Natural trigger finger placement

P

Pops1085

New member
Got into an interesting conversation today with a man who claimed to be a member of the USAMU (army marksmanship unit) and we got to talking about how they teach trigger control now in the service. He told me that instead of trying to pull the trigger with the tip of the finger they now just say to just place the trigger naturally on the finger and wherever that lands will probably give you the best ability to pull the trigger straight to the rear. He showed it to me on an AR we we're both looking at and my finger landed well inside the joint (proximally) and he said that's where his lands too.

I looked up this type of trigger control and found both the Army and the Marines teach this on both rifles and pistols.

It seems to work well but what do I know. Any thoughts on this? There's a few videos out on YouTube saying almost word for word what he was telling me, and it looks like they were classes.
 
The fingertip placement was (and I think mostly still is) taught for use with very light trigger pulls. Part of the reason is that by using the fingertip, the index finger is less likely to contact the frame of the gun and possibly affect accuracy. Still, it really comes down to the individual shooter and what works best. That is why every time some hopeful soul asks for advice, he or she gets a number of often contradictory responses.

Jim
 
Pressing with the fingertip is a force directed straight back toward the shooter, parallel with the bore. Pressing with the second joint puts a slightly sideways force onto the rifle.

More of a problem with a handgun than with the heavier rifle.
 
He told me that instead of trying to pull the trigger with the tip of the finger they now just say to just place the trigger naturally on the finger and wherever that lands will probably give you the best ability to pull the trigger straight to the rear. He showed it to me on an AR we we're both looking at and my finger landed well inside the joint (proximally) and he said that's where his lands too.
Click to expand...

This is what I do, with the exception of the hair triggers on my Anschutz small bore prone rifles. AR15's place the hand close to the trigger guard and trying to just place the fingertip on the trigger will result in some weird extensions.

My Anschutz triggers, the set trigger is around an ounce. This is just at the limit at which I can feel the thing, so I do not drape a finger on a set trigger. I do not rest the finger on a set trigger as I will set it off. Service rifles have 4.5 pound triggers so I am unlikely to trip one of those off moving the trigger finger in the trigger guard.

Pistols are about the same, you want a comfortable hand position and to pull the trigger back.

A lot of the lore in the shooting community comes from Army manuals from pre WW2. Back in the day of the M1903, the pistol grip (or straight grip) more or less dictated the finger tip trigger pull, but things are different now.
 
On a rifle with a non-adjustable trigger (forward/backward and left/right), natural finger placement probably isn't going to hurt your accuracy at all.

On a rifle that does have adjustments for trigger placement, and a very light trigger (10m air rifle precision class air rifles, and some smallbore rifles) then finger placement needs to be much more carefully tuned.

In Service Rifle, the rifle is standard and we train the shooter to adjust their stance and body to the rifle. In air rifle, once beyond the "sporter class" we start adjusting the rifle to perfectly fit the shooter for cheek weld, trigger placement, length of pull, even sight risers to raise the line of sight.

So it kinda depends on your sport what technique you should focus on, and then practice a lot. Dry fire is great practice.

Jimro
 
I attended the USAMU sniper school a while back. '77 to be exact. I seem to remember this question came up. When asked where he puts his finger on the trigger. the instructor scratched his head, thought a bit, then said "I don't know, I really don't know".

Took me a while to absorb this, and figured he just put his finger on the trigger and didn't worry about it.

Same thing in regards to breathing, I shoot HP rapid fire pretty darn fast. I was shooting a rapid fire at the Wilson matches and after the first string, the scorer asked. "do you breath between shots"................I thought a bit and said "I don't know". So the next string I concentrated on my breathing, trying to figure out what I was doing. Worse rapid fire string I ever shot. I was thinking about my breathing instead of just shooting.

Consistency is what counts in shooting. If its natural (breathing or trigger finger placement) then its gonna be consistent.

Another thing you can take to the bank. The AMU is the E.F. Hutton of the Shooting world, when they speak, LISTEN AND LEARN.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top