Shooting a Handgun - 101

[Blaster229]

Stand up straight, bring the pistol up into your eye line. As humans, we don't stand around bent forward like that. Bringing the pistol up to your eyes is 1 motion. No need to bend forward while bringing the pistol up and meeting in the middle. That's 2 motions that make it harder.

Efficiency of motion to make shooting as comfortable as possible. Doing 2 things to get your eyes behind the sights is harder than 1 motion.

 

[Brent]

Stand up straight, bring the pistol up into your eye line. As humans, we don't stand around bent forward like that. Bringing the pistol up to your eyes is 1 motion. No need to bend forward while bringing the pistol up and meeting in the middle. That's 2 motions that make it harder.

Efficiency of motion to make shooting as comfortable as possible. Doing 2 things to get your eyes behind the sights is harder than 1 motion.

Say your a 6’4 fella shooting at a standard height target at 5y, that center mass is going to require us to at least compensate for some degree of downward angle, yeah? Now I’m not saying run all around hunched over, and as others have said, practice alternate and awkward firing positions. Yes yes and yes. But all things considered, if I have the time for an aimed shot, I’m falling into my “stance”. My results personally dictate that I do in fact shoot better either a single placed round or under a Bill Drill or similar “put rounds on target fast” situation. That leaning forward, for me, allows me some leverage and “muscle” to keep my front sight flat as I run my gun.


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[Blaster229]

Say your a 6’4 fella shooting at a standard height target at 5y, that center mass is going to require us to at least compensate for some degree of downward angle, yeah? Now I’m not saying run all around hunched over, and as others have said, practice alternate and awkward firing positions. Yes yes and yes. But all things considered, if I have the time for an aimed shot, I’m falling into my “stance”. My results personally dictate that I do in fact shoot better either a single placed round or under a Bill Drill or similar “put rounds on target fast” situation. That leaning forward, for me, allows me some leverage and “muscle” to keep my front site flat as I run my gun.


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You do you. That's fine. But to shoot a low target all you do is point your head down and you aim down. That is if you are aiming. Shooting from bent elbow/retention position works too if you are shooting someone not as tall. That has never been an issue known to anyone in self defense shooting. No different than taking a head shot. No one jumps up to get the point of aim on the forehead.
Force on force, you are making it easier for your opponent to shoot you right in the face. Personally I would rather chance getting shot in the hands/chest first.

 

[Brent]

You do you. That's fine. But to shoot a low target all you do is point your head down and you aim down. That is if you are aiming. Shooting from bent elbow/retention position works too if you are shooting someone not as tall. That has never been an issue known to anyone in self defense shooting. No different than taking a head shot. No one jumps up to get the point of aim on the forehead.
Force on force, you are making it easier for your opponent to shoot you right in the face. Personally I would rather chance getting shot in the hands/chest first.

Haven’t had the privilege of force on force. Closest I guess I get is IDPA. I don’t believe I’ve stuck my rear out on anything but the shots 20y and out. Usually running around and center punching crap. In a scenario where you’re actually moving, or fighting, or training or whatever, this stance stuff is fairly irrelevant. A static target will get hit unless it is behind cover.

I must say! I posted a thread like this, on MDS, and so far there has only been a gripe on the booty drop. I’m doing fairly well so far! Thread IS young, however.

- Brent


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[Blaster229]

Haven’t had the privilege of force on force. Closest I guess I get is IDPA. I don’t believe I’ve stuck my rear out on anything but the shots 20y and out. Usually running around and center punching crap. In a scenario where you’re actually moving, or fighting, or training or whatever, this stance stuff is fairly irrelevant. A static target will get hit unless it is behind cover.

I must say! I posted a thread like this, on MDS, and so far there has only been a gripe on the booty drop. I’m doing fairly well so far! Thread IS young, however.

- Brent


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Just never saw this taught anywhere, ever.

 

[Brent]

Just never saw this taught anywhere, ever.

Have a dude. I’ve seen him work. I trust him and his real life experiences of such manner.

Like you said and another up thread. There are many ways to skin a cat. The real meat and potatoes I hope people of any experience level could appreciate is the hand section. Where to apply pressure and how much sort of stuff. It’s something I’ve worked out in my head. And if it helps anyone, I’m happy for that. No one told me where to apply pressures and in which direction. Grip is the biggest factor in shooting a pistol.


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[thedutchtouch]

as a bow hunter and newbie rifle shooter that's just got his HQL, this is a timely topic and thanks for the photos of your shooting style. both the initial post and the following banter has been helpful to me. nothing of actual substance to add from my perspective, carry on and i'll keep reading along

 

[johnboy]

Howdy All!

I’d like to share my process for shooting that I’ve learned through instructor guidance and my own personal success. Not much beats training, nothing beats training with a licensed instructor. I hope this information helps some. I
DO anticipate roughly 3% thread drift. I’ve watched my success on target and do know that this works.

Thanks!

—

Pistol Shooting
Strong Hand
________________________
Firm grip with pinky and ring finger. This drives the beaver tail firmly into the web of your thumb.

Remember to check the space between top of hand and bottom of beaver tail on pistol. You do not want to see any space there.

Keep middle finger more loose than pinky and ring.

Leave trigger finger loose. This provides dexterity and ease of movement to run your trigger.

Remember when first placing the pistol into your strong hand and applying pressure to your fingers as written above, let your strong hand thumb point slightly upwards to reveal the real estate for your support hand.

Support Hand
________________________
Take the pad of thumb / palm and firmly “weld” this to the open grip area revealed while pistol is firmly grasped in the Strong Hand.

Your Support Hand thumb should be pointing forward, down the muzzle. Do not be afraid to have your thumb touching the slide. The slide will still cycle.

