Picked up my M9 today and got some range time

[hartzpad]

I lucked out and got a high serial number (#29,0XX) I stripped it and gave it a light oiling (although I wasn't sure exactly where to oil it besides the slide mounts) and I shot 225 rounds at the range. I bought 400 rounds of Wal-Mart Winchester white box Value packs, I also bought some Speer, Blazer and American eagle cheap boxes, just curious to see if it would feed them OK. Well, it fed everything but CCI/Blazer, which would stovepipe about once a mag. It must be the aluminum casing. I only shot two mags of it and put it away as rainy day ammo.

The gun fuctioned flawlessly, except that it is hitting very left of the target. From 7 yards, it hits about 6-8" left of the bullseye. Now, I'm not a veteran pistol shooter (I'm a rifle guy) but this is my second pistol, so I'm not sure if I'm causing the poor point of impact or not. How do you adjust the sites on the Steyr? I see that you can drift them left or right, but how to you do it without hurting the finish? Other than shooting left, it was a lot of fun. I hope to become a better shooter with it.

No shells in the face, but there were quite a few that came close to my head. From what I have read, it should go away with time and more rounds through it correct? Also, I assume it's safe to dry-fire the pistol w/o any fear of firing pin damage because you have to dry-fire it to disassemble it.

I'll post some pics of it in a few days, all steyrs look the same anyways, so pics aren't that important. BTW, the manual says that the pistol comes with two safey keys, mine only came with one, did anyone get two with theirs? Thanks.

[c5367]

Are the sights noticably off center on the slide? You may need to adjust the sights. If you have a Glock sight pusher it can be made to work. Some have had success with the good ol' hammer and punch.
Mine only came with one too. You can pick up an extra from usasteyr.com for a couple bucks.

[mrapathy2000]

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[hartzpad]

The sights are centered on the frame as they should be. I didn't even consider that it could be me. But It was every shot that shot left. If I aimed right of the bullseye, I could it hit. I guess I need to have aomeone else shoot it and see how they do. The CCI/Blazer was tried after 30 rounds of Winchester.

[mrapathy2000]

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[LooneyTunes]

just got a M9 serial # 263xx. i too am having trouble with shots hitting left of target by ~6" at 15 yards. when i compensate by aiming right 6" then i am hitting the 4" steel plate almost all the time. the front sight blade seems centered in its dovetail. shot ~90%+ accuracy with my taurus 92 on the same day.

i put approx 200 rounds of Wal-Mart Winchester white box 115gr 9mm (thanks Zundfolge) thru it on its maiden voyage. 4-5 stovepipes with brass stuck parallel to slide in ejection port. approx 10-15 ejected brass toward my face/neck.

i did clean and lube it with tetra oil before shooting as best i could without major disassembly of slide components, etc. mostly the extractor, loaded chamber indicator and the slide/barrel wear points. hope to soon read up and thoroughly disassemble the pistol to properly clean and lube it.

no where near broke in yet based on what i have read here before.

i love the pistol. very nice shooter. just oozes with quality and class. i am jazzed!!!

[hartzpad]

that's strang that we're both experiencing the same problems (not big problems). I only got 3 stovepipes and it was only with the aluminum cased CCI/Blazer ammo. Everything else shot w/o any problem. I didn't even lube the extractor, it's the part that is sticking out of the slide right at the rear part of the ejection port right? What do you think we can do about the pistol shooting left? Should we try to move the sights?

[matt7184]

I got an M9 in the 28xxxs. Havent got to take it to the range yet (Sat I will) hopefully my sights arent off too, you guys got me scared now lol

[LooneyTunes]

similar indeed which is why i decided to post in this thread rather start another. thanks for letting me hop aboard.

i am going to wait until i have broken in my m9 fully and cleaned it better too before i let any stovepipes concern me. i assume this makes sense? sounds like a new extractor fixes it if necessary way down the road. and yes the extractor is where you think it is.

on shooting left of target (maybe more like 4 or 5") i do wonder if i am causing it. the trigger is different than say my taurus 92. i do love the trigger feel btw. maybe the built-in trigger safety requires a different technique than i am used to? never owned a pistol with one before. the sights sure look lined up to me. i will keep everyone posted on what i discover. matt7184, do let us know how you do with your new one.

i really don't want to move the sights until i absolutely have to. anybody been there and done that regarding this issue?

[mrapathy2000]

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[matt7184]

Didnt have any problems with my sites today (re: being to the left), but still have to get used to the triangle set up. Im wondering if you guys are not used to the trigger and are jerking it to the side. I did that today a few times since I am not used to that safety in the trigger.

Grips seem small for me, USP .45F feels a lot better in my hand, but hopefully the Hogue handall I ordered will take care of that. Im more accurate with Sigs and USPs, but ill give this gun some time and we will see. Recoil seems the same to me on all handguns (cept .22s) but muzzle flip was slightly less than the other guns I've shot. Can get on target in about half the time with the Steyr thanks to the quick aquistion of the sites and lower muzzle flip. Just have to get used to that triangle for accuracy work.

