Follow through...

I have to go with what highvel said.
It takes time after the flint stirkes before a flintlock actually fires. Follow through is crucial to any kind of accuacy as you must ignore the flash in the pan and keep the site picture perfect for the half a second or so until the rifle or musket actually fires. It's extra hard if you shoot long guns left handed like me, becuase the pan flashes right in front of your face.
 
The flintlock example is excellent.

Holding the gun on target for that split second (if you’re lucky!) that it takes for the hammer to fall, the flint to strike the steel, the flash to ignite the powder, the powder to burn and the bullet to exit the muzzle is the essence of follow-through.
 
I'm bumping this thread because I'm having the same trouble now with good follow through dry-firing my Glock 17L.

The front sight twitches or swerves to the right.

I went through this with my G34, at first my front sight swerved to the right. But I found where my trigger finger needed to be on the trigger and I put in a lot of practice and now when I shoot with the G34 - the front sight stays still - a solid stable sight picture, doesn't budge and I have good follow through with it.

It's not going away on the 17L.

But my G34 has a Rafael Sotelo trigger kit in it, a lot lighter and smoother trigger than what I have in the 17L right now.

I started dry firing the 17L this morning from supported bench (my bed with a pillow rolled up under my wrists. I also started dry firing left handed. When I fire left handed - I don't get the front sight movement. My sight picture stays perfectly still through the follow-up.

On the other hand - I'm still getting it firing right handed, even firing supported.

I have moved my trigger finger more in, to the point even where the joint is almost on the trigger. I've moved it more out to the point where I'm just using the tip of the finger - that doesn't seem to make a difference.

I've totally relaxed my grip, I'm concentrated on the 60/40 push pull - it doesn't make a difference.

I'm not sure why I was able to get past this problem with my G34 and I seem to be hitting a roadblock on the same thing with the 17L.

Any help is appreciated...
 
If you can get a hold of a bore sighting laser that will tolerate the hammer falling with out damage, line up the laser and hold it steady through the entire "dry firing" sequence to trigger release. You'll be able to see any deflection in the pistol during the process.
Best,
Rob
 
CountZero,

Press the trigger more slowly.

No, slower than that.

Toward the end of the trigger press, when you know the shot is going to break "any second now" ... slow down.

The goal is to learn to press the trigger smoothly, moving at the exact same speed throughout the process. Most people speed up at the end of the trigger press and their sights take a dive or a hook to one side because of it. So learn to do it very, very slowly so you learn the skillset of moving smoothly. Then speed will come without the nosedive.

But for now: press the trigger more slowly.

pax
 
No disrespect but do have a different notion

That notion is to be more aggressive on the trigger.

The USAMTU suggested a more aggressive trigger control and follow through with the 'ball' guns than with the .22s.

Some shooters, back when the earth was flat, could do amazing things with double action revolvers.

If a slow and careful approach to trigger control suits your mind set, maybe a visit with the ISU competions would provide more satisfaction.

I don't disagree with pax but I do offer the notion that a 'touchy-feely' 'tickle the trigger' approach to trigger control/follow through isn't the best approach to all shooting sport games and platforms. Glocks especially.

salty

EDIT: I seem to do more editing tha I should. The original post had to do with something called 'follow through'. For me, that was delivering the shot.

I was never good at it. Those that are, reside in their respective sports Hall of Fame.
 
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saltydog452, Pax is talking about starting out slowly in training, to develop the muscle memory and minimum distance path; then developing speed, after the muscle memory and feel have been trained.

Works well in martial arts, too.

She isn't saying to always remain slow, just to develop smoothness first, then speed.
 
MLeake nailed it.

People tend to practice doing the wrong thing faster, instead of working on the building blocks that actually produce both speed and control.

My point: take time to learn the correct skill set from the beginning. Learn to do the skill very smoothly. Whether we're talking draw stroke or reload or trigger control, moving smoothly is key to both speed and control. Moving smoothly is much more efficient than moving erratically, so it becomes both faster and more accurate as you progress. The way to get there, the way to move smoothly rather than spasmodically, is to slow down during your learning process and develop that basic skill.

After you have learned the basic skill (sights stay steady during a controlled trigger press at slow speeds) you can speed it up and you will still have control.

Or you can just go real fast to begin with, doing the wrong thing, and hope you miss fast enough to win. ;)

pax
 
I took one of those amu small arms classes at camp perry and they really pressed the smooth is fast and that follow through was not flinching or moving until like 2 seconds after you have pulled the trigger and fired the rifle. Some people have a bad problem of wanting to look down the spotting scope as soon as they pull the trigger.

I believe they really did amazing things with those double action pistols but think of how accurate those guns are compared to the revolvers we have now. I am really talking about something I don't know about ( shooting double action pistols properly ) but in my opinion if I had a pistol that shot let's say a 1 foot group at 50 yards then I would want to be able to put a fast follow up shot so if the first missed the second would hit. The modern pistols are so much more accurate then if you put a well placed shot the first time using proper trigger control and only focusing on that one shot not anymore then you will probably hit your target the first time. This is just a personal theory which maybe totally wrong :)
 
I have found a solution...

First, I will get a CCW Raceframe with the extended picatinny rail slots.

Second, I will get a Yankee Hill extended picatinny riser and mount it to the slots:

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Then I can grip that picatinny rail with my left hand like it's a forestock.

Or I can keep practicing with this trigger. :(
 

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I dunno.

Sometimes I've thought that it'd be nice to do the dime, front sight, dry fire drill as a practice tool. That is just about the best visual example of follow through that I have heard of.

Can't do it with a .45 though. If I could hold that steady, there wouldn't be much need for the drill.

Whatever works. I'm just not as convinced that being timid on the trigger face is a solution.

Some folks like Fords, some Chevys, some (yuck) like Dodge.

salty
 
Doing the dry-firing drill with a dime on top of the Glock slide was easy ! :D

The dry firing drill I'm doing now is perching a spent casing on the front sight...
 
The dime was balanced on top of the front sight blade.

Its a two person rifle drill.

If it can be done single handed with a tapered front sight pistol, the doer of the deed has my sincere admiration.

sd.
 
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