5 Tips for Handgun Accuracy
5 Tips for Handgun Accuracy
How often do you hear someone say they are unable to shoot a handgun worth a darn? Why is that? One reason shooting a handgun is difficult is the fact a handgun has a short sighting plane. This makes it more influenced by even the slightest movement. Most of the time, the firearm is supported only by your hands, therefore they are difficult to fire accurately. The most common problem most people have with shooting a handgun is “anticipating the shot”.
Anticipating the Shot
You might wonder what exactly this means. What happens when someone anticipates the shot is the muscles react to the shot before the bullet leaves the gun. It actually occurs when the person fires the gun, or strokes the trigger. This is why it is critical for the shot to take you by surprise, it eliminates time for your body to react and throw off the shot. This problem is called” feeling the gun” and this causes the shots to strike the target low. Many times, anticipating the shot is the reason the shots are scattered all over the target, rather than staying in a tight group as a person would prefer.
This problem is typical with rifle and archery shooting also. To correct this bad habit, or problem, a person needs to slowly depress the trigger while concentrating on the front sight until the trigger breaks and the gun fires. This, actually, will take the shooter by surprise. If the shot takes the person by surprise, you generally will know it’s going to be a very good shot. This should be done slowly at first, until the technique is mastered. Basically, your mind or your body should not know the exact moment the gun will fire. To reiterate this issue, anticipating the shot is when your mind or your body reacts to the shot before the bullet can get out of the barrel.
Many people for years were of the mindset that when the sights align perfectly over your target, then it is right to just take the shot. However, this is definitely wrong because your body overreacts before that shot leaves the gun. One good drill to correct this problem is to have a friend load a couple of dummy rounds into a pistol magazine along with live rounds. This way, a person will see the gun drop or overreact from the shooter’s anticipation of the shot.
As a competitive shooter, the trigger pull causes more damage through the very basics of what I call handgun accuracy. For handgun marksmanship these five factors will increase accuracy.
Handgun Marksmanship
Handgun Grip
Your Grip on the handgun should be very firm. Personally, I believe tighter grips generally result in tighter groups. The grip should be very firm with a strong hand on the grip with the other hand wrapped entirely around the strong hand, providing support. The wrist and elbow should be locked in place, especially with the point shoulder stance. This is a solid stance with the feet shoulder width apart.
Sight Alignment
Your focus should be on the front post or the front sight the best you can. There’s no way your eyes can focus both on the sites and on the target at the same time, therefore your focus should be on the front post.
Follow Through
It is important to maintain a firm grip on the gun throughout the shot. Do not relax the grip between shots, as this causes poor accuracy because you’re constantly relaxing in between shots. Basically, my philosophy to encourage adequate follow-through is continue gripping the handgun firmly with elbows locked, solid and firmly. As we all know, practicing and doing a lot of shooting on the range will improve the accuracy.
Trigger Pull
The trigger pull needs to come straight back. Proper trigger pull method includes squeezing the trigger until the shot goes off by surprise. The trigger should be placed near the first joint of your index finger, and be careful to depress the trigger straight to the rear. A person can actually torque the handgun to one side or the other by how you place pressure and depress the trigger.
Let the Shot Surprise You
The most important point is not taking a shot when you see the sites being correct that shot should take you by surprise and then you know it’s a great shot. Always remember safety first; always check the chamber by feel and to see if it’s unloaded when done shooting.
by Randy McPherren
May 2023
