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Fundamentals of Handgun Marksmanship

While each topic covered is worth of an article on its own, consider this a crash course for the fundamentals of marksmanship with a pistol or revolver. Handguns constitute the most prevalent category of firearms, so understanding how to use them is essential.

Fundamentals of Handgun Marksmanship

From stance, to sights, to follow through, what essential skills do you need to know to stay on target with your handgun? (Author Photo)

Marksmanship is a term that seems to have a fluid definition. To the average person, simply hitting a target is proof that they have at least some semblance of marksmanship skills. Serious shooters, however, have a very high standard of what they consider true marksmanship skills. And while every firearm platform offers its own set of challenges, none is as challenging as the handgun. It is small with a short sight radius and generally has a trigger that requires more pressure than the gun weighs. Almost always found with “open sites,” it requires the shooter to master its many moving parts. The handgun is also the most commonly found weapon in America and, being such, is the center of countless discussions on how to improve accuracy. While a deeper dive down the rabbit hole can generate countless subtopics, there are six fundamentals of marksmanship.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Stance
A good defensive shooting stance is the same as any fighting stance, balanced and stable. (Author Photo)

First up we need to look at stance. Now before I start a war here, I will further clarify that I am discussing defensive marksmanship as opposed to competition. The stance I subscribe to is the fighting stance. It is the same stance you would use if you were getting ready to go to “hands on” with a threat. Your weight is evenly spread with your support side foot slightly forward. This stance allows you to be easily mobile should the need arise. It also allows you to manage recoil from your weapon more easily.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Grip
Getting high into the grip and as much support hand on the gun as possible will improve control. (Author Photo)

The next point is grip. The correct grip is essential to not only the initial shot but to get a good follow-up shot as well. Your strong side hand should grip the gun firmly but not with crushing power. Because of how the muscles and tendons of the hand interact, over-gripping will affect the mobility of your trigger finger. The hand should be set high on the grip with the web of the hand sitting high into the beavertail of the gun. The support-side hand should now wrap around the strong-side hand and lock it into place. This portion of the grip is very firm and will have the support-side thumb pointing down the slide. The strong-side thumb should sit on top of the meat of the support-side hand. Additionally, there should be no gap between the hands at the back of the gun. This will allow you to better manage the recoil and muzzle rise of the gun.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Sight Alignment
Your sights indicate the direction the muzzle is pointed. Be sure to keep them aligned and on target. (Author Photo)

Now that we are standing and have a good grip, we need to aim in on the target. In this section, we are going to address two aiming options: traditional iron sights and red dots. Iron sights on firearms have been an effective aiming solution for hundreds of years and continue to evolve and improve today. To be successful with these sights you need correct alignment. This is achieved by aligning the front sight in the rear notch of the rear sight. The top of the front sight should be level with the top of the rear, and there should be equal amounts of light on each side — hence the old sing-song admonition, “Equal height, equal light.” If you are using a red-dot optic, life is simpler. Looking through the optic, place the reticle on the target you want to hit. With a properly zeroed sight, it really is that simple.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Front Sight
Shooting with irons is an ocular balancing act between three focal planes: Rear sight, front sight, and the target. Traditionally, a strong front sight focus produces the greatest accuracy. (Author Photo)

The next part of our aiming equation is the sight picture, or what we are seeing. With fixed iron sights, you want to have a partially blurry rear sight, crystal clear front sight, and a partially blurry target. This gives us the greatest control over the closest thing we have as a midpoint between us and the target – the front sight. With a red dot, things are different, however. With a pistol optic, we want to focus on our actual target and not the dot. As we look through the optic, we will superimpose the dot on our target and break our shots. This is counterintuitive to those who have spent a great deal of time on iron sights. It is, however, very fast and accurate.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Trigger Press
A smooth rearward press reduces accuracy-robbing hand movement compared to a fast slap or slow pull. (Author Photo)

Trigger control is our next item in the lineup, and it is critical. The trigger should be set in the middle of the first pad of the index finger. Too much finger on the trigger will cause the gun to move and our shots to be off. Now, we want to press the trigger to the rear in a smooth and continuous motion. We do not want to jerk the trigger or pull it hard. I equate it to the way you press the shutter on a camera. The smooth and steady motion will give you the best results. 

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Reset
The term "reset" refers to the point in the triggers return travel when the gun's firing mechanism is once again ready for another shot. (Author Photo)

Following the press, we get the reset. This occurs when the shooter releases pressure on the trigger and the trigger mechanically returns toward its starting position. At a certain point during this arc of travel, the gun’s firing mechanism is reset and ready for the next shot. While a common instructional method has shooters practicing releasing the trigger until they feel the reset, it’s important to know that this is simply a teaching aid and not a recommended technique for defensive handgun use. Better to work toward a quick and natural release of pressure so that the trigger resets during recoil while all the slide movement is also occurring. The evolution is learning to release and re-prep the trigger during recoil so that, when the gun settles, you are already ready to break the next shot.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Follow Through
Recoil is inevitable. Learn to operate during recoil so that when the gun begins to settle it is back on target and the trigger is reset. (Author Photo)

That leads up to the last part of our marksmanship formula, which is follow-through. Follow-through is the act of maintaining a steady platform to send follow-up shots on target. The challenge faced comes in the way of anticipation or flinching. Especially true with newer shooters, the anticipation of the next shot can cause a flinch response as the shooter preemptively tries to combat recoil. This causes the muzzle dip before the bullet clears the barrel and is never any help to accuracy. If I could summarize the mental state you want to have while shooting, it would be to embrace the blast. Do not fear the gun going off but welcome it and accept it as part of the process. In time you will become desensitized to the shot and your accuracy will improve.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Flinch
Consistently low shots often indicates that the shooter is anticipating recoil and flinching while shooting, an action that typically forces the muzzle downward. (Author Photo)

A second part of follow-through is getting your sights or optic back on the target in the event you need to shoot again. For every shot we take, we have two sight pictures. The initial picture, which was followed by a shot and a second follow-up sight picture in case we need to shoot again. Avoid firing your gun and immediately dropping it down to evaluate your work.

handgun-marksmanship-fundamentals-Practice
Once you understand the fundamentals, its important to practice them and seek out training to hone your handgunning skills. (Author Photo)

Shooting a handgun can be challenging. One minute you may be shooting bull’s eyes and the next you are off. As with all shooting, it always comes back to the fundamentals. By practicing these core principles of marksmanship, you can improve every aspect of your shooting. In the end, like all complex motor skills, shooting is a perishable skill. Practice must be ongoing, but the fruits of our labor will make it worth our time!




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