“Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.” — Yogi Berra
How should I practice? This is the question that I’m asked more than any other. Certainly proper practice is incredibly important when it comes to improving and maintaining proficiency in any skill, and silhouette shooting is a skill (a perishable skill, which means consistent work is required to improve and maintain ability). This is Part 2 of my “Training” series, where I’m attempting to explain to you the things that I do in training that work for me. I strongly suggest you go back and review Part 1 of this series before you read this installment.
In a competitive sport like silhouette, we practice to prepare for matches. Shooting matches, even small club matches, is NOT practice. Matches are matches, practice is practice. Practice is preparation for matches. Shooting matches is essential to being the best competitor you can be, and you should shoot as many matches as you can; but for the purposes of what we’re doing here, matches and practice are different.
I believe that the mindset that we bring into our preparation sets the tone for how we prepare, and it’s for that reason that I prefer to think of my preparation as training rather than practice. This is mostly semantics, but there is a bit more to it than that. My time is incredibly valuable. I don’t have time for practice; I do have time for training. I explain more in Part 1 about why I prefer the term training. I’ll use that term moving forward.
Before we get into the when, where, how and how much to train, we need to know what we are trying to accomplish when we are training. I specifically set up my training with the main goal of developing habits that will cause me to hit more targets. Again, go back to Part 1 to read more about habits. The short version is that I believe creating the proper habits is the most important thing we can do to shoot well. Creating habits in training; then training to improve our ability to perform those habits equals better proficiency and better scores.
In Part 1, we discussed how to develop and improve the habit of aiming at spots on the target. Here in Part 2 we will discuss how to develop and improve a second habit.
THE MENTAL GAME IS MOST IMPORTANT, BUT THE PHYSICAL PART COMES FIRST
We’ve all heard it said a million times: “shooting is [enter some large number between 80 and 95] percent mental and [the rest] is physical.” Also, “silhouette is the hardest shooting sport in the world.” Both of these statements are both true and false. They are false because you can shoot silhouette with almost no mental input at all AND silhouette is really easy, you just stand there and take shots at targets. What’s hard about that? The statements are true when we are talking about shooting silhouette WELL. Hitting a silhouette target is 80% mental and 20% physical (or close to that). Silhouette is the hardest shooting sport in the world to shoot good scores. We want to hit lots of targets and shoot good scores, not just participate. That takes ability and habits and ability and habits require training.
While shooting good scores requires a good mental game (and shooting great scores requires a great mental game), we need to get the physical parts of the game down first. Just as great scores require a great mental game, we also must be great at the physical parts of shooting to shoot great scores. Our second habit involves the physical part of shooting.
TRAINING PART 2 — DEVELOPING THE HABIT OF PERFECTLY PULLING THE TRIGGER
There are only two physical aspects to shooting a silhouette target: holding the rifle and pulling the trigger. Those are the only physical things that we must do to take a shot. The mental part of the shot primarily controls when we break the shot. How well we perform those two physical things, combined with the mental part, determines how good the shot is. We start with the physical act of holding the rifle, then the physical act of pulling the trigger, then back to the physical act of holding the rifle as we follow-through. The mental aspect affects the hold of the rifle, the timing of the shot, and our ability to go through the process of firing a good shot over and over. Holding the rifle steady is a combined physical and mental act. Firing the shot at the right time (on the spot) is a mental act, and pulling the trigger is a purely physical act. We must develop a habit of pulling the trigger perfectly every single time!
So what is a perfect trigger pull (I prefer the term trigger break)? What must we do to break the trigger perfectly? Simple. We must learn to break the trigger without moving the rifle. That’s it. The perfect trigger break fires the shot without moving the rifle. Like many things in life, this concept is simple but it’s not easy!
I estimate that about 90% of my misses are caused at the instant of the shot, either by my trigger break moving the rifle or by moving the rifle at the instant before the shot. It’s rare for me to fire the shot when the reticle is on the wrong spot and it’s very rare for the wind to blow the bullet off the target. If I screw it up, I usually screw it up at the trigger break. It only takes the slightest movement to pull the rifle off the target, so the trigger break has to be perfect. Also, it needs to be perfect on every single shot. So we have to make a perfect trigger break a habit so that we do it automatically every shot.
The two questions we must answer is (1) how do we perform a perfect trigger break; and (2) how do we make that perfect trigger break a habit?
HOW TO PULL A TRIGGER
Step 1 - Place your finger on the trigger.
