.380 Guardian

[dgray1722]

I just purchased a NAA .380 Guardian for personal protection. Went to the range and could not hit the target at 10 yards. I was always 2 feet off the bull and about 2 feet low. When I shoot my .22 pistol I am right on. Am I doing something wrong? Or, is it the gun?
Don

[mikemgb]

I just purchased a NAA .380 Guardian for personal protection. Went to the range and could not hit the target at 10 yards. I was always 2 feet off the bull and about 2 feet low. When I shoot my .22 pistol I am right on. Am I doing something wrong? Or, is it the gun?
Don

You are probably jerking the trigger, slow down, concentrate on squeezing gently until the gun fires, it's going to take you a little while to get used to a long DA pull.

[.54Cal_Kidd]

What he said.
I just got a Taurus 738 .380 and it feels like the trigger pull is 4 inches.
I'm used to single action triggering and DA takes forever!

[TwoGunJayne]

This sounds weird, but it works. An older gentleman once told me that when you fire double-action, to start slow and to pull the trigger at the same speed that you release the trigger... slowly. As you build skill and confidence, you can increase the speed of the pull only as long as you take the same amount of time to relax the pull. He said it helps control and consistency, then he dumped a .357 double-action to demonstrate.

Start off firing slowly, pulling slowly. Don't "hang the trigger" where it is about to fire and then pull. That's glorified single-action. You could do that for target practice, but double-action is self-defense firing. He said it was a bad habit for training for personal defense. I've got a DAO that's quite accurate when you "hang" the trigger, but that's really not what a Guardian is for.

Anyone with comments, please comment.

[frimsure]

all the info these guys give are great. slow smooth pull with no hang ups just before the hammer drops will always make you jump. this is because you are expecting the gun to fire. this will most likely help but i shoot long range shooting. with a .17 hmr bolt action rifle. smooth tigger pull helps in long range shooting. also your breathing plays into it as well. as well as your heart rate. slow down you breathing. just before you pull the trigger take a deep breath and hold it. you also shoot where you look. shooting is instinktive ( sorry for the spelling). as my uncle always says practice always helps as long as you do it right.

[boone123]

Do some dry-firing double action..You will then see what your doing wrong. Double action can be mastered, thats about all I shoot.

[bigwheel]

Not familiar with that model but sounds like your getting some great advice. If you follow all the great tips and it still shoots low right..if it has adjustable sights I would try to move them to point at where the bullets are hitting..or as close as you can. Some of the little .380s dont match up very well to where the sights are looking. I had a Llama that had that habit of low right. You just had to recall where it was likely to hit and aim accordingly. Once the formula was memorized..it was highly accurate. Best of fortunes on the endeavor. Keeps us posted. Thanks.

[TwoGunJayne]

...the CHART! Reverse for left handed, of course.

[bigwheel]

Cool chart thanks. I might recommend the State of VA put that in their competency packet for the online carrying cards. Seems to be an 8 hour shooting  course on a single sheet of paper.

[lohman446]

Buy snap caps.  Randomly load, as much as possible, your magazine with one while shooting live rounds.  After you pull the trigger and the gun does not go bang look at the sight picture.  Has it moved?  If it has practice with snap caps until you are used to the hammer falling and the sight picture not changing.  Then repeat the first step. 

[TwoGunJayne]

Lohman, I did that to break flinching on a snub .357. I ended up mixing low-recoil .38 spl wadcutters, full house .357 and empty casings in the cylinder. Spin the cylinder, close without looking, bang, bang, click.

I broke the flinch and tightened the groups nicely. Man, those things bark!
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There's also a barrel-mounted laser emitter that detects a hammer fall and blinks a laser briefly. With a snap cap in the chamber, you could just click, click, click the Guardian and get some cheap practice. I just worry about wearing out springs doing that.
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Sadly, I got a cheap plastic-y DAO .22 lr for cheap Guardian practice. .32 isn't that much more per round than the ongoing .22 lr price gouging going on at the moment. So much for that plan...

I checked ammoengine.com today and was blown AWAY that 7.62x39 Wolf ammo is about the same as most .22 lr per round at the moment. How crazy and insane is this? Next month, will it actually be CHEAPER to shoot your SKS or AK than your plinking .22?

[lohman446]

I enjoy shooting medium bore rifles (375 H+H).  I have learned how to train away flinches as a result . 

I did pass on buying a .458 Lott at the last gun show I was at.  I really want a medium or big bore Ruger Number 1 but figured the .458 Lott in a wood stocked gun might become more than I wanted.  The term "detached retina" bothers me. 

[bigwheel]

Well back when Moby Dick was still just a minner..they taught folks to overcome flinching by not knowing when the gun was going off. When it go boom..it says surprise surprise surprise. No time to flinch on that deal. That come in Trigger Squeeze 101..lol. Surely that has been outdated by now.