I have been shooting for many years and pretty much have settled in to hitting my handgun targets in the ten ring 90 percent of the time at 20 to 25 feet. I have worked on breathing, squeezing, sight alignment and front blade shooting. However first shots in the bull are rare and don’t often come in the first magazine. However something changed with the purchase of a new gun.
It never mattered when Gun I took to the range I was shooting consistently cantaloupe sized patterns with my first magazine. However with the ammo shortage and rise in prices I decided to add a 22 pistol to my collection. I wanted to get a pistol as close to my EDC and I ended up with a Walther 22Q. It will fit is the same holster as my 9mm and my 380. It is only a bit smaller than my 45. and 22 ammo is back on the shelves in my stores and online. So I stocked u and headed to the range to try it out.
Right out of the box I will say it feels more like my 380 than my 45 obviously and I might have to add the larger backstrap that comes with it to get the exact same feel. However I ran the target out to 20 feet and took the first shot and there it was, in the 10 ring but just out of the bullseye. Two shots later it was a tight group and by slowing my squeeze and breathing the next round was in the red, By the first mag I had to in the red and all the rest in the 10. This was turning into fun. I put maybe 100 rounds down range at different distances and different sized targets before taping a standard NRA Pistol target on the board and sending it back out to 20 feet. I happened to have my EDC on me and some ammo I was looking forward to trying. SO I switched guns and took out my HPs and replaced then with 230 gr range ammo. Bang with the pistol and low and behold first round was just about where the first round went on the 22. By the end of the first mag I had put one in the red. By the third mag I had jut about cut the red out of the target.
Next time I went to the range I tried the same experiment and low and behold the same result. if we were scoring points on a Bullseye target or even a silhouette target I would still be getting the same score but the C antelope would have shrunk down to a grapefruit. No it isn’t like I don’t get flyers and the magazine change now can I forget trigger control or sight alignment but my confidence with first shot placement with all of my weapons has improved. For the first time in years.