How can I keep my hands from shaking?

[IMTHDUKE]

Just food for thought....

We all have that tendency to shake to some degree at the range....can you imagine what that is like in a real live defensive engagment? That's when the ole pucker factor kicks in In Vietnam, I never fired a side arm in a fire fight, which I am thankful because that means their too close However, fired plenty of M16s, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Aftermath of one....

 

[gunokie]

Shakiest gun in the west?

You may be trying to grip too tightly, that will amplify any natural tremors. What kind of health are you in? I had a very bad increase in my tremors a couple years ago and asked my doctor about it, He told me to hold my hands out at arms length palms down, and when I did, he laid a single sheet of paper on top of both hands. WOW!!! I had no idea how much I was shaking until he did that! Turns out I had some thyroid problems. He prescribed some meds and I took them for about 6 months and the problems cleared up! Do you have a family history of thyroid problems? Try the paper test, you may be surprised!
JM2C
BT

 

[Nubcakes]

Pretty much everything people said above is true.

Basically everyone has tremors to a certain extent in any extremity. You can't erase it but there are ways you can reduce it.

A trick I learned is not to take any stimulants for atleast 48 hours prior to shooting. Caffeine counts as a stim so anything with that is out.

There are also some depressant drugs you can get over the counter designed for calming someone down which will lessen tremors in your hands/legs/neck. I know its been said many times but being relaxed helps a lot too. You might also want to try holding the gun as loose as possible without risking it flying out of your hands. Lastly, if you can monitor your heart rate, keep track of it while you shoot. Tremors in your hands will be less noticeable if you heart rate is lower. Find out what raises your heart rate and avoid what ever does.

 

[Skans]

Practice more shooting. Do some grip strengthening exercises, and maybe some other strength training as well. Hold the gun with two hands. Unless you have a medical condition that causes you to have tremors, what I recomended should help.

 

[LouisianaMan]

I've recently developed a tremor that comes & goes. Sometimes, I shake like a leaf. My neurologist said my tremor has a "postural" component, i.e. it manifests itself most when I'm doing something with my hands, especially fine motor skill stuff. He also suggested wine, as another poster stated.

On the other hand, my handgun shooting is primarily defense-oriented, and I've recently become enamored with point shooting. As taught by Fairbairn & Sykes, Applegate, etc., they emphasize convulsive grip, "aiming" w/o sights, and firing as soon as the gun covers the target. Under these conditions, tremor is a non-issue When I sight in loads, I shoot off sandbags, which ameliorates the tremor.

With all of the above said, I agree with others that practice will help, if it's not a physical-medical condition, per se. Specifically, practice establishing your "natural point of aim" as you prepare to shoot. If that's new to you, it means take aim, close your eyes briefly, and then open them. If your aim has wandered off target, adjust your stance. Repeat as necessary until the problem is remedied. This is your "natural point of aim" in that stance, with that gun, and it allows you to reduce or eliminate muscle tension caused by having to strain to re-position your gun on the target. Thus, you shake a lot less.

 

[drail]

I used to see this a lot with new shooters when I was an instructor. It's normally caused by nervous tension. The key is to learn to relax, both mentally and physically. Relax the muscles in your neck, shoulders, forearms and hands. Hold the gun out in your firing position and take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Lean forward slightly and don't have your knees or your elbows locked. You're probably using many more muscles than you actually need to hold and fire a gun. Hold the gun with the same amount of grip you would use to hold a hammer to drive a small nail. Make sure you have equal amounts of pressure on the right and left side of the grip. Then just increase the pressure on the trigger and LET the gun fire and watch the front sight. You want to see it go straight up and settle straight down back to where it was when the shot broke. If it goes any other direction you're torqueing the grip. Relax. Practice dry firing and watch that front sight. Let the target be out of focus slightly but watch that front sight. It will tell you what you're doing. There will always be a tiny amount of front sight movement but if you are relaxed and not tense it will be very small. When the front sight drifts onto the target let the shot break. It should be almost a slight surprise when it does. This is why a good crisp trigger makes shooting much easier, you're not having to hurry up and make the gun fire in that millisecond when the front sight is on the target.