upcoming bullseye match with an off-the-rack beretta 92fs/M9

hi everyone. i'm going to be shooting a bullseye match in the next couple months and i'd really like to use the results to finally get my distinguished pistol badge. I need to do very well in order to secure the points but there's one inconvenient stipulation: it'll be shot with a stock M9 pistol thats pulled off the rack and standard NATO 9mm ammunition. i'll have a little time to practice and get a feel for that particular pistol but there are no modifications allowed, its got to be bone stock. obviously this is less than ideal at either the long or short line so i'm seeking advice on how to approach this. I've been using my beretta 92FS and 124 grain ammo to try and emulate these conditions as much as possible but it's very challenging compared to my Salyer Range Officer and match grade ammo. 

i think the most best way to achieve the desired results is to practice the hold, dry fire and shoot a lot of rounds. what else should i be doing? does anyone have any advice on how to succeed using an M9 and regular ammo?

thanks in advance!

shoot 30 rounds of air pistol everyday until your match. i'm not talking about an olympic air pistol but something like a Daisy 747 or similar heavy trigger beast. your 92fs won't feel so bad. a used 747 and 5000 pellets can be had for under $200 bucks. that is about as cheap a training as there could be. a daily diet of AP is what is needed to develop the followthrough needed for a 9mm in a short amount of time.

Dry Fire

If you are not used to trigger reset drills, practice them.  

My experience with he M9 at 25 yards is that Point of Aim is about Point of Impact.

That sounds fun. I'd love to shoot a bullseye match where everyone has rack grade guns and a little time to get them dialed in. Kind of like Top Gun without the drama and BS.

Dryfire a lot.  The Beretta 92 works best (for me) when training on these three items individually (for  each dryfire session) on a blank wall first, then with target area. 

(1) Continuous, uninterrupted, confident trigger operation. (Smooth and constant)
(2) Complete and perfect focus on the front sight.   
(3) Consistent and firm grip throughout the shot / string.

thanks for the tips guys, really appreciate it. definitely looking forward to the challenge. 

CR10X, i'll try the blank wall method. 

Robert84010, having some difficulty finding a daisy 747 in stock, any other recommendation for air pistols? i know literally nothing about them haha

there are always Daisy 717's on ebay. right now there is also a 777 but they are a bit more. The 777 is quite a bit nicer than a 717 but the trigger and grip is quite a bit better.
Maybe someone else could recommend a similar model to the 747. Beeman P3 seems similar. I had a 747 and it worked wonders for me in a short period. I didn't shoot AP matches at the time but bought a Hammerli afterwards because of the gains from daily practice. a cheap air pistol will help your service pistol skills.

robert84010 wrote:...a cheap air pistol will help your service pistol skills.

What's the idea here-- is it simply that a lot of training time finessing the heavy trigger of the cheap air pistol will enhance your ability to control the (relatively) lighter trigger on the Beretta? Am I on the right track, or is there something more to understand about your recommendation?

I used to coach the young Marines during their preparation for the division matches when I was working at 29 Palms Marine Corps Base. I shot the M9’s a lot while coaching. In my opinion accept your hold and really work at continuous trigger squeeze while keeping the sights aligned. Trigger is crucial with that pistol. Also like previously stated the reset takes some work. I also encourage DA trigger dry firing to really learn how to keep the sights aligned while squeezing trigger. If you do your part you can clean shirt line targets with a rack grade M9. Trigger trigger trigger.
Jon

Jon, the OP stated he has a match 1911 not a rack 92 to practice with. there is big difference there. I agree the rack 92 can clean the short line target, i've done it.  the daisy is a beast to hold still and break cleanly, like a 92.

sonofagun, I recommend it both for the lousy trigger and mostly because a person can actually shoot one daily on top of dryfiring. the OP asked for advice regarding a very specific time shortened scenario and i've been through this. I've never had daily access to a live range. the AP provides much better feedback and followthrough improvement than just dryfire. There are a lot of people here with nice air pistols, they don't all shoot service pistol well.

If you can only get to the range once a week at most get an air pistol. 

