So I went and did my first Practical Shooting match...

"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
06/29/2019 at 10:46 • Filed to: None

... (at least) 4 DQ- able offenses, and I lost track of how many procedurals I got, lol .

But because it was airsoft and it was literally my first time in a competitive environment, they let me off with a procedural, so no more of that going forward.

I did get 2 Alphas on my first moving target ever though, lol. All in all pretty fun time and I’m definitely going back again. Just have to figure out how to juggle this with socializing with people at work, which arguably is pretty darn important .

Anyone who does practical shooting have any tips on how I can improve my trigger discipline?

DISCUSSION (12)

bob and john > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2019 at 10:57

only way I keep my triggle discipline is by ALWAYS thinking about it.

(keep in mind I shoot with real ammo, not airsoft)

I am constantly aware that I am holding a tool that can and will end someones life. I usually put it down every 5 minutes and look and then pick it up again, just to remind meself: hey bozo, shit is dangerous.

Funktheduck > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2019 at 11:07

I don’t shoot competitively but dry fire trigger practice I’ve heard helps. Dunno how that works in airsoft. One drill I’ve heard people doing is putting a coin on the front sight and dry fire so it doesn’t fall

404 - User No Longer Available > bob and john
06/29/2019 at 11:16

Well legally in Canada, airsoft is also a “firearm” that causes “bodily harm”, that’s how it’s allowed here, lol.

404 - User No Longer Available > Funktheduck
06/29/2019 at 11:16

Yeah I remember hearing dry firing as a recommendation at the range yesterday too. Most of our guns are 1911-based so the trigger action works identically.

My bird IS the word > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2019 at 11:31

Just like anything else, trigger discipline is muscle memory. Its generally easier to remember when you have a gun that can actually kill people. Just pretend you are handling a bomb that can go off at any moment.

404 - User No Longer Available > Funktheduck
06/29/2019 at 12:08

And on the note of “competitive” ... I didn’t really go into the match for the sake of the competition, I was more thinking along the lines of entering a track day when everyone has modded M4s and track monsters but I went in with a rental spec Malibu, lol. Which was fitting considering my gun was actually the same model as their rental ones..

But just somehow I kept trying to speed up when deep down I know I need accuracy and discipline first.

GLiddy > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2019 at 12:24

You might consider getting a non-gun toy and just practice carrying it around and picking it up and putting it down. I never had toy guns. My first gun was a BB gun and my dad taught me quickly to not walk around with my finger on the trigger, so it wasn’t a habit I had to break. Kids with their NERF guns and electronic game guns never learn this so the first thing they do when they pick up a gun is put their finger on the trigger almost by reflex. You have to break yourself of this habit.

I went to the police range a couple months ago where they set aside a day for the public to shoot, and the officer that watched over the place complimented me for my safe weapon handling. If you think it would help, take a class. Its good to have someone watch you and correct mistakes you are making. I took a week long defensive pistol class at Clint Smith’s Thunder Ranch and it really helped. It should, it wasn’t cheap.

bob and john > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2019 at 12:37

psst. we had dinner together XD I am aware.

just saying how I keep my trigger dis c iplin e.

404 - User No Longer Available > bob and john
06/29/2019 at 13:42

Well... you could say I was just giving context to the wider audience, heh.

Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious > Funktheduck
06/29/2019 at 16:07

I agree. I watched a YT vid featuring a competitive shooter talking about how aiming was a wasted effort if your trigger pulls weren’t clean. Until you drill it into your muscles how to pull the trigger without the muzzle moving, you can’t expect to hit what you’re aiming at.

I took that to heart and started doing dry fire drills like crazy, and now all of my single-action shots are gorgeous, even at further distances (for handguns) of 50 feet and more. What helped me lock the muzzle into place was focusing on the nature of my grip - making sure that my left hand is applying east-west pressure with the same amount of strength that my right hand is with north-south. Et voila, front sight is locked tight.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2019 at 21:33

Practice, dry fire, more practice, ect... It really should be a surprise trigger break, otherwise you’re anticipating the shot with all the negative consequences that go with it.

The police academy instructors were fans of snap caps, and I came away convinced they were useful. They’d load a magazine with a mix of live rounds and snap caps and then hand it to you for the next drill so you didn’t know it was going to go bang on any given trigger pull or not. Beyond being useful for gauging competence at immediate and remedial actions, they were also a good tell tale for trigger control (while under significant pressure, both time and instructors applying as much pressure as they could via yelling 12 inches from your ear as you work the malfunction ) . If the muzzle moved down when the pistol didn’t fire on a snap cap, you knew there were problems with trigger pull and/or anticipating the shot.

404 - User No Longer Available > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com
06/29/2019 at 21:49

I don’t think snap caps is a thing for airsoft... lol.

Unless I load my BBs incorrectly to deliberately cause a jam, but that damages my gun.