FN Herstal Firearms banner

How to improve your accuracy with the FNX

54K views 117 replies 65 participants last post by  Ratvader 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
And any handgun actually.

Bottom line, the FNX is usually a better shot than you are. If you are having some problems hitting the target, or having a decent sized group, follow these simple steps first. Then and only then will you know for sure if it is you or your gun that is the problem.

Watch this video first.



If you are having difficulty seeing your target as you shoot, You're using your sights wrong. In fact, I bet that most people who are new to shooting are.

The 3 dots are not for target shooting. they are for rapid target acquisition in a close range combat scenario. You line them up, and the center dot is point of aim.

When you are shooting for accuracy, forget the dots. You don't need them. Line up the top edge of the front and back sights so they are on the same plane. Then ensure the front sight has equal space on the left and right between the rear sights. The top center edge of the front blade is now your aim point. You should be able to see the top half of whatever you're aiming at.

A few other important shooting fundamentals should also be practiced as well. The first one is trigger pull. Most people who shoot poorly will do one of two things wrong, and the first is usually trigger pull. You hear on the movies to squeeze the trigger rather than pull it. but that is over simplifying things. The idea is to pull the trigger in such a smooth and continuous motion that you the shooter are surprised by the timing of the shot. use the tip of your finger, and not the knuckle, so that you cannot change the orientation of the muzzle if you jerk the trigger back a little. Try to pull fast and smooth, not quick and jerky. You should not know the exact moment the round will fire, that way you do not flinch before the round leaves the barrel.

The other problem new shooters have is the actual flinching. You get nervous when you feel the round is about to go off and you try to counter the muzzle flip by pushing down and forward. This causes you to shoot way low. You can train yourself to not do it but first realizing what you're doing. Have a friend put a few dummy rounds randomly into your magazine, and when you get to that shot, either you will not move at all, or your gun will drop forward, and you will see what you're doing.

Trigger pull: Place your finger tip, the pad of your pointing finger, on the trigger. Pull the trigger straight back at an even consistent rate. Do not jerk the trigger. As mentioned before, the moment the weapon fires should be something of a surprise to you.

Proper and consistent grip: Every time you pick the gun up, you should be holding it the exact same way as the last time you held it. put the webbing of your dominant hand as far up the grip as comfortably possible. then gently wrap your fingers around so they are in a secure position where they won't slip. Support that hand with your off hand wrapping the off hand fingers over the others fingers. Your off hand finger tips should be right about where your main hand's knuckles are. your off hand thumb should be aligned with the frame. Do not touch the slide and do not cross your thumbs, or wrap your off hand thumb behind the gun (that's where the slide is supposed to go).

Off hand tension: If you tighten your off hand grip, and press the gun forward holding the sights on target, the front sight blade will become more steady. It will also help to reduce the effects of a hasty or sloppy trigger pull.

Removing the Slack: Many standard triggers on weapons designed for on-duty carry will have something known as slack. This is the trigger travel that does absolutely nothing in terms of preparing the gun to fire, or actually firing the gun. it is built in as a safety feature for those of us that don't know hoe to keep our finger out of the trigger guard prior to firing. Guns such as the FNX, Glocks, XDs, and M&Ps have this slack. a 1911 might not have this slack depending on the builder and the quality. It is a good idea to remove the slack from the trigger prior to your final trigger pull. You can do this while dry firing at home. Ensure the weapon is unloaded, and point it in a safe direction. pull the trigger back until you feel a sharp increase in resistance. The slack is now removed. You may now aim, and continue firing. This helps reduce the amount of time you must hold your pistol on target before it fires while still surprising you.

Stance: Square your shoulders to the target. Do not stand cockeyed with one arm bent and the other straight. They should both be extended equally. Lean forward, put your leading foot forward and your other foot off to one side. This will line your body up with the target naturally.

#1 most important thing. Focus: Once you know what you're shooting at, you don't need to focus on it anymore. Focus instead on the front sight. This will improve your accuracy considerably. If you're about to get into a shooting, and you have any time whatsoever to mentally prepare yourself, the first thing you should tell yourself is "Focus on the front sight". Keep repeating it to yourself over and over.

