[cfr]

I've owned my Gen4 22 for about 18 months, and my Gen3 27 for about 6. For a while Ive been questioning if I wanted to keep the 22. I was considering either a Sig P226 or XDM, either in .40, in hopes of shooting them better.

PLEASE DO NOT START A CALIBER WAR IN THIS THREAD.

Anyways:

I shot both a Beretta 92 and a Springfield XDM today, both in 9MM. Here were my thoughts:

1. Going from DA/ to SA is just not a skilll I think I'll be aquiring anytime soon. I simply dont see it as something I want to spend the $$$ or time learning, so that rules out the 226.
2. I suppose the whole grip angle thing would be better on the XDM, if I didn't have a Gen4 with a Hogue grip. Even my Glock hating friends say it feels better than any other Glocks. It sort of makes your hand miss the hump.
3. I suppose the supported chambered barrel thing would bother me, if I didnt pick up a LWD barrel right after I bought my 22, as I freaked out and thought my gun was going to explode. I never even use that thing. :embarassed:
4. I also suppose the XDM sights would seem better, if I didnt already put Meprolight night sights on my 22.

All this being said, I see no benefit to going to the XDM.

Most importantly, I didn't shoot either pistol better than my 22. I am an equal opportunity mistake maker, and do not discriminate againt any of them.

As you can tell, this is as much an endorsment for my 22 as it is me asking questions. So finally:



I need to get better. Ive mostly corrected the low/ right thing (Im a lefty) when firing slowly, not so much when I pick up the pace. Is there anything better I can do than to buy an AA .22 conversion kit, and start shooting much more than I have been?

My thinking is that Ive developed a flinch response to firing a .40, lightweight pistol. I know .40 isn't for everyone, but Ive read all there is to read on the debates of this round and its the one I want to be proficient with.

Is the conversion kit what will lead me on my path to greatness?

 

[Army_of_One]

I've owned my Gen4 22 for about 18 months, and my Gen3 27 for about 6. For a while Ive been questioning if I wanted to keep the 22. I was considering either a Sig P226 or XDM, either in .40, in hopes of shooting them better.

PLEASE DO NOT START A CALIBER WAR IN THIS THREAD.

Anyways:

I shot both a Beretta 92 and a Springfield XDM today, both in 9MM. Here were my thoughts:

1. Going from DA/ to SA is just not a skilll I think I'll be aquiring anytime soon. I simply dont see it as something I want to spend the $$$ or time learning, so that rules out the 226.
2. I suppose the whole grip angle thing would be better on the XDM, if I didn't have a Gen4 with a Hogue grip. Even my Glock hating friends say it feels better than any other Glocks. It sort of makes your hand miss the hump.
3. I suppose the supported chambered barrel thing would bother me, if I didnt pick up a LWD barrel right after I bought my 22, as I freaked out and thought my gun was going to explode. I never even use that thing. :embarassed:
4. I also suppose the XDM sights would seem better, if I didnt already put Meprolight night sights on my 22.

All this being said, I see no benefit to going to the XDM. As you can tell, this is as much an endorsment for my 22 as it is me asking questions. So finally:


I need to get better. Ive mostly corrected the low/ right thing (Im a lefty) when firing slowly, not so much when I pick up the pace. Is there anything better I can do than to buy an AA .22 conversion kit, and start shooting much more than I have been?

My thinking is that Ive developed a flinch response to firing a .40, lightweight pistol. I know .40 isn't for everyone, but Ive read all there is to read on the debates of this round and its the one I want to be proficient with.

Is the conversion kit what will lead me on my path to greatness?

I'm going a different route to try to achieve the same thing. Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel and G17 mags. $175 for that setup. The ammo is more expensive than the .22, but I want some recoil to practice with.

 

[DRAGON1970]

I would say learn shoot what you have. Make a choice and practice alot. Shoot some IDPA, USPSA and learn your pistol.

