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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.
 
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#70 ·
New to the forum - glad I found you guys. This is my first FNX; had FNP 9 before. First of all - I love the look, feel, etc. of the FNX. Wonderful firearm. In my opinion, it's a polymer framed Sig, that costs a few hundred buck less! Having said that, the FNX does sight up differently and shoot lower than my Glocks. I've been to the range twice with this weapon and put in approx. 100 rounds so far (so still far from broke in), and the FNX does shoot low when lining up the sights and as if I was lining up the in the same way as Glocks and Beretta. Having read through the posts on this thread, it seems like the FNX should be aimed slightly higher of bullseye to arrive at a cenetr bullseye shot.
How have other FNX owners corrected their low-shooting issue? Aiming higher with front sight at top blade of rear sight? Or, have you sent your guns back to FN for adjustment?
Thanks for the help!
 
#72 ·
According to "Front sight training facility" the front sight should be above the rear sight out to 25 yards, beyond that centered as pictured in the last post. I have tried it both ways and it seems to me that it depends on the gun, the caliber, the type of ammo and then on the shooter. I would say try it both ways and see if holding the front sight above the rear sight works for you. It does on my FNX .45 but no difference on the Glock 17 9mm at 25 yards.
 
#73 ·
sight picture

Great thread. New to forum.

New FNX-9. Fired @ 200 rounds. Same problem others have. Using the "correct" or "#2", sight picture, it shoots low, unless I completely cover the bullseye by aiming high. Even #3 "combat" sight picture shoots low and covers the target. Even at around 25 yards....

I am experimenting with a "#4" sight picture in which I hold the bottom edge of the front sight dot at the top of the rear sight posts. But, I am running out of ammo.... I never imagined fixed sights would make shooting harder.

I do not understand how any gun with fixed sights can be fired accurately using, alternately, the "correct" and "combat sight" pictures. It should be made/sighted at the factory for either one or the other.
Not satisfied with these sights. Since they are fixed, I am thinking about calling FN or buying another sight and paying a gunsmith to install it.
Ideas? Has anyone here solved this riddle?
 
#74 · (Edited)
I promise you, you're shooting low because you're anticipating.

Do the dummy round drill, it will help. It's also ok to practice aiming at the top of the target. The vitals are usually there anyway.

You can drift the rear sight if you can find a gun smith who knows how to do it properly (or do it yourself, not recommended).

I can guarantee the gun isn't shooting low though, not at any distance under 25 yards... I was even shooting low for the last few months until I finally got around to getting (making) some dummy rounds.
 
#75 ·
Jathtech, I keep closing my eyes. Is that normal i only shot the gun twice for 15 rounds (FNX 45). Its hard mentally not to anticipate it. When i don't i am accurate when i do. Not so much. Any tips or ideas that could help me? I appreciate your time. And your video was very helpful!!
 
#76 ·
Closing your eyes huh? That's unusual. Where did you shoot the gun? Were you wearing ear plugs? My guess is that you weren't wearing earplugs, and you were shooting in a remote place by yourself. My to suggestions would be to make sure you're wearing earplugs, and go to a gun range where there are lots of other people shooting very loud guns. You're going to flinch and you're going to close your eyes the first few times you hear the loud noises. Overtime though, you'll get used to the noise, and the impulses. You'll stop flinching.

Overtime, the more you shoot, the easier it will be. Just go out and shoot as often as possible. Add make sure every single time you shoot, you're focusing on the fundamentals. Don't just practice, practice correctly. Make each range trip A challenge. Focus on something you don't do well each Time and Master it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
 
#77 ·
I went to the range, it wasn't noisy at all. My family is anti/guns/knives blah blah. Maybe that could be a factor. The first time the eyes closed. Might have been from the noise. The second time, maybe the first two-three times. I think going when its noisy would help a lot. I think my challenge is going to clear my mind. Not anticipate the shot. As well as the noisy range. Thanks for the advice!
 
#82 · (Edited)
Im really trying to understand the site picture. Obviously, #1 I'm not referencing. But what is the consensus? #2 for range? #3 for SHTF? #3 for under 10 yards? #2 for 15-25 yards?

If I'm not preparing to competition shoot, why even worry about #2? I have this weapon for defense only, I don't care if I hit the upper left button on an invaders collar. I care about center mass. So wouldn't I want #3 to become second nature?

Is my thinking incorrect?
 
#83 ·
It really depends on the distance. If you are trying to hit a target in the vitals at 25 yards, the standard sight picture is what you need. If you need a fast shot, the dots will get you there. Just practice a lot and use what works for you.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
 
#85 · (Edited)
yep.

The dots (#3) were meant as a quick acquisition method, and should really be used as such. If you have time to aim, use #2.

Practice both. Set up situations during your range time where you need to use both

Here's an example drill where you need to get off two fast shots, and then 2 aimed shots. Set up the target at 10 yards. Weapon holstered, you will draw and fire. First , fire 2 shots at center mass using #3, then fire 2 headshots using #2. Get quick at it. Come back to the drill occasionally in the future.

Keep looking for new drills to try to improve your specific skill set.
 
#104 · (Edited)
The dots (#3) were meant as a quick acquisition method, and should really be used as such. If you have time to aim, use #2.
I know you are a long-term member here and I'm just a noob, so please understand this is coming from a place of respect.

I'm also speaking only to the FNX here, because I've never touched a FNP and I didn't dig through that manual because it's not offered on FNH's website (only the FNX and FNS, and the FNP-45, but not the FNP-9/-40).

You are directly contradicting the manual for the FNX by recommending a "#2" (front blade bisects the target) sight picture. According to FNH themselves, the FNX has a "combat sight picture" (i.e. #3). Here is the direct quote:
FNH FNX Manual said:
Different sights are fitted to FNX models depending on the use of each model. The sights are factory set for a combat hold (point of aim equals point of impact) at 20 yards. This may vary slightly with different types of ammunition.
The white dot on the front post should COVER the center of the target - your bullet should be hitting where the white dot is sitting, assuming you've lined up all three white dots and are shooting at something within 20 yds. If the front dot is above the rear ones, the gun is canted up and the bullet will hit above the dot, and if the front dot drops below the rear the bullet will go low. (I know you know this but I'm trying to be clear for everyone.)

As you've mentioned, people who are anticipating recoil may well be dropping the muzzle slightly, which could then cause them to hit below where they think they are aiming. One drill that I've heard of is to take empty brass and balance it on top of the front sight blade - probably need someone's help for this. Dry fire the gun and if the brass falls off, you are doing something wrong with the muzzle and are affecting your shots. Another similar method is to put in a laser boresight and dry-fire, have someone watch the laser, same idea.

With my M&P I think the heavier trigger makes me less accurate, because on a SA gun (FNX and my brother's MR9 which is striker-fired but has a light "SA-mode") I am definitely more accurate... but I still tend to shoot low-right. I'm blaming the "low" part on recoil anticipation but I haven't tried the brass trick to know for sure yet.
 
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