Here are some of the things I regularly run into in class when it comes to marksmanship. That is being able to shoot a handgun with precision. Often misinterpreted by instructors leading to missed diagnoses of the problem. All can be fixed if properly diagnosed and isolated in skill development through drills specific to the problem. Understanding we have a problem is the first step. It’s about making you a better shot and more efficient. It’s not about pointing out bad shooting skills.
Here are the top four problems encountered;
Trigger jerk; This is a sudden erratic movement of the trigger which causes movement of the sights and induces a miss. This can happen anywhere in the press of the trigger. The trigger press may be clean at first but then finish in a jerk or jerked all the way through the press.
Trigger slap; This is done when the finger is not in contact with the trigger and the trigger finger slaps at the trigger to make the gun fire. Common in those who take the finger off of the trigger after the reset has been reached and not maintaining contact with the trigger.
Anticipation push; This is a push to control recoil before recoil is present and affects the movement of the sights before the projectile leaves the barrel thus causing a miss. The result is often a low hit compared to point of aim. The shooter pushes the gun down and away as the trigger is pressed. Often miss diagnosed as a flinch.
Flinch; A flinch is a nervous push or pulling away in aversion to the noise of gun fire or a perception that recoil will hurt. Occurs in new shooters who have an apprehension to shooting. Flinches are often brought on by shooting heavy recoiling and loud firearms with little or no shooting experience or instruction. Also can be the result of received pain from shooting heavy recoiling firearms especially heavy recoiling long guns, the shotgun most commonly.
Of all these problems the flinch is probably, in my estimation, the hardest to fix. It requires more time on the trigger and persistence from the student.
I use a combination of techniques to fix these and other problems and mistakes made by students when trying to achieve precision with an instrument that was not designed for precision. Unlike the long gun where we have four points of contact with the gun. With the pistol we have only one point of contact, the grip. Trigger control is primary when we look for accuracy. Sight alignment and sight picture is easy if we can see the sights and target. The trigger must be pressed straight to the rear smoothly and consistently without moving the sights off of the target. Which of these problems do you have? Do you have a combination of problems? I have had students in class that didn’t realize they jerked the trigger. Others that had an anticipation push that was very slight and didn’t realize it. Don’t be one of those people who adjusts the sights to compensate. Yes, they are out there and I have seen it first hand. Fix the problem and become a better shooter. The better you are in training and practice means you will be better in a critical life threatening incident.
Which target and set of groups do you prefer?
Target A? Target B?
It is hard to see here but target B has a one hole five shot group in the center. The three black spots also have five shots in them. The groups are larger and off of target on target A.
T-M Firearms Training 