Matt
Burkett's Free shooting tips
Recoil control problems
The concept of a continuous sight picture ... Nearly everything you hear in
training or at a match is: "watch your front sight." I don't think that
is the correct way to approach a major problem with most peoples' shooting.
The main issue they have is that they don't see the sights when they need
to - which is during the entire firing sequence and return to the target.
Most of my students are familiar with timing drills. One of the
biggest benefits of a timing drill is that it develops the ability to
see the sight all the way
through the recoil. That is how you shoot fast and accurate splits on target.
Understand that the GRIP of the pistol is different than getting a GRIP on
a pistol. This is a difficulty in common language usage especially when describing
both.
Recoil control (or timing):
Many shooters have an issue with recoil control. Well okay, they
don't have any recoil control is a better way to put it. We have worked
on flinch. If you can see your sight lift and return, you're most likely not
flinching.
Poor recoil control covers a spectrum of problems, from not having a consistent
return of the gun to the same spot you just shot, to the hand or hands breaking
and losing grip on the pistol. Generally I see either a hand readjustment
right after a shot or I see the weak hand actually lose its grip on the pistol.
Now let's define the issue. The concept of recoil control or
"timing the gun" from the shooter's perspective is to subconsciously return
the sights to the same spot. This is a neuromuscular firing of fast twitch
muscles that occurs .04 - .07 of a second after the shot is fired. Notice I
said subconscious. You have to set everything up right and then let it
happen. The top shooters don't look like their working hard when their shooting
do they? That's a big hint. They're not!
Common problems:
Does the gun fit your hand? Can you actually hold the pistol in a good firing
grip and actuate all safeties along with getting a proper finger position on
the trigger? If the gun doesn't fit you, how do you think you will shoot it
fast and accurate? You will be able to shoot it accurate regardless of grip,
but not fast. Accuracy is purely sight alignment and trigger control. Another
issue that comes up when people are shooting a gun that doesn't fit is that
they can't index the gun consistently. Fixes for improper gun fit include modifications
to the grip, trigger length, or maybe a different gun entirely.
If you're using a 1911 or wide body gun, SVI has
an insert trigger system (ITS) that allows you to change the trigger length,
style, and even color without taking your gun apart. Is the grip slippery?
I once had a student that had a full custom .45 and his issue was that the
gun was just plain slippery. There really was no way to get a good "purchase"
on it, especially with full hardball loads. I know this sounds like common
sense, but you have to be able to “stick” to the gun. It didn't
help that he also liked to silicone his gun - THE WHOLE THING - grip and
all! That's like greasing a ball bearing then trying to hold on it when it
gets 150 g's of force applied. Good luck! Skate board tape, checkering, different
grips - they will all contribute to a better grip. If your sweaty hands aren't
helping the issue any, get some Pro-grip from Krunch Products.
Do you have a crappy grip that doesn't lend itself to holding the gun properly?
Is there a gap between your hands? Is your weak hand thumb not pointing at
the target? Is your weak hand really getting on the grip itself or
just kind of riding your strong hand? If you have seen my Practical Shooting
DVD V4, you've seen we mark Kevin's hands to see if he is getting a consistent
grip on the pistol. Have a training partner do the same for you. Then do 25
draws and see what happens.
The weak hand needs to be an integral part of the two handed grip. For me that
is where most of the recoil control happens. Trigger control occurs with my
strong hand. Most shooters try to do too much with their strong side of their
body. This is a natural thing that we need to overcome for fast
shooting. Fast shooting doesn't happen when the strong side is tensed up. This
is when you will see shooters have trigger freezes, and horrible follow up
shots. Sometimes it doesn't even look like they were shooting at the same target!
A drill to work on that will help you bring your weak side more into
your shooting is when the hands hit the reception position (about where you
clap), the weak hand “brings” the gun to the sight plane. This can help take
the focus off the dominance of the strong side and help balance us out a
bit.
Wouldn't it be a better world all around if more people were
well balanced? I am talking mentally here though. Just pushing and pulling
on the gun like the old style weaver technique. Alright, so this one never
made sense to me. The gun is recoiling rearwards, why do you want
to help it? this "Dynamic tension" is a bunch of BS. When you have
an adrenaline rush, what happens? You get stronger right? Use more gross motor
skills right? Well here is the hint, what side is stronger? Your strong side,
umm ... duh. That's why you will see a lot of shooters that use the weaver
push their second shot low left. Their first one may be fine, but, after that
when the pressure is on, it can deteriorate
quickly. If you're pushing forward, using a positive pressure with both arms
and get an adrenaline rush, what happens? You're just putting more energy into
the gun in the exact opposite direction of the recoil. Not a bad thing huh?