Elbows vs. Limp wristing: instead of absorbing the recoil with your wrists, bend your elbows slightly and rotate them out a bit, and absorb the recoil with your elbows. It is a steadier shooting platform, plus it makes recoil more comfortable. It will also reduce malfunction probability due to limp-wristing.

Bullet drop: In most situations, you won't need to worry about this, but when shooting smaller things at varying distances, you should account for bullet drop. Close in, the round will hit below your sights. At around 15-25 yards, they should hit right on to slightly above the sights. After 30 yards, the bullet drops at an increasing rate, so you must aim higher.

Practice: And when I say practice, I mean a lot. Dry fire at home, look up some dry firing drills. Practice each fundamental on this page and recap it over and over. When you go out shooting, do not rush yourself. Take the time to focus on accuracy at first. Then slowly speed yourself up over time. The more you practice doing it perfectly, the speed will come automatically. It's just like any other task, do it right every time, and you'll eventually be fast at it too.

There are a lot of other fundamentals one should learn as they advance as a shooter, but those are the first ones you should practice as you start learning to shoot your pistol.

Here's a view of several sight pictures.



Some old school shooters will tell you to use #1, but most pistols aren't sighted that way. The idea is that the bullets rise above the sight and are thrown into the target. This leaves too much room for error for me though.

#2 is actually the proper way to shoot targets with. The center edge of the front sight is the aim point.

#3 is a combat dot sight picture, which is perfectly fine as long as the target is bigger than the sights. The front dot is the aim point.

Bottom line with these sight pictures, If you choose to use #2 and #3, as I suspect most people will, you should practice with both of them as often as you can. They both have their place both in target shooting, and in a real life gun fight.

Another thing you should also practice is point shooting. I read somewhere that around 80% of people having been in a gun fight never remember even seeing their sights. This little tutorial is just on the basics though, so I won't go over point shooting with you here. But good luck to everyone.

Here's me demonstrating these techniques in a video.
 
See less See more
1 1
#12 · (Edited)
Good write up. I had the problem of shooting left or low, left. I found that if I get a good strong grip with my strong hand, I don't have the problem of my fingers tightening on the gun when I pull the trigger which pulls the gun left.

Test: Hold your strong hand out in front of you (empty) and make a loose fist. There should be at least a couple of inches between your fingers and the palm of your hand. Point your trigger finger out straight. Now pull the trigger finger in like you're pulling a trigger. Do the other fingers want to close? It's an automatic reaction but if your fingers are already tight, the gun shouldn't move.

I also found that if I take my weak hand and wrap it firmly around my strong hand with my thumb just under the slide and put pressure towards my strong hand, it helps prevent the leftward movement. And, I can actually feel when I'm not pulling the trigger correctly and in anticipating the shot. It's fascinating all the dynamics that go on when shooting.
 
#16 ·
Hi , I'm new to your board and FN guns. Had a Baretta 90-two that threw rounds everywhere... I traded it on a FNX40. It holds good groups, but I'm a old wheel gun person and dont care for the combat sights. If I shoot off the top of the sights like in #2, I shoot low. But if I use the combat sights its right on, but they cover over my red dot... To what I'm used to its like trying to hit a can at 20 yards using a fence post for a sight... I'm wondering if anyone makes a good adjustable target site for this gun...
The gun is great, but I used to my wheel gun sites that I can still see what I'm shooting at when I pull down on it... I guess you could say I'm more of a small target shooter than someone trying to hit a large body mass target like the sights are made for.
 
#18 ·
Nice post.

Good info on the different sites, I didn't know about the combat site, but I've been working on my shot group and I wondered if the front dot was center of mass. I definitely jerk the trigger, my stray shots go low right (I'm lefty).

Anyways, I'd also like to know about alternate site options for the fnx. The standard on the 40 aren't bad, but I'm mostly at the range, and not a LEO of any type, so that's most often where I'm going to use it.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Good info on the different sites, I didn't know about the combat site, but I've been working on my shot group and I wondered if the front dot was center of mass. I definitely jerk the trigger, my stray shots go low right (I'm lefty).

