Free Downloadable Pistol Correction Targets

Get in the Ten Ring In No Time With These Free Targets

GunLink Pistol Correction Target - Right Handed - With Score Rings

Having trouble getting your pistol rounds to go where you want them to?  There are many factors that go into becoming a proficient handgun shooter.  After perfecting (or, at least, moderately developing) core shooting principles like safety, stance, sight alignment and consistency it’s time to dial in other fundamentals like proper grip, trigger finger position, trigger pull/squeeze and work on consistency, proper breathing, not flinching, etc.

GunLink is here to help with free targets that you can download and print to help diagnose and remedy some common issues that pistol shooters face.  Whether you are a pistol pro, a handgun hack or a revolver rookie, these targets are a great tool to troubleshoot your rounds right into the ten ring. Developed from data in the United States Army Marksmanship Training Unit Manual, the UIT (now ISSF) pistol book by John Chandler and the Target Pistol Shot Analysis documents from Target Shooting Canada, these targets are perfect for anyone wanting to improve or maintain their pistol shooting abilities.  We have had good results using these targets to correct bad shooting practices and have got positive feedback from forum users who have tried them.

These targets are not just for live fire practice, either.  If you have a laser training tool or a laser sight that lets you see where your dry-fire “shots” go, these targets are a valuable resource.  Print off a target, aim at the bullseye, and pay attention to where your laser beam goes.  GunLink staff keeps at least one spare in our range bag for reference to compare to where shots impact when shooting any target.  Download and print the targets below.

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Download Targets

Use the following links to download targets in PDF format.  If you do not have software capable of viewing or printing PDF files, you can download Adobe Reader for free here.

Right Handed GunLink Pistol Correction Target With Score Rings

Right Handed GunLink Pistol Correction Target Without Score Rings

Left Handed GunLink Pistol Correction Target With Score Rings

Left Handed GunLink Pistol Correction Target Without Score Rings

About the Targets

The GunLink pistol correction targets, which are available in both left- and right-handed variations, each available with and without scoring rings, are divided into ten segments.  The center of the target (where you want your round to hit) is surrounded by nine segments (where you don’t want your round to hit).  Each of the nine segments is labeled with a common shooting issue that could cause (based on the materials mentioned above) a bullet fired at the center of the target to hit that segment.  For right-handed shooters, the segments are marked as follows:

If your round is hitting high-center, your wrist may be breaking upward as you fire.  To remedy this, be sure to keep your wrist firm as you fire the handgun.

If your round is hitting low-center, your wrist may be breaking downward as you fire or you may be pushing forward or drooping your head as you fire.

If your round is hitting center-left, you may be using too little of your trigger finger.  Many agree that a good trigger finger placement is to have the trigger at your distal joint (the joint between the pads of your fingertip and mid-finger).

If your round is hitting center-right, you may be using too much trigger finger or you could be “thumbing” the pistol.  Many agree that a good trigger finger placement is to have the trigger at your distal joint (the joint between the pads of your fingertip and mid-finger).  Also be sure not to try to squeeze the pistol grip too firmly with the thumb of your trigger hand.

If your round is hitting high-left, you may be pushing the pistol in anticipation of recoil or may not be following through on your shot.  Be sure to keep your wrist firm enough to account for recoil but not so firm that your muscles move the gun before/during/after the shot.  Also, remember to keep proper form and grip throughout the shot.

If your round is hitting high-right, you may be heeling in anticipation of the handgun’s recoil.  See note above.

Kimber TargetIf your round is hitting low-left (around 8 o’clock), you may be tightening your fingers too much as you fire the pistol.  Hold your hand straight out in front of you and fold your fingers back and press the pads of your fingertips onto the heel of your hand.  Generally, your hand will try to move slightly toward the inside of your wrist as your muscles tighten.  You can see how this could be problematic.

If your round is hitting low-left (around 7 o’clock), you may be jerking or slapping the trigger during your shot.  Make sure that your trigger pull is smooth and deliberate.

