first shot flyer

I've been reluctant to even bring this up because it seems so rudimentary. More often than not my first slow fire .22 shot is a 6 at around 2 o'clock.Then the rest of my slow fires are usually 8 or up. I'm averaging around 87 but if I can just get that first shot..... I have a magazine with snap caps that I dry fire with during prep time. It seems like once I feel the gun recoil I'm good after that. I should add that until a few months ago my entire first target was usually bad. Low 70's. So progress is being made. I NEVER have this problem with 45.

I have to ask. Do you fire the first shot with a clean pistol? The first round can go anywhere if it is pushing oil, solvent or just squeaky clean.

Len

I pull a bore snake through it when the feed ramp looks bad. But I very rarely "clean" the barrel.

Just a idea from a newbee myself...  who has a LOT to learn so take it with a grain of salt..   

Its a slow fire round, so really you have all the time in the world...  Maybe take your first shot as a dryfire. Maybe getting that first shot in, then load, and shoot might be the trick. Granted unless its a gun/ammo thing..  like starting with freezing cold gun,or ammo. Just a thought..

Perhaps you're not locking your wrist on the first shot?

From the yin - yang of pistol shooting:

Live Fire:

No matter what the skill level, the mind should believe its still just another dryfire shot. 

(Don't get distracted by having a round in the chamber, it should be a perfect dryfire shot process.) 

Dryfire:

No matter what the skill level, the mind should believe that every dryfire is an actual shot.  

(Don't get lazy dryfiring, focus completely on the sights, trigger and process because it is a shot, just without a projectile.)

CR

CR10X wrote:From the yin - yang of pistol shooting:

Live Fire:

No matter what the skill level, the mind should believe its still just another dryfire shot. 

(Don't get distracted by having a round in the chamber, it should be a perfect dryfire shot process.) 

Dryfire:

No matter what the skill level, the mind should believe that every dryfire is an actual shot.  

(Don't get lazy dryfiring, focus completely on the sights, trigger and process because it is a shot, just without a projectile.)

CR

Plus 1000 !!! ^^^^^^
Therein is the secret everyone is searching for...
In my other life, I trained thousands of police/recruits.. I used this exact principle/technique..I give two areas of training credit for my successful career... Cecil's perfect explanation of metal/physical training, and surrounding myself with skilled, competitive shooting assistants.

CR10X and Jerry I think you've nailed it. Shooting Oak Harbor tomorrow. We'll see where that first shot goes.....

I think your better off then I am. I usually start with an X and then go down from there.

Len

Something that helped me with the first shot was to dry fire 2 or 3 additional times while the rest of the line was sending lead down range.

I've had a first shot flyer with certain lot#'s of cci sv. I'm talking about having a good call but it's out in the white.  Doubted myself for a while until I duplicated it off sandbags. Now when I get a new case of ammo, I test off sandbags just to make sure.

rreid wrote:I've had a first shot flyer with certain lot#'s of cci sv. I'm talking about having a good call but it's out in the white.  Doubted myself for a while until I duplicated it off sandbags. Now when I get a new case of ammo, I test off sandbags just to make sure.

That sounds very unlikely. After all, what are the odds that on certain lots that only your first shot is a flyer?

Joel

I used to have 1st shot flyers through a Marvel Muzzle brake that was 100% clogged with lead.  The first shots must have been sent askew by obstruction?

Grip consistency is key for this.  You really need to be sure that you aren't changing your grip for the first real shot.

Rob Kovach wrote:I used to have 1st shot flyers through a Marvel Muzzle brake that was 100% clogged with lead.  The first shots must have been sent askew by obstruction?

Grip consistency is key for this.  You really need to be sure that you aren't changing your grip for the first real shot.

I think grip is exactly the problem. I fell into the bad habit of dry firing just to feel the trigger and being lax on the other fundamentals. 
I scored a nice 7 inch barrel for the 41 this past saturday just for iron sight shooting and man does that long sight radius exaggerate any grip defects regarding sight alignment.
Consistency! Every dry fire like a real shot and vice versa. Thats my plan

I had a Marvel that would give me a 2 o'clock 6 or 7 on the first shot about 50% of the time if I sling shot the slide to chamber the first round. I thought it was me until it did it off of a rest. I found that if I would pull the slide back and not let go but push the round in (about a third as fast) the flyer went away.