Anyways, I'd also like to know about alternate site options for the fnx. The standard on the 40 aren't bad, but I'm mostly at the range, and not a LEO of any type, so that's most often where I'm going to use it.
Thats the same kind of shooting I'm doing. The dot on the front is for center of mass. And yes they are good combat sites. But not much good for our type of target shooting... So far the only thing I can come up with is have a gunsmith make a set fit the gun , or have the gun fit the sights. Which would be $250.to $300. I'm guessing.. Also I put a laser on it which works good for lower light target shooting...
I'm looking at a Sig 1911 40 cal with match barrel and adjustable target sights that they say will be at my dealer in Aug. I'm thinking about not changing the sights on this one as it holds a good group on a large target. And buying the Sig for my target gun...
 
#22 · (Edited)
everyone, just keep in mind that trigger pull is the #1 thing you need to focus on for accurate shooting. Get your sights lined up and slowly pull the trigger. Just keep that front sight blade on the target and let the gun do it's thing. Don't try to make it fire. Focus on keeping the sight in the right spot while getting the trigger back so it will fire. Don't fire the gun, let the gun fire.

edit I'm changing this to #2.
Focusing on the front sight is #1.

If you use isometric grip (off hand tension) the trigger pull has less impact on where you shoot, but it's still damn important.

Gun Trigger Font Logo Auto part
 
#23 ·
hi everyone this my first post on the forum. Anyway i bought an fnx 9 at the begining of the year . I found the poa was not the same as my fnp .45. This gun is set up with battle sights. These sights use the cover the target or a 12 o'clock hold. Heres a pic from a recent range trip. I shot from about 25 feet an not 25 yds like i wrote on the target. I hope this will help those newbies to this gun like my self. Shooting sport Shooting Recreation Target archery Precision sports
 
#24 ·
I've been going to competitions with my FNX 40, and I'm finding that you're right. Every time I try to use the top blade for the steel at 20 yards, I have a tough time hitting them. I switched to the combat sighting, and I'm hitting them more frequently. It may just be that it's dark though. I think that out to a certain distance, you should have the habit of using a holdover anyway. Pistol rounds drop faster than rifle rounds, and I've always used a holdover with a rifle.
 
#25 ·
Out of the box I was better with the FNX than my Glocks and my new Walther PPQ.The FNX grip angle for me, combined with the light weight is just amazing! So amazing that I am selling off the PPQ to get another FN.

Thanks for your great information!
 
#71 ·
I agree with you. From a feel perspective, the FNX is wonderful. I plan to carry this weapon, rotate betwene my glocks and this. I also love the fact than FNX 40, carry size gun and good weight, holds 14 rounds, compard to Glock 23 at 13, Sig 229 at 12, and compact CZ at 10 rounds.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Jahttech
Great overall thread. Really got me to thinking about my recent low and left issues with my fnp 45. I have mainly used the 6 o'clock image but have used both image 2 and 3 in trying to correct my problem. However, I'm pretty sure my problems lie in flinch and trigger pull.

I am just curious if maybe there is a time to use each image based on distance, ie maybe the correct sight picture for targets out to maybe 15 feet would be image 1, between 15 and 30 ft would be image 2, and targets past 30 ft you would use image 3. I don't know. In my mind I can see how a bullet could rise a few inches as soon as it leaves the muzzle due to lift then flying flat for a distance before gravity starts tugging it lower.

I am certainly no expert as I am pretty new to handguns and don't have the opportunity to shoot very often. Just sharing some thoughts your thread has generated.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
 
#28 ·
Just my 2cents on trigger pull...

(I haven't shot handguns much, but I was a kid champ with comp .22LR, and shot expert for 20 years USAF; trigger pull is trigger pull regardless of the weapon I would think.)

My shooting coach, in my early days when trying to get me to stop "pulling" the trigger, brought me over to a lower receiver he was working on. He showed me the pivot pin of the trigger itself. He told me that instead of "pulling" the trigger back (and pulling the gun with it, like I was doing), to visually picture that pivot point, and when I want the gun to go off I should concentrate on trying to HELP the trigger rotate/pivot on that pin.

I know this sounds kind of lame, but it was one of the things I have done my whole life (that visualization). It keeps me from pulling the trigger to the side while I pull it back. I think that's the part that works for me. Straight back along that pivot line until "Bang".


iPad/TapaTalk
 
#29 ·
Bought a FNP 9 couple of months ago. Finally started hitting the (X) with "Vaporize" POA. Called FN and the rep told me the FNPs are zeroed a 25yards. Apple on the stick picture. Told me I would have to go to a lower front sight or a taller rear sight. Go figure.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top