Spc. Tyrel Cooper, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), has written an article for The First Shot, CMP’s archived Online Magazine. Tyrel Cooper, of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. In Straight to the Rear by Spc. Cooper describes the proper trigger hand and fingers positions, and how to “break the shot”. This well-written piece will help anyone who shoots with their left hand or uses an AR or Spacegun type rifle with a pistol grip. Cooper explains that “trigger control is one the two main principles we teach in shooting.” You can have perfect sight alignment and the best position, but if your trigger control is bad, all the effort you put into the position and sight alignment will be wasted. Photo credit: CMP image taken from 2019 CMP 1,000 Aggregate at Camp Perry. Firing Hand and Finger Position
“Good trigger control starts with a good position of the firing hand. Place your firing arm high on the grip of the pistol, and with a firm grip. Grip tension should feel like holding a child’s hand or shaking someone’s hand as you walk across the street. A firm grip will help you move your trigger finger while not moving your other fingers. Try this: Hold out your firing arm with fingers extended. Now, move your trigger finger towards the rear as though you were pulling the lever. If you don’t concentrate on moving your trigger finger very hard, the other fingers will start to move. You can now move your trigger finger without causing any movement in your other fingers. If you have short, stubby fingernails, this is where your index finger will naturally rest. But if you are like me and have long fingers you will want to wrap more of your finger around trigger …. By placing your index finger where it rests naturally on the trigger, you will ensure that you are pulling straight back the trigger.
“Trigger control is different for rapid-fire than for standing. Because of the steadiness in a supported position, you can take a bit more time to break shots. The rapid fire shot procedure is: 1) drop into position, 2) get to your natural point of target, 3) take the first stage of your first shot, and 4) break the shot smoothly, holding the trigger to the rear throughout recoil. 4) Once recoil has stopped, let out the trigger just enough to reset the triggering mechanism (you should hear the metallic click). You can do this by putting most of the weight on the trigger. This will allow you to fire your next shot without having to lift the entire trigger each time.
“During the slow-fire prone stage, there is more time for you to break your shots. You would use the smooth, slow method. You should have no or very little hold movement. This will allow you to get a good alignment and a good sight picture, and then break the shot with slow and smooth trigger control. You want to hold the trigger all the back until the recoil has stopped. This will ensure that you do not disturb your rifle in any position.
Have you ever noticed that when you shoot standing, the rifle never stops moving? This is when you want a smooth and fast trigger control. I start the first stage trigger when I am settling down on the target. When I am nearing the end of the firing process, and the movement has slowed, I manipulate the triggering fast but smoothly to the rear as soon as I see the sight picture I want. Over time, you will be able to do this subconsciously. When your brain sees your sight picture, it will tell your trigger finger automatically to move. This process will be aided by lots of dry firing. You want to be fast, smooth and efficient.
