Cool. There is a culture that accepts guns in the US and then there is the “gun culture” of 'murica rednecks and idiots. I know what you meant, but I just felt compelled to make a distinction. ;)
While it seems that recoil is affecting your shot, it isn’t. The recoil doesn’t start to affect the position of the gun noticably until a bit after the bullet has actually left the barrel. It’s the person who is shooting that gets tense and starts to over-compensate after the first shot. (Physics absolutely does apply and recoil does happen the second the bullet begins to move. However, time is a huge factor in how and when it changes the position of the barrel. F=ma still applies and people forget that a is a function of time.)
Can you explain a bit more what you mean re recoil not affecting my shot grouping? The problem I had was, with how powerful the recoil was, I couldn’t be certain that my hands returned to the exact same position each time… and it being my first time shooting, I definitely hadn’t dialled in that weird ‘look down the sight while also looking at the target’ half-and-half thing.
It certainly gave me an appreciation for skillful shooting! I actually surprised my host with the glock but was pretty hopeless with the magnum. And iirc it was from a pitifully-short distance too.
Ahh I just re-read and think I understand what you meant. The problem I was having was making sure subsequent shots were close to the first one
Recoil management is a fun thing to learn. By “fun” I mean it can take a bit longer and it wouldn’t be the first thing I would teach. I personally would teach a solid grip and good trigger pull first and then go into the details of recoil management. Recoil management is mainly just about understanding how grip and posture work together and being extremely comfortable around firearms. It’s not a first trip to the range kind of lesson, basically.
But yeah, shot placement is absolutely a “you” problem. ;) Bigger guns are difficult to shoot and it can be startling and sometimes painful. Depending on how powerful that gun is, flinching can become a huge problem after the first shot. Good luck getting a group until you learn how to calm down and let your posture return the gun back to its original position.
Any shot that makes it on paper with a handgun is a good shot. I am a natural expert with a rifle, but my handgun work has taken thousands of rounds of practice. Getting some rounds on paper at 50 yards has been a good accomplishment for me over the last couple of years. (That is a pointless distance, but it’s a good measure of my own improvement over time.)
Flinching was for sure a big part of it. I’m autistic, never liked loud noises / bangs, stuff like fireworks. Just walking in there was quite a big deal (especially because being a UK boi I’d never been near a gun let alone fired one), I remember flinching at first just from the concussions I could feel in my chest from other peoples’ shots. Interestingly after 3-4 hours of this, it seemed to have dampened my flinch response substantially.
First words out of my mouth after firing the Magnum was “FUCKING HELL” haha. Big old cloud of smoke, I’d definitely go shooting again. Was fun. Managed to land all my shots on the target at 15m so will take that as a win, especially compared to all the other learner papers they showed me.
