Trigger Pull

I always believed that trigger pull is one of the largest components when shooting with a handgun, but I recently noticed that it is just as important when shooting rifles. It's a little easier to stabilize the firearm with a bipod in the prone position, but a stiff slap on the trigger instead of a smooth squeeze will throw a 500 yd shot off enough to miss a pop can. One major reason I found where a rough trigger pull can come from is flinching. Starting out the day, I always had a flinch at the beginning of every shooting day, but managed to get rid of it after getting use to the recoil and noise of every bullet that came out of the barrel. Rough trigger pulls can come from a lack of confidence in the shot as well; pulling the trigger as fast as you can when the cross hairs are exactly where you want them.

You can have all the best equipment in the world, but if your head isn't in the game, the trigger pull aspect of the shot is going to fall short. Some beginning shooters think anybody should know how to make the trigger move back and forth and that this should not be on the mind at all. When, in fact, I believe is one of the largest conscious efforts that should be made on every shot. If the basics fall short, everything else will snowball down with it.

-Brad Kipp