Rapid fire trigger pull

[TommyJefferson]

So my first couple trips to the range I was trying to get a handle on how to hold the gun, and the very basics. Today I figured I'd try some short distance quick draw rapid fire shots. At 5 yards, using my Ruger LC9, shooting as fast as I could regain the front sight . 95% of my shots were in the red, for the most part in the x ring. When I moved back to 7 yards things got considerably lower and lefter but still within the 8 ring. Google tells me shots going low left are probably from jerking the trigger. The trigger pull is looong on the LC9, so how do I pull fast without jerking/slapping the trigger?

Also I only have one gun, so I keep it loaded with Hornady CD. Will continually taking them out of the mag to go to the range and putting them back in when I get home cause them any damage or possibly cause a malfunction?

Thanks!

[rmagill]

Well, it sounds like a few things might help. One thing that may help is using the trigger reset.

I am not sure I can explain it well online, but I will give it a try. Basically you keep the trigger back until the firearm is beginning to recover from the recoil. Once this happens, let your trigger finger out just enough for the firearm to reset (if you are looking out for it, you should be able to hear and feel a "click"). At this point, the firearm is reset and, once in battery, ready to fire. This should reduce the distance you need to pull the trigger and might improve accuracy.

It might be easier to practice resetting the trigger via dry firing the first few times so you know what to expect.

My other thought is to practice smoothly squeezing the trigger back until it becomes more natural and you can to it accurately. Slowly begin increasing your speed until you reach your failure point and practice some more...

Something else to keep in mind is that there will always be a balance between accurate and quick shooting. When you are shooting your fastest, you are not shooting your most accurate. When you are shooting your most accurate, you are not shooting your fastest. The trick is to find the balance that fits what you are looking for.

[Lycanthrope]

Try inserting your finger into the trigger a little deeper. I prefer using the first distal joint on revolvers and long pull DA guns.


Lycanexperimentthrope

[G23neverjams]

After becoming an "expert" with rifles (I got asked to be a sniper twice by the army and due to a girl that is now my EX... go figure ) I ventured into pistol shooting and got my bubble burst harder than a virgin at a gang bang.....

It is a different animal entirely and it hurt.

I learned however that because my goal was (and still is) 1st place at every pistol event, especially speed shooting, that it would take practice. A LOT of practice!

It came to me and while I am not up to my personal goals, I can hit 10 shots on 10 targets in about 3 seconds 95% of the time. That is good, but not great.

For me, it came because I am good with timing. I practiced to the point that by feel I know when my sights are on target between shots (as long as I am in a shooting stance) and it keeps me suprisingly accurate, even though I only see my actual sight picture maybe 3 out of the 10 shots.

To each his own. That is the plain truth when it comes to shooting. What works 100% however is practice. LOTS of rounds down range. You will get your feel by (as another poster put) starting slow and moving to the point where you can't controll your shots then backing off to where you can and continuing to push it.

FYI.....
Get a .22lr to help ammo cost! Lol

[nateebobo]

Well, it sounds like a few things might help. One thing that may help is using the trigger reset.

I am not sure I can explain it well online, but I will give it a try. Basically you keep the trigger back until the firearm is beginning to recover from the recoil. Once this happens, let your trigger finger out just enough for the firearm to reset (if you are looking out for it, you should be able to hear and feel a "click"). At this point, the firearm is reset and, once in battery, ready to fire. This should reduce the distance you need to pull the trigger and might improve accuracy.

It might be easier to practice resetting the trigger via dry firing the first few times so you know what to expect.

My other thought is to practice smoothly squeezing the trigger back until it becomes more natural and you can to it accurately. Slowly begin increasing your speed until you reach your failure point and practice some more...

Something else to keep in mind is that there will always be a balance between accurate and quick shooting. When you are shooting your fastest, you are not shooting your most accurate. When you are shooting your most accurate, you are not shooting your fastest. The trick is to find the balance that fits what you are looking for.

on the lc9 with the trigger it has, its like a revolver in that you have to let the the thing almost all the way out to reset. i know what your saying but in this instance i dont think it would give but maybe an 1/8" travel savings, which is still something but not like a glock or anything with a preloaded striker or s/a trigger, i dont really shoot dao much so maybe you are onto something im not comprehending. i am limited to 2 kahrs as far as dao normally shot and im trying to get better with it too, it takes time. whats gonna help get quick and accurate is LOTS of practice doing and paying attention to whats being done wrong and correcting it.

