Though much laden with controversy, the matter of owning and using a handgun has a myriad of purposes. They can be used for self-defense, competitive sports, hunting, and law enforcement.
In recent years, efforts to prevent accidents have been ongoing to ensure the further safety and accountability of its users. Those into handgun shooting sports will find many ways to do it with improved accuracy. Check out what Hold Right Edge recommends and our tips below.
What Are Handgun Shooting Tips That Can Improve Accuracy?
There are five essential factors to consider when engaged in a handgun shooting: aiming, position, breath control, grip, trigger squeeze, and target engagement. In line with these factors are the five tips to consider when aiming for better accuracy. Here they are:
1. Employ the Correct Grip
Mastering how to have a proper grip is a fundamental step in shooting. It is said that you successfully developed a proper grip if the handgun seems to be an extension of the arm and hand already.
A firm and uniform grip is essential in firing. Learning how to do various grips, such as one-hand, two-hand, fist, palm-supported, and weaver, will help. Lastly, it is essential to remember that you must not place the non-firing thumb in the gun’s rear. Doing so can prevent any injury that can potentially result from the recoil upon firing.
2. Apply Isometric Tension for a Better Stance
While this sounds technical, it simply means one who shoots must raise arms to a firing position while applying forward pressure with the firing hand. Then, pull rearward with the other hand with the same pressure.
Applying this leads to a better stance, creating an isometric force that increases the shooter’s stability. It also helps steady the handgun and minimizes barrel rise from recoil.
Remember that the same pressure should be present in both non-firing and firing hands. Otherwise, you will likely miss the target.
3. Practice Your Sight Placement and Sight Alignment
Since accuracy is the game’s name for shooting, sight alignment and sight placement are key for excellent aiming. Sight placement is all about how a shooter positions the weapon’s sights in relation to the target. Meanwhile, sight alignment is how the front blade is centered in the rear sight notch.
Practice maintaining the correct sight placement by focusing on the front sight. It aids the bullet in hitting the target even if the sight picture is slightly off-center.
For sight alignment, it is essential to know when to lower or raise the top of the front sight and level it with the top of the rear sight. It is crucial for accuracy, given that a mere 1/10-inch error in aligning the front sight with the rear sight will lead to missing the aim by 15 inches at a range of 25 meters.
Keep in mind that errors get magnified as the range increases. Thus, it would be best to avoid this whenever you can.
4. Work on Your Breath Control
Learning how to hold one’s breath properly at any given time while shooting is essential in attaining accuracy for any shooter. This is not overnight work, though, since it requires supervised and deliberate practice, demonstration, and guidance.
Seasoned shooters usually already know how to breathe while shooting. Interestingly, the technique is closely similar to the breathing method that photographers practice to ensure image clarity.
Simply put, the key lies in holding the breath at the right moment of the natural respiratory pause while firing to secure accuracy.
5. Do the Trigger Squeeze the Right Way
Improper trigger squeezes cause most of the misses in shooting. Poor shooting results when the aim gets disturbed and misaligned even before the bullet leaves the weapon’s barrel.
Avoid flinching or jerking the trigger and having a slight off-center pressure on the trigger finger since this also negatively affects sight alignment. While flinching is an automatic human reflex due to recoil anticipation and jerking is an attempt to fire with precision, one can easily avoid these problems through dedicated practice.
That is why novice shooters get trained to conquer any urge to anticipate recoil. Over time, knowing how to apply fundamentals decreases this tendency, improving accuracy.
Shooting Forward
Beyond these five tips, handgun shooters can also work on their target engagement and heeling. You can do this by tightening the large muscle in the heel of the hand to prevent the trigger from jerking, hence the technique’s name.
Knowing different positions, such as pistol-ready position, standing position without support, kneeling, crouching, and prone positions, will also help over time.
We understand how overwhelming these techniques can be at times. However, we’re confident that you’ll be able to master them through proper practice and guidance in no time. Keeping the tips we have shared with you in mind is a good start.
References:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/can-rl360-quantum-help-ti_b_9616008
https://thriveglobal.com/stories/violence-is-not-an-option/