Trigger manipulation techniques?

Everyone's different if your way works best for you may not necessarily work best for the next person and vise versa.

I have done that with some powder burners that I own Only because they had heavy triggers on them. If I tried to do it on those particular Rifles the normal way,I had a hard time keeping it on the bull’s-eye while I’m waiting for the trigger to break As I’m pressing on it. It just seemed to work better on those rifles but yes I did get a flyer now and then.

I Personally prefer extremely light single stage triggers. Target acquired then point of aim set steady check bubble level bubble centered then place finger on the trigger barely touching then quick recheck that bubble level with left eye looking through scope with right eye and while exhaling via normal breathing take the shot.

I've tried it with a slow squeeze, a fast squeeze, a hard jerk, a soft jerk, left eye closed, right eye closed, both eyes closed, with ear plugs, without ear plugs, with shoes on, without shoes on, butt naked, with a 3 piece suit on and the squirrels still laugh at me. But that's all right, yesterday I snuck up on two of them with my bayonet attached to my Cricket and they put their hands up and surrendered. I marched them back to the house, but the wife made me let the cute little munchkins go. Can't win for losing.

Shalom

John

I too am struggling with trigger technique and working to get it right. I may decide to by a phone scope so I can more clearly see if I am doing something at the moment the shot breaks or if it is a flyer or something else. I seem to be holding good after break when I am dry firing which makes the whole process more difficult. 

I almost need two stage triggers,the pro told me you should Not know when the second stag goes off.....because you keep a study pull and after that you keep a steady follow through...I can do that when the triggers are good.

I have had enough bad triggers to know how harmful they can be,I do my best to fix them but also pride myself on how to use a bad trigger good,lol....anyhow it talks time to learn..trigger pull is one part....

Yes indeed when you have "point" shoot...sometime you can over think...that is the whole point of practicing =for your shooting sequence to become natural ,like " just do it". A feel,an instinct...

Good topic you brought up....

Oh you ever pull the trigger to find your gun is on safety and how much you "fetch"?

likkitysplyt, sounds like you are doing everything right. With that much consistency you can’t go wrong! My favorite trigger is on a Steyr lg 110, it’s two stage ball bering trigger that’s very light. AZ talked me into a super light one stage trigger for a custom rifle he’s doing for me. When you think about it, it does remove a step in the process of taking the shot, no squeeze up stage one, stop at the wall and then follow through. I’m not certain I’ll like it, but the way he described it made sense. I always enjoyed the whole trigger process, like when you don’t take the shot and let off so the first stage resets. The rifle is going to be strictly a bench gun because of the trigger. Can you imagine how dangerous a 5 oz. one stage trigger would be anywhere other than a bench lol! My friends are never ready for how light my triggers are even though I tell them before they shoot. Most of their deer rifles have 2 or 3 pound triggers.

boscoebrea, I too like to master a bad trigger lol! It makes it fun. I have a pistol with a very “squishy” trigger, you keep a steady squeeze and it finally breaks, it’s one of my favorite pistols though! Flinch is so weird!! The trigger on my Steyr got dirty or something because it would go off upon closing the action, and even though it’s an airgun with no noise or recoil the uncertainty has made me develop a flinch and I’ve set it aside until I remedy it.

My FWB 80 air pistol quickly pointed out my bad trigger pull technique. Every time I jerk or snatch the trigger I shoot high and to the right.

The trigger on my Redwolf is super light, and even though I am fully aware of it, I sometimes accidently touch it and the gun goes off. Super nice for benchrest, but downright dangerous everywhere else.

I like to take up the first stage, then center the crosshairs exactly on the bull and pull through the wall slowly, the gun almost catches me unaware when it goes off, normally a good shot. My Uragan has slight creep, I just increase pressure until the shot goes off, this is my most accurate rifle.

What I can't stand is when you do everything right, line up the crosshairs, bubble level perfect, squeeze trigger and when the shot goes off you are following through and the pellet hits home, and it is a 7 or 6! Then it is clearly not the shooter, could be a bad pellet, sudden gust of wind, whatever. That one bad shot ruins your score, so when I come across a rifle that performs flawlessly I fall in love with it.

Many of the trigger issues mentioned above are avoided by using a single stage trigger. I was active in BR for a long time, and no one would have even considered a two stage trigger, only light-pull single stage. Two stage triggers are the norm in European produced rifles, especially air rifles, and properly adjusted, are very useful in field and certain target applications. But in BR, once your hold is as you want, then a simple application of a few ounces on the trigger is much easier, and removes a potential variable to accuracy. 

I should add, this type of light-pull single stage trigger is not available, or easily created in most of the simple trigger designs found on many air rifles. Some folks try to create such a trigger by adjusting or altering the trigger in a manner never intended, which can result in a dangerous trigger. With an electronic trigger, or, a truly fully adjustable match trigger, it is usually an easy option. If you are dealing with a release weight of more than a few ounces, a two-stage trigger should not be a liability, and may be the better option. 

I read everyone's post so I suggest this: Do your normal take up on the trigger....but....when rifle fires do not release the trigger...keep holding it for a few seconds after the shot.

Let me know what you think....I'll subscribe to this post. ( 850 HPA .177 10.2 gr JSB @ 960 FPS )

Great shooting there Horse. What was your distance? I think they call that technique "Follow-through". I've used it before and it does work well to keep your finger on the trigger through the shot. I'm a PB pistol instructor and many students tend to remove their finger completely from the trigger shoe immediately after breaking the shot which leads to slapping the trigger and inconsistency of trigger finger placement and shot placement.

Click to expand...

25 meters...tough part is reading wind...at this location wind hits target berm and goes every direction in front of targets.....we also shoot 50 meters using this target but 3 shot groups each bull...again,wind is very tough.

Great topic! I found the squeeze tiresome and impossible to predict or time so I took Whiskey 68 guy's advise and use a "firm press and hold" like clicking the mouse button. Not a quick jerk or slow squeeze with unknow break which is horrible for hunting or free hand shooting when timing is crucial. So far I think it has help me a lot, it also helps me with knowing when the trigger will break and not blink in surprise which makes pull the shot also. I still need to keep myself to press and hold the trigger long after the pellet hits the target.