[PracticalMagicX]

anyone that has an sa/da sig sauer that on sa the reset is the same as the reg. trigger.. smooooooth like butter =]

[TommyJefferson]

I always hold the trigger back until I gain the front sight, then I release to the second click, and pull again. I only pulled early once through 150 rounds, but even that was a terrible feeling. I think I may just need to slow it down a bit and make sure I'm hitting X at 5 yards before I try to fire so rapidly. I will try to mess with finger placement I guess, although when I first shot it I was using my first joint and it seemed like they were pulling right when I did that.

[jerryg]

Also I only have one gun, so I keep it loaded with Hornady CD. Will continually taking them out of the mag to go to the range and putting them back in when I get home cause them any damage or possibly cause a malfunction?

Thanks!

With regards to your Hornady CD rounds you don't want to chamber the same round every time you reload them. I read something a while ago where an LEO emptied his gun every night when he got home because of his small kids, then reloaded every morning, always chambering the same round. When he had to shoot one day it would not fire that first round as it was too short from the chambering. Luckily he was able to eject that round and shoot the next round.
Rotate your rounds.

[twency]

Re: repeated re-chambering, if you google bullet setback there's quite a bit of info available.

Some rounds are more susceptible to setback than others for various reasons. The simplest quick-and-dirty way to see whether your bullets are becoming set back is to compare two rounds twice, first before either has been chambered, then after only one of them has been chambered several times. Put both on their base on a perfectly flat and level surface side by side and compare their heights before and after.

I don't shoot often, and when I do it's usually not self-defense (SD) rounds, so when I need to unload my SD rounds and later reload my carry weapon with them I make an effort to rotate through the rounds and chamber a different round each time. (Similar to what jerryg suggested above, I gather.) Obviously you can only do that so often before you get back to that first round though.

I've read that some people will always shoot the SD round in the chamber when they go to the range, after swapping out the magazine with one filled with target ammo. That only works if you have a range and circumstances where you're allowed to arrive with the weapon hot though.

Setback can lead to feed problems and cause serious overpressure with just a few millimeters of reduced overall length, so it's good to avoid.

[rmagill]

on the lc9 with the trigger it has, its like a revolver in that you have to let the the thing almost all the way out to reset. i know what your saying but in this instance i dont think it would give but maybe an 1/8" travel savings, which is still something but not like a glock or anything with a preloaded striker or s/a trigger, i dont really shoot dao much so maybe you are onto something im not comprehending. i am limited to 2 kahrs as far as dao normally shot and im trying to get better with it too, it takes time. whats gonna help get quick and accurate is LOTS of practice doing and paying attention to whats being done wrong and correcting it.

I did not know this about the LC9 (I have not shot it yet). Thanks for teaching me something new!

I always hold the trigger back until I gain the front sight, then I release to the second click, and pull again. I only pulled early once through 150 rounds, but even that was a terrible feeling. I think I may just need to slow it down a bit and make sure I'm hitting X at 5 yards before I try to fire so rapidly. I will try to mess with finger placement I guess, although when I first shot it I was using my first joint and it seemed like they were pulling right when I did that.

Well, it sounds like you were already doing what I suggested, but from what I just learned, this technique does not give you much of an advantage.

I agree that more practice of accurate shooting will help you. I would start with more bulls-eye type shooting and gradually increase your shooting speed until you miss. Then concentrate on the basics and accurate shooting at that speed until you improve. Basically, perfect practice makes perfect.

Personally, I have always found trigger finger placement to be very important but also very dependent on the person and the firearm they are shooting. It might help to experiment with finger placement to see what works best for you. My suggestion when you do this is to only change your finger placement so you know what is affecting your shots (If you change finger placement and something else, you wont know which one - or both - are actually causing the change).