When I was struggling to learn the pistol as a target firearm, I read every book, manual and magazine article that was even remotely connected to the topic.

Eventually, I came to accept that some things the manuals required you to do were simply wrong. The biggest of which is the mandate that you must hold the pistol in a perfectly vertical manner, so the top of the rear sight is level.

Obviously, this can be done, but it results in a bent wrist when you also attempt to keep a straight line from the front sight back through the rear sight notch and back down the arm to the eye. Such a line of sight is important for repeat shots in that it helps recovery from recoil.

One day, I was struggling to do this and found that I could do all of those things only when I tilted the gun inward just slightly. For a right-handed shooter, this is a so-called “5 o'clock” cant and I now shoot everything this way.

This technique works very well for me and I am now seeing a few instructors actually teach this method. The danger in doing it is simply that you must use the same degree of cant for every shot.

If you have an inconsistent cant, your group will wander all over the target. I am also a little concerned about using it with optical sights that sit well above the bore and out of the traditional line of sight.