Went to check out a fairly new range this weekend (On-Target). It's been a few weeks since I last went to one since I've been TDY. Even more interesting is that I smashed my hand a work again. It did not seem to affect my lack of skill so it is therefore not a suitable excuse.
Previously, I would tend to go left and high, but, for the most part, I seem to have that under control (still do it sometimes, but no where near as bad as before.....usually...lol). I had, however, done some dry fire exercises to help me diagnose my tendency to shoot a bit low. For me, shooting low is the new "left and high". I was pretty sure my trigger control was the culprit. My noobness on the trigger would cause a slight muzzle dip of varying degrees. By the end of my hour at the range, I shot some pretty good groups (for me). Granted, these were fairly close range, but I figure going out too far is just wasting ammo (and $) at this point in time.
The pix below are where I ended up at the end of my session. The first pic is w/ the CZ (75B) at 5 or 7yds...I don't remember but it may have been 5yds since I was occasionally deviating from my normal 7yds. The second and third are with the Buckmark; from 7yds and 10yds, respectively. For the latter, I was feeling cheap so I started aiming off center (purposely, I swear!) at various spots to see how well I could group my shots. I marked up the image to indicate the various spots I was aiming. It could've been a lot worse. It didn't help that I was starting to not focus on my front sight as well since my contacts were bothering me a little (should've swapped out for a new pair last week). I also started rushing since I was almost thru my bulk pack of Federal 22LR and my range time was up....didn't want to bring home a near empty box of ammo!
Anyways, it is a good feeling to notice some improvement! I figure to gradually move out to longer ranges as I am able to consistently get a tight grouping on my shots. I'll bring out the XDM more at that point in time, too.
BTW, ybbiz, curious but what is making the XDM line of Springfields grow on you (vs the XD's)?
Collins, that sucks about your FTF issue. Hope it gets diagnosed and resolved soon.