Make sure your stance is solid. Have someone
push on your hands in your shooting stance. (solid constant pressure) If you
can't hold the same position, guess what the gun will do.
Make sure you're relaxed and in a positive position. Tension kills fast shooting.
Tension is different than strength. Can you wiggle
your toes in the shooting box before the timer goes off? Bet you can't the
first time you try. The nerve going to the big toe is the longest nerve in
the human body. Guess what, if your toes are tense, everything else is tense
in between. Take a lower abdominal breath and relax your abs. Focus on your
stress and get rid of it.
So now you have a solid stance, you're relaxed, have a good grip on the
gun, and you can reach the trigger. Do you have sights you can see effectively?
Can you make out the front sight clearly? Time to see the eye doctor? BTW if
you're over 40 and suffering the standard far sighted issue (ie need reading
glasses) ask your doctor about a new procedure called CK.
Drills to develop recoil control:
Dryfire won't cure a recoil control problem. That is the one thing you can't
do in dryfire. What it will develop is proper stance, grip, etc.
The first thing I want you to do is to aim at a berm that isn't too far away,
say 10 yards. Make sure that it is a good backstop and you're not going to
get any ricochets. Make ready and get everything behind the gun right – grip,
stance, relaxed etc. Aim the gun at a target and just burn off the whole
magazine as fast as you can. What did you feel and learn? Where you able
to shoot all the way through the magazine without stopping and was your trigger
speed consistent? Were you able to keep a grip through the whole magazine?
If so, great, skip to doing my timing drills. (tip is on my website or in
Practical Shooting V4.)
If not, figure out where the problem is. Is it lack of grip from your weak
hand? Did your tension build too much as you shot? What's going on? Have a
practice partner help you diagnose the issue if necessary by having them watch
you shoot. What is your body language? Can they see you tighten up? Side note:
what is your trigger finger doing? Is it leaving the face of the trigger or
bouncing on and off it? Once you can get that down, which may take a lot of
ammo, see if you can get a continuous sight picture during the whole magazine.
An interesting note: A lot of students have found that when they were able
to get their gun under control, they generally cured most of their flinching
issues.
Take care and good luck with your shooting!
Thanks!
©mattburkett.com 2003 reproduction allowed must include link to
http://www.mattburkett.com
Flinch or the phobic
reaction to recoil
By Matt Burkett © http://www.mattburkett.com
Flinch is the subconscious reaction to the noise/recoil/fit of a firearm. Notice
that I said subconscious. It is any uncontrollable action prior to the gun
going off. Understand that it is nothing to be embarrassed about. It is something
that can be overcome much like any phobia. The conscious part of the equation
is the fear of the gun firing. The worst flinch I have seen was a guy shooting
a .300 Winchester Magnum. He would close his eyes about two seconds before
he pulled the trigger! That definitely didn't help him hit the target. In fact,
he didn't even come near it.
Now flinch is different than recoil control. Recoil control or “timing the
gun” as I call it, happens as the gun is firing. There is only a few
hundredths of a second difference but the effects on your
shooting are significant.
If you have never seen how the sights lift in recoil, you have been closing
your eyes - flinching. Another important thing is to work on group shooting
- relatively slow shooting at distance for maximum accuracy. If you're shooting
a 4” group
off hand at 15 yards, you're most likely not flinching. If that group opens
up with several "flyers", you may be having an issue. If you can't keep them
on the target you are having a real problem.
Let's take a look at the different things that contribute to flinch and see
if we can help you with some drills to work through this problem.
Noise:
Face it, loud noises scare us and cause a reaction. It's not normal for people
to have an explosion happen in front of their face without jumping, blinking,
or having their muscles uncontrollably contract. We need to train, focusing
on overcoming the body's natural physical and psychological reaction to the
noise.
How do we go about doing that? Let's start with a gun that doesn't make
as much noise, or even an air pistol. Learn some of the basics such as trigger
control and sight alignment without the distractions of the loud bang. Double
ear plugging can help - using good ear plugs and a big set of ear muffs. This
will help shut out the sound as it enters either the skull or the ear canal.
