Just ran across this article from 2011: http://www.handgunsmag.com/2011/05/2...ger-technique/
I've been using the trigger reset method, and I'd never heard of 'sweeping the trigger'. Thoughts?
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Just ran across this article from 2011: http://www.handgunsmag.com/2011/05/2...ger-technique/
I've been using the trigger reset method, and I'd never heard of 'sweeping the trigger'. Thoughts?
Ben Stoeger gets into trigger manipulation options in his book.
I recommend it.
Personally, how I manipulate the trigger depends on the demands of the shot(s) and the gun being used. From my perspective, some designs lend themselves to a contact trigger reset better than losing contact with the trigger during the rebound. Regardless of the method being espoused, I’ve always believed the proof is in the performance – not the technique. In other words, do what works for you.
«He called his trigger technique a “surprise, compressed break,” »
-- sometimes writing from a perspective of shock white naïveté is charming and instructive. Sometimes it is less so.
I find it almost impossible to believe that someone might come up with a better summation than JAD!
Ken W.
Bill Rogers calls it "flip and press". He likens it to "flipping off the trigger" (rebounding off the trigger guard) then pressing the trigger again smoothly. His claim is that the trigger reset method is too slow.
Wow, talk about a can of worms!
First of all, to a certain extent this quickly becomes an issue of semantics. What I mean is, as instructors or students, different words mean different things. Depending on who you are, where you grew up, who raised you, and who taught you to pull the trigger the first time has a huge impact on this. If I say squeeze to one person from this place or that, it could have a whole different meaning to another person from another place. The issue is that we are using verbiage to describe things that are happening at a non verbal level. Squeeze, stroke, mash, press, slap, smack, could all be used to describe what might be a perfectly acceptable trigger break, as long as the gun remains in alignment with the target area at the point the gun fires.
We only have to do three things to shoot. Find the target, line up the gun with the target, and hold it there till it goes bang. Everything else is a technique to make that happen. Now, that being said, we are almost at the point where proper shooting technique is almost a science and not a personal choice. If you talk to the top shooters of the world right now, they all pretty much do the same thing. Things were quite a bit different in the 80s and 90s and people shot with different techniques, stances and even grips. Now, we pretty much all do it the same way. Don't get me wrong, there are still personal preferences and individual styles, but it is all pretty close these days.
For me there are basically three different trigger pulls (but there are variations in the middle between each one). For the most accuracy and when I am really trying to be precise, say zeroing a gun or shooting groups from a rest, I will follow through on the trigger and pin it to the rear for a moment. I would say that is not the norm and I don't often shoot with this type of trigger pull.
For most shooting I want to reset the trigger as soon as the gun fires. Meaning not pinning the trigger to the rear, but releasing pressure as soon as the gun fires. Then one of two things happens.
One, move the finger just a little farther than it needs to go to reset it, (only resetting the trigger to exactly that reset point is just asking to short stroke the trigger and will not hold up at speed or under stress) and then get right back on the trigger to the prep point. I call this finding the ledge (again, semantics). At this point how quickly I pull the trigger again depends on the shot required. It could be very quickly or I could go all the way to taking my time and really stroking through the trigger press.
Two, aggressively resetting the trigger and then coming right back on the trigger as fast as possible to fire the gun. Some would call this slapping the trigger, or in this case "sweeping the trigger". The point here is that if I have a wide open target at two yards, I can really crank on the trigger speed and the quality of the press is not as important as it would be at say 5 or 10 yards. But this is very skill level dependent and I am not as interested in improving this skill as much. Super fast splits on the same target require that the gun comes back to the same aiming area on a given target. In most cases this requires that the target be stationary and that the shooter be stationary as well. I believe that in most cases neither of them will be standing still.
Those are the three basic trigger pulls with a handgun in my mind. YMMV :)