It’s your first safety course, and you’re completely stoked!!  The instructor comes in, and immediately gives you the run-down.  “O.K. shooters, I want you to focus on your sights, see your target, relax and squeeze the trigger to the back.”  Seems easy-peesy right?!?!?! Well….your buddies at PSA are here to tell you that this is definitely not an easy feat!!!  Just like the age old question, “What comes first?” one of the first questions that novice shooters will ask an expert is how they can improve on their shooting skills.  What should they be practicing first?  Sight alignment?  Acquiring sight pictures?  Developing effective follow-through techniques?  As per usual buckaroos….PSA will give you our take on what comes first!

The most important aspect of improving your time behind the gun is to focus on moving the trigger from the forward most position to the rearmost position WITHOUT altering the position of gun’s sights.  You need to be able to pull the trigger and fire the gun all the while preventing movement and the direction that the gun is pointed in.  The magic here is guys, you can do this without leaving your home!!!  The gun doesn’t even need to be loaded!  You don’t need ammo, targets, nor do you need eye and ear pro!!!

All those other fundamentals are essentially pointless if you can’t perform this action consistently.  Aiming, sight picture, sight alignment, follow-through…..all of those things mean nothing if you can’t manipulate the trigger from the front to the back without moving the gun.  You can aim in on your target for 15 seconds…your breath is controlled, and you have a clear focus on your front sight.  It’s go-time, and you jerk the gun down 3 inches in anticipation of the recoil.  Your shots are low and left and once again you’re frustrated.  Always remember guys….trigger control is of paramount importance.

Now is the time to revert back to your dry-fire practice.  There are several drills that you can do from home to ensure that your trigger manipulation is aces.  My dear old grandpa used to tell us all the time:  Perfect practice makes perfect actions.

***  If you are unfamiliar with firearms and/or their accessories, and want to learn more, PSA strongly suggests that you find, enroll, and attend a comprehensive and reputable firearms safety course. Firearms safety is all of OUR responsibility.  

We want to thank you for taking out the time to stop by our lane at the shooting range!!  We hope that you enjoyed your stay and hope that you stop back by early and often to catch up on all PSA updates!  We truly hope that we were able to hit the target, and if you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to shoot them our way!!  We look forward to shooting the breeze with you soon again!!

And as always….remember to watch your six and stay low!!!