The first thing that we have to do to pull a trigger is place our finger on the trigger. This is obvious, but where and how we place our finger on the trigger can affect movement of the rifle when we pull the trigger. Many of us have seen a graphic similar to this:
This illustrates what most shooting coaches teach, placing the center of the pad of the finger on the trigger. I disagree with this. That doesn’t mean that I’m correct; remember, I’m telling you what works for ME. I shoot with the tip of my finger.
I prefer to have as little of my finger touching the trigger as possible. The less of my finger that is touching the trigger, the less my finger will be able to move the rifle. Also, I feel that I have more control over the trigger when I use the tip of my finger. Silhouette shooting is a precision game and the tip of my finger is more precise than the pad of my finger. If I put a contact in my eye, I place it on the tip of my finger and precisely place it in my eye. I don’t put it on the pad of my finger because I don’t want my finger touching my eye. The tip of my finger is more precise.
I don’t “push” my shots, as the above graphic suggests, by shooting with the tip of my finger because I pull the trigger straight back. However you choose to make contact with the trigger, it must be in a way that allows you to pull the trigger straight back, and avoid pushing the trigger to the left or the right.
Another important consideration regarding finger placement is the movement that can be introduced into the shot by your hand and the base of your trigger finger. One of the reasons that I shoot with the tip of my finger is because it gets my trigger finger away from the stock; so when I move the finger to pull the trigger it doesn’t rub against the stock.
I’m not telling you to shoot with the tip of your finger; shoot with the part of your finger that allows you to feel the most precision, and not move the rifle left or right due to trigger finger placement.
Step 2 - Get Ready!
We cant pull a trigger perfectly unless we’re ready to pull the trigger. Being ready to break the shot is both a mental and a physical thing. We must mentally be prepared to break the shot when the correct shot presents itself. This does NOT mean that we have to take the first good shot that presents itself, although taking that first shot is just fine. It does mean that we need to avoid passing up multiple opportunities to take a good shot because our mindset is wrong. The mental part of being ready to take the shot (often called being active on the trigger) is essential, but it’s beyond the scope of this article. We will come back to this topic at a later date.
The physical part of being prepared to take the shot is what we’re talking about here. This physical aspect is also part of being active on the trigger, but a minor part. It’s simple, but it’s also vitally important that we get this right to develop the habit of pulling the trigger perfectly. The physical part of being ready to break the shot is nothing more than getting to the point where the next miniscule movement of the finger fires the shot. How we get to that point depends upon whether we’re shooting a single or double-stage trigger.
Aside: The choice between single or double-stage triggers is a personal-preference choice. Many of the top shooters in the world shoot two-stage triggers, and many of the top shooters in the world shoot single-stage triggers. Shoot whichever you like. You can shoot just as well with either.
If we’re shooting a good two-stage trigger, we get “ready” by taking up the first stage of the trigger. The second stage should be set to fire as soon as the trigger moves at all. For a single-stage trigger, we need to “pre-load” the trigger to that same point. Any movement at all should then break the shot. Of course, a two-pound hunter rifle trigger will take more pre-load than an 8-ounce standard rifle trigger but you get the point; pull the trigger to the point just before it goes off so that all it takes is a thought to fire the rifle.
One note here about breathing: We can’t make a perfect trigger break while breathing. We must hold our breath when we shoot. We don’t want to be holding our breath too long. I’ll often get excited and start holding my breath too early, which usually requires me to have to reset on the shot. Take up the first stage of the trigger (or pre-load the trigger) then start to hold your breath. Once our spotter has identified the spot on the target we’re trying to hit, we’ve placed our finger on the trigger, we’ve taken up the first stage or pre-loaded the trigger, and we’re holding our breath, we’re physically ready to take the shot.
Step 3 - Break the shot.
The third thing we need to do to perfectly pull a trigger is get the movement correct. This is simply making that last movement by engaging (moving) just the very end of the trigger finger. We don’t want movement in our arm, hand, or trigger finger behind the knuckle. Because moving the tip of the finger, even a minimal amount, requires muscle movement in these spots, we must train to move the tip of the finger with as little movement elsewhere as possible. Also, we want to get the trigger finger away from the stock as discussed in Step 1. Breaking the shot requires moving the tip of the finger straight back while limiting that movement to the minimum required to break the shot and keeping the hand/finger as still as possible. This movement requires training to develop and must become a habit so that it’s second nature and repeatable with every single shot.