You may want to add a hat as this will reduce the amount of sound blast
to the head.
Try shooting a few round safely with your eyes closed. (obviously after having
checked your impact area and lined the gun up with the target) Try to feel
what is bothering you. Is it the noise, recoil, blast?
Accepting the noise is one of the biggest things to learn. When the gun goes
off focus on relaxing as much as possible. Use just enough grip strength to
keep the gun from flying out of your hands. Start with a .22 rim fire and work
your way up, learning to relax into the noise of each progressively
larger caliber.
Recoil:
The rule with learning to handle recoil is to start small with a gun that
fits you and work your way up.
The main technique that will help you handle recoil and your flinch is proper
grip and stance. The less the gun pushes you around, the less chance your going
to react to the recoil. What is the gun doing in recoil? If you don't know,
it may be because your eyes are closed.
Another thing that will help reduce recoil is to change your loads and reduce
the weight of the recoil spring. Try working with “target” loads or reduced
power loads. Focus on seeing as much as you can while the gun is going off.
Pain:
Pain caused by sharp spots on the gun can cause a flinch. Several of my students
have gotten rid of their flinch just by making the gun fit their hand better.
Grip your gun up tightly with your hand until your knuckles and fingers change
color. Now, feeling the gun, what's bothering you? Let the gun go and look at
the palm of your hand and fingers. Where are the marks? These are related to
the spots on the gun that you will need to have a gunsmith modify for you.
Get rid of the sharp spots and edges, and you will be surprised at how
much nicer it will be to shoot the gun.
If you can't hang on to the gun, you won't be able to shoot it well. Make sure
that you have a good purchase on the gun. If your hands are slipping around,
it will make it more difficult to shoot. Add skate board tape, checkering or
rubber grips so that you can get a better grip.
Psychological
Forcing your way to learn to shoot through a flinch:
With a target 10 or
15 feet away, have someone check your stance and grip by standing off to the
side and cycling the empty gun while your aiming it at the target. Now load
the gun and shoot the magazine off as fast as you can forcing your eyes open
and learning to relax into the gun and recoil. The more you tighten up your
shoulders, neck, etc the worse it is.
A true surprise shot:
Get into your shooting stance and have someone else
pull the trigger for you. Try this both with you eyes open and closed. RELAX
and see how much difference in recoil there is. The gun just
flips and comes back to center.
Good luck with breaking your flinch. If you have any questions are additional
idea's or suggestions, please contact me by either email or by phone.
May be reproduced as long as a link to http://www.mattburkett.com is included.
©MattBurkett 2003
More Grip and Stance •
This is based on the shooter being right handing and not having any
physical arm or spine issues. Will discuss weak/strong and rifle shooting at
end.
Quoting two of my articles with modifications:
•Grip and Stance•
Most of the basic shooting problems that I see come from an improper grip
(this includes tension and hand placement) and incorrect upper body position.
The basics: Keep the head up and straight - not canted left or right to the
gun. Shoulders square. The arms bent. Hands together. Trigger finger free for
movement. Both eyes open.
Place the strong hand on the grip as high as possible, both front and rear.
The strong hand thumb should always be on the safety. (when shooting weak hand
the thumb should also always ride the safety) I relieve the bottom rear of
the trigger guard on my guns to put my right hand at a more natural angle and
reduce the pressure on the joint of the middle finger.
The trigger finger should not touch or rub on the gun anywhere other than
the trigger. The pad of the finger should be used - not the first joint. This
will provide better trigger control.
The placement of the weak hand in a freestyle grip is where most people
make mistakes. First the fingers should all be under the trigger guard.
Your weak hand index finger should never be on the front of the trigger guard.
Second, there should be total hand to hand contact at the left rear of the
gun. (relative to being right handed) The left hand should not
sit straight forward on the gun. It should be canted at an angle with the back
of the hand being higher on the gun than the front. If you trace your thumb
on your left hand back past the knuckle to the base by the wrist, this should
be in between the first joint and the knuckle of the right thumb. This is going
to cock the left hand at an angle and complete the contact between both hands.
This also serves another purpose of bringing different arm muscles in on controlling
the gun. You should feel the muscles on the top of the left arm by the elbow
doing the work. If the hand is straight you will feel the strain on the bottom
of the arm.
