Shooting a handgun is simple, but it’s hard.
It’s simple in that the fundamentals aren’t complicated and are easy to apply. However, applying those fundamentals (consistently) is often very difficult.
In that way, it’s a lot like golf. If your swing is even slightly “off”, you can forget about hitting the ball straight.
Fortunately, if you’re having trouble with handgun accuracy, there are only a few likely problems:
- Trigger control
- Flinching
- Follow through
- Sight alignment
For the sake of this blog, we’ll focus on the most common of the four…
TRIGGER CONTROL
While gun owners often assume that poor sight alignment is why they’re missing, trigger control is arguably the most common cause.
Trigger control refers to your ability to press or squeeze the trigger consistently and smoothly rearwards without moving the rest of the gun.
In theory, that sounds easy, but in practice, it’s much harder than many believe – particularly when trying to shoot quickly. The reason for this is simple: More speed typically means more tension, and more tension typically means less control.
It’s your body’s natural response to adrenaline and its reaction to “fight or flight”, where large muscle groups and macro movements are prioritised over fine motor skills.
In other words, when we’re tense, we tend to lose our ability to press the trigger smoothly and accurately without yanking the gun off the target at the same time.
HOW TO FIX TRIGGER CONTROL
Fortunately, poor trigger control is an easy fix, but it does require time and training.
STEP 1: DRY FIRE
Start by aiming an unloaded pistol at a blank wall with perfectly aligned sights. Then press the trigger rearwards smoothly and watch that the sights stay aligned without moving. Once the hammer or striker release, hold the trigger rearwards (so that it doesn’t reset) and press several more times against a “dead” trigger.
Keep watching the sights for movement and focus on pulling the trigger straight back without moving the gun. Do this six times for every string, and do several strings for every training session.
STEP 2: ONE-HANDED SHOOTING
The problem with a two-handed grip is that it often masks poor trigger control. The fundamental problem is still there; it’s just not as evident when you’ve got two hands on the gun limiting movement.
However, poor trigger control quickly becomes visible when pressure increases in the form of faster follow-up shots, or a less-than-perfect draw and sub-optimal grip.
Shooting one-handed forces you to be more aware of how you press the trigger. If you can shoot accurately one-handed, you’ve almost certainly mastered trigger control.
Of course, you can practice one-handed shooting at the range (live fire) or in a safe environment at home (dry fire).
What’s more, it’s important to practice trigger control both with and without a time limit. Practicing without a time limit helps to master your technique. However, adding a time restriction will help to identify issues that may arise under pressure, such as incorrect finger placement on the trigger.
Happy training.
Click here to contact the False Bay Firearm Training Academy about one-on-one training.