 

[GlockinNJ]

Is the conversion kit what will lead me on my path to greatness?

IMO, no. There's no substitute for putting lead downrange. To supplement live fire training, get some snap caps and dry fire at home. That's a cheap tool for getting rid of the flinch.

Don't get me wrong, the AA kits are great, but to get accustomed to recoil of the .40, you need to shoot .40's.

 

[Glock_en_speil]

cfr,

A few months ago I was in the same position as you. I thought there must be something "better" about a more expensive gun so I purchased a "gold" membership at my local range which gave me FREE access to their extensive selection of rental guns. I tried several Sigs and H&K's and decided that I absolutely dislike the DA/SA system as it makes no sense to me at all. I'm sticking with striker fired pistols for now. I also tried several of their 1911's (which are SA only of course) and liked them a lot. I may have to get a 1911 eventually but for now I am comitted to both my Glock 17 Gen 4 and my S&W M&P FS 9mm.

I don't care for the XD because of the very high bore axis along with their kind of odd choice to use a grip safety. While it's very traditional in the 1911 I feel it's kind of silly in a polymer pistol. It's kind of like putting a manual choke in a modern automobile.

May I suggest instead of spending the money on another platform that you invest in your current choice of Glock either through more range time, ammo or perhaps even some professional instruction.

 

[Giggity-Giggity]

Take a class and dry fire until Jesus comes.

 

[uplinker]

I also struggled with striker fired pistols in the beginning. My first was an XD45 and low/left was the norm(I'm a righty). I gave it an easy 1000 rounds and was ready to sell it and just stick with my 1911 when I read a post about trigger jobs and how they have helped the un-helpable. I put in a trigger from Springer Precision and instantly my groups centered up and shrunk at the same time.
My first Glock was a Gen4 22 and I had the same results with the factory trigger, low/left. I did a .25 trigger job to it and now it shoots as expected.
BTW, I also dryfire 20-30 minutes a day with any of my now six Glocks and that helps alot also.
Don't give up.

 

[AZson]

I originally could not hit a dam thing with any of my guns until I shot shot and shot some more. I learned to just use the tip of my finger to shoot autos.
Of course reloading my own helped also, I had no quilt about going to the range.

 

[Butch]

My thinking is that Ive developed a flinch response to firing a .40, lightweight pistol. I know .40 isn't for everyone, but Ive read all there is to read on the debates of this round and its the one I want to be proficient with.

Have you read my blog?

If not, I'd suggest the articles on trigger control and using the reset.

 

[cfr]

Really shocked by the responses. I thought for sure most people would say to do the conversion. :shocked:

Committed to my Glock, and will not sway as theres really nothing else I want more. Of course a bigger variety of weapons would be nice, but thats not going to happen anytime soon.

I dry fire a lot, and do so with no movement.

I also use the reset, and really like the Glock reset over the XDM.

I also simply cannot afford to shoot more that I currently do, which is why I was thinking the conversion.

:dunno:

 

[Butch]

I dry fire a lot, and do so with no movement.

If you can do that, you can shoot the gun accurately, you just have to pull the trigger the same when firing as you do when dry firing.....do not *decide* to fire the shot....apply increasing pressure to the trigger until the gun fires.

Get some dummy rounds and read the trigger control article in my blog.

 

[TxGlock9]

Take a class and dry fire until Jesus comes.

This.. Or until Hell freezes over.

 

[cfr]

Butch, of course I will read your blog. Thanks!

All, for clarity, am I understanding most people think shooting a conversion kit wont help me at all? If not, why do people both with them?

 

[cfr]

Butch, I had already read your blog, and didnt realize it was yours. Snap cap drills are what have got me to the point Im at -- low/ left only when trying to speed up (it used to be consistantly).

 

[snichols28]

Dry fire. Dry fire. Dry fire. Dry fire. ...and keep going. I have dry fired my 22gen4 probably no less than 5000 times. It gets shot a lot and with amazing accuracy thanks solely to my dry fire practice. It really does make the difference!

