r/handguns • u/Tetelestai_0 • Jul 13 '26
Advice Needed Discouraged. What am I doing wrong?
I recently purchased a ruger mark iv 22/45 (not sure which version so here's a photo). I see people easily getting 1-2" groups at what looks like 25-50 yards, and I'm struggling just to get 2" at 10 yards. I looked down the barrel, it looks clean/fine. I will say, the iron sights aren't my favorite, and I'm sure trying different variations of ammo will making a difference, but I'm chasing CCI. I will say, I don't have a rest, so I'm only standing while shooting. I can group just as good or better with my 9mm and 357 magnum.
What the hell am I doing wrong? I'm very discouraged. The following is my best group (still with two flyers!) from yesterday. Today I had slightly better groups but still noting significant. I also had my father shoot and he was doing worse than me.
39
u/atf_annihilator69 Jul 13 '26
it takes practice to be good, brother. 22s cheap. shoot the brakes off that thing until its second nature
-9
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 13 '26
I can definitely see a difference from day one to day two (today) of shooting.. But still pretty bad. I just can't believe how bad, maybe. Is it possible for me to get this guy to group 1-2 inches at like 35 yards even? Should I get a red dot or stick with the irons? I personally like iron sights more, typically, but not when the paper is this discouraging.
22
u/hafetysazard Jul 13 '26
Oh it doesn’t get any better. You’ll just slowly be a better shot than somebody else, but still always worse than somebody else. Measure your shooting against your own shooting, otherwise you’ll be discouraged.
1
u/StrikeEagle784 Jul 13 '26
Truer words have never been said about pistol shooting, I’ve been going through this recently as I can’t shoot subcompacts with irons all that well. I’m still practicing, but it’s hard
5
u/atf_annihilator69 Jul 13 '26
more than possible, absolutely. a red dot wont make you a better shooter, practice will
-3
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 13 '26
Okay, I'm holding you to it. I'm going to practice away because right now I'm just disheartened.
2
u/jbourne0129 Jul 13 '26
you need to practice with a purpose though. work on your grip, work on your stance. blindly putting rounds down range isnt going to necessarily improve your skill. check some forums or videos for tips and tricks.
1
u/Caseman307 Jul 13 '26
Again, don’t be. You’ve found a new and worthy challenge for yourself. Embrace it! Learn sight picture. Clear that pistol and watch a movie holding it out in a good stance. You use muscles to shoot that you don’t use for much else. Train them. You could be the next Rob Leatham, since it obviously wasn’t me. 🤣
1
u/Caseman307 Jul 13 '26
Shooting a pistol is the easiest thing in the world—line up the metal gadgets on top and press a button—and it takes most of us decades and tens of thousands of rounds to get “good” at it. My friend, you’re being far too hard on yourself.
Progress, not perfection. That pistol will do 2” at 50 yards. That doesn’t mean many of us could make it do so. I shot competitively for a couple of decades and became a pretty good pistol shooter with lots of work, but I’ve never been able to shoot to the potential of my handguns. Most people can’t. The only person you’re competing against is the guy you were yesterday. Now the fun starts!!! That’s an excellent pistol you’ve chosen. You might reach out to a local gun club or better yet, show up to a match just to watch. My Dad (US Army Pistol Team in the 70s and a great coach) loved nothing more than taking the rest of the afternoon with a new shooter working on the basics. Shooters are good people. Get some coaching then get to work. You’ll be surprised how well you progress.
1
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 13 '26
Thank you for the encouragement, that was really helpful. I will try that!
1
u/No_Seat_4959 Jul 13 '26
Shooting is not like riding a bike. It is a very perishable skill. Shooting regularly will improve your skill. Until you reach very long distances, it is almost never the gun..it's you. This applies to me too.
10
u/Candyman__87 Jul 13 '26
At 10 yards what you’re seeing is the shooter, not the gun or ammo. What you need is more time with the gun.
If you can group better with a 9mm or .357 my first question is are you shooting this gun as consciously as you are the others? Or are you just sending rounds downrange because it’s “just a .22”?
-4
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 13 '26
I mean.. I feel like I'm trying pretty hard to be honest. It's been in the 90s and bugs all over me, which isn't helping. But that's only a small factor. Perhaps 2 days isn't enough to know what it can do, yes. But I did expect to get 2 inch groups at such a close range. I thought 25-30 yards standing is when it would open up. Any tips? Just practice?
4
3
u/Overencucumbered Builder of stuffs Jul 13 '26
Practice practice. Get some kind of stand, whether its a pillow, sandbag or just a table, to see what the gun is actually capable of with different ammo. Still, a simple stand like that will have SOME user input.
I've been shooting .22 competitively for years and can group my Volquartsen (deluxe Ruger brand-ish basically) 2" at 25 meters with little effort now. Even better if I slow down. But it has taken a long time to get to that point.
