From the Backwoods of Hazard Kentucky
The Fundamentals of Handgun Shooting
Part 1 & 2 & 3& 4
By: John Reynolds
I am going to keep this short, and basic because that is what I am going to be talking about basic handgun shooting fundamentals. You should know which eye to aim with, and that means knowing which eye is dominate.
To determine your dominate eye simply follow these 4 easy steps:
1. Put your arms out in front of your body.
2. Place your hands together forming a small opening at the thumbs, and fore-fingers.
3. Now with both eyes open look through the opening at a distant object.
4. Now close one eye at a time. The eye you can still see the object with is your dominate eye.
Now that you know which eye to use to aim you can also determine which hand to use to grip the handgun. Generally it is recommended that you use the hand on the same side as the dominate eye. Now that we have faced the first two fundamental steps we need to look at the other six fundamentals of handgun shooting.
Position, Grip, Breath Control, Sight Alignment, Trigger Squeeze, and Follow through. Sight alignment and trigger squeeze are the two most important of these six steps, but I will however talk on all of them in next months issue.
Part 2
Position is very important to good shooting, I am going to talk on the three basic positions. There are others but for beginners these three will be the best to use. They are Benchrest, one hand standing, and two hand standing. You should study the position- learn it -practice it with and without gun in hand always remembering safety.
Benchrest- Sit behind a table or bench, face a target. Keep gun in a safe direction index finger off trigger. Use the left hand to place the gun in the right hand. Take a proper grip on the pistol. Now place the heel of the left hand firmly against the heel of the right hand. Rest the left thumb on the top of the right thumb, now wrap the fingers of the left hand firmly around the fingers of the right hand. Note of caution when using an automatic remember to keep the thumbs and other parts of the hand out of the path of the slide that will come rearward. Extend arms fully in front of you and rest the bottom of the hands on sandbags or rest of some kind. Position the gun so that it naturally points at the target.
Study The position
Practice the position without a pistol
Practice the position with a pistol
Align the position properly wit h the target
Two handed standing position- This is probably going to be the easiest of positions for new shooters due to both hands being used in this position to support the pistol. Thus making it easier to hold the gun steady. Now keep the gun pointed in a safe direction index finger off the trigger.
Remember safety is always first with firearms.
Now take a proper grip on the pistol with the right hand by taking the pistol in the non shooting hand and place the gun in the shooting hand by fitting it into the v formed by the thumb and index finger. Place it as high you can on the backstrap portion of the guns frame.
Next align the grip of the gun with the wrist and fore arm. Grip pistol using the base of the thumb and lower three fingers of the shooting hand. Pressure of the grip must be directed straight to the rear, holding the gun as firmly as possible, but without exerting so much pressure the hand begins to shake.
Still keeping the index finger off the trigger, remembering safety first.
Now the thumb should be relaxed resting along side of the frame at a level above that of the index finger. Uniformity is the most important factor in a proper grip.
After correctly gripping the pistol in the right hand, we look at the two methods that can be used to support the right hand.
First - Rest bottom of the grip portion of the frame and the heel of the right hand in the palm of the left hand. Hold the fingers of the left hand firmly up along the side of the right hand.
Second - Place the heel of the left hand against the heel of the right hand. Rest left thumb on top of the right thumb, and wrap the fingers around the fingers of the right hand.
Face the target squarely body directly in front of the target. Position in the following manner:
Feet- shoulder width apart, body weight distributed evenly.
Legs- straight
Back- straight
Head- erect
Arms- fully extended
After taking proper position, use the proper two handed grip to bring the gun to eye level. The pistol should point naturally at the target.
One Handed Standing Position - This one is used primarily in the competitive pistol shooting arena, but it is one that is worth learning. As the position name states one handed so of course only one hand will be used in the shooting of the pistol, thus meaning that there is not as much support of the pistol as with the other two positions mentioned.
Acquire the proper grip technique as mentioned earlier in this article, with the right hand by taking the pistol in the non shooting hand and place the gun in the shooting hand by fitting it into the v formed by the thumb and index finger. Place it as high you can on the back-strap portion of the guns frame.
First you must establish a natural point of aim, I usually think of the gun as if it where my index finger and I am pointing at the target, and then position the body. Position your body at approximately a 45 degree angle to the target with the right side of the body ( or shooting hand side ) closest to the target.