If your round is hitting low-right, you may be tightening your grip during your trigger pull.  Hold your hand straight out in front of you and clench your fist.  Generally, your hand will try to move slightly outward as you clench more tightly.  You can imagine why this would be a problem and your rounds could end up here.

For left handed shooters, the above pattern would be a mirror image.

With a little practice on these targets you should have your rounds in the ten ring in no time.  A friendly word advice that comes from experience:  remember to keep a spare target at your shooting bench!  It’s no fun squeezing off a round on the target only to realize that you can’t read the markings from your bench.  When is that next cease fire, again?

27 Responses to Free Downloadable Pistol Correction Targets

  • Steven C says:

    can you help me? I am new to shooting and would like to find a target that i can shoot at the range 25yrd , but with the target size at say maybe 50 yards i hope you can understand what im trying to say.. I just want to see how far i can shoot accurately in an indoor range.

    thank great info and links

  • GunLinkBlog says:

    Hi, Steven:

    I’m pretty sure that I get what you’re saying. If I understand you, this is pretty much exactly how Project Appleseed runs their qualifying tests. On one sheet of paper they show you multiple “head and shoulders” targets that get progressively smaller. Placed at 25 yards, the targets simulate the same target at increasing distances. These targets go by the name of “Fred’s Quick N Dirty AQT Target” and are available directly from Fred HERE or from the Appleseed store HERE.

    On a side note, Project Appleseed is a great program, especially if you are interested in learning the fundamentals of marksmanship (plus get a bit of a history lesson on the American Revolution). For more information, to find events near you or to talk to an instructor, you can check out the Project Appleseed board on the GunLink Forums.

    Charley Myers also offers scaled down IPSEC/USPSA targets to simulate greater distances at closer ranges.

    If you just want to draw circles to simulate targets at a distance instead of buying targets, a common formula that some people use is this:

    (Simulated Target Size) / (Simulated Distance) x (Real Distance) = (Real Target Size)

    For example, if you want to pretend that you’re shooting at a 8 inch target at 100 yards but you only want to put the target at 25 yards, it would look like this:

    8 / 100 * 25 = 2

    So you would use a 2 inch target.

    This formula might not be perfect, but it’s close enough for what we’re tying to do. Especially given that this isn’t a perfect simulation of shooting at a distance with respect to bullet drop/hold-over, wind and other conditions.

    Great question. This may lead to a blog entry in the future! Thanks for asking and we hope to see you around the GunLink Forums

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  • I really like your blog.. very nice colors
    & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone
    to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like
    to know where u got this from. cheers

  • GunLinkBlog says:

    Custom designed. Contact us via the forums and we can put you in touch with the developers.

  • Michael says:

    Ref:Free Downloadable Pistol Correction Targets
    When printed out on a 8×11 paper, or should it be made bigger, where is it placed, distance wise? 7m, 10m, 20m?

  • anon says:

    it shouldn’t matter what size or distance you place the target. the wedges go out from the center and the lines would continue past the edges of the target to make bigger wedges. i print mine on regular paper and shoot at 10 yards give or take.

  • GunLinkBlog says:

    Yes, the above should be correct. The “pie pieces” of the target tell you what a possible cause of shooting in a particular area of the target might be attributable to. You can shoot them at any distance and size you are comfortable with that allows you to get your shot on paper. Just aim dead-center and compare the POI vs POA. We have had several readers provide feedback that they even printed out a few extras just to keep in their range bag and not shoot. Then, if they are not hitting where they aim on another target, they just compare their hit to these charts.

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  • stephen wiedler says:

    This is an old but well used training tool. Very good would recommend this to anyone who wants to improve.

  • J Carpenter says:

    74 years old. Haven’t shot in 30 years. (Retired military)
    Retraining starts now.
    Thank you for the targets.
    JC

  • Robert Hayen says:

    Targets are great helped me at the range !

