Better trigger pull at the joint

[balmo]

I had just noticed this when I was doing my dry-fire drills. Initially, I was having the pad of my finger on the trigger. I’m getting better at it but there is still some jerk during trigger pull. One time I observed how my hand looked holding the gun, I noticed that the when I have my pad on the trigger, the rest of my finger is sticking out from the side of the gun. So I tried out having my finger joint on the trigger. Well not really on the joint but just a little past the joint. I observed that my finger is now closer to the side of the handgun. Instantly, I have cut the jerk during trigger pull by half. And I don’t really fell anything lost in trigger pulling strength. I did replace the backstraps of my handgun (M&P) to large and see if I can return to pulling the trigger with the pad, but it didn’t really help; the backstrap bulges on the sides and not on the back where I needed.

So, should I pull the trigger on the joint (just past) or keep on practicing with the pad? Thanks.

[Nimitz]

I'm certainly no expert but I've never heard a top instructor recommend this technique??? I've always been taught to use the middle of the pad of the 1st joint of the trigger finger .... When I don't get enough of the pad on the trigger my shots are center left nearly 100% of the time ....

[Chris_C]

Pick up a copy of Ben Stoeger's technique book. He talks about this a little, and if I recall he suggests it might work well when shooting one handed.

[skippyaz]

I know exactly what you are saying. I have long fingers myself, and actually have a tighter grip if I go down to the first joint. When doing that in practice, if I'm shooting slow, I actually do quite well. However, if I get too much finger on the trigger during a competition when the pressure's on, my accuracy sucks.

I've done a lot of reading on the web about finger position, and the consensus seems to be if it works for you, do it. I'm pretty sure there are some pros who use the first joint.

Edited May 17, 2013 by skippyaz

[Ben Stoeger]

Moving your finger to the joint is a leverage issue. It may help you, it may not. It isn't very popular in competitive shooting circles because most people don't use heavy triggers. I don't think you can work the trigger quite as fast when you use the joint, but with more leverage it should be easier to pull it straght on back.

Hope this helps.

[gearguywb]

The main idea behind using the middle of the pad of your index finger is to allow movement straight rearward on the trigger by flexing at both finger joints.

You can play with different length triggers which will inherently change where your trigger finger rests on the gun.

IMHO, the majority of movement caused by pressing the trigger has nothing to do with the trigger manipulation itself, rather the contracting of the remaining fingers on the firing hand instead of simply manipulating the index finger.

[TerryT]

So I spent a year shooting a Glock with the trigger almost at the joint. Could shoot very good slow fire. White wall drills were excellent. Just couldn't seem to get the accuracy I expected at real speed. Always seemed to throw some shots left which would put me in second or third place.

Moved my trigger placement a little forward of the pad and really worked on trigger control. Also worked hard at a strong grip. Find I am now much more accurate at speed. Took a bunch of work, but ultimately the trigger in the joint only let me reach a certain level of performance.

[Panic Flinch]

I witnessed someone shoot very well recently who was using the following technique… He placed his finger deep into the trigger passed the joint... So that it was actually coming out the other side of the gun. Then used to the thumb of his support hand as leverage to pull the trigger finger rearward. He stated that the leverage he used with his thumb against his trigger finger helped him relax and hold more steady. He only did this slow fire, and I tried it as well. It worked okay except that my thumbs don't normally rest in the position that is needed to use this two finger technique...

I also witnessed another fellow who did not have an index finger on his hand… He shot very well using his middle finger.

I have noticed with my Glock at 25 yards when I position my finger on the trigger off-center to the left to the right of the pad it can affect my windage downrange. When I slide my finger out of the trigger guard and use this just the tip of my finger... It makes my shots go right. If I put more finger on the trigger it makes my shots go left. This is just a matter of a couple inches at 25.

I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this phenomenon as well?

[Klemmer]

Panic,

Amen. I notice the same thing: moving my finger left and right from the center of the first 'pad' of my trigger finger will push/pull the groups in the same direction that the finger moved. I haven't shot thousands of rounds this way but a few hundred shots confirms what you are describing.

[gearguywb]

Panic, You are correct. For a right hander, placing more and more finger through the trigger guard means the movement of the finger must come from the knuckle in the middle and the knuckle closest to the hand. By virtue of this, it is almost impossible to maintain a straight rearward pressure, thus the "pushing" to the left at the shot.

[Ben Stoeger]

For a right hander, placing more and more finger through the trigger guard means the movement of the finger must come from the knuckle in the middle and the knuckle closest to the hand. By virtue of this, it is almost impossible to maintain a straight rearward pressure, thus the "pushing" to the left at the shot.

Depending on the scenario, the extra leverage may be better than being able to pull the trigger perfectly straight back.

[45dotACP]

It's often a technique you find with people who shoot DAO pistols...they pull with the first joint, but they let that joint slide along the trigger face, never actually bending it inwards. That bend can throw your shot. If you curl the distal (furthest forward) tip of the finger, you often end up curling the intermediate phalanx (the middle of the finger) and also the proximal (closer to the elbow) phalanx. This itself works to slightly shift the gun towards the left if it's your right hand or to the right if it is your left hand. What I'm trying to say here is that you want the distal interphalangeal joint (where you're pulling the trigger) to be sliding on the trigger so that the trigger can move straight back. The tip moves in a straight back motion. This is most easily achieved with the pad of the finger, but again, faster strings can tire that finger out, so using physics, we go to a point closer to the fulcrum to move the resistance more effectively. Alas, most people don't consider that you still have to pull straight back, without curling that fingertip. A lot of revolver shooters know that if your finger is touching the frame after you have squeezed through, it has been done incorrectly. Hope this helps!

[jimbullet]

I think Glock shooters also put the trigger relatively closer to the joint as the factory trigger weight and the contour of the trigger too.

I found my trigger finger placement is different when shooting a glock and comparing it to shooting a single action trigger, i.e. 1911/2011 triggers.

The M&P would have resembled a similar trigger characteristic as that of a Glock (?)