Extend the shooting arm toward the target, turn the head away from the target or close both eyes. Rotate the extended arm in a small, circular pattern. Stop the motion of the arm when it feels in a comfortable, natural position. Look at the target, and if the hand is pointing at the center of the target, a natural point of aim has been established. (If the hand is not pointing at the center of the target, move the left foot and pivot the right foot until the hand is pointing correctly). Turn the head away from the target, and perform the arm rotation and pointing steps again.
Feet- shoulder length apart with the body weight distributed evenly.
Legs- straight, but not tense.
Body and head - comfortably erect.
Right Arm - fully extended with the wrist and elbow locked in place.
Left Hand - relaxed in the a pocket or comfortably hooked in a belt or waistband. (if left dangling, it can become a distraction)
After taking the above position, use the proper grip and bring the pistol up to eye level.
Now there are other position and more to learn, but for now this should have you off to a good start.
Part 3 Trigger Squeeze The trigger must be squeezed straight to the rear in a smooth continuous manner without disturbing the sight alignment. Once trigger squeeze has begun, it should be applied smoothly and continuously - don't speed up or slow down the pressure or apply it in a start/ stop manner. Use the same pressure that you would use to squeeze a drop of liquid from a medicine dropper- a gradual, steady application. Just as it would be impossible to predict the instant that the drop of liquid would fall, it should be impossible to predict the precise instant that the gun fires. Each shot should come as a surprise. In order to minimize body movement, you must control your breathing during firing. Before each shot take a deep breath, let out enough air to be comfortable, and hold the remaining breath as you fire the shot.
This term is used to explain the manner in which pressure should be applied to the trigger. When you begin to apply pressure to the trigger, the index finger should be located on the trigger so that the trigger is about halfway between the tip of the finger, and the first joint.
CONTROLLING BREATHING
Because firing will ususlaly occur within a few seconds, there should be no difficulty from lack of oxygen.
However, if you hold your breath too long muscle trimers may start. If this happens take your index finger off the trigger while keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, put the gun down, relax briefly, take a few breaths, then begin the firing cycle again.
Ten Sad Truths
By: Lyndon Combs
Number one – Absolute peace is a pipe dream in the minds of liberals who can’t see truth. As long as you have two people with differing views you are going to have friction, and that will eventually lead to conflict. Yes, sometimes it may be obtainable to keep the conflict from leading to war, but it is the way of man to fight about something it is the nature of the beast.
Number Two – The two party system does not work. Our founding fathers knew this and that is why they didn’t implement it when they elected the first President. When you have two very different parties the country is going to divide along those lines due to conflict caused by differing opinions, and forward progression is going to slow. This is not good for the country as everyone can see if they open their eyes.
Number Three – Evil is never ending. We all have a dark side, and in some cases it goes against the social norms we as a group hold sacred. You never know who is going to turn themselves over to actions that go against the norms of society. We just need to realize the nature of the beast, and the inherit traits that can be entrenched into the mind of man, and stop those that wish to harm others.
Number Four – Death. It is going to happen eventually deal with it and live your life. Don’t just sit and wait for the grim reaper to find you. Deal with your mortality.
Number Five – Prohibition does not work learn from the past. Americans don’t like being told they can’t have their way, and prohibiting something just makes it more attractive to them because it then become taboo.
Number Six – Respect must be earned. It can’t be demanded or legislated. Yes we all can show basic human respect for our fellow man, but we do not have to give it.
Number Seven – The perfect world is a joke especially for Americans. Things need to be shaken up every now and then. If we sit around with absolutely no excitement for too long we become complacent, lazy, and bored. Then we start looking for ways to entertain ourselves which eventually winds up with someone shoving something where it doesn’t belong. So I guess it is human nature to cause trouble.
Number Eight – Power corrupts, and the longer a person has it the more they need to be watched. Always try to take those in power down a notch don’t let them get too comfortable with their position.
Number Nine – Men will always think with their eyes, and genitals. Woman will always think with their friend’s minds. So don’t try and change each other find some common ground and live on it together.
Number Ten – Racism is in all colors and creeds. Every race has those that hate for the sake of hating. They need to be weeded out and if possible showed the error of their ways. If not F***’em and feed them catfish heads life is too short to worry about stupidity.
What does all this mean? – Life has to be balanced! Too much of one thing can always mess you up. The more you strive to be different and achieve the more you have to fight to remember where you came from, and to work to not think you are above your raising.
