What Part of Finger to Pull Trigger?

To fire them accurately I must rest the trigger on the crease between the first and second joint of my trigger finger. Why? Because I need the leverage supplied by a deeper hold in order to pull the trigger straight back and not torque the gun out of alignment.
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Yep, same here. It's different for me with double action revolvers vs. semi-auto. Otherwise, it's the pad of the finger.
 
It depends on the trigger. With a single-action trigger like my 1911 and my rifles, I find I produce the best accuracy by using the pad of my finger. However, with a double-action trigger like my revolvers, I find I can control the trigger better, and thusly produce better accuracy, by using the distal joint. There really isn't any right or wrong answer, just whatever works best for you.
 
He told me to use the padded part of the forefinger, and not the joint.
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Which of the above techniques works best for YOU? That is the one that is correct for YOU.:D
All the rest is just personal opinion.
 
We've all heard the pad is best, and that's what I strive to use. My problem is, the most natural grip, based on most guns' grip dimensions and the size of my hands and fingers, seems to be the joint. Frequently, I find myself having to withdraw my finger from a natural feeling position to get the pad on trigger. Long guns with palm swells seem to cure the problem, but most handgun grips don't. Some hand-gunners use trigger shoes in an attempt to get consistent proper positioning.

In an episode of Top Shot, the looser was bemoaning that he'd used too much trigger finger and it had cost him the match. The shoot-off gun was the same as his practice gun, but without a wide trigger.
 
A good carpenter doesn't blame his tools ;). I would never blame a firearm for my poor shooting. I would just be like eghhhh I messed up guys. I was just handling a small revolver and my joint tends to go there. I think for revolver it may be appropriate like someone said. NEVER on autos for me, always pad from about the nail to the tip.
 
For a long time I naturally used the joint of my finger, and only having started reading about trigger control etc., that I began really paying attention to my trigger, and tried using my pad...I realized that I was shooting noticably better than before. 80% of Marksmanship is trigger control.
 
All hands and finger lengths are different. That said, use the portion of your finger that LEAST disturbs your sight picture when the hammer falls. Extensive dry firing will show you which is best, and it may vary gun to gun depending on grip size, frame size etc. Too, it must be a portion of the finger that will allow a comfortable, sustainable, and easily repeatable grip. HTH's Rodfac
 
+1 ding ding ding

Of course, it also depends on the size of the grip on the gun. That's why it is so important to get a gun that fits you. I like the newer ones with the changeable backstraps.

GeauxTide
Joint in DA Revolver. Pad for everything else.
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The only time Right and Wrong matters, is if some type of harm can come of it. If you practice, are proficient, are accurate on your target, and comfortable doing it, then it doesn't matter if you use your "Big Toe". And anyone who says differently is wrong. Yes, when you teach someone something, there needs to be a "Standard". e.g. when you were taught to drive a car, you were told to hold the steering wheel at 10'oclock and 2'oclock. And you crossed over your hands when making a turn. Now; if some of you still drive that way, then more power to you. If that is what make's you the most comfortable, and you never deviate from holding the steering wheel that way, then I'm impressed. But that doesn't mean those who hold the steering wheel differently are "Wrong". There is no wrong. Simply a standard that was being taught. Well, for most firearms training, it is best to say that using the pad of your finger, you can "Feel" the trigger better. That's great. However, if you've been shooting that particular gun long enough, you probably know exactly how that trigger and gun will react. You can shoot it any way you want to. There is no wrong way.
 
Use

I use the pad of my finger.
But.....I much like the "it depends" as an answer. There are so many variables from person to person, gun to gun, that a single answer is always going to mean a compromise for some one.
A friend of mine just received his Distinguished Pistol and Distinguished Revolver badges. He shoots the .45 with the finger pad on the trigger and his revolver with the joint on the trigger, especially during the sustained fire stages.
Pete
 
Pad for everthing I shoot regularly, with my P64 being the exception. It is very small in my hand, and the DA first pull of the trigger is incedibly heavy.
 
The only answer to this I have ever heard was the portion of the 1st pad closest to the joint, regardless of what the trigger is on.
The pad of the index finger is quite wide compared to most triggers, care should be taken where on the pad the trigger makes contact.

You get the best sensation using the pad; the best leverage is found closest to the joint (similar to the leverage achieved using a pair of wire cutters or bolt cutters closer to the pivot point vs. closer to the cutters tip)
 
In my thread in the revolver section, i asked a simalar question and was told to use the pad as well. Problem is, during my shooting sessions i have been using the pad and getting horrid accuracy, its just harder to pull the trigger on my 12lb trigger with the pad.

That being said, someone posted a link of jerry micluek giving shooting advice and he said use the pad as well, but when he demonstrated the shooting technique it looked like he was using the section of pad closest to the joint. I had to watch that video several times to make sure i wasnt seeing things the wrong way.

I just dont see how you can accurately shoot a revolver using the pad, especialy the pad near the center, under your nail. Everytime i put the trigger there, it is extrodinarly hard to pull the trigger.

Hopefull some of the pad only advacates can explain this, i desperately would l ike to know...
 
I use the joint on anything over appromimately 10 lbs of Trigger pull. Under 10 lbs. I use the pad. I don't have to think about it because if the trigger pull is too much my finger slips down to the joint all by it's itty bitty self. I call it smart finger shooting.:D
 
Whichever.... Kahr has a long trigger pull and a problem many new shooters to Kahr experience is shooting low and left (including me at first). If you hold a pencil on top of your finger tip pad and pull the tip you should see the end of the pencil swing a little to the left.

An article by Massad Ayoob "How to Shoot a Handgun Accurately" has what I think are pretty good tips. He states that the grip is the key and pushes what he calls the "crush grip" holding it as tight as you can.

The reason is demonstrated by loosely closing your hand except for the trigger finger and watch your other fingers sympathetically close tighter when you pull the trigger finger back. Repeat with the grip tight and you'll see the other fingers have nowhere to go so neither will the handgun. So questioning the strength of the grip may be better than what part of the finger to use.

For me I have to have both hands as tight as I can and pushing against each other to shoot well. That's what I work on more than anything else.
 
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