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Have you guys heard of this trigger technique ?


ysrracer

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On another web forum there's a GM pistol shooter that's telling me that I should stick my finger far enough thru the trigger that the tip of it just contacts the frame before it fires.

 

That this somehow helps me know when the shot is going off. I told him my finger isn't long enough, so he said I can use the tip of my weak hand finger.

 

I've been a pistol shooter my while life, but new to revos. When I'm shooting I'm just smoothly, quickly, stroking the trigger thru.

 

Do you guys know what he's talking about, and can you explain it better?

Edited by ysrracer
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Yes, it's a technique i'll *sometimes* utilize. But most the time, I dont bother.

 

So - You'll want to get your trigger finger deep enough thru the trigger gaurd so that when your trigger finger makes contact with the frame/grip - the the trigger is pretty much full prepped and just a hair more will set off the shot.

 

I usually dont employ this technique because I dont want to be changing my grip / trigger finger for certain shots.

 

Instead I keep one finger placement for every shot with just the front pad of my trigger finger and do smooth straight back trigger pulls. With enough practice you can pretty much tell when the trigger is fully prepped without always doing a "hard stage" 

 

Though, other shooters have had great success with always having a deep trigger finger - So try it out and see what works for you.

 

pic 1 ( standard finger technique / front pad only ) 

 

1.jpg

 

pic 2 and 3 - deep trigger finger , bottoms out on frame when the trigger is fully prepped.

 

2.jpg

3.jpg

Edited by alecmc
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Just now, ysrracer said:

Thanks, when you say "prepped" are you actually stopping your trigger pull? I'm trying to smoothly, consistently, stroke the trigger thru until it fires.

 

Yes, you'll stage the trigger - it'll come to a stop, and then when you a ready to actually break the shot you give it that one more extra bit of pull and she fires off.

 

 

Just now, ysrracer said:

Oh, and what's the purpose of doing what you posted?

 

Like I said, i usually dont use this technique , but I might if I have a few very difficult far distance shots. ( very long steel etc ) - but most the time i've fine with my "regular" trigger pulls. 

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the touch the frame to stop at staged thing sounds strange but probably works for that guy. I suggest playing with finger placement in practice, shooting both close and fast and far and hard, see what works best for you  don't just do what some other guy does because he is better try different things and see what works best for you.

I try no to hard stage the trigger for any shots but I will intentionally slow my press at the end while I clean up the sights, occasionally that turns into a hard stage but my goal is to have the sights aligned before I need to stop.

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my 2cents

 

Doing group shooting with Steve Anderson I got incredibly small groups with smooth trigger pulls and not prepping.  I  was way more likely to quickly jerk the trigger if I prepped the shot. -and miss the steel or throw one wide.

 

The pro's here can prep and get a good shot off, I'm learning I can't lol. at least not yet.

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1 hour ago, ysrracer said:

The GM in the other forum's user name is gsteve. He was friends with Rob Latham, and was sponsored by Springfield Armory.

 

Any idea who it is?

doesn't matter, people are different and what works for one person doesn't always work for another. 

Yes there are some basic techniques that will get most people to a reasonable level of proficiency, but beyond that everyone needs to find what works for them. 

go to the range with a bucket of ammo and try it, if it works for you (improves your hit factors) then practice it, if it doesn't see what does.

 

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If you don't have really large hands and/or long fingers you will have to shift your grip so far it will make recoil control harder.

 

Jerry Miculek says use the tip of your finger, same as shooting a 1911 he says it gives him more control.  But it takes strong hands.

PPC shooters used the finger through to the frame technique at the longer ranges (50 yds) as it gave them more control for the X ring.

Most popular technique is to put your finger through to the 1st joint, gives even average/smaller hands/fingers good control, allows the grip to be optomized for recoil control and is consistent.

Practice each a little and see for yourself.

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I have an S&W 22 10 shot (617) with a rubber trigger stop.  This lets me move the trigger rapidly to the stop then apply more pressure to fire the round.

I have never been able to use this successfully.

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3 hours ago, GMM50 said:

I have an S&W 22 10 shot (617) with a rubber trigger stop.  This lets me move the trigger rapidly to the stop then apply more pressure to fire the round.

I have never been able to use this successfully.


They were used by PPC shooters in the 80's and 90's and I had one on my revolver.  I ditched it after 2 matches and installed a regular trigger stop.

 

Some people with the earlier frames used the original in the frame trigger stop, until the screw worked loose and prevented the trigger from being pulled all the way.

