheaper way to find out if you like the sport. Nationals are held in November every year, you will need to shoot 85 in a state level competition and then 360/400 in the North Zone or the GV Mavlankar tournament to get into the nationals.

[rajveer]

with dev,
only getting an expensive A.P. is no gaurantee to take one to the nationals.
What really matters is dedication and discipline.
Don't know weather it fits here, Is't is true 'Flying Shikh' use to run without shoes? as he canot afford one.
If I am not wrong , many top shots atleast in India did not start with a very high end weapon in their hands.
They reached where they are today by their sincere effort, dedication and discipline.

BTW , I have stayr LP 10 E bought a year ago on similar suggestion, it took me no where since I am unable to devote requiered time for trainning.

Regards.

[sat]

Shooterz,

Welcome aboard.. agree with you on shooting being a mental game.

Fine example of you handling a 500 S&W magnum
[youtube][/youtube]


On a lighter note this shows why a firm grip is required on a 500 S&W
[youtube][/youtube]

If you do have the links to the good videos on the fundamentals of pistol shooting do share them with us.

[airgun_novice]

Earlier I wanted to start Rifle shooting but its starting cost was around 2 lakh so I moved to pistol but , that too is very high .

I went to meet the coach , he is straight away asking me to buy the High-end gun .Which I dont want to as first I want too see if I really like it once i start shooting .
Where can i get guns before really buying them , our club doesn't provide any .

Also one more question , If I really work hard, put All i have got into shooting once I start it , Can I win nationals before October ?I mean are Nationals organized before October as I want to get sports Quota for Admissions in MBA college .
I m most likely to start shooting in december month and currently I m among the fastest runners In University (gold and silver in 800 m and 1500 m ) but I want to start shooting now as I want to reach the highest level in Sports and my body has stopped growing physically , so I want to start some mental sport .

Amarinder, read through your sport memoir and am not sure if I read & understood things correctly.

1. Aren't all competitive sports *mental* in nature ? I mean Lutz Long and Jesse Owens both could run, but even in hostile Nazi Germany it was the American who won 4 golds right in face of Hitler. Unless he had the mental fortitude I do not think he could have achieved that feat that remained unsurpassed and unequaled for almost 50 years. So running is as mental as pistol shooting at the highest level.

2. You have a proven track record (G & S) - so why should that not get you a sports quota admission ? I mean as an established athlete you would stand better chances of that quota seat vis-a-vis the sport that you are only just beginning. Being optimist of becoming a National Champ in < 1 yr is one thing but the world champions from EU, US, USSR/ Russia, China or Korea (and of course India) have spent years (average of at least 4 yr) to reach the "Champ" level. So being a pragmatist would actually direct you to follow the sports quota seat in the track event category. Unless the college of dreams does not support track events but the rarer shooting. Now do *not* get me wrong - I am not discouraging you from shooting - in fact you are very welcome into the fraternity and really hope you excel in it as you did in track and field - but your objective seems to be in achieving the quota seat for MBA rather than the pursuit of the sport. Hence wondering if you should change horses mid-stream as they say in TX.

3. Dev has outlined the schedule for you. Even if you do become a National champ you will need to amass a few certificates to stand in good stead with the powers that be. So basically, you shall have to be the G/S/B winner in practically every event that you participate in from this day till Oct-Nov the next year.

4. What Dev said wrt coach and the costly AP is justified. But then some coaches also have this mind frame that if you are going to compete anyway, why not start, use and practice with the gun that you are going to carry. In your case, with your self set schedule to be a National champ so tight (< 1yr), would it not be justifiable to let the gun get used to you and vice versa ? Now if the range does not provide you with even one AP and you still want to be in AP shooting, then you don't have much choice - either you borrow from your friends theirs to try out or follow the links on this forum or any other to zero on one and then use it putting full faith in your capabilities.

Having shared my 2 cents worth of thought, welcome to the fraternity, good luck and hope that your objective gets achieved.

[amarinder]

I want to see if there is that natural talent in me for shooting and also If I have to ablity to sit and meditate and do mental exercises , which is of course important if I want to reach the highest level . But I m bit hesitant in straight away buying that 60,000 rupees pistol.

Are there any cheaper pistol available in the market with whom I can start practising shooting? Our shooting club does not have any .

[dev]

Hi,

Get yourself the IZH Baikal 46m, it will be much cheaper. But you will have to file and sand the grips to fit and then pump it for every shot. The pistol will shoot Olympic scores from a vise. Whether you can achieve it will be the test or the learning.

Regards,

Dev

[shooterz]

Excellent advice Dev. Airguns are great training for firearms. If you really don't like airguns, you probably wont like firearms. Quick question: do you have a limit on the amount of ammo you can shoot or possess in a year? Thanks in advance. Troy

[airgun_novice]

I want to see if there is that natural talent in me for shooting and also If I have to ablity to sit and meditate and do mental exercises , which is of course important if I want to reach the highest level . But I m bit hesitant in straight away buying that 60,000 rupees pistol.

Are there any cheaper pistol available in the market with whom I can start practising shooting? Our shooting club does not have any .

The cheapest that you can find is the IHP .177 - not competition level gun and yet a rare species - ~INR 4K. Yet it will shoot the mandatory 10m distance. I have the same in . 22, which is more easily available - but .22 is off limits from Indian ranges and competitions. It shoots fair. Dev's IZZY suggestion is what you ought to look at since IHP has stopped their PCP production. It's a fave of USSR/ Russia teams and also earlier "rathi-maharathis" of India - record setter too! I was contemplating buying it (in fact once even trading my FWB P34 for it). As Dev pointed out - you shall have to work out on the butt and get it in shape. And also get some extra seals as seal blowing off (and no after sales service by the Russians) is the only technical issue with the Baikal. Since you are a member of a shooting club, you can import one. Check out the threads on the topic. Check out on Pyramid Air for various options and reviews but for ISSF competitions, remember the AP has to be .177 cal only. Start your training then with hvj1's tips and Dev-Jitu's interactions with him. Good Luck.