Trigger Control

[beretta9]

Everything I have read to date about trigger control states, that a person should squeeze the trigger and not know when the gun is going to go off. But, in the November 2007 edition of Outdoor Life, Jim Carmichel has an article in which he states: (The key to accurate shooting is not squeezing the trigger but controlling it with a practiced finger, so that the shot is fired exactly when you intend it to be). He goes on to say (What the sport shooter and hunter need and want is trigger control, the ability to control the progress of the trigger pull so that the shot is fired precisely when you want. No surprises.) Jim also said that a person should dry practice enough so your finger will become increasingly alert to the exact moment the sear will release.

Now, this makes a lot more sense to me than hoping the sights are on the target when the gun goes off.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

When you are hunting, especially with a long gun, he's right. With a pistol, people may flinch, tighten their grip, jerk the trigger, etc. if they know the shot is about to come, pulling it off where you want to hit.

 

[whitetiger7654]

He's half right. You do want to know where your trigger breaks. So you can take all the slack out of it and get it ready to fire. So when you finish the pull it will be a clean break. But you don't want to know the exact spot it breaks. Besides that would probably be impossible.

 

[RecoilRob]

It all depends on what you are shooting.

Stationary target....slow squeeze until the surprise break.

Moving target...or one that must be shot quickly...stroke the trigger and fire the shot when the sights are aligned on it.

I don't do the 'slow squeeze' anymore. Never. Always 'hit' the trigger when I want the shot to go off. Try hitting a moving target sometime with a slow-surprise break squeeze. You'll be very frustrated.

In the field, you won't find many situations where you have the luxury of that much trigger time. Unless targets are all you plan to shoot, practicing the quick trigger control makes a lot of sense to me.

 

[230RN]

With target arms with very light triggers, and for a practiced shooter, one makes the trigger "break" at a time just before the sights are going to cross the target (or desired point of aim). This is where the "practice" part of it comes in.

It's by no means the "slap" of a shotgun trigger, but it isn't the slow squeeze until the trigger break surprises you, either.

You control the trigger break with light target triggers, you squeeze until the surprise bang occurs otherwise.

Moreover, with practice, you know where the shot is going just as the trigger breaks --it's called "calling your shots." You may have heard the term "a called flyer." This is where the marksman knows that a shot will be out of the group --and exactly where it will be.

Actually, over the years, with practice with many different guns, I have found myself using the known break method even with non-target heavier-trigger arms simply because I am practiced enough with the various guns that I know when that trigger will break.*

Wanna see the muscles in my right index finger?

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* The exception is my Norinco SKS, which goes crinkle-crinkle-grate-crunch crinkle-grind-(faint click)-griiiiiind-slip-crinkle-BANG!

 

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

I'm of the opinion that not knowing when your trigger breaks can lead to bad shot alignment.

How can you know your gun when you don't know when the trigger will break?

 

[Zangetsu]

After you get enough practice, you'll know how much pressure it'll take on the trigger to make it go off, and at that point, it won't surprise you anymore, and you'll be taking your shots exactly when you want to. They should have just said it like that, because that's how I always thought it was. That's how I was/am with my pistols. When I'm shooting something I've never shot before, it's a surprise, but after I get a few rounds off and become accustomed to the trigger, I have much more control over when things happen. Does this makes sense?

 

[beretta9]

When you are hunting, especially with a long gun, he's right. With a pistol, people may flinch, tighten their grip, jerk the trigger, etc. if they know the shot is about to come, pulling it off where you want to hit.

I would think if a person was flinching, tightening their grip etc. when they knew when the hammer was going to drop, are shooting a gun that is too powerful for them. Or, they need to spend some serious time dry firing.