When someone misses the target in a pistol match or casual shooting, we frequently hear "I need to use my sights," or "I didn't use my sights." Unless the shots were past 25 yards, it's almost certain that the problem was not related to how the shooter aimed the gun, but instead the fact that their gun moved as they were breaking the shot and the muzzle was no longer pointed at the target when the bullet left the barrel.
I've been thinking about my own marksmanship lately and I know I've said the same thing after missing. In almost every case, the problems that resulted missing the target (or the area of the target I wanted to hit) had nothing to do with sights or even aiming. It was almost always a result of disturbing the alignment of the gun before the bullet left the barrel.
It's been posted on INGO before (couldn't find it by searching), but Rob Leatham did a video about this called "AIMING IS USELESS!" that I think any of us with marksmanship issues should watch it as needed (in addition to practicing). Here it is:
[video=youtube;li0rGtXh23I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li0rGtXh23I[/video]
I used to refer to this as "trigger control," but while moving the trigger is part of it, it's not the essential part. The essential part is maintaining the alignment of the gun while you press the trigger until the bullet leaves the barrel. That is THE KEY to hitting the target. So from now on, I'm thinking of it as maintaining alignment of the gun.
That's the fundamental concept to recognize. After recognition, the rub is developing technique to execute it consistently. As Leatham says, it's simple, but not necessarily easy.
I've been thinking about my own marksmanship lately and I know I've said the same thing after missing. In almost every case, the problems that resulted missing the target (or the area of the target I wanted to hit) had nothing to do with sights or even aiming. It was almost always a result of disturbing the alignment of the gun before the bullet left the barrel.
It's been posted on INGO before (couldn't find it by searching), but Rob Leatham did a video about this called "AIMING IS USELESS!" that I think any of us with marksmanship issues should watch it as needed (in addition to practicing). Here it is:
[video=youtube;li0rGtXh23I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li0rGtXh23I[/video]
I used to refer to this as "trigger control," but while moving the trigger is part of it, it's not the essential part. The essential part is maintaining the alignment of the gun while you press the trigger until the bullet leaves the barrel. That is THE KEY to hitting the target. So from now on, I'm thinking of it as maintaining alignment of the gun.
That's the fundamental concept to recognize. After recognition, the rub is developing technique to execute it consistently. As Leatham says, it's simple, but not necessarily easy.