Both thumbs should be pointing at the target and your arms should be pushing
out in a positive tension against the gun. Several schools teach a push/pull
technique, but the top shooters don't do it. Why should you pull on the gun
when it is already going that way during recoil? Be sure not to lock the
arms out. This transfers all of the gun's energy into your shoulders also does
not allow you to properly absorb the recoil of the gun.
The left arm should be more straight than the right arm, (If your shoulders
are relaxed, not hunched up, and you are standing square to the target, your
left hand has to be further out than the right hand.)
Grip tension should be about 60% weak hand and 40% strong hand. Do
not strangle the gun. More tension in the shooting hand = less trigger speed.
If you have a proper grip you will be surprised at how little work you have
to do to control the gun. There are several drills I have to develop your grip,
but, a good starting point is to use the same grip tension on the right hand
that you would when gripping a hammer. (what you use to hit nails with).
Use slightly more tension in the left hand. If you are seeing a significant upper right "torque" on the gun, try increasing the grip strength on the left hand and decreasing the strength on the right. This should straighten the recoil path out for you. This grip may feel uncomfortable at first. Try it out for a couple of weeks and I'll bet you will see a difference.
The stance I use:
Have you ever watched boxing? Notice how they are leaning slightly forward,
standing on the balls of their feet, knees bent, feet about shoulder width
apart, tip of the weak foot approximately 3-6" in front of the tip of the strong
side foot and their body is loose and relaxed. The hips should be in a natural
position with the back and your center of balance low over the balls of your
feet. I prefer to have the front of the shoulders a minimum of an inch forward
of the hips. I lean the entire upper body forward. If the shoulders are at
or behind center you won't maintain good control. You shouldn't feel
any pressure on the back or neck muscles in this position. If you are, you
most likely are leaning the shoulders forward but not rotating the hips with
them. I breath through the stomach for shooting, as upper body breathing disturbs
the gun. I also try to maintain about 60% of my weight on the balls of my feet.
Get into this shooting stance and have someone push against your outstretched
hands. You want them to use a solid constant pressure. If they can push you
over, you are too tight or your legs or elbows are locked. As more pressure
is applied, make sure that you don't rock back on your heels.
Your body will overcome it for you if you just let it; rotate the hips and
upper body more and bend your knees slightly more.
This will show you how to apply positive forward tension with your whole body.
This is the way to the fastest shooting. Relaxed but in control.
-The more relaxed and comfortable your stance, the better decision making you
will do.
Weak/Strong Hand shooting:
I use the exact same stance for this as I do for
two hands (freestyle). The only real difference is the "anchoring" of the
other hand. This keeps the other hand from becoming a pendulum.
Rifle shooting:
Same stance with a couple of minor changes. On a rifle I do
pull it back into my shoulder with more energy being imparted with my weak
arm than my strong arm. This helps keep the strong hand relaxed for better
trigger control. Left arm is in approximately extended the same as when it
was on the handgun. I shoot with the same head and body positioning that I
use with a handgun.
Laurence writes: Is it REALLY DUMB to deal with reverse dominance
by closing the dominant eye?
Not at all, although you lose the advantage of stereo vision which is the fastest
way to transfer between targets - but this is
only .05 to .1 of a second per shot time lag. Have you checked to see if you
have strengthened the eye enough to open the other one? Try just placing a
piece of transparent tape over the dominant eye and leaving it open. This will
take some getting used too. A common issue is that when you close one eye
you tense up your facial muscles and the other eye will have more of a tendency
to blink.
From Wade:
Being right-handed and left-eyed, I would like to add another suggestion:
It seems worthwhile to determine which eye is the strongest and has the greatest
visual acuity. This is not always the dominant eye. It is usually advantageous
to use the "best" eye and tape the other. If you tape the "best" eye your vision
will be less clear and eye strain will be more likely. I tape my right eye
and find that when using the isosceles stance my head is barely tilted at all.
On the subject of taping lenses, you should use the smallest piece of tape
possible and place it to obscure the gun/sights/dot when the gun is aligned
on target. This eliminates the "double-vision" and misalignment of sights
while keeping stereo vision unimpaired. A useful product
called "Magic Dots" is sold by mailorder in the back of Shotgun Sports magazine.
