Dan Pauley Marksmanship101

The following article was written and provided by Dan Pauley. Written in the winter of 2010 to his son and helps to explain the close interaction between sight alignment and trigger control.

Marksmanship 101

1. Align front and rear sights (sight alignment)

2. Place aligned sights in your aiming area (sight picture)

3. Apply rearward pressure to the trigger so as not to muc up # 1 & 2 above.

4. Go count the X's

The problem is most people do them as written. They align sights, then they place the aligned sights in their aiming area, then they start squeezing trigger, then they wonder why there are so many 7's and 8's and not so many X's

The most important is sight alignment, Think like a machinist, your goal is Perfectly level and equal light on either side of the front sight. Sight picture is the least important. Keeping the sights perfect but allowing them to drift off the ideal sight picture will likely still be a 10. If your concentration on sight alignment wanders, and you look to improve where the blurry target ball is located, you will likely get more 8's and 9's. (and less)

Lastly is trigger control, I would say this is at least as important as sight alignment. Trigger control is not a precision thing. Steadily increasing pressure which causes the sear to release the hammer. I can now shoot those $2500 Hammerli or Pardini pistols with the extra $$ in custom trigger work. But I can also pick up a stock Ruger Mk III and get pretty close to the same score. It is a difference in thought process. Realizing that muscles in your hand that apply trigger pressure will likely change my precision sight alignment. So no matter how perfect you "had" it, the act of squeezing the trigger will likely cause it to move. Okay taking that in account, how to overcome...

Your goal; use trigger pressure to "steer" the front sight into perfect alignment within the rear notch. You have to practice that squeeze on a blank wall and then teach your brain to capture the motion. Change your grip angle or position of your hand until the sight is as perfect as possible in the rear notch as the hammer falls. Now learn that grip. Learn it like you know the feel of putting on your boots. They have a certain feel. Someone else having exact same size and style of boot would not feel the same. Be able to get that grip and know when you have it or don't. Know exactly where on your finger the trigger rubs. Feel the pistol and know where the edge of the grip, the trigger guard, the magazine release, the grip screw. Everything exactly located where you want. Be able to prove your grip by dry fire. Know what it looks and feels like when the sights are perfect as the hammer falls.

Once you have that, all you can do is physical conditioning to improve your aiming area. Keep in mind this aiming area is not a finite point. The 10-ring is a pretty damn big circle. You get the points for any shot that touches that circle. If you try to snatch the shot as it is perfect in the aiming area, most likely you will disturb the far more important sight alignment.

This shot process is a lot like the perfect turn for a motorcyclist. You know it and feel it on a cellular level. Slow in the straight, little bit to the outside, start the counter-steer press as you come off the brakes and apply power. Keeping the forks compressed through the turn. Eyes on the exit horizon, Late Apex, steady throttle up, smooth transfer of weight to the rear, ease pressure on the inside bar, exit on the inside of the turn. Wipe the drool from your shield.

Sight alignment and trigger control is very similar. You know on a cellular level the hammer fell right at perfect sight alignment while the blurry ball was in your aiming area. Wipe the drool before scoring

the targets.

Now go out and ride while you poor decrepit fadder has to shovel SNOW (again)

Dan /|\