“There ain’t nothing to this. Just haul back on that trigger and it goes bang.” Well, that’s the way it works — kinda, sorta. Sounds like something Uncle Si might say on Duck Commanders. Actually there is a little more to it than that, especially if you want to hit your intended target.

The way you pull the trigger plays a very big role in putting the bullet on target. As an instructor, I watch a typical student starting to shoot I’m like a judge at the dog show watching my yellow Labrador Zeva in the ring. I watch to see the shooter’s good features and what I need to change or correct. Almost always, execution of the trigger pull leaves a lot of room for improvement. The shooter knows this thing in his hand is about to explode in a blast of fire and recoil and typically will tend to push or dip the gun when the trigger is pulled (or more likely yanked). Now if I’m 3 feet away from the target and I move the barrel 1 inch I probably won’t even hit a 12-inch circle. It’s easy to see what will happen out at 10 or 15 yards — it’s just simple geometry.