Rookie shooting low

Hi shooters I am a newbie to the forum and to Bullseye. I started shooting Bullseye about this time last year and have shot several matches. I am enjoying the matches and practicing, but  my scores and grouping has stopped improving or may have gotten worse.  I continually seem to fire low at both 25 and 50 yards. In matches my first slow fire 50 yard target will be my best, then the next two targets are a much lower score, with many shots low or out of the scoring rings.
 

Yesterday while practicing the problem started again. I seem to have a problem with my wrist dropping just before the shot is released or the wrist is in a bad position to start with. So I worked on keeping my wrist more upright, but to see and keep the dot in the middle of the scope I have to drop my chin to see the dot through my glasses. This seemed to fix the problem, although I am not sure if dropping the chin to see is the right thing to do.  

All twisted  and looking for help!

You could be using muscle to get the gun up, flinching, or both. 

One tactic for the position is to widen your stance.  That should allow you to more natually point at the target. 

Dry firing more will help correct either issue.

A good habit to develop early is to have a "quiet" arm.  The arm should be held firm with elevation adjusted at the shoulder.  Many shooters tend to make small corrective movements at the joints of the arms.  This is impossible to do as consistently as making the change at the shoulder.

Follow through!

Dave C.

Does it shoot low from a rest?  Does it shoot low when someone else shoots it?  Does it hit low and left when you are shooting it?  Are you right handed?  

Trying to determine if the gun sights are correct or correct or not first, and, if the sights are fine, then narrow the problem down to what you need to do differently to avoid shooting low. 

Joe

Dropping chin might take arm right with it.  Do you stand 45ish degrees from the target?  Try 90 degrees

A good firm grip with the emphasis of pressure being on the front and back strap of the gun, while making sure your forearm muscle is firm. Dropping the chin is not a good practice, but I've known some people that shoot with their chin on their shoulder.  Sounds like you might be anticipating the shot and flinching, causing your wrist to break.  Dry fire exercises will help.

you didn't say what type of gun, if its a 1911 with a flat M/S housing then a arched Main spring housing might help, it will elevate the barrel upward. most peoples hand shape and grip will work better with one or the other once you find which one that is.

Also squeezing your grip, especially with your little finger just before the shot goes off will drop the bullets low on the target. Try keeping your grip steady throughout the shot process or keep the little finger totally off the grip and see if that helps.


Virgil

Wow, a lot of different things could be causing this. One common denominator seems to be dry fire drills. Any suggestions on drills I should work on.

John

The one that helped me the most was dry firing at an aiming point and following through, meaning I would hold the sight picture for a few seconds AFTER the hammer dropped. 

YMMV