This is a set of six or so vinyl circles about 10mm in diameter
which attach to the lens by static electricity and are easily removable, leaving
no gunk behind. They work quite well except in the cold.
Eye Speed
"You can only shoot as fast as you can see." It's true! Increasing your eye
speed can have a dramatic impact on your shooting skills. Time lost on target
transitions can result in entire seconds added per stage. Here is a way to increase
your eye speed and decrease your target transitions.
Without your gun, take two one inch black dots with a 1/4" white center and
put them about five feet apart on your living room wall. While standing
about five feet back bring the white dot on the left one into focus. Quickly
snap your eyes only to the other dot and bring the other white center dot into
focus. Don't move your head - use just your eyes. Now go back and forth as
fast as possible bringing the center dot into focus each time. You will
probably start noticing how your eyes first locate the black dot with your
peripheral vision and then how your eyes zero in on the center and bring it
into focus. Try this for a couple of minutes. If you
develop a light headache, take a break and then repeat. Your eyes have never
had to work this hard before.
Once you see some improvement put one dot three feet above the other and
practice vertical transitions with your eyes only.
Now, move the dots back to the horizontal plane and put one just out
of view. This way you have to move your head to get to it.
Your eyes always lead everything! They are the fastest part on the human body.
Use your eyes to snap over and start searching for the other dot, your
head then automatically follows.
Time now to try this with the gun's sights. With "Iron" sights you
bring the front blade into focus after clearly focusing where you want
the bullet to go. Keep the gun
unloaded with no ammo in the vicinity of your practice area!
DO NOT slam the gun to a stop, slide it into position. A good analogy
for this is smoothly braking your car coming up to a stop sign - you don't
hit the brakes at the stop sign, you start preparing to stop earlier.
What you don't want to see is the sights jiggling around when the gun stops.
Practice smooth, perfect transitions before trying to speed up. You have to
teach your body what you want it to do before going faster. This also applies
to reloads, draws, etc., and will help when you go faster so that you won't
have any extra unneeded movements that waste time. Burn it in and then speed
it up.
Good Luck!
Reaction To The Buzzer
I have found that a lot of my students have been losing significant time on
their draw just by having a slow reaction time to when the buzzer sounds from
the timer. How do you find out what your reaction time is and more importantly
how do you improve it?
Try the following:
* NEED: gun, ammo, and timer
* Set timer for a random delay between 4-8 seconds
* Make ready
* Hit go on the timer
* Gun out in the shooting position
* Visual focus on the target
* Take safety off
* Place finger on the trigger and take up the slack (Don't AD!)
* Tune your audio focus to listening for the start of the buzzer
* When buzzer goes, fire a shot
* Check the clock for results
* Repeat, trying to react as fast as possible
Most likely your first reaction times will be .30 or longer. Work on the exercise
until they are consistently under .20 and you will already have removed a minimum
of a tenth of a second from your draw!
(A reaction time of .16-.20 of a second is optimum. My personal best is a .11
at Shooters World in Phoenix during a class with Chris Dysart. Chris went from
a .34 to a average .18 of a second.
That was a savings of .16 or in other terms it moves a one second draw down
to an .84!)
Good luck everyone!
Buying a Used Gun
If the gun is factory basic and just used in the normal course of duty it most
likely is a fair purchase. Check for overall fit, function and amount of
wear. If it seems excessive, parts may need to be replaced. A used gun may
be a great place to save some money if you are considering customizing.
When buying a used already customized gun first find out who built it and
how competent they are as a gunsmith. Are they a member of the American Pistolsmiths'
Guild ? Try to find out if the gun has a background that other shooters
know. Is it known for constantly jamming or running perfect all the time?
Starting At The Top Of The Gun
Sights
On an
Iron Sighted gun, are they adjustable?
Fixed sights, although durable, don't allow the testing or switching of loads
easily. Bo-Mars are still the best adjustable sight on the market. Check for
loose sight parts such as the blade or the sight base. Is the front sight serrated
and ramped?
Undercut front sights are nice but not practical if the gun is to be carried
at all due to snagging.
Open gun Compensator
Is the compensator loose? Does it twist by hand? Is there adequate clearance
between the slide and comp? About 0.002" to 0.004" is needed. Is the slide
hitting the comp? Look for shiny spots on the back end of the comp. Are the
bullets hitting the plates in the comp? Look inside the comp for copper marks
or tracks on the plates. If there is inadequate clearance you will have major
accuracy problem. Check for erosion on the plates.