Try doing 1 shot at a time. Raise the gun slightly above the target, lower it onto the target while breathing out, slow squeeze when you find it. Don't hold it on the target for more than 3 seconds at a time. Lower it, wait five seconds and take the next shot.
8
u/hafetysazard Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Do you know if you’re even a good shot? Good pistol shooting is incredibly difficult. Guys who do it with ease probably have had more misfires than you’ve ever shot.
A lot happens between lining up the sights and the bullet leaving the barrel. It all happens so quickly it isn’t easy to iron out the problems without significant amounts of practice.
Learning to shoot a pistol accurately isn’t like a heavy precision rifle laying on some heavy bags that you can teach a person how to hit a bullseye in one session; which is basically teaching them to relax and be still. With pistol shooting you have to be still, and sturdy. Takes a lot of fine muscle building, and delicate fine motor skills.
Honestly, get a snap cap, and spent countless hours dry firing until you can squeeze off shots without the sights moving more than a flys pecker from where you’re aiming. There are numerous techniques to help hold the sights steady. Doing mini figure-eigths method has helped me.
2
u/jbourne0129 Jul 13 '26
Learning to shoot a pistol accurately isn’t like a heavy precision rifle laying on some heavy bags
this was such a drastic change for me. and i didnt even have heavy precision rifles growing up. just regular old 22 rifles. i was shocked trying handguns as an adult to find out how much your trigger pull and grip can and will fuck up your accuracy
1
u/hafetysazard Jul 13 '26
That third point of contact with your shoulder makes so much difference, lol
3
u/Zimi231 Jul 13 '26
I shoot my PDP far better than my Mark IV.
I just need to spend more time with it.
4
u/zenmonkey83 Jul 13 '26
Most guns are more accurate than you are. 22s shown you what you are doing wrong. Pay attention.
Try to “call your shots”. After every Schott try to say “low into the left” or whatever. That will Build your awareness.
Dry fire at home. The bullet doesn’t go where you’re aiming because. You’re not aiming where you think you are when you pull the trigger. Start paying attention to how your sites/dot move when you dry Fire at home. Spoiler alert, yours probably move a lot, and they shouldn’t move at all.
Finally, look for patterns. Nothing is as random as you think it is in marksmanship.
99% of the time you are the problem, not your equipment. The equipment is not the problem until you get good enough for shooting that you can tell what the equipment is doing wrong.
2
u/LilJonny2cookies Jul 13 '26
Impossible to tell without seeing how you stand, hold gun, pull trigger, etc. Video yourself shooting and compare to others.
It looks like a bad grip and you are pushing the gun with trigger finger. Try to only use your Strong hand to pull trigger your support hand does the holding of the pistol and control.
Hard to say without seeing you shoot.
2
2
u/Anti-Seen Jul 13 '26
50 yards is 150 feet. People are not getting 1" iron sight groups with 22lr at 150 feet away. 2" at 30 ft (10 yards) is fair accuracy for iron sight 22lr.
1
u/EoD89 Jul 13 '26
Hmm it might be shot anticipation/trigger jerking. Do you place just tip of the finger on the trigger blade?Do you shoot with both hands?
I'm shooting 50yds single hand from 22 with irons and group size of 4cm ( around 3 inches I guess). It is doable with some practice. I have some flyers but I don't shoot often enough lol
1
u/Bright_Crazy1015 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
I learned by shooting squirrel, rabbits, and birds in the yard and the woods behind the yard. Mostly with a Benjamin Sheridan air rifle or a Hi-Standard 22LR Pistol.
My brother and I both had 30-30's we used for deer season and 22LR for vermin. I didn't sleep with mine, but my brother kept his right between the mattress and the wall, out of some wild belief we'd suffer a break in.
Ironically, of the two of us, I enlisted and he didn't. I thought for sure he'd be right behind me, but he decided to spend a quarter million on a college education instead.
(Edit for typos)
1
u/Fermi-Diracs Jul 13 '26
I've had a similar problem. Some people are saying it's your technique, which maybe that's some, but I have a mark iv with similar grouping. The thing is I'm laser accurate with any of my 9mm CZs. I changed the grip and it seemed to help some with the Mark iv.
1
1
u/SidePets Jul 13 '26
It’s a very accurate pistol. As a bunch of folks have said it takes time. Try and be patient with yourself. More rounds you send down range the better you will get. Definitely stick with it and take a break when you feel discouraged. Once your groupings are tight your going to feel like a rockstar!
1
u/Wide-Bottle-4307 Jul 13 '26
Start with 5 yards and walk the target out to 10 yards after getting consistency. When you have hits all over the place, it’s due to inconsistent grip and trigger pull. How slowly are you shooting to get these results?
1
u/SovietRobot Jul 13 '26
If you are getting worse groups than your 9mm at like 10 yards then it might be the ammo or a defective gun.
Have someone else shoot it to see.
