Okay, I need some help and hope everyone is kind. I know the basics of handgun shooting, stances, hold, sight picture etc. I have a Dan Wesson .357 that I shoot pretty well. I just purchased a CZ-75B and am shooting all over the target with it at 25ft! When no one was looking I pulled up a chair and sat with my arms on the bench and they all went in the black so I know the gun is doing it's part. Is there any changes I need to make from the revolver to the semi-auto?

E.D.

Okay, I need some help and hope everyone is kind. I know the basics of handgun shooting, stances, hold, sight picture etc. I have a Dan Wesson .357 that I shoot pretty well. I just purchased a CZ-75B and am shooting all over the target with it at 25ft! When no one was looking I pulled up a chair and sat with my arms on the bench and they all went in the black so I know the gun is doing it's part. Is there any changes I need to make from the revolver to the semi-auto?

E.D.

Don't know if it really makes a difference or not, but have evolved into a universal handgun-hold that works for me...big calibers, small, revolver, or semi-auto.

On hand aligned so that the forae arm, wrsit, and handgun form more or less a straight line. Off hand wrapped arround the on-hand so that the thumbs pretty much line up, one on top of the other. Squeeze until there is a slight shake in the hold, and back off just enough to remove teh shake (this is a pretty hard grip...but using one grip for them all pretty much means you need to lean towards the worst case situation). PAD of the trigger finger on the trigger (not the crease of the first joint and nbot the very tip). Watch that front sight and let the rest blurr...squeeze...keep eyes open and control the urge to flinch. Don't relax early, follow through.

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Follow though...at first it doesn't make any sense, after all it seems you've already fired, so haow can it hurt? But you HAVEN'T already fired....your brain sent the command to fire and it belives that you have...but it takes time for that brain signal to get down to your finger (it's partly chemcial...and moves only at about 3/4 the speed of sound), finger to move, trigger to move, hammer to fall, bullet to move, bullet to exit, gun to recoil. Odd as it sounds, your brain thinks fire well before the bullet acutally leaves the barrel, and if you relax early, your gourps will suffer.

Thanks ribbonstone. I notice I do hold the trigger in the crease of my finger, I'll correct that. Also, I don't think I follow through as well as I do with the DW, I'll put in a snap cap and practice tonight.

E.D.

Thanks ribbonstone. I notice I do hold the trigger in the crease of my finger, I'll correct that. Also, I don't think I follow through as well as I do with the DW, I'll put in a snap cap and practice tonight.

E.D.

To this date, my wife still annnot shoot a revolver well...she took to semi-autos just fine, but never did well with revolvers. I just didn't fight the trend; she wasn't and isn't interrested in anything but defence use of a handgun, so why fight her preference for semi-autos?

She's still not much on rapid fire, but given here own pace, her pulled targets usually draw attention.
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Guys, honestly didn't push her in any direction, she was free to shoot any and all handguns I owned or could lay my hands on to test. From a .22Short Minx to a 44mag. We found out (1) she can't shoot revolvers (2) anything above 357 hurts and above 41mag is uncontrolled. She shot them all then she picked out her own gun...all I had to do was pay for it (she still has that Ser. 70 Colt GM).
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Think eventaully you'll get to the point where the crossover from revolver to semi-auto isn't a problem....and as the mechaical system up to the point of iginion is the same from both, would look to (1) finger placement and (2) follow through.

Semi-autos usually have poorer trigger pulls than revolvers, which is a point against them. Also are usually blessed with some creep and a bit of spongy feel to them.

Found over travel to be my personal group-killer...that motion of the trigger backwards after the sear has been released. Again, it's a harder fix with semi-autos (at least most of them) than with revolvers. Will gladly take a 6pound overtravel and creep free trigger over a 3 pounder with those features.
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Took me a good long time to get really good with a Glock...and once I got there, shooting all the other types of handguns suffered...not a lot of crossover; getting good with a Glock seems to "unlearn" most other trigger systems.

E.D. - Back in the olden days when I shot on the Air Force team, we used .38's for slow fire and semiauto for timed and rapid fire. I personally had to use the .45 for all phases as I found it too hard to go back and forth.

Since then I had been a revolver shooter exclusively until the past couple years when I tried to go back to the .45. Like you, I had a heck of a time with the .45 until I found that my revolver hold was way too loose for the semi-auto. Have to really make an effort to clamp down on the .45 to get good groups. (And the grip has to be consistent)

Follow through is very important to good groups, and your dry firing will help improve that. Ribbonstone's comment on over travel is right on also. If that CZ has an adjustment, by all means, set it to the minimum required to make the gun go bang.

I always thought my revolvers were a lot more accurate than my semiautos until I benched them both the same day, and the 40 Witness outshot the 686. OOPS! Turns out my nice relaxed grip on the revolver was exactly what didn't work for the auto. Now I use a strong, firm grip on the auto, and move my hand as far up the backstrap as I can. Recoil isn't a problem with a 357 or a 40, but the firm grip makes a huge difference, for some reason. My biggest problem is, my eyesight is rapidly going downhill, and I can't focus on the front sight as well as I used to. I guess I'm gonna be wearing bifocals at the range before long!

The frustrating thing is, I can read street signs at a quarter mile, but can't read the newspaper I'm holding in my hands! :rolleyes:

Papajohn the Peripheral Peruser

Don't waste your money on bifocals. A shooter needs trifocals with the mid-range set about a foot beyond the front sight. Trust me!

Bye
Jack

Thanks to all for the replies. I'll spend some time at home working on my grip, and it looks like I have an excuse to spend some more time at the range!

E.D.