Training Tip Tuesday: trigger
We spend too much time talking about trigger press. In fact, we spend too much time thinking about triggers altogether. This probably seems counterintuitive considering they are the levers that make the gun “go bang,” and therein lies the problem.
The overwhelming majority of errors encountered while teaching come from two principal places: dominant hand bias and anticipation. We’ll talk about hand bias another time, for now let’s dive into anticipation and its relationship with the trigger.
Triggers (in rifles and pistols) vary widely in weight, shape, and length. They come in an increasing variety, and each of these iterations has a camp supporting it. Most conversations with these proponents delve deeply into the intricacies of whatever function is favored in that particular “lever.” The best conversations about triggers, are the ones that are brief and don’t feature much descriptive language… in fact, a shrug and a puzzled look is vastly superior.
Because that means that people aren’t fixating on the wrong part of the gun.
What is anticipation and what causes it? A simple definition of what it is, would be: the tension resulting from the ‘approach” of something expected. The key word here is “expected.” Shooters of every skill level understand that there is a significant release of potential (energy) when the powder is ignited. This energy is expressed in almost every sensory lane we have available to us. There’s noise, bright light and a seemingly animated “push” against our hand or shoulder. We are designed to respond to this sort of stimuli with a flinch.
In almost no other setting would it make sense to expect a person not to react to any single one of these forces, let alone all of them.
So how does this bear on the trigger?
Well, for most of us the connection starts from the moment we learn to shoot. The trigger is the most important part of the gun and the gatekeeper to the energy described above. It’s the launch button in a manner of speaking. We are taught to be what we’ll call “trigger centric” shooters.
Trigger centric shooters are those that concentrate so deeply on the “lever” just before the shot that they abandon the most critical responsibility: aiming the gun. This is the cold, mechanical structure of the error of anticipation (and very often why shooters are puzzled as to why they aren’t hitting where they are “aiming”).
The truth is they aren’t aiming… they stop doing that when they begin to press the trigger. If they were aiming, they would see the red dot drift down toward their error group. They’d have to. The bullet doesn’t (conspiracy theories aside) have a mind of its own.
So, using this model of thinking, the trigger has a new function: It makes us stop aiming the gun. It makes us concentrate on the moment the gun “goes off” and the more we think about that trigger, the worse it gets.
A good example of this is the starting line of a race. Most of us have experienced the deep anticipation of leaning into the line and waiting for that “go” signal. Anything that sounds remotely like that signal makes us jump or false start because we know it’s coming.
How do we beat this very natural tendency? The good news is that time (and context) helps. The more we shoot, the more our limbic systems begin to normalize the event and the less we respond to it. But there is more we can do. First, we need to put the trigger in its place. During the shot, our chief function is to aim the gun. We are never relieved of this responsibility, particularly if we expect any sort of accuracy.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult for us as humans to concentrate on more than one thing at a time (it gets far worse under stress). We “task switch” rather than multi-task where focus is concerned. This means we have to choose one of these two tasks: aim the gun or operate the trigger.
Therefore, we should abandon concentration on the trigger during the shot.
Sounds extreme, doesn’t it? It isn’t. Once the decision to shoot has been made we have to “automate” the process of pressing the trigger so that we can devote our sole concentration to directing the gun… ensuring a safe and effective shot.
If we concentrate on the trigger, we can’t do that. We will at best, drift off our aiming solution and at worst respond to the “launch button” and its ensuing release of energy by flinching against its expected approach.
Let’s stop thinking about trigger in that sense. Once the decision to shoot has been made, get the trigger moving and forget about it.
And if someone asks you about your trigger, shrug and change the subject to your new sight and how well it helps you hit where you aim.
Until next time, train smart (and forget about your trigger).
Author Bio
Duane “Buck” Buckner
After spending 25 years in the USCG, Duane “Buck” Buckner is now the U.S. Director of Training for Aimpoint. The Aimpoint Training Division conducts training courses for military and law enforcement agencies up to the Federal level as well as for the prepared civilian. Buck is widely known for his emphasis on brain psychology as it relates to combat and survival.
EXPLORE BUCK'S GEAR