Levergun John.... time to dig deep through threads & posts on
Singleactions and research handgun marksmanship.
Basic COORDINATIONS* Balance----weight evenly distributed to maximize bone support over muscle tension.
* Body Alignment to target----some call it “natural point of aim.” Applies to
all shooting positions, including from bench and artificial rest. To put it Country Simple, don’t push gun to target, adjust body to target. (Learning to shoot out-of-position comes later.)
* Breathing----deep breathing oxygenates eyes & muscle. Deep breathing tames nerve pressure.
* Comfortable grip----a death grip invites tremor. More shots are thrown by flinch than by poor sight alignment.
* Sight Alignment----the 3 focal planes, in order of importance: 1) front sight, sharp; 2) rear sight, slight fuzz; 3) target, fuzzy.
* Sight Focus----sharp focus on front sight at squeeze.
* Eye & Mind Focus----the eye looks (sight picture), the mind sees (target).
* Trigger Squeeze----a) smooth accumulation of pressure, straight back from sight to eye. Squeeze in a straight line as to touch trigger finger to eye. Follow Through----you see the sights so the bullet sees the target. (What’s your hurry to look at the target while the bullet’s still in the barrel?)
* Sharp sight squeezes trigger. Only fresh oxygen clears eyes. The eyes are the first organ to go into oxygen debt.
* Call Your Shot----keep reading your sight picture at hammer fall.
DRY FIREBy toning mind & muscle, dry fire tones the coordinations of marksmanship. TECHNIQUE is an orchestra of coordinations. Warm up with dry fire before each shooting session.
Work up not down. Develop marksmanship with .22 rimfire or light centerfire loads.
Bench tips* As Dick Thompson, aka
sixshot, advises, it’s better to bring gun to eye level, than to lower eyes to gun level. Our face is called a “face” because we use it to
face the target. Face at angle induces eye strain.
* Elbows slightly bent. Locked elbows, especially with heavy recoil or on a bench, can injure nerve, tendon, cartilage, bone. When shooting a revolver from the bench, I pad the edge of the bench and keep
elbows behind bench, not on it.
* Dry fire e shots (minimum) to assure SIGHTS DO NOT MOVE during SQUEEZE & FOLLOW THROUGH.
Forget heavy .44 loads for now. Shoot light .44 Specials.
David Bradshaw