Tips To Improve Pistol Aim

Do you find shooting a pistol very hard? If yes, you don’t have to worry as you’re in good company. Despite being a decent shot with a rifle, many shooters find that their pistol game leaves much to be desired. Our article today will give you a few tips on how to improve your accuracy to become a better shot when you’re handling the classic pistols such as .45 ACP or 9mm.

Why Are Pistols More Difficult to Shoot?

Less To Hold on To

Handguns are smaller than rifles since there’s a shorter sighting radius to get the front and rear sights aligned. This also translates to a greater change of error during the aiming process which could significantly impact your shooting accuracy. Some of the best 80% glock pistol products are sold at 80percentarms.com.

Trigger

Although some may pull the trigger to the left or right, the most important aspect of pulling the trigger is using more than just the tip of the finger to pull. If you find that you’re unable to pull the trigger accurately, then you may find that your grip will pull the shot one way or the other.

How to Improve Your Pistol Aim?

Relax and Slow Down

The first step to improving your pistol aim is to relax and slow down. Yes, shooting is exciting and you want to be just like the pros who shoot fast, but shooting at a faster pace often means you sacrifice accuracy. If your target begins to look like it’s been blasted with a shotgun, it’s time to slow down and take some time to work on your fundamentals of marksmanship. Once you get the rhythm and accuracy of shooting slow, then only pick up the pace and improve your speed without sacrificing accuracy.

Trigger Finger Discipline & Muzzle Management

Regardless of your stance and grip, the one of the most important aspects to help you accurately hit the target boils down to two main points: trigger finger discipline and muzzle management. The main point here is to be able to move the trigger without disturbing your sights and muzzle.

The first step you need to do is to aim and stabilize your muzzle. Once you’ve got your red or green dot on the target, the next step will be a mental game where you need to tell yourself that you need to move the trigger without disturbing the red dot too much. Yes, it may move around a little bit but that’s okay. Just relax and continue to steady your movement on that trigger blade until the shaft breaks.

Recoil Anticipation

Many handgunners performance get screwed up due to lack or recoil anticipation. This is where dry firing – shooting without live ammo – becomes a very important practice to help build muscle memory and overcome recoil anticipation. If you find that you often flinch in anticipation of recoil, try to imagine you’re simply pulling the trigger as if you were dry firing the gun.

Dry firing practice is a very good method to improve your pistol accuracy. However, do keep in mind that the four rules of gun safety still apply to dry firing. Once you’re done dry firing your pistol, remember to return it to the pistol case immediately.  Firing accidents often occur when shooters get distracted and load up their firearm before returning to “dry firing”.

Before you begin any dry fire practice drills, remember to:

1. Unload your gun. Look and feel to make sure the chamber is empty. Best to keep live ammunition in a separate room.
2. Place a target.
3. Look and feel again to make sure the chamber is unloaded.
4. Proceed with your dry fire practice.

Proper Trigger Squeeze

Despite the trigger pull being one of the most important aspects of pistol shooting, it’s often neglected by both beginners and experienced shooters. If you have your sights lined up and notice that your shot is still veering off to the left or right, most likely your trigger pull is to be blamed.

Most handgun instructors advise to use the center of the pad of your fingertips and first knuckle joint to press the trigger. However, a proper and comfortable trigger squeeze will depend on individual preferences as well as their hand and finger size. So experiment around to find what works best for you.

Sight Alignment

Sight alignment is the relationship between the front and rear sights with respect to the eye. The clear tip of the front sight post is centered both vertically and horizontally in the rear sight aperture meaning there should be some height across the tops of both sight posts with equal light showing on either side of the front post site.

To obtain proper sight alignment, you need to first realize that the human eye can only focus on one object at a time. When it comes to shooting, the object is always the front sight post. Hence, you need to maintain proper focus on the front sight post and place a clearly focused front sight in a slightly blurred rear sight aperture to align them.

Get a Grip

Another important factor to making accurate shots is to get a good grip on your pistol. The isometric tension of push and pull between the two hands should hold the firearm in place and keeping your forearm in line with the gun can help you properly absorb the recoil.

To establish a good grip, the web of the firing hand should be placed high on the pistol grip and wrapping all fingers, except the trigger finger, around the pistol grip of the weapon. The trigger finger should lay alongside the lower receiver of the weapon unless you’re going to pull the trigger. A proper pistol grip will provide maximum surface contact between your hand and gun’s grip surface for positive recoil and follow up. A proper grip will allow you to stabilize the gun to make the shot and get right back in position to do the same again with as little follow through or re-aiming required as possible.

Conclusion

We hope our 6 tips on how to improve your pistol aim has been useful in helping you make more accurate shots. Remember, practice makes perfect. If you keep up with your dry fire and live fire practice, you should start to see improvement in your accuracy with each visit to the gun range.