Week 369: Sights Meet Trigger 2

Results may be posted until May 24th, 2020.

Designed by: Gabe White
Target: Shooter's choice (need at least two)
Range: Shooter's choice
Rounds: 0

This is one of several drills intended to work on shot calling, sight tracking, and trigger manipulation in dry fire. In this drill we're going to be working one method of practicing lateral target transitions. This method will emphasize trigger control at the cost of continuity of grip and vision. Those elements will be emphasized in an upcoming drill.

At bare minimum, verify gun is unloaded, have no live ammo anywhere in the dry practice area, and keep muzzle in a safe direction. But there is more you can do to ensure safety in dry practice. Please also read Robust Dry Practice Safety Principles and Procedure following the drill description.

Drill procedure: Start aimed at one target. Press the trigger and dry fire the gun. Now, continuing to hold the trigger to the rear, use your support hand to cycle the slide enough that the striker is reset or hammer is recocked. Resume your two-handed grip. All that was preparation for what we are actually drilling, which is the next part: snap your eyes to the next target spot, and simultaneously let the trigger forward allowing it to reset as you drive the front sight to that target spot. When you see sufficient alignment in the sight picture, press the trigger well enough for the target. Repeat many times.

That's how it is going to work with striker fired, single action, and DA/SA guns (this drill addresses shots after the first one, so even a DA/SA gun is essentially going to function as SAO for purposes of the drill.) With a true DAO, you can skip the part where you break grip and cycle the slide to get the mechanism ready to reset.

You will be interrupting your grip a lot, so make sure you reacquire your real grip on the gun each time. Focus on resetting the trigger while driving the front sight into sufficient alignment with the next target and pressing the trigger carefully enough as soon as you would hit.

Target considerations: You can use whatever targets you want. You will need at least two. I'd suggest using a variety of targets, from easy ones where you can pull the trigger well enough, as fast as you can pull it and before the gun is completely stopped, to harder ones where you have to be more careful with the trigger and stopping the gun too. Also vary the spacing of the targets. Closely spaced targets only need you to push the gun over gently. Widely spaced targets allow you to generate acceleration for the transition using your legs while keeping the upper body shooting structure intact.

Do the drill for a period of time you choose, rather than for a specific number of repetitions.

Please report when you've completed the drill, what gun you used, how much time you spent on the drill, and anything you noticed.

Training with firearms is an inherently dangerous activity. Be sure to follow all safety protocols when using firearms or practicing these drills. These drills are provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk.

Robust Dry Practice Safety Principles and Procedure (the closer you follow this, the fewer opportunities you will have to ND)


Principles:

Allow no distractions – focus exclusively on the task at hand

Keep muzzle in a safe direction

Use correct trigger finger discipline

Verify no live ammo in gun, on person, or in the dry practice area

Use dedicated dry practice targets that are put away until you consciously choose to begin dry practice, and taken down when you consciously end dry practice

Use dedicated dry practice magazines and dummy rounds/inert training cartridges that stay in the dry practice area (if you use any magazine or cartridges)


Procedure:

Unload gun in a location other than the dry practice area

Leave live ammo, and magazines with live ammo, completely outside the dry practice area

Enter the dry practice area

Verify gun is unloaded, that any magazines do not contain live ammo, and that any cartridges present are inert/dummy cartridges

Consciously choose to begin dry practice

Put up dry practice targets

Do your dry practice

Take down dry practice targets and put them away

Consciously choose to end dry practice

Exit the dry practice area and do something unrelated for a few minutes

Return gun to location and condition of your choosing