What can i do to be a better shot with a .45 pistol?

Question

i recently purchased a new colt gold cup trophy .45 caliber pistol, but i have very limited experience with pistols. regardless of whether you think the colt is a good pistol, what should i be doing to practice or look over to work on accuracy?

Answer 1

Same way you get to Carnegie Hall,

Practice :)

Answer 2

I think you have a fine firearm.

A .45 is a great pistol to learn with.

Get yourself a .22 target pistol. I suggest a Ruger (Mark III 22/45).

Find a gun range/shooting club near you with a "bullseye" club. Ask around, you will find one. Used to be very popular. The old guys in the club will teach you everything you need to know.

Get a copy of the book linked below. They may even have it at your library.

Answer 3

Practice these .>>> Breathe, Relax, Aim, Squeeze, Fire...*

Answer 4

Get a 22 pistol and practice with that for a wile and then go back to the 45.Or like others said keep trying with your 45.

Answer 5

If there is a firing range where you live you can go practice there. If not, you might call the local sheriffs' office and ask them for advise on where to practice.

Answer 6

I know it is to late but you should have never bought a .45 for you first gun. There is to much recoil for a novice shooter.

it seems like everyone who purchases a .45 as there first weapon complains about it.

-Too heavy

-Not able to conceal

-Ammo to expensive

-Too much recoil

Just keep practicing and you will eventually get use to it.

Remember - Accuracy is always more important than power.

Answer 7

try practicing with different hand grips. not for the pistol, but how you hold it. also try dry firing the gun while aiming it. it will help break you of the natural reflex that may throw off your aim. and no, this will not damage your weapon. also, i prefer the graspe/fist grip when shooting, not the tea cup/ saucer rgip. it gives you better control. find someone you know that has more experoence and go shooting with them. you'll find gun owners are a pretty learned bunch, and are often willing to give the nw guy some goods tips. good luck, and congrats on the newgun.

Answer 8

The first thing you have to learn about the 1911 is to not limp wrist it or it will jam.

The second is to not death grip it when you shoot it.

The third thing is to take a spent shell casing place it in the chamber. and practice trigger control. What I mean by this is to learn to squeeze the trigger and to learn the feel of the trigger so you can actually know when the hammer is going to fall. You should be able to feel the sear drop and the hammer roll.

Once you get to that point then place one live round in it and aim at a target that is no more than 10 foot away. and work on the trigger control, don't worry about aim just feel the sear and hammer drop.

Then on the same target (new paper) work on your aim. Remember aim with the front sight not the rear. That is place the top of the front sight where you want the slug to go the lift the rear sight so the top of the rear is equal to the top of the front but keep you focus on the target and front sight.

Once you get your aim and trigger control at 10 foot move target to 20 foot and start over.

Keep moving your target out in 10 ft increments.

You will spend hundreds rounds doing this and getting good.

You will soon be able to place 4 inch groups at 75 foot in the 10 ring if you just keep shooting on a regular basis.

Answer 9

Take a class

Practice Practice Practice.

It would also heal to know what you are doing "wrong"

Are you hitting low left.. .or low right...are you right oir left handed...

Most people grip the gun too hard (death grip) and put too much finger on the trigger.

I suspect htat you are flinching a bit and are pulling the gun down (shooting low) and  have too much finger on the trigger.

Only use the tip of the finger.

Get a "dummy" round" and have someone else load your magazines.

Place the dummy round SOMEWHERE in the order...unknown to you... and fire normally... when the gun doesn't go bang.. .and you are not holding the gun EXACTLY where you were aiming at (no reason to move... no recoil... so you can see where you are flincing)....you will know that you are definately flinching (anticipating the recoil) and dumping the round low... practice keeping the weapon steady and slow fire until you get rid of the dumping / flinching / anticipation habit

Answer 10

The Colt is a fine weapon.  There are some technical things that could help your accuracy:

Go to a gun shop and get "snap cap" and practice dry firing with it.  This will get you accustomed to trigger pressure and when the trigger breaks on your particular weapon.

Speaking of triggers, if the trigger on yours is "creepy" (moves some distance before it breaks) it will have a negative effect on accuracy.  If it is a very stiff trigger and you have to pull more than about 3 lbs. your accuracy will be off, too.  If either of these are the case, get it to a gunsmith.

One more thing about the trigger - put the pad of your finger on the trigger.  Don't pull with the trigger in the joint, or bend of your finger.

Finally, experiement with different makes and weights of ammo.  Different guns "like" different ammo, and you will find the make and weight that your gun likes.

And, like so many others have said, practice, practice, practice.

Answer 11

I'll second that -- the .45 isnt what I would consider a good first gun but lets not cry over spilled milk..... Accuracy takes practice and GASP!! -- Accuracy is over rated!... What you ask?  ... Look -- shooting at paper targets is lame... You go bang a few times - walk dont to the target paper and look to see how "accurate" you were..... You'll get bored quick.... How I became a hotshot was different.... I started with a 9MM. -- Then I had a relative that owns a metal shop make me some 12 inch and 15 inch steel targets 5/16ths inch thick. Painted them white with an orange bullseye..... I started at 25 yards and started shooting them. Everytime I hit it I heard a distinctive pling even thru my earplugs... Then worked my way up to 60 yards.....  Bang - Pling, Bang -Pling, Bang - Pling..... . . . .  .  . In very short order I had no problems hitting a target at some distance. I still get most of the bullets on the target but still miss at the 75 yard point sometimes....  Paper targets are fine for rifle shooters or pistol shooting at close range but thats about it.... I enjoy target shooting but do realize that if I ever needed my pistol for self defense thats where the steel plate training come in... When you hit it - its immediatly reactive with movement (depending on how you hang it up) and the loud plink it makes..... Yeah competition shootings great but I want to know if I can hit a pitbull dog attacking somebody with one shot at 100 feet....... Bang - dead!....

Answer 12

You are not going to teach your self to shoot very well. Try to find a gun club that has handgun shooting competition. There you can find or get recommendations to a certified instructor. Once you get some training enter the competition. You are not shooting against the club champ you are shooting to improve on your last score. You only compete with your self until your running with the big dawgs.