First range trip with the P226...

[Padawan]

Well, I just returned from my first trip to the range with my recently purchased SIG P226 Rail. This was also my first time pistol shooting, so it was a great experience on two levels. First, I have to say that I'm very happy that I chose this SIG. Though I have nothing to compare it with, I thoroughly enjoyed shooting it. I put 150 rounds through it tonight, 100 of which were reloads, and had no issues whatsoever with feeding or ejecting. The slide always locked after the last round (which I had read was a small issue on some SIG's) and overall I have no complaints whatsoever. I'm also very pleased with how easily the weapon can be field-stripped, cleaned, and reassembled, and how natural the placement of the controls feels to me.

As for my own progress, I will certainly need a lot of practice, but that's to be expected. I was decent at 15 yds., but at 25 yds. I was having trouble placing them on the paper (standard square target), and most were falling low and to the left. I'll have to bench the gun next time to see how the sights are, but I'm convinced the main problem must be in my technique somewhere.

Well, just wanted to share because it's been an exciting and educational night for me. Thanks to everyone who has given me help here these past few months.

 

[Majic]

Keep your target in close while you are learning. Don't worry about benching right now, just work on your basics and groups.
Congrats and have fun.

 

[pointfiveoh]

That's fantastic, I'll be taking my new 226 out sometime in the next week or two as well. I can't wait

 

[chris in va]

Congrats on the purchase.

One trick/tip...shoot at paper plates. Seriously. They're cheap and show hits very well.

 

[xXStarScreamXx]

My sig loves reloads!


She likes em hot with a giant fireball at the end. (Its a compact gun, the fire ball is about as big as the gun and boy it's a blast.)

 

[jesse2005]

...one of us...one of us...

That's great. You certainly went all-out on your first gun purchase! Nice choice. My next handgun purchase is going to be a 9mm, and the SIG P226 is definitely on my consideration list.

While I certainly won't claim to be an expert here (I've only been shooting handguns for about a month and a half now), I think the "down and to the left" problem just has to do with your grip not being tight enough (you must be right handed). The trick is to hold the gun tight enough that your hand doesn't move when you pull the trigger. Try dry firing with a deliberate loose grip and you'll see what I mean.

Congrats on you new gun!

 

[Struckin Fuggle]

Sig's are sweet ... I also just recently purchased my first and couldn't be happier with it.

My first range trip with a pistol was also left and low-left. I have a correction chart which indicated "too little trigger" and "grip not tight". Turns out it was recoil anticipation and dry firing exercises with snap caps greatly improved my accuracy. Once I became familiar with the trigger pulls, it was all black.

I absolutely love my 229!

 

[rauchman]

Excellent choice on your pistol. It is one of those handguns that is definitely at or near the top of the heap. As someone else suggested, get some snap caps and dry fire practice. Ok, have to put in a disclaimer here, make sure the gun is unloaded before practicing. Ok, pick a spot on the wall somewhere... a small spot on the wall. Practice pulling that trigger slowly and get it to the point where the gun doesn't move as you pull the trigger. Focus on the front sight, not the target as you're pulling the trigger. When you are at the range, I've found for me, the following technique helped me greatly. Get the biggest targets the range has (paperwise in height / width that is). Bring along a trusty magic marker and draw a few circles on the target that are 2" - 3" in width. Start somewhere around 10 yards out and try getting your rounds in those circles. I do 5 shot groupings for each circle. This helped me out tremendously. It makes you aim small/miss small.

Take care and shoot the snot out of that pistol!!!!!

 

[jtb1967]

I think the bench is the best place to start. I'm assuming from your post that you're fairly new to handguns. You need to work on trigger control first. The bench will allow you to do that without worring about your sights jumping all over the paper. I've worked with a number of new pistol shots and shooting from a benchrest was a great start for them.

I'm glad you mentioned your sights. I'm amazed by people that comment "I'm shooting to the left" or "Everything keeps hitting low" without any thought that the sight may not be zeroed.

