Accuracy Problems ???

I am having a very difficult time producing consistent groupings with this OM Super BH. About three weeks ago I shot a three shot group of about 4 inches a 40 yards off handed and I am beginning to think it was luck. I have fired numerous rounds since then and I am lucky to hit a pie plate at 25 yards. I have been shooting rifles all my life and shoot a S&W revolver well but this thing is really starting to irritate me. I am usually an above average shooter overall, excluding professionals.

I take extra care to sqeeze off meticulously and when the gun fires the sights look well aligned at that brief instance of discharge. I will shoot it off a bench rest tomorrow to see how it does.
Is this a common adjustment to make when when moving to single action type revolvers with longer lock time and different ergonomics? I have a feeling that something is wrong because I have NEVER shot this bad in my whole life, not even close to this bad.

Would a different grip like a hogue wood grip with grooves help? This gun looks next to new and has very strong rifling lands. The cylinder locks up tight to me -- tighter than my S&W .357. The barrel is not loose and as far as I can tell not bent. It may just be my shooting but that would be a first. Most of the literature I have read puts this 7.5 and 10 inch version of the SBH at silouhette capabilities. It is hard to believe that it is the gun. Just don't know about this thing. I will try some different ammo although I don't think that difference would affect the grouping that badly. If this thing performs poorly off a rest I am considering selling her. It is a beautiful revolver, but if I cant hit with it, it is worthless to me.

I can shoot circles around this thing with my 686 .357 4" bbl -- there is no comparison between the two. I hope i can either A) learn how to shoot this thing, or B) Get another one like it if this one is defective or have it rebarreled.

I just don't think it is the gun, although I can't believe I am shooting this badly either. Don't know what to think. I am frustrated.

Someone help me here however you can.

H&H

is the rear sight blade loose in its setting. you didnt mention caliber and if so you might be "pulling" because of recoil anticipation. a flinch is hard to noyice by the shooter but is easy to see from a partner.

Practice the basics. I dry fire my shooters.

Ammo? Factory .44 mag ammo can be "intimidating". .44 Special cartridges can help, a lot, in letting you "get used to" the Super.

Good hearing protection is essential. Does the grip frame "bite"? If so, try some shooting gloves.

There's a few hints.

flatgate

Here is a Flinch Detector. Have a buddy load it for you, leaving some of the chambers empty. No peeking now, aim and shoot. You will quickly notice your reaction when you hit an empty chamber. If you shoot alone, load same way and give the cylinder a spin to "mix them up". Most effective if you stagger the empty chambers not just load every other one. Load 2 skip 1 load one skip one that type sequence.

If this little test indicates a problem, I have found it most effective to start light and work up as Flatgate suggests. Burn a bunch of "Special" rounds. Maybe it is even a reason (excuse/justification) to pick up a Single Six in .22, maybe another in .32/20 or similar chamber.

Kevin

You mention you shoot a lot of rifles,, and a DA revolver.
However,, you are dealing with a totally different style of gripframe in the Super. It requires a different type of hold & style of shooting.
There was another thread around here in the last few days where I describe a proper hold & shooting method for SA revolvers. Look for it & try that. (Along with the advice given in the rest of that thread about ammo etc.)
I just looked & found the other post. Dusterman,, about his 44 mag Vaquero. Check it out.

I find grips make all the difference in the world for me. I prefer the looks of wood grips, but find the hard rubber Pachmeyer "presentation" grips work best on my SBH's. I can hit skeet targets at 100 yds 4 out of 6 on a good day.
The factory wood grips seem to work best on my OM 357 blackhawk though, go figure. It is all what fits your hand best.
You could be flinching too, I catch myself doing that after shooting heavy loads after a while. The trick of loading a cylinder or two empty as mentioned before will show that real quick.

I too shot my NM Super poorly to start out with. I was using factory ammo.

I was very frustrated and disappointed and felt the gun was just not accurate. After starting to reload and shooting a little softer load (240 grain bullet over 9.5 grains of unique) I became much better. I also worked on the triggers (probably not an issue with your Old Model).

Now I know that my gun would probably put all the bullets in the same hole at 25yars. Can I put them in the same hole at 25 yards? Not a chance.

Shoot soft and work up.

Try a larger diameter bullet, get some cast slugs that are .431", shot a modest load with them for starters. Also might have a friend try shooting your gun, if he does better........sell it to him!

Dick

I think a bench rest would be a good start and .44 Special level loads. Also have someone else who is good at shooting SAs fire the revolver. Reason I say this, is I have a friend who thought his New Vaquero .45 Colt was shooting all over the place.... I even reamed his cylinder throats for him..... He was missing a 8" paper plate at 20 feet and most times the box it was taped to! I shot it and it grouped just fine. Practice, practice I told him.... FYI, he qualifies at the state prison every year with a DA .38, so is not new to shooting... just new to Single Actions!

Definitely shoot from a rest to remove "you" from the equation as much as possible. Still, when doing that, pay attention to flinch, grip, and all the other advice that's been given.

Since the caliber of the BH hasn't been determined yet, I'll also suggest to check your cylinder throat size. The .45 Colt guns are notoriously undersized. If your throats are undersized you could be compressing your bullets to below the bore size, limiting contact with the lands, resulting in poor accuracy. My .45 BH was like this when I got it. Even if you don't have a .45, checking the throat size can't hurt.

-- Sam

Definitely shoot it from a rest, or have someone familiar with single actions shoot it before condemning the gun. When I started shooting single actions, I was very frustrated at first. I had shot a lot of double actions, and autos of just about every shape and size, and considered myself a pretty good shot. My first range trip with my flattop .44, I was struggling to hit paper at 10yds! Shooting a single action well is totally different, start with the lightest loads you can find, and try holding the gun differently, letting it roll back under recoil, rather than fighting the gun. It worked for me, I now greatly prefer single actions to anything else.

I forgot to add: Yes, at first the long lock time of the SA can be a factor. Just keep it steady longer.

Actually, I've found that "follow through" is every bit as important as aiming the shot. Keep your eyes on the target as you let the gun roll, and will that bullet into the black.

-- Sam

Thanks you all for all the posts. I purchased some hogue rubber grips yesterday and put them on the gun. Yes they look dreadful and feel like an ethiopan trying to wrap his arms around a cornbread-fed southern country girl, but they improved my shooting tremendously.
Every time I pulled the trigger on this Super, the dragoon trigger guard nailed my knuckle on middle finger like a punch and hammer. Although I dont think I was flinching, I do believe that this impact with my finger interrupted the recoil wave of the gun and made my shots sporadic. My hands are big and it NAILED my knuckle EVERY time I shot. One would have to be masochistic to shoot the darn thing with any joy with it nailing the knuckle like it does for many people.
At this point, I don't care what it looks like, although I will probably upgrade to some herrett grips at some point. Jeff Quin on Gunblast recommends these oversized grips (herrett his preference) for shooting the Super with the square trigger guard. Why in Hades Elmer Keith endorsed this asinine design (I read this anyway) is beyond me. Sure it looks good, but unless you have small hands it will destroy your middle knuckle. No heavy recoiling revolver should have a sharp, square object just in front of the knuckle -- dumb. There is a reason, I'm sure, that the newer SBH Hunter has a ROUND trigger guard. Somebody finally realized that form should follow function, thank goodness.
With the exception of being just a little bigger grip than I like, the handling characteristics, recoil distribution, control, balance, and ultimately the ABILITY TO SHOOT ACCURATELY, make this grip superior to the factory grips bar none. It doesn't look as nice, but hey, I could care less-- I can shoot it well finally.


I know that many are quite satisfied with the stock grips or similar panels. God bless you who are, but I ain't one of them. Respectfully,


H&H

I love Ruger Blackhawk revolvers. I cannot use the Dragoon style SBH frame at all. Like you, the squared rear of the trigger guard beats my middle knuckle horribly. I did try a Hogue grip, but didn't like the looks of it so I got rid of it and the SBH. Some folks can shoot the SBH without problem, but large hands, like mine, really suffer. I'll just stick with the round trigger guard models. The Bisley Blackhawk works best for me.

some guns are tools plain and simple, maybe thats why i love the SBH line. they are about as pretty as a monkey wrench but they get the job done well. so who cares what the grips look like. ive had my 7.5 peel my middle finger knuckle more than once but i kept the trim grips just because it traveled alot and shot alittle. i popped off 100 HEAVY rounds the first time just to see if anything was loose and didnt notice my middle finger bleeding with no skin left on it because it was numb by the time it opened up. boy it was fun finishing concrete the next day (highschool job)

If you actually shot a 4" group, offhand at 40 yards, then you know what the gun is capable of. Are you shooting the same load? You may have developed a flinch, as previously mentioned, from anticipating the recoil of the gun.
Once I start flinching, I can't shoot worth a damn. If I blamed it on the gun, my safe would be empty at this point. Make sure it isn't operator error.