  • John Purtee says:

    I would like to add; these targets are also very good for dry fire practice/training. When you can’t go to the range for live fire, dry firing is your key to much better performance on the range. Every successful shooter uses dry firing in their training regimen. Now you may ask, “how can this target help me when my bullets are not hitting it?”. Well, looking at the basics of shooting a component that many shooters miss is the “Focus on the front sight as you break the shot”, it should be a clean and crisp front sight focus. In dry firing and properly focusing on the front sight as the trigger breaks, you will see the front sight slap in a direction of where the bullet would have landed on the target. If you see that front sight go up, down, left or right, then the pieces of the pie from these targets apply to what you just shot. Dry firing is very dry/boring training. Once you are training in your dry fire sessions, take exactly what you have done to the range with live ammo, but fire your weapon as though it is empty, performing the exact motions you did in your dry fire training. Overcoming the bang and recoil is hard for some but getting yourself in that mindset when you’re live firing is very very important.

  • Don says:

    I’m wondering if these are usable for rifle flinch as well? If not, do you know if such a thing exist?

    Thanks,

    Don

    • GunLinkBlog says:

      I would guess not. The way you interface with the rifle versus the pistol is completely different, different points of contact in different places in relation to each other, etc.

      For instance, on a pistol, your trigger finger is usually the furthest thing forward. Pulling right on the trigger typically brings the muzzle right (around the axis of your strong-hand palm). Pulling right on a rifle trigger could tend to bring the muzzle left, around the axis of your forward-most point of contact: your weak hand.

      G&A published an article about how to read rifle targets, but it isn’t really a chart like these.

      You can also try asking in the Project Appleseed boards on the GunLink Forums. A big part of Appleseed is rifle marksmanship and they may have some pointers.

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  • Tim Butler says:

    My wife is taking up pistol shooting and I’m loving having a partner at the range. The interesting thing is that when she’s shooting she’s developing a friction sore (not quite a blister) on her trigger finger after about 100 rounds with a 9mm. That’s regardless of which pistol she’s shooting (Walther PPQ, Kimber 1911 etc.). She’s a left handed shooter and her shots are generally grouping loosely between 1 – 6 inches below center and between the 4:00 and 6:00 position. I suspect grip and trigger finger issues. Any thoughts or advice?

    • GunLinkBlog says:

      That might be a better one to ask the peanut gallery on the forums at http://www.GunLink.info/forums to reach a wider, more interactive audience.

      I’ve only had that happen on one pistol – a KelTec P11 before the Northwood trigger job – and it was due to the lousy factory trigger shape and function.

      You are probably right about it being a trigger finger issue, with the finger having up/down or left/right movement during the trigger pull or follow-through instead of coming straight back. Let her rest up a bit so that she has a “fresh” finger, and then – with a SAFE, UNLOADED pistol with some snap-caps – try some dry fire practice with you watching her trigger finger closely. See if you can spot her finger moving around on the trigger.

      If you don’t see anything out of sorts, have her dry fire for a few hundred (boring, I know) shots around the house while paying attention to what she’s doing and practicing good fundamentals. If the blister doesn’t come back from that, investigate her grip; it could be that she does not have a good, positive grip on it and the muzzle flip from the recoil is causing the pistol to move relative to her finger instead of vice versa and causing the blister. Ensure a good, firm, two-handed, thumbs forward grip with as much hand surface area making contact with as much pistol surface area as she can.

  • Andre says:

    Thank you for the targets. Got one of these from a friend some time ago and it really helps.

    Very cool blog!!! Love the positive, to the point and very respectful advice and comments. I will definitely recommend it to my friends.
    Andre

  • Tony says:

    Guy in his 60’s learning to shoot better. Thank you for providing the targets. Btw, how does the support hand (left-hand for me) work and adjust in the diagnosis provided by using your targets? Thanks,

    • Don says:

      The targets are designed with one handed shooting in mind. Gross errors like too much trigger finger pulling it toward your strong side, too little pushing it to weak side, or flinching to anticipate recoil should probably show up the same. However, with a proper solid two hand grip might diminish the effects of the error because you have an extra hand in the mix that is helping to hold the pistol steady and correct the mistakes your strong hand is doing.

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