To push or pull?

[Merc1138]

has no one figured it out yet?

you squeeze the trigger if the barrel is pointed away from you, you push the trigger if the barrel is facing towards you.

I think whoever was giving the OP advice didnt like him.

Oh really? Push or pull?

[voiceofreason]

When we teach our Basic Handgun class, we prefer "press."

The point is that the trigger needs to be pressed straight back smoothly and with only the trigger finger moving until the shot breaks by surprise. In our experience, "press" seems to convey that concept best.

The issue we've found with "squeeze" is that some people will squeeze the grip with their hand while "squeezing" the trigger. That just seems to be how beginners translate that word into an action.

And "pull" often becomes a jerk.

^^this^^

Ultimately, the goal is to fire the gun without changing the alignment of the sights. Oftentimes, people will line up their sights perfectly, then pull them out of alignment through poor trigger control and miss.


For all the CGers with smart a** remarks, please note that although it's fun for YOU...

an original poster or person searching the internet for a real answer to an honest question may be turned off from seeking knowledge from Calguns in the future, reading more smart a** remarks than real answers on this site. Let's not let this site devolve into "Yahoo Answers" or some other lame site where real answers are few and foolish remarks are the norm.

Please remember that we're in this for the long haul. Let's not do the Anti's work for them by being D*CKS to people asking honest questions.

Not everyone has grown up around firearms and consider their usage second nature and many who do scare me in terms of safety, or the lack of on their part IMO.

[USMC 82-86]

When we teach our Basic Handgun class, we prefer "press."

The point is that the trigger needs to be pressed straight back smoothly and with only the trigger finger moving until the shot breaks by surprise. In our experience, "press" seems to convey that concept best.

The issue we've found with "squeeze" is that some people will squeeze the grip with their hand while "squeezing" the trigger. That just seems to be how beginners translate that word into an action.

And "pull" often becomes a jerk.

This^^^. I agree I taught my kids to shoot using the term press. I was taught to press the trigger to the rear. I have found when you ask someone to pull the trigger, they will often pull the gun to one side. When asked to squeeze the trigger they will often squeeze the entire gun in their hand.

Press, just seems place a visual understanding, that the trigger needs to move straight to the rear. It is much like when a spotter will tell a sniper to send it. We all know he means to fire/shoot. The difference is Fire and Shoot seem to have a command or time constraint component attached. Send it allows the shooter the freedom to fire when ready. Both are the same just different in perception. Shooting, is as much mental as physical if not more.

[phdo]

I finger it until it gets nice and wet. Then, I methodically push my... Wait, that's for something else. -__-

[cabinetguy]

neither. guns are dangerous. Leave them be and call an adult

[VegasND]

This has definitely been one of the more informative threads posted to Calguns in some time.