7-Jul-12 – 11:53 by ToddG

One of the most common excuses heard on the line and online will always be “it’s the gun!” And for as many times as that phrase is repeated, there are an equal number of “no it’s not!” responses. The reason is obvious. Going to the range and expecting to be better than you’ve ever been before without putting in the requisite practice usually leads to disappointment.

Having said that, though… sometimes, it really is the gun.

Two examples come immediately to mind. A couple years back, a very eager and serious student came to one of my classes with her new M&P9 Compact. For two days we worked to figure out why she was shooting so high. We worked on her grip, her trigger manipulation, I even went through the most basic drills to make sure she understood proper sight alignment. It wasn’t until the end of class that I actually took the gun and shot it myself. Results? It was shooting more than a foot high at 25yd. Both the student and I were both so ready to believe she was the problem that we never considered the gun as the real culprit. Obviously, I gave her a refund on the class and I’m lucky she was too nice to flood the internet with complaints about the time and ammo she wasted for a weekend trying to fix a problem that didn’t exist.

More recently, a buddy and sometimes student of mine started shooting a custom 1911 that he’d mothballed for a while. The gun came from the custom shop with some trigger problems which were fixed in the field by another instructor during a class. This shooter, who we’ll call Vinnie, found himself struggling to perform to his normal standards with the gun. We talked about various potential problems related to switching to and from the 1911/single-action platform when he casually mentioned that the gun now has a nine pound trigger pull. On a short, hard break 1911 trigger? If Rob Leatham and Jeff Cooper had a baby, it couldn’t shoot that 1911 well. And not just because it would be a half-zombie freak of nature born to two men, either. (the baby, not the 1911)

Don’t assume the problem is the gun… but at the same time, don’t smash your head against a wall trying to make a Ferrari out of an anvil. If you cannot fix it on your own, put the gun in the hands of the most competent person you know with experience running that type of gun seriously and have him take it for a spin. If he’s having similar problems, it might be time to call the warranty center.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG