Please help the worst M4 shooter ever.

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I couldn’t be more embarrassed to make this post. Maybe I just had a really bad day but I’m pretty frustrated.

Last time out with my Benelli M4 I was able to get a moderate-to-fair zero but I wanted to fine tune a bit so I grabbed a couple boxes of slugs and headed to the range.

I have only modified my M4 with the Scalaworks RMR (rail and red dot sight) and I changed the modified choke to a cylinder choke which works much better with my home defense ammo - Hornady 00 buckshot (versatite wad) and the Federal 00 buckshot (FliteControl wad). I was shooting with the red dot rather than the iron sights. I was using Federal PBS127DPRS slugs and shooting at 50 yard from a bench with a front rest. I have attached pictures of my groups.

First group - One shot on top of another starting from center of target and dropping (one I threw a little low and left). I was pretty stoked, this is hoping to be a great day! I can adjust my elevation a bit and I’ll be right on!

Group #2 - I’m scattering shots a bit low and left. Not sure what I’m doing wrong.

LastGroup - I only have 5 rounds left. I better really concentrate on great individual shots. And the result is four shots vertically centered reasonable well but several inches away from each other and one (my first shot of the group and I know I was holding right in the center of the target) that is nearly off of the left edge of the target. Wow. This is the worst group I’ve ever shot.

I’m not a great shooter, and I’ve only recently (March 2020) gotten back into shooting, but that last group has me sick. My expectation is that I should be able to group within the same area as a pie-plate at 50 yards? I was hoping I could shoot the first group consistently after adjusting my elevation up.

I know it’s hard to evaluate someone’s shooting without being there but has anyone else ever experienced anything similar to this?

[Florian]

lots of anticipating the trigger shown here.

[Evolution]

Ditch the red dot sight and zero with your irons and see how you do. Personally, I don't like or trust those things for any kind of precise shots at a distance of more than 30 feet..  

[SnidelyWhiplash]

30 minutes ago, Florian said:

lots of anticipating the trigger shown here.

How do I correct that?

[NoTycoon]

Don't "pull" the trigger; squeeze it. Use the pad of your finger, not the crease. 

Now, here is a drill for getting over the anticipation of the recoil. With red dot on your target, squeeze the trigger just enough to feel some resistance, then release the trigger back to no resistance (not all the way back out). Repeat this adding a little more pressure with each subsequent attempt. If you do this correctly, it should surprise you when the gun actually fires. Repeat the drill until you get a feel for just how much pressure is needed to fire the gun.  You don't want to over pull the trigger (i.e. jam it hard into the rear position).

If ammo shortage is a concern, do some dry fire practice at home. Again, you want to learn just how much pressure is needed to release the hammer.

Let us know how you do. 

[BallChange]

There should be plenty about this online. One thing I read was double ear pro, I'm not sure if that's effective or not. Another thing to help see if your actually flinching is get someone to randomly load a dummy in the mag, and you'll see it. Other than that I'd just say practice practice practice and lots of dry fire until the click is instinct.

[bambihunter]

I was going to post the same thing as Ball did above. If you are by yourself, set up your phone to record video and shoot. Have someone at the range load a snap cap instead of the round. If you flinch when you fire, that is your problem.

But, if you do that countless times and see nothing in the flinch or yanking the trigger, the next place I would look is your scope mounts. I can't even begin to tell you how many gun, scope, or ammo accuracy issues were in fact, loose scope mounts or rings. It is a relatively easy check on most. If you used a torque wrench when you put them on, it is even easier to tell if they are backing out. If they are, a little Loc-Tite Blue to hold them in place.