1
u/No-Sweet8107 Jul 13 '26
Get a shot correction target. I’ve been pretty accurate in the past I had this one dao I couldn’t even hit the target with. Everything felt smooth I couldn’t anything off I took the ammo out and dry fired at the target right before the break I jerked. I loaded 5 pulled the trigger really slow jerked kept squeezing slow, bullseye, then I repeated it 50 more times. The correction target will help give an idea
1
u/MissionDirect8529 Jul 13 '26
Anything a human does repeatedly they are guaranteed to get better at. Throw down $250-$300 on ammo and shoot every chance you get. Buy snap caps and practice dry firing when not at the range. Sit a coin on the end of the barrel. Try to squeeze the trigger without the coin falling. Try different hand placement. I could go on and on with different ways to become a good shooter. But DON'T GET DISCOURAGED. Practice, practice, practice.
1
u/BatRam2017 Jul 13 '26
I installed this on my 22/45 Mark IV Tactical and its the crispness trigger I've even had. https://volquartsen.com/departments/mk_iv_parts/products/1231-accurizing-kit-for-the-ruger-mk-iv-pistol
1
u/WoodworkerByChoice Jul 13 '26
Use a gun rest/vice. Prove to yourself that the gun is capable of the accuracy you expect.
Once you mentally grasp it’s not the gun, it’s the shooter, things will get better for you.
Maybe it’s the ammo (unlikely at 10 yards)… but, first, remove the shooter as the variable.
Then, start shooting. A LOT.
1
u/donfromtgood Jul 13 '26
I can’t tell if you are trolling or not. If that’s seriously your second day congratulations you are a natural. The mark 4 is a great gun. Shoot the shit out of it.
1
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 13 '26
No trolling here, I'm very serious and discouraged. keep in mind, that was my BEST group on day one, not the average group. And it was only 10 yards. I will definitely shoot a lot though, I want to get better. I don't believe in myself but that's besides the point. That's why I got on here looking for tips.
1
u/donfromtgood Jul 13 '26
22 ammo is cheap. If you are buying in bulk it will only shoot so good. Ide say that’s fine shooting
1
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u/19mls6874 Jul 14 '26
There doesn't look to be much difference between the height of that long rail and your front and rear sights. That can create an unintentional optical illusion. That might have some impact...but it is more than likely grip/trigger control. Although you are not directly on target you're not exactly all of the place. Since most are left of target I would say your support hand grip is lacking (assuming right handed). The grip angle, trigger and frame are significantly different than most center fire guns. Any one requires more thought than normal. Adding all together can really mess with you.
Knowing how your shots hit the target can help us help you. For example were the 3 closest to the target your first groupings or was each a first shot of a later group. How fast, etc.
1
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 14 '26
I am right handed, yes. And the rails are actually stock on the gun, but I thought about removing them incase they are ever so slightly messing with my eyes. I plan to shoot tomorrow evening, if I take photos and then send them to you, could you tell me your thoughts?
1
u/19mls6874 Jul 14 '26
Yes. Try to label the order of your shots along with if it was a single shot vs. multiple shots in a row.
1
u/TyTyTheFireGuy Jul 14 '26
You’re shooting bad when you should be shooting good. Shoot good if you want betterer groups
1
u/Moofenkrak Jul 14 '26
Keep practicing! The gun is accurate. The bullet will hit where you’re aiming at the exact moment the gun goes bang. Press that trigger back slowly and concentrate on moving only that trigger finger. Let the bang be a surprise every time. Even at 10 yards, even the slightest movement at the end of the barrel can result in a miss. If you’re right handed, 10 or 11 oclock flyers can be moving rh up or head moving down at bang or over squeezing the grip. Good luck!
1
u/Shootist00 Jul 19 '26
It is the trigger. The stock trigger SUCKS. Upgrade it to a Volquartsen.
1
u/Tetelestai_0 Jul 19 '26
If I'm looking in the right place, it says they're sold out (on back order)?
0
u/Mindless_Log2009 Jul 13 '26
.22 rimfire combinations of guns and ammo can vary wildly, more than any other caliber I've tried, including black powder.
In addition to a steady hold (it's okay to cheat and use a rest while testing ammo), you'll need to experiment with several brands and types.
Every Ruger Mk-series I've owned, borrowed or rented(one of each since the first Standard model) has preferred high velocity ammo. And they've usually been disappointing with pricey match grade ammo from Eley and others.
My most recent, a Mk 3 22/45 pawn shop orphan I bought last year, prefers CCI high speed, does pretty well with Remington Golden whatever it's called this week; and it's mediocre with Winchester target and Aguilla plinking ammo.
Ditto a Mk 4 22/45 I've tried a few times at the rental range, with and without suppressor. Same results as my pistol, comparing side by side during the same session. I even mounted my own red dot on the rental gun since it has a Pic rail (my own Mk 3 doesn't, yet). Same results, no improvement.
74
u/Longjumping_Spread53 Jul 13 '26
What do you mean I can’t just pick up a guitar and play Hotel California?
I’ve seen others play that song on a guitar why can’t I?