training for proper trigger pull!

[Yo Mama]

started shooting the new XD Mod 2 in .45, which rocks, but noticed perfect groups, about 3 inches left and down. :banghead:

I can see it's me, when I'm focused on perfect trigger pull the gun does it's part. With the shorter barrel, when your finger is wrong it's magnified greatly even at 7 yards.

THEN: I had someone show me something with my trigger finger that really made sense, that I wish I had been shown prior. Where your knuckle ends up pointing on your trigger finger shows proper or improper technique very easily. My knuckle always moved to the side, pushing the gun ever so slightly.

This article has it exactly as I'm trying to describe:

http://progunfighter.com/trigger-control/

Now I'm so aware of it, and that I've always been doing it wrong, time to dry fire practice the bad habits out of me!

 

[M-Cameron]

alright, so ive shot NCAA....i shoot competitively...and i do a lot of training....

every thing ive learned about training for proper trigger pull can be summed up in one sentence:

"focus on front sight and pull trigger...if your front sight moves when you break the shot, you are doing it wrong, try again until that doesnt happen"


honestly, it doesnt matter how you pull the trigger, or with what part of the finger you pull it with...you can pull it with the tip of your finger...with pad of your finger...or the joint of your finger...so long as the front sight stays in place when you break the shot, you could pull the trigger with your ear for all anyone cares.

 

[readyeddy]

Try using mostly the middle and ring finger of your strong hand to grip the pistol.

 

[Warp]

Try using mostly the middle and ring finger of your strong hand to grip the pistol.

The instructors I am aware of teach that the majority (let's call it 70% or so) of your two handed pistol grip should come from the support hand.

Or are you suggesting thinking about not really using your pinky?

 

[JellyJar]

Are you sure the sights are not off?

Have someone else shoot your gun and see if they group the same.

 

[readyeddy]

Not using the pinkie as much was something I just stumbled upon. I was shooting my Glock 19 better than my Glock 22, and the only difference I could tell was that my pinkie was not used on the 19 because of the short grip. This applies to both strong and support hand. For me, this is onlyfor Glocks, as I've always had difficulty with the overtravel.

 

[Yo Mama]

I don't think the sites were off, it did its job when I did mine, but it's pretty picky about if I don't do everything correctly

 

[9mmepiphany]

It isn't where you have your finger placed, it is about how you are pulling the trigger.

If it helps you to put more finger on the trigger to pull it straight to the rear without disturbing the sight picture...put more finger on it...but that isn't what is causing your shots to go off to the left.

What is causing your jerking the trigger is you trying to make the shot go off when the sights are perfectly aligned...that is anticipation. You have to allow the shot to go off while you work on moving the trigger straight to the rear

 

[zb338]

I have been shooting for a lot of years going back to the U.S. Army in the
50's. Dry fire as much as you can. Try different holds different trigger placement
and keep doing it. At least a half hour each night is a good start. I have a few
guns that move when I squeeze the trigger. I can't do anything with them. If
you have one of them get rid of it. The 1911 is a tough gun to shoot. A good .22
target auto is easy and the easiest center fire pistol to shoot is a S&W K-38 or
equivalent. If you want to be a good shot it takes a lot of work. Don't overlook
a good trigger job.

Zeke

 

[edmo01]

I find I use different trigger finger placements depending upon the gun I'm shooting...

On my double action revolvers and striker fired guns I tend to use the first joint of my finger. This allows me the added mechanical advantage to manipulate these heavier triggers without disturbing the sight alignment.

On my 1911s and when shooting my revolvers single action, the lighter trigger pull allows me to use just the pad of my trigger finger. Using just the pad I get a better feel and more finesse when releasing the shot. The light, crisp triggers give me that option.

The hard part for some shooters is muscle control in their shooting hand. The trigger finger muscles have to be isolated from the brain's commands being sent to the rest of your hand.

Every muscle in your hand, except for those in your trigger finger, have to grip the gun firmly and keep it on target. The trigger finger then has to be told to press the trigger straight to the rear. The challenge is to keep these two different brain commands isolated from each other without some of the "trigger press" command leaking over and contaminating the "grip firmly" command or vice-versa. The leak-over can cause small, unwanted movements in the wrong muscles spoiling your shot.

Dry firing helps me practice the skill of trigger control. As someone once said, "Shotgunning is an art, rifle shooting is a science, and handgun shooting is a skill." Skills need to be practiced over and over to perfect.

Edmo

 

[Bo]

I also have a SA XD Mod 2 45. The second thing I did was order a Pearce Grip Extension so my pinkie doesn't dangle in mid air.
The first thing, was to order the drop-in trigger from PRP. Easy to install and improves the trigger 100%. Much shorter and lighter pull helps eliminate lower left shot groups.