looking for some advice

[Mglii]

My wife recently obtained her LTC and we took her to the local gun store and she decided to go with the LC9 because it was easy for her to conceal and it fit her hand. In the 20 years we have been married she has probably shot close to 20,000 rounds through my handguns but this was the first one that was bought for her.

After several trips to the range and about 500 rounds through it the best group she can pull off is 7 shots in 8" at 7 yards. for comparison the first time she shot my px4 storm .40 the 10 rounds that were loaded in the mag all touched the x ring.

I have shot this gun a few times when I goto the range without her and i know this shoots a whole lot better then she is pulling off.

I know the LC9 has a rather nasty DAO trigger any one know any drills that i can have her work on that will improve her shooting with this gun?

I have had her try everything i know of and need a new approach. I know she is pulling the gun down and to the left every time she pulls the trigger how do I Break her of this habit ?

 

[jrogers]

The classic solution to correct flinching and pulling is to mix some snap caps at random into her practice magazines.

Perhaps the LC9 just doesn't work for her though. Maybe she could try something else?

 

[88GT]

Perhaps the LC9 just doesn't work for her though. Maybe she could try something else?

Sometimes the simplest solution is the easiest too.

 

[Birds Away]

Sometimes the simplest solution is the easiest too.

I have never shot an LC9 but have heard from friends that they are a handful and no fun at the range. Finding a gun that is small enough to be convenient and not a PITA to shoot seems to be one of the great challenges of gun ownership. This seems to be even more challenging for female shooters. This is just an observation, not a statement of fact. Anyway, I would keep looking. No use keeping a gun you don't like to shoot and you don't feel confident in being accurate with.

 

[DustyDawg48]

Lots of dry-fire practice if she likes the gun and wants to keep it. If not then she might be better off looking towards something slightly larger, somewhere along the lines of the M&P9c which to me seems to be right in that perfect spot in size and comfort to shoot.

 

[ctb1]

If she wants a small gun that shoots like a big one, try to find an M&P Shield. Hard to get right now, largely because they are great little guns.

 

[Fixer]

A DAO trigger takes a lot of practice to get use to. As stated dry fire practice is a good start. Mixing in snap caps in the mag at the range will also let you see if she is flinching at all. Having a laser on the gun is also helpful during dry fire. If the laser is bouncing around then more practice is needed. Make sure that her grip is good and she is engaging the trigger properly with her finger.

 

[Bubbajms]

Before you go to too much trouble, see if you can find someone close by with another LC9. You'll know quickly if its the gun or the shooter..

 

[88GT]

I have never shot an LC9 but have heard from friends that they are a handful and no fun at the range. Finding a gun that is small enough to be convenient and not a PITA to shoot seems to be one of the great challenges of gun ownership. This seems to be even more challenging for female shooters. This is just an observation, not a statement of fact. Anyway, I would keep looking. No use keeping a gun you don't like to shoot and you don't feel confident in being accurate with.

I think you're right. I've never had a problem with recoil sensitivity over all, but I started shooting .38s and .357 out of a GP100. Couple that with a long, heavy, dragging DA and it's no wonder women want to run if that's what they think shooting is going to be.

I have a light weight .38 and between the DA mode and snappiness of the recoil, I just about plain hate it. It's my BUG so I have to practice shooting with the DA, but I hate every minute of it. I can shoot well enough for defense purposes, but that's about it. I just hope it gives me the opportunity to plant a heel in the crotch to disable the jerk so I can run like hell.

 

[looney2ns]

A few minutes a day of dry fire practice everyday for a few weeks can make all the difference. A laser does help with this greatly.
I went through the same with my Ruger LCP.

 

[Classic]

Recoil? Cmon it's a 9mm. I am always stunned when people start talking about what a handful a 9mm is to shoot. Even in a light package like the LC9 the felt recoil is near nothing. People must just have sensitive hands.

Snap caps or even spent cases loaded at random in the magazine will help a lot with mastering the DAO pull. It can be helpful for some to watch the hammer through the cocking and firing cycle and then try to "stage" the hammer just before it comes off the sear.

Not designed as a "range gun" but for self defense. There are lots of "fun" guns out there to shoot but too big and heavy to pack around all day.

 

[jrogers]

Recoil? Cmon it's a 9mm. I am always stunned when people start talking about what a handful a 9mm is to shoot. Even in a light package like the LC9 the felt recoil is near nothing. People must just have sensitive hands.

Clearly you're a manly man, and good for you. Now perhaps you could consider the plurality of experience and accept that others may react to and deal with recoil differently. That doesn't necessarily indicate "sensitive hands."

 

[JimmyR]

While some people my poo-poo on smaller calibers for EDC, my fiance really likes my old CZ-70 .32ACP. She tells me it has next to no recoil (thank you steel framed Czech goodness) and she's pretty accurate with it. Still small enough to fit in a purse. I got mine (read: hers) for around $225 from a guy here on INGO, and they can still be found around here and there. Just my (and her)

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

My wife recently obtained her LTC and we took her to the local gun store and she decided to go with the LC9 because it was easy for her to conceal and it fit her hand. In the 20 years we have been married she has probably shot close to 20,000 rounds through my handguns but this was the first one that was bought for her.

