shooting technique

[Dwight Gruber]

Evidence indicates that some of the Luger shooters around here are pretty good shots. Lugers are legendary for their accuracy and the way they nestle in the hand, and I'm curious about the techniques you use to shoot them. Offhand? Two-handed combat? Bench (or other) rest? How often do those of you who shoot Navys or Aartilleries (or carbines??) use your shoulder stocks?


--Dwight

[Big Norm]

Dwight,


I wouldn't class myself as a great shot. Nowhere near. My goal is to hit paper. It may not be the paper that I am aiming at, but it is paper. Whose going to complain with an armed man. I don't mean to brag, but I have been known to put all my shots in a two inch circle. However, my acturacy diminished greatly after five feet. Hey! If they expected me to be acturate, they wouldn't have built those big sand hills behind the targets.


Seriously though, when I am sighting in an Luger of any kind for the first time, I use a stock. When I am sure of my sights I quite using the stock, but I will always use a bench. There have been occasions where the sights have been off quite a bit. Sometimes I use sand bags depending on distance. The shooting range that I go to is slowly being developed in areas around the range. I don't want to be the one to encourage the politicians to close it down.

Big Norm

I almost always use a two hand modified Weaver Stance. Which is just gripping the gun with two hands, and usually trying to wrap a finger up by the trigger guard.


I fluctuate, as several people said, if I shoot often, I get better. On the pistol range for .45 and later 9MM qualification, I would shoot expert, or sometimes Sharpshooter, or sometimes, Marksman...


Like Big Norm, my bullet holes are usually very tight, it is the further away that I get that they open up!


Practicing with rounds or without makes a big difference. I read about the Rhodesean team years ago, that they couldn't afford rounds, but they practiced round placement and holding techniques and dry fired their guns. I found that practicing like that would improve my shooting also. I am sure it is from the practice of aiming and practice, practice,


Ed

I consider myself a fairly good shot, and the way I shoot is I grip the Luger with both hands, Lay my head over on my right arm, take Deadly aim , and pull the trigger. Works for me!


Brandon

[Chuck Shoun]

Dwight: I have found that the target I shoot at influences my ability to have a small group. I'm normally a HP bullseye shooter, but when I shoot pistol I use a sihouette target. I find that using a regulation 50 yd target at 25 feet enables me to hold a tight group with both hands with a center-of-mass hold. Also, I put a dot of gold paint on either side of the rear notch and one of the tip of the front sight. These paint pens can be obtained at ShopKo or KMart. This makes the sights more visible, and I don't have to worry about the six o'clock hold. I use both hands and a straight-on stance, works best for me.

[Thor]

A little upper body training will help your pistol firing techinique by improving your ability to hold the gun steady from a standing/no rest position. Remember the movie Annie Calder with Raquel Welch, the old gunfighter (Robert Culp) would teach her to use a heavy stick with a stout cord to wind up a weight. I have used this method with very good success. Take an old broom stick or very large wooden dowel, cut it to length of about 14-16" and drill a hole through the center of it. Put a stout cord through the hole, the cord should be around 36"-40" long after attachment to the two objects. Put any object that weights around 5 lb on the other end of the cord. Stand up and take a hold of the stick with both hands and push your arms directly away from your body out as far as you can reach with your palms down. No slowly wind the stick pulling up the weight until the entire cord is wrapped around the woodend stick. NOW NO SLIPPING, wind the stick the opposite way to unwind the string. Do this for about 3-4 minutes and your forearms(forearm gripping muscles) and upper arms muscles (front deltoids)will scream with pain (but get stronger very fast). You will be able to hold that pistol with rock steadiness after a couple of weeks of doing this alternating days. This will also improve your handshake! lol Thor



Ted's Luger Strawing Service

[Roadkill]

Two hands, center of body, extended with slight bend at elbows, slight bend in knees, exhale 1/2 breath, mentally pull front sight thru rear sight as trigger is pulled slowly directly to rear, should be surprise when gun discharges, 25-30', two inch groups is the norm. Works with Luger, P38,1911A1, Radom, MKVI,BHP, not as good with PP or .25 auto.


Roadkill

[Jim Van Eldik]

Guys,

Dry firing is definately a no no with Lugers right?? These auto pistols are best fired two hand supported at a military style life size silhouette with oval scoring rings at 25 meters. An advantage is when you don't hit plum center you at least get the impression that you would have put the hombre down. Don't punish yourself with too small of target.

Dwight, when I shoot to test the accuracy of the gun, I sit in a chair at the bench, and rest the entire length of both arms on it, and rest the gun in both hands in a crease in a soft bag filled with lead shot. When I shoot to test the accuracy of *me*, I shoot standing, one handed bullseye style.

[John Sabato]

using snapcaps.


The firing pin and the internal face of the breechblock can be damaged without something to fall on...


my $0.02


John

[Frank]

For what its worth. Off the bench, sand bags with the barrel and trigger guard locked into them.


Off hand we shoot the isocolese method. Two hands with the elbows almost locked (skill level). What is important is that as you stand into the gun you slightly have your hips in front of the ankles, shoulders in front of your hips. The boy and I shoot about 10 000 plus rounds of practice this way each year and have found it the best for us.

If you watch any of the action shooters you will see this as the preferred method..

[AGE]

Dwight, Neil gives a good description of combat practice. For testing the gun and sights, use sandbags on a bench, grip the gun with two hands with your wrists on the bag (so the gun can rotate as it would without the sandbag), focus on the front sight, use a 6 o'clock hold on a standard bullseye target, hold your breath and squeeze slooooooooowly. This will show the potential of the gun and hit at about the same point as a two hand combat stance.

[John Sabato]