I can draw a perfect circle with my shots

[pistolero]

:?

"tis I with another problem.....

I was at the pistol range this a.m., and  came away very frustrated....

I shot at the bull  and never got  one in, except for two of about 30. However, I did draw a  pretty accurate  10" dia. circle around the bull ....  I have filed the front sight  down and some of the sides to concentrate  and sharpen the sight picture...Result--- a perfect circle..

What do I do now?

About 2 years ago, I had eye surgery and have only 50% vision in my shooting eye. So now, I'm trying to learn  to go at it left handed....might this be a factor?

It seems the filing did the  job of getting the lat. and long., but now to get them to come together is the problem...  More  shooting pratice or what?

Thank you for your patience, advice, and help....

Pistolero

[Dan Chamberlain]

Pistolero;

I've diagnosed your problem.  You appear to be doing everything wrong!  

I have this chart that shows various bullet strike zones and tells you what you might be doing wrong.  They correspond with the positions on the clocks face.  So, if you are getting bullet strikes at all the positions of a clocks face, you must be doing everything wrong!  

Just kidding.  

Filing the sight would not account for a pattern vs a group.  If the sight is not loose and the components of the firearm are all tight, you can normally rule out a mechanical reason for the pattern.  If you are shooting comercial ammo, or are an experienced reloader using sound practices in manufacturing your ammo, then we should be able to rule out the ammunition.  That leaves the human element.  

Poor trigger pull normally results in a pattern that is more consistent, approaching a group, but at an undesirable location on the target.  If  you are right handed, often the group of pattern will be  low and left.  Improper grip can result in a poor pattern or group, but if you are gripping the same way every time - even though wrong - you will normally realize a consistent group, but again in the wrong location.  

The only thing I can think of is flinch & failure to follow-through.  Do you have the same problem with other handguns?

Dan C

[HWooldridge]

I couldn't tell from the post if you used a rest or shot offhand.  A circular group can be a normal product of offhand shooting although 10 inches is somewhat large.  If you did not already do so, get plenty of sandbags and take a FIRM rest with no shake and shoot six.  Better yet is use a Ransom rest or something similar if available.  Find out if it's you or the gun...

I also have bad eyes so the other thing I'd encourage you to try is a patch on the weak eye while shooting.  That will help eliminate any tendency for the master eye to take over and cause problems.  I am fortunate in that I have absolutely no flinch so I can usually rule out pulls but sometimes my eyes will not cooperate and the sights get pretty dim.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Gatofeo]

Hey Pistolero, we need more information for a proper diagnosis.
Are you shooting a Colt-pattern revolver, with the wedge that attaches the barrel to the frame?
If so, that wedge must be tight. If you can pop it out with your fingers, it's far too loose. A loose wedge will send shots all over the target, in my experience.
What model and caliber?
If it's a .44 and you're only using 20 grs of FFFG black powder or equivalent, accuracy can be bad because you seat the ball so far down in the chamber that it's got quite a leap to engage the rifling.
You using black powder or a substitute?
Ball or conical? What size ball? Conical bullets have never been as accurate for me. As for balls, I use .380 inch diameter in my .36 calibers and .457 inch in my .44s.
This is contrary to many black powder books but experience has shown me that the larger balls are more accurate by virtue of having a wider bearing surface for the rifling to grip.
Do you use a felt wad, well saturated with lubricant, between the ball and powder?
How is your trigger pull? Dan Chamberlain is right. A long, hard, creepy trigger can really throw you off.
Look for nicks in the muzzle, which can greatly affect accuracy.
Also, look for smears of lead around the forcing cone, where the ball enters the barrel. This can indicate a chamber that is not well-aligned with the barrel.
There are many variables.
Give us all the details you can and we'll see what we can figure out.

[The Shrink]

PISTOLERO

Another question, to add to all of those above.  How much practice have you had shooting left handed?  If you have ever watched the muzzle of a gun that even an experienced shooter is shooting, you typically see the muzzle describe smaller and smaller circles until it is stationary for the shot.  If you don't have much practice, i.e. muscle control, with that left hand, you may be letting off at random points in that circular process.  This would account for the 10" pattern.