Simple Diagnostic Tool

[41magfan]

Shooting at the most fundamental level is a fairly straight forward proposition; the shooter must orient the muzzle to the degree necessary to achieve an acceptable hit and then pull the trigger without disrupting the orientation enough to cause a miss. As simple as that is, we all know it's not easy, but we must have a starting point.

For 30 years, I've used this simple drill as a basic diagnostic tool to help me and the student understand where deficiencies exist with regards to muzzle orientation and trigger pull.

I prefer to use half-inch dots for targets and we shoot them at 3 yards. I also like to shoot just three rounds because it helps evaluate the element of consistency. If the gun, the ammo and the shooter are performing at a consistent level, the 3 rounds will produce triangulation. I use this same drill with larger dots at greater distances to achieve a proper zero with all sighting systems. The center of the triangle is the effective "zero", or POA.

The first dot (L to R) is shot by the student.

The center dot is shot with the student holding the gun and orienting the muzzle with the sights, but the Instructor is tasked with pulling the trigger. This isolates the students input on trigger pull and confirms correct muzzle orientation/sight use.

The dot on the right is shot in a reverse role, whereby the Instructor becomes the student by holding and sighting the gun with the student tasked with pulling the trigger. This isolates the student's input on muzzle orientation and simply tasked the student with pulling the trigger correctly.

Here are a few recent examples from a LE Academy class we're conducting this week and it's always interesting what the targets reveal. It's worth noting that maximum benefit and consistency is achieved when just one Instructor runs the drill but that wasn't been the case this week.

[45dotACP]

Interesting idea. I've heard of some shooting instructors gripping their students guns for them to give an idea of how hard to hold the gun.

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[Grouse870]

So with the instructor pulling the trigger is the student telling the instructor when the sights are on target?

[41magfan]

So with the instructor pulling the trigger is the student telling the instructor when the sights are on target?

Nope .... that's essence of the drill. The student is given enough time to orient the muzzle but has no idea when the gun is going to go off. Since he can't anticipate the break, he can't have any input on the orientation of the muzzle by jerking, snatching, pushing, or _________________ (you choose the verb that suits you) on the trigger.

This is where the notion of "Surprise Trigger" is made demonstrable to the student. It doesn't matter when the gun goes off so long as the wobble is minimized and the trigger pull is reasonably clean.

We also do this drill on a 10" plate at 50 yards. Most students hit the plate most of the time ..... an act they find impossible to do one their own - on demand - till they learn to control the trigger.

Good question - hope my response answered it.

[Grouse870]

That makes perfect sense. I appreciate it.

[41magfan]

I often get asked about the tiny ½” dot. You can certainly use something larger, but what I’m trying impress upon the student is simply this;

With a target that small, the movement you see (your “Wobble Zone”) as you attempt to keep the sights on the target is an illusion. Your brain perceives that movement as being excessive and that leads to working the trigger at an exact moment in time when you think the sights are where they need to be. That desire to “time the shot" leads to overworking the trigger …. i.e. jerking, snatching, mashing, leaning, etc. etc.

This exercise proves to the student that as long as you’re attentive to minimizing the Wobble Zone and you pull the trigger properly, hits on the little dot are predictable – even though your sights are actually obscuring most of the target most of the time.

Every time we do this Drill, I ask the student two questions: Were the sights ever really where you thought they needed to be, and were the sights ever perfectly still?

The obvious answer is “No”, but when they stack three rounds through the same hole essentially, it’s pretty obvious those two things aren’t necessary to achieve a good hit.

[psalms144.1]

I did a similar drill with a new shooter last week. After a fairly frighteningly bad first attempt to qualify using our issued P229R DAK .40, I brought him to the 3 yard line and had him shoot at the "scoring silhouette" on our TRANSTAR targets. Nearly ever shot out of 5 were low, some DRAMATICALLY low, regardless of my attempts to talk him through the trigger pull. So, I had him just aim in, and place his finger on the trigger. Then I pulled the trigger through, smoothly and evenly until the shots broke - with my finger over his. We did this 5 times, and all five shots were in a single ragged hole centered on the target.

His next five rounds, unassisted, were not as neatly grouped (other things to work on), but at least centered on the target. Learning has occurred. The good news is I have several months to work with him before he heads off the our academy.

[41magfan]

I did a similar drill with a new shooter last week. After a fairly frighteningly bad first attempt to qualify using our issued P229R DAK .40, I brought him to the 3 yard line and had him shoot at the "scoring silhouette" on our TRANSTAR targets. Nearly ever shot out of 5 were low, some DRAMATICALLY low, regardless of my attempts to talk him through the trigger pull. So, I had him just aim in, and place his finger on the trigger. Then I pulled the trigger through, smoothly and evenly until the shots broke - with my finger over his. We did this 5 times, and all five shots were in a single ragged hole centered on the target.

His next five rounds, unassisted, were not as neatly grouped (other things to work on), but at least centered on the target. Learning has occurred. The good news is I have several months to work with him before he heads off the our academy.

What you're describing there is exactly what we do with Dot #2.

I find it's the most useful drill to use until the "light bulb moment" takes place with most shooters. But, after doing this for 35 years, it still amazes me how some folks - no matter what you do - simply will not "get it".

I've had a student this week exhibit the most violent trigger pull I've ever witnessed. I've tried every trick I know and the influence only last for a less than a magazine till he's back to putting 30 pounds of pressure on that 5.5 pound trigger. Not only that, but this same student cannot mentally grasp the notion of "equal height - equal light" with regard to sight alignment. I finally gave up - drew him a diagram O O O and told him to just line-up the three dots horizontally. Eureka! ..... that at least keeps him on paper.

[psalms144.1]

I'm ashamed to admit that, while attending FLETC's Firearms Instructor Training Program back in '01, I had a young lady I was coaching that couldn't shoot to save her life. She had EVERY problem - bad/constantly adjusting grip, flinching, closing her eyes every time she broke a shot, no grasp of sight alignment/sight picture - you name it. I was trying to work through the fundamentals with her, one thing at a time. Then a crusty old "Staff" FI came along and shooed me away. He leaned into her firing position and said "Aim high right and YANK!" and she got enough rounds in the right place to pass the qualification.

Sometimes it's not only the students who don't get it...

[41magfan]

I'm ashamed to admit that, while attending FLETC's Firearms Instructor Training Program back in '01, I had a young lady I was coaching that couldn't shoot to save her life. She had EVERY problem - bad/constantly adjusting grip, flinching, closing her eyes every time she broke a shot, no grasp of sight alignment/sight picture - you name it. I was trying to work through the fundamentals with her, one thing at a time. Then a crusty old "Staff" FI came along and shooed me away. He leaned into her firing position and said "Aim high right and YANK!" and she got enough rounds in the right place to pass the qualification.

Sometimes it's not only the students who don't get it...

She's probably a candidate for being a SACS (Special Agent in Charge of Something) and that FI should probably open his own shooting school.