Shooting: Back to Basics

Shooting

Back to Basics
By Bry Buttars

As you may have heard me mention in previous articles, I am a member of the Air National Guard and, as such, have had the opportunity to play with their guns. Most recently, I have had the opportunity to participate in the National Guard Marksmanship program. This program is designed to enhance basic marksmanship skills in both rifle and pistol shooting through training and competition - and that is exactly what it does.

I spent a good deal of time last summer practicing and competing with some of the finest shooters in the Utah Guard, both Army and Air Force, and learned a great deal from them. I would like to share some of the things I learned, and some of the advice I received, in the hopes of helping you become a better shooter. Perhaps this advice will help you get involved in competition shooting.

From day one, the most stressed themes of all the training classes were the fundamentals. They are the same for both rifle and pistol shooting. Stance, grip, sight alignment and breath control. Lose any one of these fundamentals and your shot isn’t going to go where you want it to. Simple, right? Hah! We all know that if it were that simple there wouldn’t be a missed shot, ever. When you are hunting, you have the added pressure of buck fever, wind, cold, heat and gloves. In competition, you have the pressure of the dreaded clock. Suddenly, those basic fundamentals aren’t so easy to reproduce. That’s where practice comes in. A lot of it. If you can make the fundamentals second nature, all the other things will have a smaller effect on your shooting. So, let’s talk for a minute about the fundamentals and what they are. While the descriptions that follow are geared toward pistol shooting, they apply to rifle shooting as well.

Stance. Your stance must be steady and comfortable. There are several popular styles including isosceles and Weaver, but any stable, comfortable position will do. I use a combination of the two that is most comfortable for me. Do a little experimenting and you’ll find what works best for you. Unless you are competing in a bull’s-eye competition, you should use both hands. In the Weaver stance, you can use your weak hand to pull back while pushing forward with your strong hand. This is called isometric tension and greatly aids in rapid shooting, shooting a heavy-recoiling handgun, and proper stability. A great, inexpensive way to practice this is with a .22 pistol. Just remember to do it the same way every time! Practicing with a bad technique just teaches you bad technique!

Grip. Believe it or not, many people do not think about how to grip a handgun. For auto pistols especially, the grip makes a big difference. If the gun is gripped differently each time, the gun will shoot to a different place. This is an easy fundamental to lose when you are put under a time constraint in competition. With your fingers and thumb making an “L,” place your strong hand as high up on the grip as is comfortably possible. The apex of the web of your hand should be centered at the rearmost point of the curve in the gun’s back strap. This ensures that you are not gripping the gun too far, or not far enough, around the grip. The forefinger should rest naturally along the side of the frame above the trigger and the other three fingers should wrap easily around the front of the grip. The strong-hand thumb may either be in a “high” or “low” position. Experiment with your gun and see what is comfortable for you. Your weak hand should wrap naturally around your strong hand with all of the fingers below the trigger guard. Your weak hand thumb should lie over the top of your strong hand thumb. Do NOT wrap the weak hand thumb around the back of the pistol. The slide will come back and cut your hand severely if you do! I saw a soldier acquire several stitches and some pretty cool scars by forgetting this at a competition in Wyoming. Both elbows should be slightly bent, but both wrists must be locked. The strong hand should be pushing forward slightly, and the weak hand should be pulling back slightly but not hard enough to cause undue tension and shaking.

Sight alignment. Sights on most auto pistols consist of a square front post or ramp and a rear “U” notch. By simply centering the front post in the rear “U” with an even amount of light on both sides and with the tops of the sights level, you will have an accurate sight picture. (The pistols we used in the combat competitions had a three dot system. Just line the dots up and you’re good to go.) Do not make the common mistake of watching the target. The focus of your eyes should be entirely on the front sight. Both the rear sight and target will be slightly blurry. This also goes for scoped weapons. The crosshairs should be clear, and the target slightly blurry. When shooting the target, imperfect sight alignment should not stop you from taking a shot. Nobody can hold the gun perfectly still. When the trigger breaks and the gun goes off, it should be a surprise to you, but if you are aware of what a good sight picture looks like and can keep that picture as close as possible, then, when the gun goes off, the bullet will hit where you want it to.

Breath Control. Breathing control is much less important in pistol shooting than in rifle shooting due to the shorter distances shot by a pistol shooter. However, it is still important. The technique I have been taught and use myself is to take in a deep breath, let it about halfway out and then hold it. It is tempting and seemingly a little more comfortable to let the entire breath out and then hold, but this causes a need for oxygen sooner than if half the breath is held. When shooting groups off the bench or waiting for an animal to turn and present a shot, those extra few seconds can make a difference.

This is the best technique for rifle shooting, but it doesn’t work so well for pistol shooting. In combat competitions you do a lot of running around and moving - holding your breath just ain’t gonna happen. The best way I have found is to take deep measured breaths while moving, and then taking shallow “baby” breaths while actually shooting. These baby breaths keep the chest movements from affecting the sight picture. Easier said than done, and again the best way to accomplish it is with lots of practice. Practice that involves moving and getting the heart rate up!

Trigger Squeeze. The key to trigger control is a steady press of the trigger, not a pull. (The mantra of our shooting team is, “Front sight, press.” It reminds us to focus on the front sight and press the trigger. No yanking allowed!) The trigger finger should slip into the trigger guard from its position along the frame only when you are ready to shoot. Otherwise, it stays out of the trigger guard along the side of the frame. Once inside the trigger guard, the area on the pad of the forefinger between the center of the pad and the first knuckle should touch the trigger. Having the trigger touched by the center of the pad or down in the crevice of the first joint of the finger will cause the gun to pull to the left or right and slightly down instead of staying exactly where the sights were aligned. (Other than flinching, this is the most common cause of misses.) The trigger press should be a smooth, rearward, steady motion. Watch the front sight and align it with the target while the trigger is being pressed. One must guard against squeezing with the entire hand. The action of your finger against the trigger should be totally independent of the movement of the rest of your hand. When the trigger breaks and the gun goes off, you should be totally surprised. Anticipating the shot can cause misses. It’s easy to start looking at the target instead of the front sight when you anticipate. You should be able to “call” your shot by remembering where the front sight was on the target the moment the trigger breaks.

So, now that you’ve mastered the fundamentals, add in a little running around. Hike up a hill so you’re breathing hard, (for some of us, really hard) and try the shots again. Then, add a little more stress to your shot. It’s amazing what betting a dollar a point with your buddies will do for your stress levels at the range. After you’ve tried all that, maybe it’s time to start looking into some competitive shooting. An internet search of shooting clubs in your state should provide you with plenty of places to start. It’s an addicting kind of fun and a great way to become a better marksman. The fundamentals that you practice in competition will make the next shot you take at a trophy buck that much easier. What’s not to like about that?

Tags: bry buttars, HI35, shooting

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