Step 4 - Freeze!
The last step to pulling a trigger perfectly is to do nothing at all. This is the easiest part of breaking the shot and probably the most important. It is absolutely essential to completely freeze after the shot is broken. This is part of both of the two physical aspects of taking a shot, holding the rifle and pulling the trigger. As you all know, this concept is called follow-through. Follow-through requires freezing every part of our bodies after the shot, especially the trigger finger.
Eleven years ago, in 2012, Cathy Winstead-Severin offered me a piece of advice that helped my shooting TREMENDOUSLY. She noticed that I was rebounding, or bouncing, the trigger after the shot. I was shooting a bolt-action rifle like I’d shoot a semi-auto and pulling my finger off the trigger as if I was preparing to pull the trigger again. Cathy told me to “pull it back and keep it back.” I’ve copied her and I tell shooters the same thing. Pull the trigger back and keep it back and FREEZE. No part of your body should move for at least a full second after the shot. If you struggle with follow-through, as MANY shooters do, you should freeze for two to three seconds. Proper follow-through, freezing after the shot, MUST become a habit and MUST happen after EVERY SINGLE SHOT. Pull it back and keep it back, FREEZE!
In review, the way we perfectly pull a trigger is to (1) properly place our finger on the trigger; (2) get mentally and physically ready to break the shot; (3) pull the trigger straight back with as little movement as possible; pull it back, keep it back and (4) FREEZE.
HOW TO TRAIN TO PERFECTLY PULL A TRIGGER
Now that we know how to perfectly pull a trigger, how do we train to get better at it and create a habit of doing it perfectly every time? Like most everything, the only way to get better is to DO IT.
The problem with heading out to the range and setting up some targets and getting to work on trigger pull is that it is very heard to recognize how well we’re doing when we are dealing with recoil, even the little bit of recoil from a smallbore rifle. By far the best way to train for and develop a habit of a perfect trigger break is by dry-firing. We need to be able to see whether there is any movement in the rifle throughout the shot process. This is done by dry-firing at a spot and watching for movement throughout the shot. The goal is to keep the crosshairs on the spot throughout the entire shot. Put the crosshairs on the spot, break the shot and follow-through with the crosshairs still on the spot. We are looking for as little movement as possible throughout the shot and we need to be able to see whether there is any movement — we can’t see that if there is recoil.
Unfortunately, dry-firing is the most boring way to train, but it’s necessary to develop the perfect trigger pull and we have to train this way enough to create a habit of the perfect trigger pull so that we do it every time.
In addition to dry-firing, breaking the trigger without even aiming the rifle can help as well. Hold the rifle and watch the trigger as you go through each step. Place your finger on the trigger, get ready to shoot, break the shot and freeze. Repetition is the key here. Repetition of the steps is useful, even if you’re not aiming the rifle.
Shooting a target air pistol is also helpful. The process of breaking the trigger is the same and it’s just as difficult (maybe more) to do it with an air pistol as it is with a rifle.
I’ve tried one, but I’ve never trained with a SCATT trainer; but I know lots of shooters that use them (including almost every 3-position and 10-meter shooter) and shooters have used this system for decades to train. A SCATT will give you every bit of information about your shot and your trigger pull that you could want. I plan to use a SCATT next year and will report back with a full product review and my thoughts on whether it helped my training.
There you have it, executing a perfect trigger pull is an essential element to shooting great scores and it’s one of the skills that we must develop into a habit. Hopefully you’ve been working on the habit of shooting at spots from Part 1 of this series and now we have another habit to add to our training. So get to dry-firing and get after it!
I have lots of good topics to write about in upcoming installments of this report but I still need your questions and ideas, so please email them to me at dustinflint@yahoo.com. I hope to see you all at a championship match soon and I’ll be back here in no time with more to say. Until then, put your finger on the trigger, get ready, break the shot and freeze. Pull it back, keep it back, and keep shooting!
Excellent job Dustin!
Very well explained the triggering process!
How to train, etc.
Thanks for sharing such valuable insights in a very clear and effective way.
Probably, learning all of these information on your own would take years of shooting and experimenting.
So putting this information in the correct context, your are saving a lot of time, money and effort to all those competitors that want to learn and become a great shooter, shooting of hand!
As we know our sport it’s super challenging and if some one out their believes it is not, the invitation is always in place to come a try it, and prove the opposite.😁
All the best!
Ds