This where the bullet passes through the hole in the plate and the gas burns
the edges of the hole. With the introduction of light bullets, plates can suffer
from significant erosion, sometimes to the point that they break through.
Slide To Frame Fit
Check the slide to frame fit by gripping the gun in your strong hand. Grab
the slide in the weak hand. Place your strong hand index finger along the frame
and the slide. Rock the slide back and forth and up and down. By doing this
you can tell the looseness of the slide fit. With Iron Sights, slide to frame
fit
is not as critical to accuracy as with a scope. The sights are on the slide
whereas the scope is attached to the frame.
Barrel Fit
With the slide closed, push down on the top of the barrel hood. If there is
any movement, there will be an accuracy problem - it will not be able to "lock
up" correctly. With the slide closed, place your finger on the end of the barrel
and try to move it around. It shouldn't move.
Trigger Job
If you question the trigger job, lock the slide to the rear and drop the slide
on an empty chamber. DO NOT do this more than once or without permission of
the owner. (You better really want to buy the gun!) If it goes to half cock
the sear-to-hammer relationship must be adjusted or parts may to be replaced.
You can check the overtravel on a gun by cocking the hammer and pulling the
trigger all the way to the rear. Now rock the hammer back and forth - there
should be no resistance from top to bottom. You should be not feel the half-cock
notch rubbing on the sear. If there is some resistance or scraping, take it
to a competent gunsmith and have it adjusted.
Magazine and Magazine Well
Do the magazines fall cleanly out of the gun when the release is pressed? This
should happen even with the slide locked back using an empty magazine.
Also, check the magazine itself - the followers for damage, the spring
for tension, and excessive wear or cracks on the feed lips.
Test Drive
If the gun seems to be in good condition, the next step is to fire it. Take
it to a range and put some rounds through it. Look for the following:
* Does it perform consistently and reliably?
* Is it comfortable?
* Is it accurate?
If it passes all of the previous tests buy it.
Timing Drills
One of the drills that I like to do most of the time and has had the most impact
on my shooting ability is a timing drill. First we clarify terminology.
Timing of the gun:
I am not referring to the time the mechanism takes to return to battery, but
learning the timing of the gun by the shooter. Since most guns return to battery
in about 5 hundredths of a second, we cannot return the gun fast enough with
our conscious mind. The subconscious will return the gun to point of aim by
using the appropriate amount of muscle force during recoil. You will see top
shooters push down on the gun if it does something it's not supposed to do,
such as hitting a bad primer and not firing. This is not a flinch. A flinch
occurs before and also during the firing of the gun.
You must shoot a full magazine on every string in this drill and you don't
stop and restart in the middle of a magazine. Unless there is a safety issue,
shoot the entire magazine at the required split time. You must have a relaxed,
forward stance and grip on the gun for this to work.
This drill refines the return of the gun under recoil,
calling your shots, grip control, and solidifying the stance. If you are not
using a solid forward shooting stance, you will see the gun start going out
of control and the sights moving differently after about 3-5 rounds. Please
refer to my previous articles for stance information or check my website
at www.mattburkett.com <http://www.mattburkett.com>
You will need three targets, tape, and about 250 rounds of ammo.
The drill:
Start out with three targets 15 yards away. Load all of your magazines. The
first three strings allow two seconds per shot. Like a metronome, have the
splits be close to two seconds. Check your split times on a
timer. Two seconds per shot
gives you plenty of time to shoot an extremely small group.
-First string, use as light of a grip as possible on first target.
-Second string, medium grip on second target.
-Third string, use a heavy grip on the third target.
Now unload and review your shooting.
You shouldn't have more than about a 2” group on each target. Compare where
they are impacting on the target. Is there more vertical variance
or horizontal on the different groups? Which grip did you feel more comfortable
with? How did the gun feel with each grip? What exactly did the sights do?
Did they rise straight up under recoil? Could you even see the sights under
recoil? This will show you if you have a flinch. If you can't see the sights
going up and down, you may be blinking.
Figure out what grip worked best for you and use that for the rest of the drill.
Tape the targets.
String four, two seconds per shot on target 1 with your new favorite grip.
String five, one second per shot on target 2.
String six, .5 seconds per shot on target 3.
