As a beginner, you are likely aware that there will be a loud noise and some recoil when firing the gun. Consequently, you might tend to press the trigger quickly to get it over with, which in turn creates movement of the gun and barrel.
However, even after pressing the trigger, it still takes some time for the bullet to move down the barrel. If during this process there is any movement of the gun or barrel, your bullet will no longer be on target. So then what’s the secret? To cause as little movement to the gun as possible when pressing the trigger:
- Use the middle finger pad of your first index finger.
- Take away any initial slack or “pre-travel” in the trigger by gradually squeezing it forward.
- Follow through by not releasing the trigger right away after you’ve fired.
- “Reset” the trigger by easing it back just enough to hear a click.
- Follow through for another shot
Dry Fire Practice is one of the most effective ways to improve your pull. This entails pulling the trigger without any ammunition in the weapon. If you’re going to be doing this a lot, I recommend getting snap caps. These are dummy bullets with padding on the back that will prevent your firing pin from over-extending itself if you fire repeatedly without using real ammo.
So, let’s move on and let me remind you a little bit of the theory before I continue.
When it comes to actually taking the shot, that’s a whole other issue. Every time you take a shot, there are 4 distinct points:
- The Initial Slack – this is a no man’s land when the trigger is between its normal position and when it breaks.
- The Trigger Break –this is the part of the gun that actually fires.
- The Stop – This is where the trigger stops moving after the gun has fired. The most common stop and break are at the same point. It’s not always the case with every gun.
- The Reset – This is the point where, upon releasing the trigger, the gun is ready to fire again.
There are four main points that can go wrong during a trigger pull, each of which will affect your accuracy in a negative way:
1. First and the most important is jerking the trigger.
You don’t want to just jerk it back as harshly as you can. You need to smoothly and consistently squeeze it each time. And when I say “squeeze,” I mean do so like you’re slowly trying to squish a rubber stress ball between your thumb and index finger. Later on, you can speed up the process, but for now, focus on keeping the motion smooth from start to finish.
Also, once you’ve reached the point where firing the gun will occur (also called “the break”), don’t stop pulling the trigger. You want to keep pulling until the trigger can no longer go any further back, and then release it back to its reset point.
If target practice consistently shows that your shots are veering left of center (or right if you’re a left handed shooter), and you have verified that your sights are undamaged, then there’s a high chance that you’re jerking the trigger.
If you want your squeeze to be slow and smooth, literally to the point where the firing of the gun surprises you (at least at first), then you need to reset your muscle memory. The only way to do this is by slowing it down and pulling the trigger multiple times. You have to unlearn bad habits and relearn good ones. It`s a bit tedious but it will be worth it in the end.
2. Anticipation of the recoil.
If your shots are all over the place, you might be unconsciously tensing up in anticipation of recoil. You can easily test this by loading some dummy rounds along with live rounds into your magazine at the range.
A few rounds loaded this way will create uncertainty about whether the gun will fire or not. This is what you want, as it’ll help you train to not anticipate/flinch when the gun doesn’t go boom. If your gun still twitches after pulling the trigger, then that’s a sign you’re anticipating/flinching. Don’t worry, though – it’s fixable with some time and effort dedicated to slowing down your trigger pull speed.
3. The last major thing is “follow through.”
As I mentioned before, the trigger will break at some point. However, this does not necessarily mean that the trigger will stop moving backward. In many cases, it does continue to move back.
However, you should never cease once the break occurs. If the stop doesn’t correspond to the break, then carry on to it. You should release just to the point of reset and restart your squeeze from scratch regardless of where the break/stop is on your weapon.
4. Pad of your finger on the trigger.
Although not classified as a primary issue, this nonetheless causes problems for people intermittently. When pulling the trigger, many individuals wrap their first knuckle around it instead of using the pad. However, experts maintain that one should use the pad rather than the knuckle.
Personally, I noticed an improvement in my shooting when I started using my finger pad, but I also know of some amazing shooters who have always used their knuckle and despise doing so. This one is subjective.
Consider double-checking your sights and double-checking what part of your finger you’re using if you can honestly claim that you’re not doing problem 1, 2, or 3 but you’re still having difficulties.
The reset point is never in the same place for any two guns, and it’s usually not where the trigger rests when your finger isn’t on it.