Trigger discipline

[SharedShots]

Mine sucks. There, I've said it. I've been shooting most of my life. Mostly in controlled environments. I've come to realize that I have poor trigger discipline. When I'm thinking about, I'm mostly good, but I've even caught myself using bad technique even when trying to be correct. I've done a bit of reading and know what I should be doing. I've even thought about taping my finger so it wont bend.

I can't be the only one to cross this bridge. I guess what I'm asking is what have you done to correct this? What worked? What, not so much? I know it's about repetition, but lately Ive become a bit frustrated with myself. I could use some help with this.

Sometimes, subconsciously, life gets in the way. Even daily stresses can create enough distraction you aren't aware of to mess with shooting discipline. Since you might not be aware of it it's easy to look for other causes.

It can be easy to think that when shooting we can always put everything else away and concentrate only on shooting, often easier said than done. When you're younger its sometimes easier to just stack stuff away but many years of experiences don't just get compartmentalized so easily.

Next time you go out, take a few minutes to really clear your mind. Maybe not just setup and start shooting. Try just resting a short time and put everything away, get into the zone. It's doubtful all the training and techniques have been forgotten, maybe it's just clouds in the way. Take the time to clear them out before trying to learn something you already know.














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[Capybara]

Props to you for recognizing and admitting you have a problem. That's good. Have you ever been booted from the range because of your poor trigger discipline? I've kicked out several over the years because of poor trigger discipline and or sweeping. I would think getting booted might train someone to become better at it? Sure, it's embarrassing, but maybe that would help ingrain it into your memory? You could go to the RSO on your next range trip and tell the RSO that if they see you exhibiting poor trigger discipline, don't warn you, kick you out? Sounds a bit silly, but your subconscious isn't registering the importance of the situation and the behavior. Perhaps the hassle, expense and embarrassment of being kicked out might burn it into your subconscious a bit more than what you've been doing?

For me, it's just muscle memory, my finger automatically goes outside the trigger guard unless I think consciously that I want to place my finger IN the trigger guard. An ND, and or someone getting injured or killed tends to burn it in pretty well for most people, myself included. Perhaps you can set up an avoidance loop in your subconscious by doing some mental exercises? I have trained hundreds of Scouts how to safely shoot shotgun and to me, wrangling adults is easy compared to wrangling a bunch of hyper, ADD pre-teens and teens. I've had to eject perhaps half a dozen over the years, some kids, some adults.

To me, trigger control is literally life and death stuff, do you generally feel that way?

[Scotty]

Just practice with a screw gun. Have everyone in your household yell "finger" every time your finger is on the trigger.

[WingDings]

There, I've said it.

Ive become a bit frustrated with myself. I could use some help with this.

I've noticed the problem is more prevalent than I'd like to admit.

It is kind of embarrassing for me. I should know better, yet here I am.

Props to you for recognizing and admitting you have a problem. That's good.

don carro hq

[IVC]

The learning process goes through four stages: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence.

Once you reach the last stage with bad habits, you have a problem with "unlearning" because any time you aren't thinking and are operating on autopilot, you'll revert to the bad habit. You not only have to work on the new habit consciously, but you cannot allow your subconscious to take over and automatically revert to the bad habits that you have ingrained in your brain.

Practice with props, but also make sure you never let yourself shoot or operate the gun without thinking, at least not until you have developed the correct handling habits.

[IVC]

Think of these two ideas as a philosophy of slowing down when in a hurry when shooting.

Slowing down will make you slow, not more accurate. Don't fall into trap of "slow is accurate" or "fast is not accurate."

Take the time you need to operate the trigger correctly, then operate the trigger correctly, then work on decreasing this time. If you go slow for the sake of going slow, you will make the same mistakes that you would if you went fast, except that you will feel as if you need to go even slower because you'll attribute your poor shot to the (lack of) time you took to fire it, not to how you operated the trigger.

It's similar to less experienced shooters aiming really hard, missing, then telling themselves they need to aim harder and more accurately, only to keep missing. The problem is *always* in trigger control and *never* in aiming, until you get to hard(er) shots (targets that are smaller than about the width of your front sight).

[200Apples]

Slowing down will make you slow, not more accurate. Don't fall into trap of "slow is accurate" or "fast is not accurate."

You're missing the point. You may be confusing a philosophy with mechanics.

Again, from my earlier post: "You cannot miss fast enough".


THEN you say...

It's similar to less experienced shooters aiming really hard, missing, then telling themselves they need to aim harder and more accurately, only to keep missing. The problem is *always* in trigger control and *never* in aiming, until you get to hard(er) shots (targets that are smaller than about the width of your front sight).

Exactly.

[naz]

I know it's about reps, but it's nice to hear how others have dealt with this as well. .

by putting in the reps

[SilveradoColt21]

Take formal training classes. As an instructor, the people i saw with the worst trigger discipline were 'I've been shooting my whole life" or 'I shot some in the military" guys. What can you do, practice taking your finger out of the trigger guard!

Hold the firearm at the low ready with your finger out. bring it up on target, align your sights, then put your finger in. lower the weapon. Pull your finger out as you lower the weapon back to a low ready position. Do this 100 times. Everyday. Every week. Every Month untill you beat it in your head to pull your finger out as soon as your done shooting and the gun comes off target. Muscle memory through repetition is how you learn physical things.

Also, when the finger is not on the trigger it should not just be anywhere. When holding a firearm, your finger should feel one of two things at all times: The trigger when your ready to fire, and the side of the gun where your straightend finger should be touching as you hold it. Most guns, especially handguns, have a specific, tactile object you can train your finger to feel. Assuming your right handed:
On a glock, its the take down lever.
On a 1911, CZ, Kahrs etc. its the rounded end of the slide stop
On S&W revolvers its the screw head on the frame above the trigger.
On an AR its the mag release.

You have to know where your finger is at all times by feel: on the trigger or straight and on the reference point. No where else. Not floating in space, not hovering in the trigger guard, etc. 2 spots, period, end of story.

That's exactly what I was planning on doing, you may think you're good but there's always room for improvement in my book.