How To Correct Glock 17 Shooting Left

This guide demonstrates how to correct Glock 17 shooting left. After spending years on the range training and teaching others how to shoot. I've broken down some common problems If your shots veer off target to the left or right, there are a few possible reasons.

• Bad grip
• Trigger finger curve
• Glock grip frame thumb indents
• Anticipating recoil jerking motion prior to the bullet leaving the barrel
• Inaccurate barrel or loose lock up
• Unzeroed sights (Included red dot)
• Poor ammunition

To quickly identify your shooting error when learning how to shoot a Glock pistol, I find this pistol shooting errors chart helpful. The center circle represents the point of aim and where you intended to hit, with any shots landing elsewhere indicating the reasons for the error.

We highly recommend MANTIS X10 tracker to diagnose your errors with much more precision, see how it works below:

Glock 17 Shooting Tips

Let's start with checking how you hold your gun. You've got to make sure your grip is tight and there aren't any gaps. This helps handle the kickback better because it won't find an easy way to move.

If you have a Gen 4 or 5 Glock, play around with the grip panels to adjust your grip. Keep adjusting them until it feels just right in your hand.

And if you're using something smaller, like a Glock 43, and you notice your shots are going left, the same idea applies. Make sure your grip is solid and gap-free.

Undercutting the trigger guard allows for a higher grip, which can slightly alter the grip angle and aid in controlling recoil.

Mitigate Recoil Anticipation

Recoil anticipation is the primary reason for missed shots. Often, the bullet has already left the barrel before the shooter senses the recoil. Any downward jerking motion before the shot results in a miss.

If you're a right-handed shooter and consistently shoot low to the left, the usual causes are:

• Not positioning your hand high on the tang.
• Engaging in a jerking motion, leading to shots being low and sometimes to the left.

Anyone using a red dot or laser sight can easily detect the hand tremor.

Squeeze The Trigger Independently

When I shoot low left or leftward, it's usually resulted from improperly squeezing and curling your entire hand when pulling the trigger instead of moving your trigger finger independently.

Additionally, having either too much or too little finger contact on the trigger can also affect your shot.

To address this issue, start by positioning your trigger finger against the trigger's wall, then apply gradual rearward pressure until the trigger breaks. If your shots consistently veer to the left, it typically indicates either too much finger on the trigger or an uncoordinated trigger squeeze.

Improving your shooting skills requires practice. After becoming proficient with the standard Glock trigger pull weight of 5.5 lbs, you'll come to value a 4.5 lb trigger with a flat face trigger bow.

This modification reduces finger tension, minimizes travel, and provides a cleaner trigger break, regardless of where your finger contacts it (high or low).

Re-Zero Sights Correctly

If you're shooting iron sights, make sure they are properly installed. Sometimes you may need a sight pusher to readjust the rear iron sight to align properly.

If you're shooting with a red dot sight, the dot itself will give you immediately feedback on how much you're jerking. 

If you're shooting with a red dot sight, be sure to re-zero the dot, test and verify point of impact.

Tip: A bigger dot size reticle like the 6 MOA will tremor less on a handgun than a smaller dot (1 MOA , 2.5 MOA or 3 MOA)

Upgrade To A Match Grade Barrel

Upgrading the barrel might not be essential, but it can enhance accuracy by offering tighter rifling grooves and a more secure slide lockup.

The factory Glock barrel performs adequately when you have solid fundamentals in place. However, opting for a match-grade barrel can provide experienced shooters with an advantage, enabling them to shoot more accurately.

For those looking to take it a step further, attaching a barrel compensator to your Glock can reduce muzzle flip and lateral movement, facilitating quicker follow-up shots.

Learn more about what a does a compensator do on a pistol based on ammo type.

The side ports will minimize horizontal muzzle shifts. It works better for fast follow up shots

Our favorite is the match grade barrel from Killer Innovation, but there are others you can check out here

Diagnose Shooting Performance In Real-Time

Dry firing practice is strongly recommended for Glock shooters. The Mantis X10 Elite is a precision tracking device that captures precise shot data in real-time to improve your shooting skills.

• Tracks muzzle movement into a readable graph
• Track micro muzzle movements the shooter just can't 
• [Live fire] real time diagnose like the pistol shooting errors chart with high precision
• Dry fire diagnosis
• Save data to see improvements overtime
• Tons of rifles & handgun data profiles to choose from