After several trips to the range and about 500 rounds through it the best group she can pull off is 7 shots in 8" at 7 yards. for comparison the first time she shot my px4 storm .40 the 10 rounds that were loaded in the mag all touched the x ring.

I have shot this gun a few times when I goto the range without her and i know this shoots a whole lot better then she is pulling off.

I know the LC9 has a rather nasty DAO trigger any one know any drills that i can have her work on that will improve her shooting with this gun?

I have had her try everything i know of and need a new approach. I know she is pulling the gun down and to the left every time she pulls the trigger how do I Break her of this habit ?

Tightening the shooting hand fingers and/or jerking the trigger causes shots to pull down and left. Too little trigger finger will pull shots to the left. Breaking the wrist down will cause shot to pull low....so it it could be a combination of any of the four. Of the four, I suspect tightening of the fingers on her shooting hand is the likely culprit.

My suggestion would be to have her put a little bit "more" finger on the trigger and raise her support hand a bit higher, while using a proper thumbs forward grip. Then she should should focus on keeping her shooting hand fingers a bit looser, squeeeeezing the trigger nicely and keeping the dynamic tension applied by her non-shooting hand nice and even.

Start with dry firing of course....have her focus on the front sight and note any movement as the trigger breaks. She will need to follow through properly after each dry fire of course.

Speaking of dry firing, I just did some test runs with my CM9 and when my shooting hand fingers were too tight, the front sight would move low and left as the trigger broke.....

 

[Mglii]

Thanks for the advice so far. This Gun does happen to have the laser hanging off the front of the trigger guard. the last few days I have had her dry firing snap caps while pointing at a target thumb tacked to the living room wall. rather then focusing down the sights I have her watching the laser as the trigger breaks over. this has made her focus on keeping the laser on her mark and i am noticing less travel in the laser as she pulls the trigger.

Unfortunately it will be about 3 weeks before we have an off day together to go to the range and live firm again. in the mean time I will have her continue practicing with the snap caps.

 

[Birds Away]

All of the little plastic 9mm and .380s are challenging to shoot in terms of recoil. I had a Sig P238 that shot great but, of course, it is of steel construction. Many people won't carry it because it is designed for cocked and locked carry which might present problems with some carry methods such as a purse. The best small guns in my experience aren't quite small enough. The .380s in the Walther "family" such as the Bersa, CZ 82/83 are excellent small guns that shoot reliably and accurately. Unfortunately they are not really that small and they do have some weight to them. But that is the key. Without some heft they are going to be uncomfortable shooters. I would much prefer to shoot a big steel .44 magnum than a small plastic .380. My BUG is a Polish Army P64. It is fine for a mag or two. I don't recommend an all day range session with it. It is the only gun I shoot "teacup" fashion because any other way will beat the crap out of my support hand. Anyway, good luck in your search. My recommendation is look at steel.

 

[Fixer]

Thanks for the advice so far. This Gun does happen to have the laser hanging off the front of the trigger guard. the last few days I have had her dry firing snap caps while pointing at a target thumb tacked to the living room wall. rather then focusing down the sights I have her watching the laser as the trigger breaks over. this has made her focus on keeping the laser on her mark and i am noticing less travel in the laser as she pulls the trigger.

Unfortunately it will be about 3 weeks before we have an off day together to go to the range and live firm again. in the mean time I will have her continue practicing with the snap caps.

Sounds like a good plan. The more practice the better control she will have. Make sure her right hand is as high on the grip as possible and her trigger finger has the trigger centered on the pad and not in the joint.
Keep practicing and I am sure she will notice a difference when the ammo is added.

 

[joshualee49]

Most of the good information has already been covered. I will only offer our personal experience with the LC9. They are great little guns with HORRIBLY long DAO triggers. Take up at the beginning then...

pull...pulL....puLL....pULL.....PULL.....BANG.

It took my wife several hundred rounds to get used to the trigger. Since you have told us already that your wife picked the gun out and it fit her hand well, there isn't necessarily a need to go shop for anything else. Galloway Precision offers a trigger \ hammer bar mod which will reduce the trigger pull significantly. It also reduces the trigger reset, which is nearly back at the beginning of the pull from stock. Currently, they are only accepting stock bars and triggers from customer guns. They have been out of the modded parts for some time due to overwhelming demand. Might be worth checking out. 40-50 bucks is what you are looking at plus shipping. Beats buying a totally different gun.

+1 on loading the mags for her and watching for the flinch. Random snap caps speak volumes to diagnosing shooter inconsistencies.

If you do wind up looking for something else, my wife has really fallen in love with her Springfield XDsc in 9mm. We picked it up new for $419.00 a couple of months ago. Comes with all the SA goodies and is definitely worth getting in her hands.

 

[Mglii]

update:

After 2 more trips to the range with my wife and the LC9 we decided that although it was easy for her to conceal it was not easy for her to shoot. So when her LTCH arrived in the mail we made a choice to get her something else. I took a different approach this time I got her a gun in a platform I already owned and would not mind in a different caliber if she did not like it or could not shoot it. We got her a Px4 Storm compact in 9MM. After just 1 trip to the range she is knocking the x out of targets at 7yards and loving it every time she squeezes the trigger