Learning to fire a gun accurately is an extension of exercising proper firearm handling fundamentals. A gun is a tool, and like any tool it takes practice to develop a solid mastery of the skills required to use it well. Whether you’re a hunter, a competitive shooter, or you carry a gun for self-defense, firing your weapon accurately is imperative. Although there are a wide variety of weapon systems to choose from, there are some common skills you can develop to help ensure you are as accurate as possible when your fire your gun.
Firing Accurately with a Pistol
Choose a comfortable pistol firing stance. Firing a pistol accurately starts at your feet. Three are three common stances to choose from when firing a pistol accurately. The right stance for you will depend on your level of comfort, your natural firing position, and preference. The isosceles stance involves positioning your feet evenly about shoulder width apart. The weaver stance uses staggered footing, with the foot on your dominant side set back and your lead foot pointed at the target. The fighting stance bridges the gap between the two, placing your feet shoulder width apart and with your dominant side foot only slightly behind your lead foot.[1]
- In all three positions, the shooter extends the weapon directly out in front of them.
- Each position has advantages and disadvantages and it’s recommended that beginner shooters try all three to see which feels the most stable for them.
Get a good grip. Always use two hands when firing a pistol. Your dominant hand should seat high on the handle of the pistol and you should extend your trigger finger along the side of the weapon. Your non-dominant hand should be slightly lower, wrapping around the handle. Do not place your non dominant hand on the bottom of the pistol, as it will prevent you from ejecting a spent magazine when reloading quickly.[2]
- The web of your dominant hand (span of skin between your thumb and index finger) should be aligned with the wrist to properly absorb recoil.
- Squeeze the pistol in your hands firmly, but not too tight. If your knuckles turn white, you are squeezing the pistol too hard.
Find good sight picture. Most pistols come equipped with a front sight tip and rear sight aperture. The front sight tip is the small post sticking up from the end of the barrel of the gun. When you raise the pistol, focus on the front sight tip and ensure it is centered on your target. Having the front sight tip centered on the target is referred to as getting proper “sight picture.”[3]
- In close quarters situations, acquiring sight picture is often sufficient to accurately engage a target.
- Sight picture is imperative to accuracy. A common saying in military training is, “in a gun fight, you have the rest of your life to acquire good sight picture.”