Champlain Islander

Sounds like you will be locked and loaded Rob. Lots of dangerous hombres at the work place and that gang that hangs out at Tims......you better be packin.

Rob in VT

Tims was robbed at gun point a few weeks ago. Cabot and Hardwick stores robbed as well as car being broken into in Plainfield. Fast money for drugs and I don't plan on being a victim.

Wayspr

Cal, thanks for the info. I'm plenty proficient with handguns but will implement some of your tips to improve. My biggest problem is I much prefer rifle shooting and that gets 90% of my range time.

CalHunter

You're very welcome. I've found that my shooting skills *especially with a pistol) are a perishable skill and require me to practice fairly regularly (at least every month or 2) if I want to maintain them. Most LE agencies and the organizations that advise them recommend they qualify every quarter in a year just to maintain those skills. It doesn't have to be a lot of rounds or a lot of time. But that consistent and regular practice does help.

Topgun 3006

I just read this thread and not being much as far as shooting handguns on a regular basis what did Oldtimr mean by heeling the grip?

bronko22000

Maybe this will help you understand.:
http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LEV...hooting.ca%2fd
ocs%2fgrp-analysis.pdf/RK=0/RS=C7LmNESx_TDvOZ_WfWHnTP0O.tI-

CalHunter

It can depend on whose definition you read but as I understand it (and YMMV), heeling a handgun is essentially gripping the pistol to low on the grip. This means the web of your hand isn't high on the grip where it is pressed against the beavertail so the pistol can rock back with the muzzle climb and recoil (backwards energy) and lift the muzzle (and front sight) up. IOW, your low grip on the pistol results in you shooting higher than your aiming point. This description is also obviously made with a semi-automatic in mind although the process could affect shooting a fevolver to some degree too.

I didn't see many people doing that so it never came up a lot in training (all with semi-autos for duty guns) although it's a basic part of teaching somebody how to hold a pistol for shooting. It's also something that tends to happen more if you're only shooting with one hand as opposed to using 2 hands.

Since OT brought it up, I'll defer to him on the nuances of it. His agency may have had a different explanation and training sequence. Hopefully this helps some.

Oldtimr

What I referred to as heeling is when new shooters poke, for lack of a better term, the gun out just as they pull the trigger which causes the heel of the hand to go down and the muzzle to go up which results in shooting high. I have heard it called trying to help the bullet out of the barrel. We only went to Semi autos in 2005 from 686 S&Ws to glocks so I was referring to revolvers. We always started our people out shooting with one hand because it is easier to see mistakes in grip and form, then transitioned to the two handed grip. I had resigned as a firearms instructor before we went to semis because I didn't have the time anymore with the new position I was in.

GoexBlackhorn

Provided link not working.

Topgun 3006

Thanks guys and, yes, the link is not working.