Probably the best thing you could do would be to pick up a 22LR handgun and practice with it. The ammo is dirt cheap and it will be easier for others to detect any "flinch" you may be developing.

 

[IZinterrogator]

I'm cleaning up my new P226R right now. Does four new Sigs in four weeks count as an addiction?

 

[Destructo6]

The slide always locked after the last round (which I had read was a small issue on some SIG's)

That's a user thumb placement error, really. When you take a high grip, you right thumb tends to rest on the slide release.

 

[Padawan]

I'm cleaning up my new P226R right now. Does four new Sigs in four weeks count as an addiction?

Actually, I believe five is the official cutoff.

 

[stephen426]

Great choice! I hope you enjoy it. If you are not going to carry it concealed, I suggest you get the Hogue soft rubber replacement grips. They feel great and tame the recoil even more. It tends to snag on clothing though so forget it if you are going to carry it concealed. Another thing, if you didn't get the stainless version, make sure you wipe it down with a oiled gun cloth. The non-stainless sigs can rust pretty easily.

As for the shooting paper plate suggestion, here is a cheap improvement. Buy a can of spray paint (your choice of color but I like flourescent orange) and nail it with a shot of paint in the center of each plate. Hitting a plate is easy. Punching out all of the center of a plate is a little harder. Concentrate on grouping all your shots in the center.

Despite the beautiful single action tribber, you should also practice double action shots to better get the hang of it. Decock between each shot and pull the trigger slowly but deliberately. You may have to put your trigger finger in a little more to have more leverage on the trigger. Be careful not to pull your shots though.

As for shooting low, you may be anticipating the shot as mentioned but there is possibly another problem. Most sigs come with stovenhagen (spelling?) sights which is just a fancy name for bar-dot sights. This is great for rapid alignment on the horizontal axis but a little harder on the vertical axis than the traditional 3 dot sights. Make sure you line up the bar with the dot and the top of the rear sight with the top of the front sight. Focus more on the front sight or else your sight picture (target) will be out of focus. Just shift your focus until you are used tothe gun and the grip. Your rear sight will fall into place once you get a few more rounds through it.

I don't want to hog this thread so enjoy your new gun. You made a great choice.

 

[IZinterrogator]

Actually, I believe five is the official cutoff.

Well, I bought five guns, but four were Sigs.

 

[texas-deer-hunter]

Im a new member here and glad I found this site. I too just purchased a new 226 in .40 cal and took it to the range for the first time yesterday. Loved it, I too was shooting a little low and to the left my first group. I moved a little closer and worked on the basics and nothing but net.This weapon shoots great, I shot about 50 rounds thru it and not a single problem. I look forward to talking with you guys.

 

[IZinterrogator]

226R range report

15 yards, three 15-round mags, all in the black (6"). Pretty sweet pistol.

 

[LotI]

That's a user thumb placement error, really. When you take a high grip, you right thumb tends to rest on the slide release.

Agreed...when I shoot my P239 with a M1911 grip, the slide won't lock open.

 

[Padawan]

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions everyone - I appreciate it.

15 yards, three 15-round mags, all in the black (6"). Pretty sweet pistol.

Agreed. I'm definitely the weak link in the accuracy of this pistol, and I'm very impressed with it's construction, feel, reliablilty, and overall operation. I read over everyone's suggestions and did some research on the web regarding grip, stance, etc., then made another range trip this weekend.

I only put another ~100 rds. through it (Winchester Value Pack, which I'm very happy with), but I feel I've already made a decent improvement considering this is only my second time ever pistol shooting. Here's a photo of my best results at 15 yds. Oh, and the hole in the upper right corner is from a staple, not a round :

 

[iplaypearldrums]

sigs

my first 9 was a sig, love the decocker, working on a decocker for a glock,calling it a "deglocker", lol

 

[Destructo6]

That does look good for a second range trip.