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First Shoot

Notes for 'first time' Handgun shooters.

There are a few ‘basics’ that you need to know and a few facts to consider before shooting a handgun. The first thing you need to know that most handguns are not accurate enough to shoot all ‘bullseyes’ even if locked in a vice so they can’t move between shots! If you add any errors you make yourself, simply wobbling and poor sight alignment, the average first time shooter should consider they have done well to get all their shots on the target. Even most of the shots in the black is an outstanding first shoot.

When you compare a pistol and a rifle, the first and most obvious difference is, it’s a lot shorter than a rifle? It also has ‘open’ sights rather than a telescopic sight. The combination of a short barrel and open sights mean that any error in alignment of the sights is magnified, about 150 times by the time the bullet reaches the target! This means that if you are 1mm out of alignment on the sights, you may be lucky to hit the 4 ring, when you aimed at the centre of the target.

Let me make it absolutely clear. You might have seen Mel Gibson shoot a smiley face on a target? Well forget it, it’s just not possible. If it were possible, the targets would be smaller or much further away!!

So, how do you get all (or most) of your shots on the target? There are about 20 things you can do wrong, if you do all of them right, you should have a perfect score. Let’s look at just a few.

1)Failure to maintain the proper ‘sight picture’. Something people find hard to accept is, you must stop focusing your eyes on the target. It’s impossible to focus on both the sights and the target at once, if you keep trying, you will end up looking at the target when you squeeze the trigger and not looking at the sights. What’s the answer? Never focus on the target!! You will be amazed how tight a ‘group’ you can shoot on a completely blank target, with nothing to aim at. Simply watch those sights and aim for the middle of that blurry blob and I guarantee you will do better than if you focus on the target!
2)Jerking the trigger. Have your Range Officer show you the correct placement of your finger on the trigger and concentrate on a smooth squeeze while watching the sights and aiming for the centre of the blob. If the shot goes off and surprises you, you did it ‘just right’ and didn’t jerk it.
3)Anticipating Recoil. After a few shots of a 9mm or .38, most new shooters start to unconsciously start to push the gun gently forward as they squeeze the trigger, in an attempt to counteract some of the recoil. What you end up doing is pushing the shot into the ground. You must learn to love the recoil, control it with the proper grip and stance but don’t fight it.
4)Blinking or flinching. Real men would never admit to ‘flinching’ but our brain tells us that if we close our eyes we won’t hear the bang! If this is happening (you need somebody to watch your eyes while you shoot), try a pair of ear plugs under the earmuffs. Block out the bang and the blinking generally stops.
5)Failure to “follow through”. It’s important to let the gun recoil then come back onto target before you relax and lower the gun. If you don’t do this, you start to relax and lower the gun while the bullet is still in the barrel!
6)Incorrect stance. Stance is a personal preference thing and every shooter has to find their best stance. What we teach for new shooters is called the ‘isosceles stance’. Both arms forward in an isosceles triangle and both elbows locked. The locked elbows is not always the most comfortable but it ensures that every recoil is met with an equal amount of resistance. With bent elbows, every shot is different and every shot hits the target in a different place.
7)Incorrect breathing. The movement of your chest while breathing can cause the handgun to rise and fall in your hands. To minimize this movement, make the shot at the ‘bottom’ of your breathing cycle, when you have finished a normal breath out. Do a couple of normal in and out cycles then stop at the bottom, don’t force the air out, just stop and hold your breath. You will have 5 – 7 seconds to squeeze off your shot, if you can’t get it right in that time, breathe again and restart the cycle. Don’t ‘waste’ a shot by squeezing it off at the last moment.

That’s probably enough to get you started, many of our Range Officers are qualified coaches and all are willing to help those that ask for help. Have fun and safe shooting.

© SSPC (Vic) 2006.

Last modified: 09.12.08 by mike