Did some 225 yard shooting with her, could put most of the WWB on a man size target at that range. Much easier with 9mm than .45 to hit something out at those distances. First time with the gun and we also did some rapid fire 15yard drills and I could put more rounds in a 4-5" group emptying 21 rounds in less than 30 seconds while getting pelted by brass lol Better than my friend with the SIG226 or USP .45F (Im usually a lil better than them with their guns, but I think the lower muzzle flip gave me a slight advantage).

Put 350 Rounds WWB through her, 20 rounds 124+P Speer GHDPs.

I had a few light strikes on the WWB but ran em though again and they went. Unfortunately I had extractor problems. Cleaned it up a lil and that seemed to help, but it was worse during rapid fire, or when the gun was hot. No extractor issues during the first 120 rounds so im wondering if the gun getting hot is an issue (the slide was hot enough that I couldnt touch it without burning my hand).

Im debating to clean it up and put some more rounds through it or see if I should send it in for work. The whole extractor issue kinda bumed me out today, at least my new AR is a ray gun :)

[matt7184]

Oh ya, had plenty of brass bounce on my head today lol

It started to lessen as more and more rounds went through it.

[matt7184]

http://www.gainesvillelan.com/PRC/images/Range_05_22_2004/IMG_1685.JPG

Friend with my Steyr before a lil Mr. Woo style action lol

[LooneyTunes]

quick update after two outings with my steyr this weekend.

i like my M9 a lot. mild recoil, accurate, quick follow up shots. feels and handles like a quality pistol in every respect. four family members shot it for the first time and really liked it too.

now have over 450 rounds through it. mostly Wal-Mart WWB. the blazer cleanfire w/ aluminum casing functioned equally well as did the specialty copper bullet personal defense ammo.

brass ejection toward my face is happening less and less over time. having a few jams where the extractor leaves the spent brass case in the chamber and the next round hits it during feeding.

the issue with point of impact (POI) always being left has lessened considerably. i think it has been my fault all along. now if a shot wanders it is often left of target by just an inch or two. i am going to try the slip on grip idea because i think it will help me too. thanks mrapathy2000 for the great suggestions. if this issue persists i will go to paper targets to really determine what is happening.

i do wonder if my progressive (bi/tri-focal) like eyeglasses that i started wearing a few months back could be a factor in this POI issue. i hope my dominant eye hasn't switched from right to left with the new eyeglass prescription. now that would be a real challenge.

[Carlitos]

Hartzpad & looneytoones: to improve your shooting take a look at the following website & particularly, look at the section called "tips for improvement: (www.brianenos.com). To really improve, you really need a timer; they can be had for as little as $90 but allow an objective measure of improvement over time. Enjoy the Steyr; it is an excellent choice!

[DAIadvisor]

Had to have my night sights re-adjusted on my M9 - shot to the left as well. I had them center the sights on front and back and that fixed the problem. My batch number is 016xxx - newer trigger group and ejector installed.

[shadow_dog]

My wifes M9 (used to be mine till she took it)is in the 026XXX range. After about 1000 rds of WWB,S&B, and Igman the extractor has finally loosened up. It throws them clear of the shooter. It shoots to point of aim at 7, and 25 yards. Didn't have to do any sight adjustment. Got to admit it is real accurate. Range officer at the club (Middletown Sportsmen) was impressed that my wife could shoot it so well. There has been no FTF or FTE with this pistol.

[icwtumn]

Looney Tunes:

I hope my dominant eye hasn't switched from right to left with the new eyeglass prescription

Prescription eyeglasses, contacts, or any other external device used to adjust eyesight will have no effect on your dominant eye. Right or left eye 'domination' is a function of your nervous system and the bilogical components of your visual system. This will not change over time, with glasses, or even with mild nerve damage (unless, of course, one field of vision is destroyed entirely).

Hope this helps.

[matt7184]

That is not entirely correct. Eye dominance can change with training. Factors such as patches (and id say maybe even bad prescriptions in some cases) may change which eye a person is dominant in.

[icwtumn]

A patch would indeed chage dominance, as one field of vision is removed entirely - a prescription eyeglass or contact is very unlikely to alter one's eye dominance, and if it did occur, it would take a great deal of time and a rather powerful prescription. If the eyeglass prescription were quite strong, it seems likely the shooter would be more concerned with the immediacy of the change in prescription rather than a gradual change in eye dominance. That being said, it is still quite unlikely that the dominant eye would shift from one field to the other - this would only occur in the most extreme circumstances...

[LooneyTunes]

thanks for the info guys. sounds like i was overly concerned. glad to hear that eye dominance doesn't change easily. i seemed to remember someone in another forum mentioning that it had happened to him. probably a misunderstanding on my part though.