Target Pistol Coaching

Often shooters find themselves with a perfect sight picture and fire the shot, only to scope it and find it is nowhere they thought it would be. They were certain the sights were aligned and in the “right spot” to shoot a ten. But wait.............it's nowhere near the ten ring!

What generally happens is the mind is saying, everything is 'ok' so press the trigger NOW!

To overcome this, one must combine trigger press and sighting. As the sights are aligned, and all is ready for that perfect shot, a conscious effort needs to be made to make the trigger finger move. This action of trigger movement needs to be deliberate, smooth, controlled and continuous and should have been started whilst entering the target or into your area of aim.

Let's look at setting up a precision shot. Raise the pistol above the target and have the sights roughly aligned so that you are seeing the back of the hand, the sights, your shirt sleeve etc. At this stage you are not really focusing on any one particular “thing” but seeing everything in a picture like 'frame'.

Lower the pistol so that it enters the target in a straight line and slows as it goes through the black and finds the area under the black that you normally hold in, your “area of aim”. As the sights are coming through the target, increase your attention to the stability and sight alignment. This will actually slow the pistol’s movement through the black.

At this stage, a conscious effort is made to increase trigger pressure slowly, smoothly and continuously. As you settle into your area, trigger pressure is still being applied.

At this stage, focus should be upon stability and sight alignment. During which, attention on the trigger press and its operation. Ensuring a smooth and continuous press is applied whilst the sights are being aligned within your area of hold. This is the most critical part of any shot that the sighting and trigger press is being combined.

This can be practiced with dry fire or live fire onto the back of a target (blank card) or even just shots into the target butts. With time, the trigger press will become a reflex action. The most difficult aspect is to gain enough self confidence in your ability to hold the sights aligned whilst pressing the trigger. Achieve this and you will be surprised at the results.