The purpose of shooting is to hit the target at which you’re aiming. Following the process of aligning your sights and pressing the trigger without disturbing that alignment will ensure that hit. At the very core of the shooting process is the ever-elusive perfect trigger press.
Our drill this month trains you to deliver an optimal trigger press applicable to three distances that can be used to measure your depth of shooting. One of these scenarios is a longer-distance target set at 50 yards. Another is medium range set at 25 yards and the last is a close-range set at 5 yards.
Here’s the Drill:
Set up three steel or paper targets with a designated center-mass. Place one at the 50-yard line (T1), one at the 25-yard line (T2) and one at the 5-yard line (T3). Shooters seeking more of a challenge may increase target difficulty by either reducing target size, increasing distance or setting a greater penalty for a miss.
Long Range
Start with a holstered pistol, hands below your gun belt. On the buzzer or “go” signal, draw from the holster to T1. Bring stability to alignment and with sufficient hold control work the trigger with a precise press. Try it again with increased speed, but similar precision and then a third shot with even greater speed, again maintaining precision. Repeating the three-shot drill again (run it at least three times). Which of the three speeds provides you the greater number of hits at this distance?
Medium Range
Start with a holstered pistol, hands below your gun belt. On the buzzer or “go” signal, draw from the holster to T2. Bring stability to alignment and with sufficient hold control work the trigger with a careful press. Try it again with increased speed but similar precision and then a third shot with even greater speed, again maintaining precision. Repeating the three-shot drill again (run it at least three times). Which of the three speeds provides you the greater number of hits at this distance?
Close Range
Start with a holstered pistol, hands below your gun belt. On the buzzer or “go” signal, draw from the holster to T3. Bring stability to alignment and with sufficient hold control work the trigger with a rapid press. Try it again with increased speed but similar precision and then a third shot with even greater speed, again maintaining precision. Repeating the three-shot drill again (run it at least three times). Which, of the three speeds provides you the greater number of hits at this distance?
The purpose of this drill is to discover, by feel and experience, which of the three trigger speeds and levels of precision are required to make hits at the three distances. This nifty little three-by-three drill can help you dial in the exact trigger press you need to round out your depth of shooting at long, medium and close ranges.
Knowing exactly at what speed and with what level of precision is required to make the shot at each of the three distances—without thinking about it—is the trigger trifecta of understanding, technical skill and performance on demand.
