New Taurus 24/7 Pro 9mm - Need advise

[jlanz]

I just bought this handgun,  my first pistol.   Before I bought I did research and shot several guns at the range.  I was very accurate with S&W, glock, taurus millenium, and ruger 9mm's

I decided on the 24/7 pro because of the price, and i really liked the grip and way it fit my hand.

Anyway,  I went out to the range and shot 200 rounds.  All the other guns I shot has 3 dot sights,  my 24/7 pro has the 2 dot Heine sights.  I am not sure if its just me or if I cannot get used to these sights ?

I was shooting low and to the left all day,  6-9 inches off sometimes.   I am not the most advanced shooter but I did much better on the range rental guns....

What should I do, or what am I doing wrong?   I had another guy at the range shoot it too, he was better than me but thought it was off low too.  Should I change to 3 dot sights,  if so which ones, and can I install myself?    Or do I just need to practice and get used to these heine sights ??

I appreciate any input - thanks,

Joe

[Mikey]

jlanz:  the Heinie Sights are good ones, so you may need some more practice to get used to them.  Also, your impact zone sounds like you may be pulling your shots - some might call it jerking the trigger - your groups are either low and to the left or low and to the right but it means you are pulling the pistol down when you pull the trigger.  I sometimes do that myself when I'm re-familiarizing myself with a particular handgun (you really don't want to know how bad I am with my P-38 Walther until I get used to it again...).

Also times two is that the 24/7 is a slim, lightweight carry piece that may not be all that conductive to accurate shooting and you didn't say what ammo you were using.

I would just practice with the thing until you feel more confident with it.  I would also practice from a bench rest to more accurately test the point of impact in relation to the point of aim (with the ammo you are using). 

If the 24/7 is constructed so as to allow you to change front and rear sights easily, as in dovetailed in, then you can do as you please with the sights when you find out just where they hit.  Who knows, you may need a lower front sight blade to bring your point of impact up to point of aim. 

And the dot system - funny, but when I'm trying to sight down the sights I lose track of the dots and just focus on where the front sight blade is in relation to the rear sight and the target.  I have only one pistol with the 3 dot system and find that when I use the dots to line up on the target I hit low but when I just use the outlines of the rear and front sights I am pretty accurate.  HTH and good luck.

[williamlayton]

Let me add some thought.
Rental guns are used and abused---but they have been slicked up by the use.
I might think that over some more shooting time you will get better use to it and the action might get better.
Heinie makes a three dot sight---so that is a doable change.
If the trigger doesn't seem right that is also a doable change.
Welcome to the world of finding a perfect gun. The search--unfortunately, and also fortunately--goes on a long time.
Because of the sight radius--and I am not sure which guns you rented--the weapon you chose may have a shorter sight radius. That make a difference.
Don't dispair, you two WILL become friends.
Glad to hear the weapons functions properly---that is a big plus.
Blessings   

[jlanz]

Thanks for the advice,  I was using cheaper ammo ( pmc bronze )    I am going to go to the range again this weekend and practice / try some different ammo.   

[NickSS]

I do not know what your bullet weight is but I find there is a difference in point of impact depending upon the load used.  Some shoot high and some low.  Yours sounds a bit low so I suspect that you were snatching (jerking) the trigger.  When I am testing the shooting ability of a pistol I always rest my forearms on the bench and concentrate on trigger pull.  I see a lot of people new to handguns stand up and assume a two handed grip and start to blaze away.  Accuracy for them is usually non-existent until someone shows them how to shoot.  I know because the first handgun I owned was a ruger Black Hawk in 357 mag and I missed the entire target the first twelve rounds I fired at it.  Then a guy took pity on me and showed me what I was doing wrong.  By the end of the box I was keeping them all in the 10 ring.

[rawhidekid]

One thing to remember is heavy bullets shoot higher than light.  If you are using 115, try switching to 124 grn.  Get some snap caps and practice dry firing holding the sight picture all the way through the snap.  Also try having someone load your mag staggering some caps through it.  You might find your shoving against the recoil.

[Savage]

Haven't shot one, but from what I've heard, the 24/7 has a pretty decent trigger pull. If you're right handed and all your shots are going low left, it's likely you just need to work on your trigger press. Shoot it from a good solid rest before you change anything. I personally don't like dot sights of any kind. I have the same problem as Mikey if I try to shoot to the dots. I have the "straight eights" on one of my pistols. I blacken the rear dot and paint the front florescent orange on all dot sights. My night sights are the only exception. In daylight, I don't find the night sight dots to be distracting. You can use sight black to cover up the dots and give the sights a better look. The Heine sights are good ones.
Savage

[S.B.]

Not trying to start a flame war but, didn't you get what you paid for? You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Don't know where you did your research but, on this site there are many disatisfied customers of Taurus pistols but, a very few who profess a love of them. The price of a pistol generally reflects it's qualities.
Steve

[Tonk]

Jlanz.....You get what you pay for even when it comes to most pistols! It is very hard to knock the pistol for your shooting attempts at the range. You state that you shot those other model pistols "very accurately" now what is very accurately to you and please tell us the distance at which this happened. These kind of statements, give impression that you are a seasoned pistol shooter! However, if you where, you would not be posting with a problem like you are having with your pistol. So questions must be asked inorder to pinpoint the problem, weather it is your handling the pistol or the pistol itself etc.

Now are you shooting this new pistol with one hand or using a two handed grip? Also 70% of the people I see shoot at the gun range, don't hold a two handed grip properly on a pistol. This alone will make a heck of a change on where bullets strike the target. Sight pisture is also very important, sounds easy enough to do but many people don't practice enough and master that skill well enough. There are about a dozen things that must happen for a person to hit the target or mark with their pistol's bullet. It took my wife around the 5,000 round count before she really got the hang of shooting a handgun with regular accuracy at the pistol range.