Mastering Your Trigger

One Key To Shooting Small Groups

By: greasypaws Posted: January 14, 2009

When it comes to better marksmanship,so much depends on so little-the "so little" being the control your index finger exerts over the trigger of your rifle.The benefits of practicing to improve your trigger control are twofold.First,you'll become a better shot by making sure your rifle goes "bang" when you want it to.Second,once you develop these skills,you'll never put up with a lousy trigger on one of your rifles again,which is as it should be.

1 HAND POSITION Get the pad of your finger-not the joint-centered on the trigger.Why?Because you've got lots of nerve endings in the pad and have the sensitivity to feel what you are doing.Grip the gun firmly with the rest of your hand to create support,so that you have an anchor for your trigger finger to pull back against.

2 CONE OF MOVEMENT While maintaining the sight alignment,control the rifle's movement to a circle on the target.Your goal is to shrink your "cone of movement".(For target shooters,this cone is smaller than the x-ring).Breathe naturally as you prepare for the shot.As the wobble settles,exhale about two-thirds of your last breath and hold it.

3 TRIGGER PRESSURE As you focus on keeping the sight's wobble on the target,slowly and evenly increase the tension on the trigger.If the sights move off target,stop increasing the tension,but don't let up on the trigger.As the sights move back on target,increase the pressure again.Fight the urge to jerk or yank the trigger when the sights are on the target.

4 SPEED IT UP As your skill progresses,two things will occur.The process will begin to happen much faster,and the trigger release will no longer come as a surprise.The best shooters are so in tune with the rifle and the shooting process that they know and can control exactly when the shot is fired.But don't rush it.The speed will come naturally with familiarity and practice.