Now unload and review your shooting.
Once again we look to see where our problems are showing up. What
is the group dispersion on the targets? Is there a significant difference between
the groups at two seconds and at .5 seconds? How much vertical error is there
with the groups? What did the sights do at the different speeds? Diagnose what
is happening. If you're getting a significantly upper right lift to the sights,
grip a little more with your left hand and slightly less with your right hand
(assuming you're right handed).
Tape the targets.
String seven, one second per shot on target one.
String eight, .5 per shot on target two.
String nine, .25 per shot on target three.
Unload and review.
How did your shooting go at this speed? Are the sights coming back naturally
to the aiming point?
Things to remember:
The timing of the gun that you have learned is specific to that firearm and
load. If you change any part or your load, rerun the timing drills because
the gun itself has changed.
Most basic shooting problems come from an improper grip (this includes tension
and hand placement) and incorrect upper body position. The basics: Keep the
head up and straight - not canted to the gun. Shoulders square. The arms bent.
Hands together. Trigger finger free for movement. Place the strong hand on
the grip as high as possible, both front and rear. The strong hand thumb should
always be on the safety. (when shooting weak hand the thumb should also always
ride the safety) I relieve the bottom rear of the trigger guard on my guns
to put my right hand at a more natural angle and reduce the pressure on the
joint of the middle finger. The trigger finger should not touch or rub on the
gun anywhere other than the trigger. The pad of the finger should be used -
not the first joint. This will provide better trigger control.
The placement of the weak hand in a freestyle grip is where most people make mistakes. First the fingers should all be under the trigger guard. Your weak hand index finger should never be on the front of the trigger guard. Second, there should be total hand to hand contact at the left rear of the gun. (this is based on being right handed) The left hand should not sit straight forward on the gun. It should be canted at an angle with the back of the hand being higher on the gun than the front. If you trace you thumb on your left hand back past the knuckle to the base by the wrist, this should be in between the first joint and the knuckle of the right thumb. This is going to cock the left hand at an angle and complete the contact between both hands. This also serves another purpose of bringing different arm muscles in on controlling the gun. You should feel the muscles on the top of the left arm by the elbow doing the work. If the hand is straight you will feel the strain on the bottom of the arm. Both thumbs should be pointing at the target and your arms should be pushing out in a positive tension against the gun. Unfortunately, several schools still teach a push/pull technique. Why should you pull on the gun when it is already going that way during recoil?
Also be sure not to lock the arms
out. This transfers all of the gun's energy into your shoulders also does
not allow you to properly absorb the recoil of the gun. The left arm should
be more straight than the right arm. (If your shoulders are relaxed, not
hunched up, and you are standing square to the target, your left hand has to
be further out than the right hand.) . Grip tension should be about 60% weak
hand and 40% strong hand. Do not strangle the gun. More tension in the shooting
hand = less trigger speed. If you have a proper grip you will be surprised
at how little work you have to do to control the gun. This grip may feel uncomfortable
at first. Try it out for a couple of weeks and I'll bet you will see a difference.
Swinging targets
I look at swingers in a couple of different ways:
Trapping: the concept of shooting a swinging target when it is at its pause point. It helps to time them with a stop watch to know how long the pause is.
Tracking: the concept of following the swinger with the sights and breaking
the shot while keeping the gun moving. Now for me I usually put the sights
in the leading -1/C zone.
Most of the targets I will track then trap. Break one shot while it is
on the down swing and one shot while it is stopped. Sometimes they are
track/traps. It all depends on your skill level and comfort level relative to
the distance of the targets as well as the speed of the swinger.
Use a stopwatch to figure out the entire available exposure time and how long
it takes to get started. If possible time it repeatedly. Activation time is
fairly critical as it will tell you when you can fire the first shot and that
will decide if it will be a trap or track.
If possible get to a range that has a swinger and shoot the heck out of it.
It will help you get over the negative mental associations that swingers
generally have and help you build up the confidence you need to shoot well.
_____________________________________________________
Variable trigger control
One of the issues that most people have is that they don't understand trigger
control. Learning the pin and reset technique will help you learn the distance
of the over-travel and reset which are most important parts.
••••
There are four parts to a trigger.
1. Pre-travel
2. break
3. over-travel
4. reset
Warning: Do not mess with the trigger of your gun unless you know what your
doing. Take it to a qualified gunsmith and let them do the work.
