First off, I am looking for some help not critizism, so if your just gonna take pot shots at my ability then keep it to your self.
Now with that said I went to the range on Saturday and noticed that I was pulling about 3 to 4 inches to the left but still center. This is my first trip to the range with this gun, so I have no experience with it or how it handles. Being my first trip out with it I shot 150 rnds of "get to know ya" 165 grn fmj Winchester at the 7 yrd line. I am not confident enough in my skill to say that its due to the sights or characteristics of the gun itself. The gun is a barley used XD .40 stainless 4 inch. Like I said I've never shot one before but the gun points so naturally I would have thought I would've done better. Comparatively I have done well with my dad's Glock 23 and of course my p229 was a solid performer. If anyone could share their experience with this gun that would be great. Also are the factory dovetail sights adjustable? My main goal in this fact finding mission is to find out if there are any characteristic issues with an XD or maybe the sights could be off from the previous owner, anything about the gun that would compound my slowly developing trigger control issues.
Anyhow thanks for the help.
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Crapshoot wrote:First off, I am looking for some help not critizism, so if your just gonna take pot shots at my ability then keep it to your self.
Now with that said I went to the range on Saturday and noticed that I was pulling about 3 to 4 inches to the left but still center. This is my first trip to the range with this gun, so I have no experience with it or how it handles. Being my first trip out with it I shot 150 rnds of "get to know ya" 165 grn fmj Winchester at the 7 yrd line. I am not confident enough in my skill to say that its due to the sights or characteristics of the gun itself. The gun is a barley used XD .40 stainless 4 inch. Like I said I've never shot one before but the gun points so naturally I would have thought I would've done better. Comparatively I have done well with my dad's Glock 23 and of course my p229 was a solid performer. If anyone could share their experience with this gun that would be great. Also are the factory dovetail sights adjustable? My main goal in this fact finding mission is to find out if there are any characteristic issues with an XD or maybe the sights could be off from the previous owner, anything about the gun that would compound my slowly developing trigger control issues.
Anyhow thanks for the help.
Before you blame yourself, check the sights for alignment. Use a bore sight to make sure the sights are properly aligned. I had the same issue with my Ruger P89. All my shots were left of center. I then bought a bore sight laser and found out it was a misaligned sight. Adjusted the rear sight and everything is dead center now. Check this one out http://www.laserlyte.com/Laser_Bore_Sig ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. By the way, you can find it a Walmart for lot less than at this site. Bushnell also makes one very similar. I'm not familiar with the XD, so don't know if your sights are adjustable.
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Also try shooting it with the other hand. If you carry then you need to be able to shoot reasonably well with your off hand anyway, so do 10 or 20 rounds opposite each time you practice. If the sights are wrong, it will stay wrong, but if it's something you're doing, the problem will usually reverse itself.
You didn;t say where you are located. It's not unusual for the sights on a used gun to be off a little or a lot. Look at the front and rear sight and see if they are centered on the slide. If the front sight is off to the right that will make the gun shoot left if the rear sight is off to the left then the gun will shoot left.
Get another shooter to try it and see if they have the same problem if so then the sights need to be moved otherwise you need to refine your trigger control. From your description I think it is a sight issue.
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It is really impossible to trouble shoot any type of shooting issues sight unseen. Everyone here has given good possible answers. Still your best bet is to get the best shooting instructor you can find and have them evaluate you and your gun as it will be one or the other.
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Agree with Compvest, don't have enough info. Here is a chart for hand gun shooting if it is technique. I have several XD's and I know they sight even across the back sight, as opposed to the way you would sight a single action or a post sight. Hope this helps a little. Did anyone else shoot it with the same results?
RiverRat wrote:Agree with Compvest, don't have enough info. Here is a chart for hand gun shooting if it is technique. I have several XD's and I know they sight even across the back sight, as opposed to the way you would sight a single action or a post sight. Hope this helps a little. Did anyone else shoot it with the same results? http://home.earthlink.net/~potomac008/P ... 0Wheel.htm
haven't had anybody else shoot it yet
‘‘We, the People are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts — not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow men who pervert the Constitution.’’
— Abraham Lincoln
CHL
NRA
Conservative American
Die Hard Texan
It could be the sights. I've got an XDM. WHen I first got this gun (and still a little), I shot low and left. It's not uncommon to shoot low and left with these. The trigger is different than a lot of people are used to. Most folks are able to adjust their grip and improve their trigger control to resolve the issue. Like I said, that usually for low and left (assuming a right handed shooter).
A couple of ways to check things.
Shoot with the right hand and shoot with the left hand. Does it go left both ways, or does it go to the right when you shoot left (or maybe center)?
Get someone else to shoot the gun (may or may not show anything).
Just FWIW, here's my story, and I would say it is highly likely that it is trigger technique but it very well could be hardware.
When I first got my Kahr CW9, I took it out and shot it. 100 rounds or so, and I was grouping low-left. That's classic trigger problem for a right-handed shooter. So then over Christmas my father-in-law, who is a retired LEO, competitive shooter, and all-around excellent marksman with a pistol, shot it and he was shooting consistently high and right with the very same pistol. Then my brother-in-law shot it and we could not figure out where his shots were going but they weren't on the paper.
So, clearly, it was not the gun. And indeed, with some practice, I managed to get my shooting right on the button with my Kahr. Then a week or two later I was out with a friend and we shot a gun that he eventually gave to me, and then I sold. It was a PT111. My friend shot it right on the bullseye but I could NOT get it within 12" of the bullseye (low). No matter how hard I tried. I just could not get it to shoot where I wanted it. So I wound up selling it. Then a little while later my wife and I went out shooting and I took my Sigma and my Kahr, and we had friends with us who had a 92FS with them. I shot the 92FS dead-nuts and my Kahr right on the bullseye but when I shot the Sigma, it was way left. 50 rounds later and I was shooting the Sigma right on target again. My wife shoots the Sigma perfectly and also shoots my Kahr perfectly. She's a crack shot.
OK, so the point is, it's most often trigger technique. You can get a group of people together and swap guns around and you will find everyone grouping in different places with different guns largely based on what they are used to. If you are used to a SA trigger then the DAO XD is going to take some practice to get it on the center.
Now, there are things besides sight alignment that can cause this, such as barrel crown or of course a bent barrel. Bad barrel crown can cause the shots to wind up in funny places even when the sights are dead-on when checked with a bore-sight. Also remember if you use a bore-sight tool, it does not account for the arc of the bullet and your shots will likely be high or low of the bore sight depending on the distance, but rarely can you adjust pistol sights for elevation anyway. And on that note, different ammo will print in different spots. Bear this in mind if you practice with ammo that differs from your carry ammo.
