Okay guys... recently purchased a new Sig P229 in .40 S&W. Have owned a Ruger .22 Single Six for 20 years. I can shot the Ruger, and consistently group shots right at the aiming point. I continue to have problems with the Sig shooting low and left 6 to 8 inches from the aiming point.

I shot .45s while in the Navy, had very little trouble grouping my shots. I've looked at the shooters fault target, which indicates possibly jerking the trigger. I suspected that I would need some transition time, but after 400 rounds, am still having problems.

Hey rijrnnr,

Just a thought - - - but are you using a different grip between the two? I know for me when firing a semi-auto I definately have to have a 'firm' wrist on my strong side hand, and by that I mean that the back of the wrist has to be firm, not a "death grip" but firm.

For my revolvers I use considerably less of a firm hold and especialy on that strong side wrist, seems to help me.

Good luck and fire off another 400 rounds,

Fletch

A couple things, the ruger and the sig have very differnt grips, big recoil differnce, differnt action style, differnt trigger, jerking the trigger amoung others, infact it could just be that certian gun.

what ever the problem is, practice practice practice.

44SandW is right, the two pistols are very different. But in the end, practice will correct or problem. Good Luck.

Shoot your SIG from the bench with a two hand hold over a sandbag and see how it groups. This should eliminate most of the human error and hopefully instill confidence in the pistol and ammo. If it turns out to be human error, work on your shooting basics. Since this is a new pistol, you may have to find that "ideal" position for your trigger finger. It seems that every handgun has a different one. Practice dry firing at a blank wall while focusing on your sights. If your trigger finger is in the right position, the hammer will fall without disturbing the sight alignment. If it doesn't, find the spot on your finger that will give you this result. Finally, are you trying too hard to get X's and squeezing when the sight picture is just perfect? If you are, you aren't getting a "surpise shot" and your squeeze becomes a jerk. When everything seems to fail, go fishing or play golf for a few weekends. Then, go back to shooting with a different approach.

Fletch: try someone elses gun that they are getting good groups with, and see if it is your sight setting, or for that matter try to get someone who is doing good with their gun to try yours. It their hits are in the same place as yours, it could be the sights on your gun. I've had students who complained about their sights being off, and when I shot the weapon the sights were hitting where they were supposed to, other times my hits were in the same place as theirs.

Lee L.

Thanks for the response guys. The differrence between the Single Six with walnut grips, and the Sig grips was my first suspicion. I installed some Houge grips (was planning on it before the pistol purchase anyway), but still have the same result as the factory grips.
I really dont think its the gun, I think its mostly me. It's been over 20 years since I shot large caliber, and figure there will be some adjustment. Next time to the range, I think I will try a few mags with a firmer grip, and a few with a softer grip, see if there is noticable difference. I have varied trigger finger positioning to see if that mattered, but no noticable difference.

Shoot it left handed. If you are still low and left, it's probably the gun. If the group moves to low and right, you are pushing the trigger sideways. If single action, Use the pad of the finger, not the knuckle joint. I think double action only requires a different trigger position, but I've never shot one.
I can't shoot a 1911 with the long triggers that you see in a lot of them. I shoot well with the short trigger, like the Springfield Mil Spec.
humpty

I would try it on the bench, using sandbags, with a 2 hand hold. If still off, have someone else shoot it. This will tell you if it is the gun or your pulling the shot.

It's you not the Sig. Your trigger finger is pushing the sight alignment left and you probably are anticipating the blast and have a flinch which makes you shoot low.
I saw a good sized fellow with a laser grip big bore pistol put the red dot on center and fire. He was anticipating the shot so bad that his group was 8" low and left of center and the target was only 20 feet away. That red dot was always moving down when the shot went off. The flinch was so bad that there was no muzzle flip.
The one person mentioned about dry fire the firearm. that is good and also get some dummy rounds to practice with and at the range have someone else load the magazine for you placing the dummy rounds at random. After a few of live shots and the 3rd or 4th is a dummy, you will see the flinch youself.
When dry firing Always check your gun before practicing. There even bullet holes in most police departments because of an Accidental Discharge (AD).
LC

If you get consistantly good groups but just off the point of aim, its probably just the sights. If the groups are too big it may be you. Fixed sights are generally not fixed where I need them. Only had a few guns hit right to the point of aim out of the box. 2 were 44 specials Smiths, a 1926 model and a 1950 model. Another was a Lightweight Commander 45. You can correct for windage by slightly moving the sight in the dovetail. The elevation can be adjusted with different height sights and I'm sure SIG has them.

[QUOTE=rijrnnr]Okay guys... recently purchased a new Sig P229 in .40 S&W. Have owned a Ruger .22 Single Six for 20 years. I can shot the Ruger, and consistently group shots right at the aiming point. I continue to have problems with the Sig shooting low and left 6 to 8 inches from the aiming point.
;) Hey, Runner,
You've gotten some excellent answers. I hope to help a little bit. If you shoot low and left, (I'm talking about the center of the group now.) every time you go shoot at the same range, no matter HOW you stand or sit, then you need to adjust your sights. If your rear sight is "fixed" and has no screws to adjust for windage and elevation, then you must move the rear sight to the right as you are looking down the barrel. Before you move it, you should use a scribe or a centerpunch having a sharp point to mark where the sight is NOW. That way you can tell how far you actually move the sight by tapping it with a small hammer having a plastic head, or use a brass rod between the hammer and the sight. After you've moved the sight, shoot some groups with it and see if the groups are moving to the right. Repeat until the center of the group is at the horizontal center of the target.

Re: the low shot groups: Remember the old "punkin on a post" saying? Well, to correct for elevation, you must first learn a proper sight picture. If you've done that, and your groups nare still too low, and you have fixed sights, you may have a problem that you shouldn't be trying to fix. The solutions are: (1) place the front post slightly BELOW the top of the rear sight. I don't recommend this one. (2) File the top of the front post down a few strokes with fine-ribbed file. If you've not done this before, don't do this one.(3) Some front sights are "pinned" in place with a small pin. This means that you can probably buy a new, lower front sight. Please remember this: Move a front sight DOWN if you want the group to move UP. Move the rear sight RIGHT to move the group to the RIGHT! This may sound crazy, but this is the way things are.

You can send me an e-mail if you want more info from me. This is done by consulting the Shooters Forum in the "member's profile section".

If your "groups" are HUGE then you are in need of some help in learning shooting techniques and practice to overcome a flinch.

Good luck, buddy.

:) csward

Try shooting with one hand. If you are still hitting the target at 8 o'clock it may be that you are squeezing your finger tips while applying trigger pull (Right hand) or Squeezing your whole hand when applying trigger pull (Left hand). I had a P229 that seemed to shoot/point low between 7 and 10 yds but right on at 25yds. Rather than lining up the dots (Night Sights) in a straight line, I made a triangle with the front sight up and everything cleared up.

SPAD