Handgun Technique Questions

[svltrack]

Could some of the members here ellaborate on what they do when it comes to breathing in a relaxed setting? Which part of their breath do they shoot, full breath/shortened?

Next I have to ask about a rapid fire situation. 7-10 yards I am on the paper every time almost but the groups are not great. Is this more of practice makes perfect? Is it variance of speed? Of course there are some variables with both but I would be very interested to hear what members here do in both a target practice setting and also if they were in a self defense situation.

[LastManOut]

I have limited target shooting in competition, but for self-defense, I train at 3-5 yards to draw, move and point shoot. No breathing discipline drills.

My limited Bullseye Shooting League experience, during Slow Fire, I would try to exhale half of my breath hold it for no more than 5 seconds then fire, or breathe and try again if I did not have a good enough sight picture.

I hope that helps.

[Palerider]

For target shooting, similar to rifle, I take a pretty full inhale then exhale about 1/3 or so out. This seems to give me my most stable platform. If I don't get the sight picture I like quickly, then I exhale and start over. I don't try and hold this long, probably as just mentioned no more than 5 seconds or so.

In all honesty, I don't think I've thought about breathing during action pistol shoots or rapid fire practice. I may need to think about this next time and actually get a feel for what my body is doing. I do not recall ever being 'winded' at the end so I know I'm breathing while shooting. Hoping pure muscle memory takes place and I'm not inhaling or exhaling as I'm pressing the trigger.

[B2Luv2Hunt]

I work 11-7. When I get home I use the total gym for around 25 min. While I'm still alittle out of breath I do dry fire practice. I found I can pause on both the inhale and exhale when doing dry fire fast shots.

This and the training I went to has really payed off on the range. I do not even think about it anymore.

[TimtheDestroy]

Google/bing "usamu pistol marksmanship guide"

Read it, its a bit long but very thorough, i'm still reading it now.

there are other books and resources but this one didn't cost me anything and seems to explain not just the "what" to do but also the "why" to do it. So far i've only had the chance to test what i learned with my air gun but my groups were getting tight like prom night.

[thanker92]

I've been teaching people how to shoot for over 40 years and I one major rule: Try everything. The whole idea is to hit the target. See what works FOR YOU!.... If you shoot best wearing cucumber earrings and a tutu while standing on one foot then so be it! Practice, practice practice...and try different things.

[normanvin]

I've been teaching people how to shoot for over 40 years and I one major rule: Try everything. The whole idea is to hit the target. See what works FOR YOU!.... If you shoot best wearing cucumber earrings and a tutu while standing on one foot then so be it! Practice, practice practice...and try different things.

What he said. If it works for you do it again as often as you can. I generaly do not think about breathing while I am shooting.

Maybe thats the problem.

[Steve_NEPhila]

OP, your most likely problem is trigger control, not breathing control. I see it every week at my local range. Guys print on their targets with pistols like an epileptic with buckshot at 7 yards. The tell is when the shooter does not know the pistol in empty and "pulls" the trigger and the gun moves all over the place.... hence the wild groups.

Get a .22 and practice, practice and practice some more. At ten yards, when you get good your groups should be smaller then a half dollar. The .22 promotes good trigger control because of the light recoil.

Trigger control and sight picture are the most important aspects of handgun marksmanship. If they are buggered, your groups will look like shit.

[Kaos]

Could some of the members here ellaborate on what they do when it comes to breathing in a relaxed setting? Which part of their breath do they shoot, full breath/shortened?

Full breath, shooting on respiratory pause (exhale).

Next I have to ask about a rapid fire situation. 7-10 yards I am on the paper every time almost but the groups are not great. Is this more of practice makes perfect? Is it variance of speed? Of course there are some variables with both but I would be very interested to hear what members here do in both a target practice setting and also if they were in a self defense situation.

I know too little about your shooting style to know this, your stance, grip, distance to target and how you physically move (if you're shooting on the move).

In a self defense situation you will likely not have the chance to maintain any sort of proper breath control, this is why you'll see plenty of "take a class" responses.

For self defense distance shooting I tend to do 0-15yds for practice. I'm working on putting some coin away for real training this year myself.

[GRIZ]

Could some of the members here ellaborate on what they do when it comes to breathing in a relaxed setting? Which part of their breath do they shoot, full breath/shortened?


I do it on a half breath but a lot of this can be what feels comortable to you.

a rapid fire situation. 7-10 yards I am on the paper every time almost but the groups are not great. Is this more of practice makes perfect? Is it variance of speed?

Work on your basics and don't worry about speed so much. Impressive to get 10 rds off in 3 seconds but if they don't hit what you want them to you've only made noise and might endanger someone.

Work on shooting small groups and increase speed and range as you get better. Work at it hard enough and you will become one hell of a pistolero.