Edited by RePete
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I had that rubber tipped overtravel screw in my Bill Davis PPc revolver. It was strange so I just made sure it was screwed in enough to not affect the trigger pul.  I have very large hands and long fingers and stumbled on the "techniqe" (Described by the OP) myself when I first started shooting revolvers. I have never liked the 'Staging" way of shooting revolvers so while I could make it work I never used it.  I shoot my revolvers using a smooth even pull and use the X frame Hogue grips on all my revolvers (including the 617) for propper trigger finger placement. 

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  • 1 month later...

This may be a dumb question (so, I'll ask it 😅 ) but in a circumstance where accuracy is that much more important, is cocking the hammer an option? I have a 625 with a very smooth double-action pull and a crisp featherweight single-action pull, and I have enough thumb to get the hammer down fairly quickly if needed. That said, I'm a D-level shooter that just shot my 625 in a bunch of classifiers last weekend for the first time.

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39 minutes ago, Igloodude said:

This may be a dumb question (so, I'll ask it 😅 ) but in a circumstance where accuracy is that much more important, is cocking the hammer an option? I have a 625 with a very smooth double-action pull and a crisp featherweight single-action pull, and I have enough thumb to get the hammer down fairly quickly if needed. That said, I'm a D-level shooter that just shot my 625 in a bunch of classifiers last weekend for the first time.

My wife used to do this (until she voluntarily had a gunsmith despur the hammer) and it helped her out at first.  She doesn't have a lot of hand strength and that double action pull took some getting used to even on midrange or small targets.  Finally she graduated to pretty much only using it on further targets and we started to notice that she did worse on those targets when she thumb cocked the hammer.  All in all I think it was a convenient crutch in the beginning that became a liability later on.  

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On 10/4/2019 at 12:36 PM, GMM50 said:

I have an S&W 22 10 shot (617) with a rubber trigger stop.  This lets me move the trigger rapidly to the stop then apply more pressure to fire the round.

I have never been able to use this successfully.

we used to glue a rubber eraser from the end of a pencil to the frame behind the trigger and file it down for this purpose in PPC.  it removes the long trigger pull which can be a strain on your fingers.  this technique, IMHO, would only be good for slow firing discipline like PPC or bullseye shooting. 

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2 hours ago, Igloodude said:

This may be a dumb question (so, I'll ask it 😅 ) but in a circumstance where accuracy is that much more important, is cocking the hammer an option? I have a 625 with a very smooth double-action pull and a crisp featherweight single-action pull, and I have enough thumb to get the hammer down fairly quickly if needed. That said, I'm a D-level shooter that just shot my 625 in a bunch of classifiers last weekend for the first time.

 

You need to pull that hammer out, bob the spur, and grind off the single action notch.  Now the crutches are gone and there's only one choice: master the double action pull.

 

I do that to all my revolvers.

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On ‎10‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 11:56 AM, pskys2 said:

If you don't have really large hands and/or long fingers you will have to shift your grip so far it will make recoil control harder.

 

Jerry Miculek says use the tip of your finger, same as shooting a 1911 he says it gives him more control.  But it takes strong hands.

PPC shooters used the finger through to the frame technique at the longer ranges (50 yds) as it gave them more control for the X ring.

Most popular technique is to put your finger through to the 1st joint, gives even average/smaller hands/fingers good control, allows the grip to be optomized for recoil control and is consistent.

Practice each a little and see for yourself.

+1. If you are trying to nail a 50 yard ICORE X-ring (bonus points in some stages).... or making a VERY tight shot around a No-Shoot... the technique can be very useful. However, if all you're are looking at is an open 35-yard (or closer) A or O Zone, then a straight & smooth DA pull is often best. It can pay to learn both, and apply them when needed.

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I try to prep, but there are 2 chambers that pull straight through. This oftentimes results in an AD during a transition, but my transition speeds have picked up so it usually hits a target. Which means I need to make my vision faster. I don't like that there are 2 chambers that do it, so I'm sending the gun back to Smith to have them fit me a new extractor.

My hands aren't long enough to stick my finger all the way through unless I have a crappy grip and I'm just screwing around with an empty gun. But my finger does protrude a good amount past the pad, maybe almost to the first knuckle. Not everyone's grip needs to be exactly the same, just find something that works and is comfortable. I've seen all sorts of super weird grips that don't work for me, or my hand size, or my hand strength.

 

The prep method is really great for some applications though, if you can pull it off. JJ Racaza taught me that method, and I like it for fast moving steel or hard shots. I've seen Josh Lentz use it too.

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  • 1 month later...

I tried that technique briefly, but for me, the farther up my finger I placed the trigger, the more tendency I had to pull my shots low left. The front pad is probably the most accurate placement, but for fast double action shooting, first knuckle is the most natural place for me.

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