Firearms Training

Ignatius Piazza: DON’T DO THIS and You’ll Shoot Better Than 99% of All Gun Owners

August 24th, 2009  

Whether I am watching students shoot who are attending Front Sight for the first time, or observing John Q. Public shooting at a gun range, or inspecting law enforcement and concealed weapon permit applicants shoot for qualification, there is one thing that 99% of them do to a lesser or greater degree that negatively affects their marksmanship in a very dramatic way.

In fact, 99% of the gun owning public does it and most don’t even know it—until they come to Front Sight and we bring it to their attention on the morning of the first day!

This week, I have a very enlightening video to show you, that demonstrates the single most common flaw in shooting technique (that I’ll bet you do, but don’t even know you are doing it) and then I will tell you how to fix it without having to come to Front Sight…

This is a video of a cute little kid I estimate is about 6 years old. Clearly, he has a great parent who introduced him to shooting at a very early age and works with him regularly. Unfortunately, this youngster has developed a bad case of what 99% of the gun owning population has, and most don’t even know they have it.

Watch the video and note what happens EVERY TIME he presses the trigger on an empty chamber.

Did you see the gun dramatically dip every time he pressed the trigger on an empty chamber. You see it when the gun is empty because there is no recoil to mask a serious trigger control problem. This causes shots to hit LOW left or LOW right depending on your gun hand, grip and stance. (Is this starting to remind you of your target the last time you went shooting?)

If you noticed, he was shooting numerous times at the same target attempting to score proper hits. Someone even tells him “front sight” but from watching the video, I’ll bet his shots were low. In fact, if he was shooting at anything past 10-15 yards his shots were likely off the target, low. At 25 yards his shots would be hitting in the dirt, a few feet in front of the target!

There are three things that cause the gun to dip like that.

Mashing the trigger, slapping the trigger, or pushing the gun in anticipation of the recoil which is also known as “pre-ignition push” or a combination of one of more of these three trigger control flaws all occurring at the same time.

These flaws all stem from the shooter “making” the gun fire, instead of taking the slack of out the trigger, pressing the trigger until a surprise trigger break occurs, the hammer falls and the gun fires, then simply re-setting the trigger until it clicks and pressing again until a surprise break occurs and the hammer falls again.

The common mistake is to line the sights up, focus on the front sight and mentally say “NOW” as your brain makes the gun fire by mashing the trigger, causing the muzzle to dip and drive your shot low. The next mistake that happens is the trigger finger comes completely off the trigger during recoil and slaps back down on the trigger for the second shot (dipping the muzzle even more) all while you are pushing the gun forward to control the recoil. YUCK! No wonder those shots are low!

No, it is not the sights that need adjustment.

So how do you fix this problem that 99% of the shooting population has to a lesser or greater degree?

Stop shooting so much and DRY PRACTICE. Do lots of PERFECT Dry Practice.

95% of your practice should be dry (gun unloaded) and every time you press the trigger you want to take the slack out and press smoothly and evenly until the hammer falls without the muzzle (focus on the front sight) moving or dipping. This reflexively trains your brain, nerves and trigger finger muscles to allow a surprise trigger break and this results in super accurate shooting. After 20 minutes of dry practice you shoot a few live rounds to verify the great dry practice you have done. You will be amazed at the results.

I knows this sounds complicated, but once you learn the proper trigger control techniques we teach at Front Sight and master them through the training we provide during the course, you will shoot faster and more accurately than 99% of the gun owning population— and that includes law enforcement and military personnel.

Yes, you can shoot very fast and very accurately using our techniques. Want proof? Watch this guy shoot and notice how the gun barely moves even though he is shooting full power loads in a stock gun. Nothing fancy going on here. He is simply using the grip, stance, and trigger control techniques taught at Front Sight and we can teach you to do the same. Trust me.. I know this guy!

Having our dry practice manuals will help too. You can order them here: Front Sight Dry Practice Training Manuals

So now that you know what is causing all those low shots, it is really your choice as to whether you want to correct it or not.

The good news is that dry practice costs you nothing and you can dry practice in the comfort of your home. Again, get our Dry Practice Training Manual to SAFELY practice the proper techniques.

Or better yet, come out and take a course with us. In ONE, five day course you will improve your skills to a much higher level and learn more than a lifetime of practicing on your own.

Don’t take my word for it, read and listen to a sample of our hundreds of thousands of students who now shoot faster and more accurately than 99% of the gun owning population, simply because they attended a course at Front Sight. Front Sight Students Tell It Like It Is.

And if you want the knowledge, mindset, and skill at arms to protect yourself and your family — but do not yet have a 30 State Concealed Weapons Permit, the world-class training that Front Sight provides, or a Springfield Armory XD Pistol — then take advantage of Front Sight’s Greatest Course, Gun and CCW Permit Offer Ever.

Go to http://www.frontsight.com/free-gun.asp.

I will be posting a different article on this blog each Monday so I look forward to your visit every week.

If you have an interesting photo, story or tip about a relevant topic of interest to gun ownership, firearms training or Second Amendment issues, please feel free to send it to me at:

Info@FrontSight.com or

Again, if you want to take advantage of the Greatest Course, Gun, and CCW Permit Offer in the firearms training industry see this link:

http://www.frontsight.com/free-gun.asp

See you next week.

Dr. Ignatius Piazza
Founder and Director
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute

Entry Filed under: Dr. Ignatius Piazza,Front Sight,Gun Training,Handgun Training,Monday Blog Posts.