All fingers of your Support Hand grasp your Strong Hand’s fingers. Allow them to fall into their natural location between your Strong Hand fingers.

You want the two fists now created to have your middle knuckles of the support hand pointing straight down in line with the muzzle.

The Support Hand is to be FIRM in grip strength.

Take your Strong Hand thumb and press it into the fatty pad of your Support Hand thumb.
The pressure for both thumbs is to be strong.
Strong Hand thumb pressure is down on Support Hand thumb and into the frame of the pistol.
Support Hand thumb pressure should be directly into the frame of the pistol.

The index finger of your Support Hand should be pressed into your Strong Hand middle finger while also firmly pressed upwards into the bottom of the trigger guard.

At this point the grip is established.


Stance
________________________
Adopt an Isosceles style or Gun Fighter stance. This is -

Feet shoulder width apart, hips squared to target. Both feet flat and below you. Toes on the same “line”. No foot behind another. Squared.

Bend slightly at the knees.

Press your rear end behind you as you raise the pistol.

The most important part of this stance is to maintain your sights level with each other and level with your eye-line. Press your rear end further out to accommodate the pistol to be level with itself and your eye-line.

Press to your target, reach as if you wish to touch the target with your muzzle.

Allow elbows to be extended, yet not hyper extended. DO NOT LOCK ELBOWS. The elbows should not be parallel with the floor but rather slightly pointed downwards.


Breaking the Shot
________________________
Relax and slow down. With both eyes open, catch your front sight and focus solely on it.

Your rear sights should be relevant, but only in the fact that we make sure our pistol is square to the target. Your primary focus must be the front sight, your rear sight will be a little more blurry, while your actual target is the blurriest image your eyes processes.

With a hard focus on the front sight, while maintaining the gun level to the target and level to your eyes, begin applying slight pressure to the trigger.

All the way through the trigger breaking process you are focusing on the front sight, and also your breathing. Remember, go slow.

When you hit the wall of the trigger, and your front sight is on your target, exhale and press the trigger straight to the rear.

- Brent

Thank you for the great tips I will put this to use

 

[Brent]

You guys are most welcome! May have to follow this thread up with range results photos!

I already shot this week and time isn’t looking like it wil avail me another trip. I have a match Monday, then likely a second range trip later in the week. These skills only get better with use! And the opposite holds true as well. Remember! Dry fire is better than nothin’! Practice draws, reloads, safe malfunctions drills, heck walk around and keep the front site on the door knob, I dunno! I had previously preferred rifles to pistols in years past, solely because I shot them better. If you’re in that boat now, I hope you too take the initiative to learn your pistol. They’re a great skill and a great time (when you’re having fun).

- Brent


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[outrider58]

Brent, if you could rotate your support hand a little further around your strong hand so the trigger guard is between your first and second knuckle of you support index finger, you will avoid "Glock Knuckle".

 

[Brent]

Brent, if you could rotate your support hand a little further around your strong hand so the trigger guard is between your first and second knuckle of you support index finger, you will avoid "Glock Knuckle".

You know! This is something I personally haven’t experienced. The 19 fits me perfectly. I had my father out to shoot pistols his first time this last Tues…he happens to be a giant and about a half foot taller than I. The poor man had that Glock Knuckle you just mentioned. Had him hold a G17 and it fit like a glove. Next time out!

I appreciate you dropping that factoid on me! I will for sure keep that in the back of my head for potential new shooters. Thank you, OR!

- Brent


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[Tungsten]

The one explanation that is very different than what I've seen in the past concerns the thumbs. The most common thing I've seen is that people say the thumbs should be passive.
Why do you think using firm pressure with the thumb is a better technique?

 

[outrider58]

The one explanation that is very different than what I've seen in the past concerns the thumbs. The most common thing I've seen is that people say the thumbs should be passive.
Why do you think using firm pressure with the thumb is a better technique?

For me, it gives me a better recoil controll and helps keep the gun pushed downward in my strong hand. I use moderate force.

 

[Brent]

The one explanation that is very different than what I've seen in the past concerns the thumbs. The most common thing I've seen is that people say the thumbs should be passive.
Why do you think using firm pressure with the thumb is a better technique?

Much like Outrider said. I watched sloppy low right or low left hits on shooters improve with firm thumb pressure. Not that I’ve helped a ton of people. But it provides more stability, for me, to keep the gun square throughout the shot process.


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[outrider58]

If you ever go the RDS route, learn to watch your dot as you shoot. You want that dot to travel straight up and down throughout the recoil phase. It will point out any weakness in your grip, whether it goes up to the right, or up to the left. I've found I can actually make appropriate adjustments on my grip as I shoot a multi shot string. You also want to keep the dot from leaving the lens of the sight. Grip is everything.

 

[Brent]

If you ever go the RDS route, learn to watch your dot as you shoot. You want that dot to travel straight up and down throughout the recoil phase. It will point out any weakness in your grip, whether it goes up to the right, or up to the left. I've found I can actually make appropriate adjustments on my grip as I shoot a multi shot string. You also want to keep the dot from leaving the lens of the sight. Grip is everything.

Bingo! Outrider knows it! The same he says for his dot advice can be said for that front sight. I happen to be an irons man myself. That front sight needs to track straight up and down. It’s almost to the point where one might say, don’t worry about that gun running flat as the Sahara. If the gun recoils that’s fine, but ensure your dot / sight is going vertically throughout the recoil cycle. Run a couple bill drills. You’ll start to see and catch yourself! All the best! And if you do? Take some pics of your target(s) while you practice!


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[Harrys]

Knowing where the round comes out should be #1.

 

[Biggfoot44]

" This End Faces Target"

 

[Brent]

Don’t look at the hole…do NOT


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