Jon, I know you made master in one year and 2600 right after that but you didn't get there through dryfire alone. A person has to shoot actual rounds on a target. I can dryfire with the best of them. shooting has to take place to reach a certain level. Everybody here dryfires, we are not all distinguished and 2600. IF dryfire gets it's done then maybe the AMU budget could get cut down to dryfire only. Only one case of Eley for the year instead of daily firing.

robert84010 wrote:...
sonofagun, I recommend it both for the lousy trigger and mostly because a person can actually shoot one daily on top of dryfiring. the OP asked for advice regarding a very specific time shortened scenario and i've been through this. I've never had daily access to a live range. the AP provides much better feedback and followthrough improvement than just dryfire. There are a lot of people here with nice air pistols, they don't all shoot service pistol well.
...

Thanks for the clarification. I thought I pretty much understood the basis behind your recommendation, but not being familiar with those AP models I was left wondering if there were something else I was missing. Sounds like a very good and practical strategy for the OP, and maybe something here I can take away for myself. I have a heavy trigger springer pistol sitting around, I just hadn't thought of it as a training/conditioning tool. Thank you!

robert84010 wrote:Jon, the OP stated he has a match 1911 not a rack 92 to practice with. there is big difference there. I agree the rack 92 can clean the short line target, i've done it.  the daisy is a beast to hold still and break cleanly, like a 92.

sonofagun, I recommend it both for the lousy trigger and mostly because a person can actually shoot one daily on top of dryfiring. the OP asked for advice regarding a very specific time shortened scenario and i've been through this. I've never had daily access to a live range. the AP provides much better feedback and followthrough improvement than just dryfire. There are a lot of people here with nice air pistols, they don't all shoot service pistol well.

If you can only get to the range once a week at most get an air pistol. 

Jon, I know you made master in one year and 2600 right after that but you didn't get there through dryfire alone. A person has to shoot actual rounds on a target. I can dryfire with the best of them. shooting has to take place to reach a certain level. Everybody here dryfires, we are not all distinguished and 2600. IF dryfire gets it's done then maybe the AMU budget could get cut down to dryfire only. Only one case of Eley for the year instead of daily firing.

Robert, I don’t see 1911 mentioned anywhere, just M9. I never said don’t shoot live fire but recommended a method of dry firing for the crude rack grade pistol. Of course all the fundamentals and live fire are vitally important just as dry firing. And yeah the Daisy’s are probably really good training aid due to the long nasty gritty pull. 
Jon

sonofagun, I only mention a Daisy because if I said "you just need to buy a Steyr" not many would take the advice. A Daisy is as cheap as it gets and will help because I saw results. I do think in this specific instance, for service pistol, the Daisy is best because of it's heavy nasty trigger but any AP would help because it's mostly about the daily work that most of us cannot without powder range access.

Jon, at the bottom he mentions a Salyer Range Officer, I actually didn't recognize that he had a 92. I still think air is best because it teaches follow through better than anything even .22 and the 9mm needs follow through.

The plain 92 can shoot pretty good.  When I bought my first 92fs, I went later that day to the range.  The straight out of the box 92 shot this offhand center hold with USA White box ammo.  These 10 are the second string ever.  The first 5 shots on a previous target were my usual 6 oclock hold from which I saw how the fixed sight was regulated.
After that, Roddy did dome upgrades, trigger, bushing, rear sight, and I finished my last leg with it. 

Jon Eulette wrote:I used to coach the young Marines during their preparation for the division matches when I was working at 29 Palms Marine Corps Base. I shot the M9’s a lot while coaching. In my opinion accept your hold and really work at continuous trigger squeeze while keeping the sights aligned. Trigger is crucial with that pistol. Also like previously stated the reset takes some work. I also encourage DA trigger dry firing to really learn how to keep the sights aligned while squeezing trigger. If you do your part you can clean shirt line targets with a rack grade M9. Trigger trigger trigger.
Jon

Hello Jon,

What did you typically use for ammo?

I have two 9mm Beretta 92's, and shooting from a rest at 25 yds results in targets similar to Jack's above. Actually, I don't believe either will shoot that well! Just random hits all over the paper.

I've replaced barrels and locking inserts with no luck.

They now only get used for plate rack duty at 15 yds...

Thanks!

Military issue ball ammo. Most firing was 25 yds and in for the Marines because they were working off the Marine Corps manual. At 25 yds I was cleaning targets on occasion. It would definitely hold 10 ring. And yes guns were a crap shoot; trigger quality and sights (POA).
Good times!
Jon

Thank You!

I suspected that, so I had bought a case of Win NATO thinking that ammo might be the issue, but nope!