Discover how to take more accurately with your pistol/handgun through a review of basics, simple to do exercises at home, correct range practice suggestions, and helpful equipment.
Also, we cover all in our video Beginner Handgun Course…perfect if you’re completely new or have no formal instruction.
How to Shoot with Pistol?
If you are here, you probably realize that…shooting pistols is pretty difficult! At the start of my shooting experience, I had a good deal of familiarity with the Stormtroopers missing everything also. At least they had the explanation of a stressful situation! Now I am not a professional competitive shooter or teacher, but take that as a favorable. I remember how it felt when I could not hit anything and the gaps each tip/exercise made within my development. It’s going to take you a little while, but let’s get started in making you a more precise pistol shot beginning with fundamentals.
How to Shoot a Pistol Accurately
Some of you might scoff at the concept of how you stand includes anything to do with the way you take. But think of it as the foundation of everything. In case you’ve got a wobbly base, chances are it does not take much to mess up whatever is on top. The main issue is to get a stable/comfortable stance which tilts you a little forward to manage recoil. Do not worry if you have ever done that newbie lean (back). Now is the time to fix it.
If you would like to get more technical, there are three main forms of stances: Isosceles, Weaver, and Modified Weaver (Chapman). They are only variants on some foot positioning and what arm is flexed a bit more. But only notice how stable the guy below is and also the slight lean forwards. You can brush up on those poor boys here.
My first advice received about handgun clasp was out of the salesman at my local gun shop. He asked me to hold his hands with the same strength I’m going to grip my perspective in 1911. I gave him a nice firm handshake while he proceeded to crush my hand. A dick move, but an excellent lesson.
I am currently an advocate of gripping as hard as you can but not so much you have tremors. I have discovered that using a crushing grip on the gun lowers the motion of your non-trigger-fingers, which is a fantastic thing.
And how you hold the rifle also has a huge effect on your accuracy. You want the internet between your trigger finger and thumb to be as large as you can on the clasp to contain the recoil of this slide moving back and forth.
Glock SlideHigh Handgun Grip
And because there’s this bit of metal moving back and forth, you would like your forearm in line with the gun to absorb more recoil.
Handgun Alignment, Bearing Arms
Now that you have got your shooting hand traction right, let’s take a look at the vacant space for the flip side.
You want to fill it up with the other hand so that you maximize traction. I love to double by making sure there’s a 45-degree angle between my left hand and the handgun slide.
The thumb positioning of your hand is personal taste. You’ll see both up in the atmosphere or pointed towards the target. Experiment to see what you like or just go with what seems more natural. The non-dominant thumb will run along the frame. Dry firing is pulling the trigger on a cocked gun and permitting the hammer/striker to fall on an empty room or dummy round. It’s probably the most effective method of enhancing pistol accuracy. And you can do it at home!
If your handgun/pistol shoots centerfire rounds (9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, etc) rather than rimfire rounds (for instance, .22 LR), then you may dry flame all you want because the firing pin is not hitting anything. Rimfire shooting pins hit the mouth of the chamber when there’s no cartridge so you should practice with snap caps that take the hit.
The main point of dry fire exercise would be to develop muscle memory so you consistently generate a fantastic trigger pull and don’t flinch when it is time for shooting. And if you’ve developed some bad habits along the way, it does a fantastic job of rewiring back you over time.
At least I find that after a fantastic amount of time (a week or two) of dry shooting a couple of minutes a day become”one” with my grip and traction. My grip only feels correct, and I can sense all of the little nuances in the trigger pull. And when I focus on the front sight and pull on the trigger, front sight stays super stable.
It takes a whole lot of training (and perfect exercise ) to reach that point. And it is a diminishing skill that needs to be kept up to date also. Even only a few days of not practicing I could feel some differences the next time I dry shoot or fire.
Best Way to Dry Fire Technique
It just gets you into a good habit. I also like to prepare goals or at least small things that are secure to”take” at like a light switch or doorknob. I focus on the front sight (both eyes!) And recall to squeeze so slowly that I’m surprised when the gun clicks. Once you can do it gradually, you can speed it up a little so long as the front sight nonetheless doesn’t move.
One good way at the beginning to be certain that the sight doesn’t move is to physically place a small coin on top of the front sight during your exercise. If it doesn’t fall off, you’re probably doing a fantastic job.
- The coin on Front Sight Dry Firing
Lastly, don’t forget to practice both complete trigger pulls (together with the slack) and trigger reset pulls. To perform a trigger reset pull, leave your trigger finger gloomy at the end of their first shot, and rack your slide with your non-dominant hand. For some guns you do not need to stand it all of the ways back, sometimes just a half-inch or so is enough. Get back into your two-handed grip, let the activate reset (listen to the click), and shoot.
For the longest time, I practiced complete trigger pulls and obtained great at those, but when I’d follow up shots I started jerking the cause. You’ll probably be shooting both ways so be prepared for anything!
- Range Practice
Too much range clinic initially is sometimes detrimental, as you haven’t built up the muscle of dry shooting, and instead, you develop a flinch response. Do not worry if that’s you …with some quality dry firing at home you can defeat it.
- Angeles Shooting Range Stations
I love to have some dry shooting sessions at home in between range days. And when I reach the stove, I constantly dry fire a couple of shots before loading real ammo. I start in short distances since there might be a lot of effects that come into play in 25 yards (end, ammo, etc) but it’s all me at 3-5 yards. Sometimes if it’s a new gun or when I’m doing very poorly, I will begin shooting a supported position, to begin with to get some confidence and set a baseline precision. You can achieve this by sitting down and placing your elbows on the bench, or leaning to the counter. I also found this picture to be immensely beneficial in diagnosing my shooting errors. Just have a goal, shoot a couple of shots at it, and see where they land concerning the chart.
- Shooting Diagnostic
I usually start pretty robust and as I get more comfortable I forget a few of my courses, such as remembering to squeeze. That’s when I start telling myself”squeeze” every shot again.
Last, there’s a great drill to run once in a while when you have a friend help you load a magazine together with both live ammo and snap caps. You need a friend since they can combine up the order without your understanding. The purpose is to see if you have a natural jelqing through shooting that will show up when you get to the snap caps and they don’t go bankrupt. It is a great visual moment to observe how you take care of the recoil.
It’s 1 thing to be dry firing and take absolutely, but still, another once real recoil is entered into the equation. My natural flinch was a pretty pronounced pull-down and to the left.