Breathing and knowing when to hold your breath is something to pay attention to as well.

 

[Sonnytoo]

My thinking is that Ive developed a flinch response to firing a .40, lightweight pistol.

Buy a cheap .22 auto (BuckMark) or Ruger and start shooting. It will help you to get rid of the flinch.

Graduate to 9mm slowly until you can handle that without flinching. Use dry-fire or have buddy give you a sometimes-unloaded gun when you're unaware...to see if you flinch.

Sell the G22. You can't handle it. No shame. I don't like .40's either, but I shoot .45's just fine.

My EDC is .45 G36 or a G19. I sold all four of my .40's years ago.
S2

 

[GlockinNJ]

All, for clarity, am I understanding most people think shooting a conversion kit wont help me at all? If not, why do people both with them?

That's a legitimate question. I have an AA kit and I believe it helps me train things like acquiring a target from low/ready position and getting the first round off. I also use it for transitioning from target to target and working on my groups at distances. But, I can shoot my G22 Gen 3 without flinching - all I feel is trigger pull and all I see is sight picture and these are the same while using the AA kit or shooting 40's. I don't pay attention to recoil. That's the secret to overcoming flinching. You need to get to that point where you let the recoil happen and don't try fighting it or overcoming it. A good grip will get your sights back on target. So, you can never eliminate recoil and you shouldn't try. Just accept it. Once you get to that point where recoil doesn't bother you any more, AA kits are a cheap surrogate training tool.

However, if you are still working on getting used to recoil of a .40, I think shooting .22's (or other lighter calibers) will actually be counter productive. You will probably love the .22's for their low recoil and hate the .40's when you shoot it because it's not as easy to shoot as the .22.

I am saying all this from personal experience, so YMMV. I also had some flinching issues when I first shot the .40's (I suppose it's very common). The single most effective way to get rid of the flinching IMO is getting snap caps. Please buy some snap caps or dummy rounds - they are the cheapest, best training tool you will ever buy! Not only can you dry fire until Jesus comes, but mix them in your mags with live ammo at the range. That is the KEY! When you pull that trigger and get a click instead of a bang and your sights don't move, your flinching will be gone and you will be on GT posting about how great snap caps are. Again, there is no substitute for putting lead downrange, but just blasting away over and over indiscriminately will probably reinforce your flinching habits. That's a waste of time and ammo. Treat each range session, each magazine, and each shot with purpose and make you time at the range time valuable. Dry firing at home and then bringing snap caps to the range will yield the most value for your time and money.

Again, this is JMHO. Good luck.

 

[cfr]

I am saying all this from personal experience, so YMMV. I also had some flinching issues when I first shot the .40's (I suppose it's very common). The single most effective way to get rid of the flinching IMO is getting snap caps. Please buy some snap caps or dummy rounds - they are the cheapest, best training tool you will ever buy! Not only can you dry fire until Jesus comes, but mix them in your mags with live ammo at the range. That is the KEY! When you pull that trigger and get a click instead of a bang and your sights don't move, your flinching will be gone and you will be on GT posting about how great snap caps are.

I've done all of this, including telling everyone on GT how great snap caps are. :wavey:

....However, what just occured to me is that Ive NEVER done snap cap drills when firing fast. Only when doing slow, contolled firing. I really hadn't considered doing it under these circumstances until now, but it would make sense that it would be the next progression.

 

[Butch]

I've done all of this, including telling everyone on GT how great snap caps are. :wavey:

....However, what just occured to me is that Ive NEVER done snap cap drills when firing fast. Only when doing slow, contolled firing. I really hadn't considered doing it under these circumstances until now, but it would make sense that it would be the next progression.

Now you need to do 'slow, controlled firing' a little bit faster.....

 

[cfr]

Now you need to do 'slow, controlled firing' a little bit faster.....

You mean while doing the snap cap drill, right?