Pre-travel is the amount of “play” the trigger has before engaging the sear.
I like a lot a pre-travel. This gives my finger the opportunity to engage the
trigger and get a feel for it. It is almost neccessary to slap triggers that
have no pre-travel since you can't interface with it. I like about 14 ounces
of pre-travel on my 1911 type triggers. On a 1911 you can check this by having
the gun fully assembled but without the beavertail in place. Lift the left
side of the three leaf spring (the sear leaf) and then use a trigger pull gauge
to check the pre-travel. On a Glock this is almost impossible to measure because
you are partially cocking the firing pin during the trigger pull.
The break is the actually disengagement of the sear and hammer. I prefer my
triggers have about a 21-26 ounce pull on a 1911. The Glock triggers I use
are set-up by customglock.com and they break right about two pounds.
The overtravel is the distance the trigger moves from the break to the contact
with the frame. On a 1911 this is set by the screw at the bottom of the trigger
face. I prefer a bit of over-travel. This helps keep my finger from running
into the frame especially weak or strong hand.
The reset is the distance from the contact of the frame to the re engagement
of the sear and hammer.
A well set up trigger should feel clean with no dragging anywhere. It should
bounce back to the reset.
I have Don Golembieski of Kodiak Precision set up the triggers with a slight
rolling break on the sear. The way he does them is pretty amazing. Most people
can't feel the roll on his triggers and think that they are a crisp break.
Too crisp of a break for me and I can see movement in the sights.
••••
We need to get rid of your flinch. There is no way that you can possible learn
to feel a trigger if all of the muscles in your hand are firing and your closing
your eyes during the recoil. Read my article here and watch“Volume 4 – How
to Shoot Faster!” to work through your flinch. Once this is overcome then we
can work on the trigger control.
••••
Variable trigger control is like a variable sight picture. Targets of different
difficulties require more or less work. The concept of a varying sight picture
has discussed many times by myself and Brian Enos. I think the first publication
of this was in his book “Practical Shooting – Beyond the Fundamentals”. You
can order it from my online store if you don't have a copy.
I believe this is the first time the concept of a variable trigger pull has
been discussed. On a 5 yard target, you just don't need to do the same amount
of work that you would on a 50 yard target.
Here is a drill that you can use to work on the concept.
Set up three targets. One at 5, one at 10 and one at 15 yards. It helps to
have a high capacity gun so that you can keep shooting. Shoot each target with
2-4 rounds trying to go as fast as you can, yet still feel the trigger reset
on the 10 and 15 yard targets. Only A's count. Work on your target transitions
and try to reduce them as much as possible. You can also do this as a timing
drill shooting an entire magazine into each target with a reload in-between.
This will show you your grip and stance failures. If you shoot and at anytime
need to readjust your grip or stance, you didn't start out right.
Here is an interesting post from Sam one of my forum users:
Matt, I was out training with another USPSA Master today and we were discussing
your training DVD's. (I emailed you about a month ago about pinning the trigger,
and I've been working on it daily since your kind reply.) I've discovered that
I can shoot one ragged hole at 5 yards by pinning the trigger every time. Firing
splits of .65 I can feel the reset click every time. I can shoot 7 yd Bill
Drills, all "A"s in about 1.80, no problem. But the "one ragged hole" groups
take about 5 seconds.
With splits any faster than .65, the gun seems to still be traveling backwards
in recoil as I'm trying to feel the reset. The nice click that I like to feel
is gone, drowned out buy the movement of the gun.
So, here's the big question? Does Matt Burkett actually pin the trigger on
every shot?
Can you feel it "click" with a split of .40? .20? If you can, I'm totally amazed!
And, of course, I'll try to figure out how to do it too. But, is it realistic
to go for that kind of control? Or is trigger pinning something you only do
when extreme accuracy is needed?
Thanks.
Sam,
I can generally feel the trigger down to about 25's or 30's. Below that it
gets really difficult unless I am completely focused.
The basic goals of pinning the trigger are:
1. Learn the distance to trigger travels to help keep from slapping the trigger.
2. Bring your attention to the trigger.
3. Reduction of flinching.
4. Improve your timing of the gun.
Variable trigger control is necessary -for fast shooting just like a variable
sight picture. Hard target pay more attention to both. Easy target pay less
attention to both.