Triggering the Timid to Shoot Faster
How do you get someone to shoot faster?
Some women (and men) shoot timidly. Their movements can seem unsure or hesitant. It’s as if they are processing how to make a good shot step by step instead of trusting their own ability to follow a shot procedure. Maybe it’s because they are overthinking it. Maybe they just want to make everything perfect.
Slow perfection is the name of the game for punching holes in tiny bullseye targets for precision shooting. Learning to shoot a handgun for self-defense or speed-oriented sports requires a different kind of control. It’s about strong movements and attaining the right level of acceptance to make a good hit. An aggressive stance and effective trigger control do nothing if a shooter can’t get the sights on target quickly.
This week on NRA Women’s Love at First Shot Jasmine is back on the range with me. Her focus this season is to become comfortable and confident with a handgun so that she can become a concealed carry holder. Jasmine, like so many women, has a fine attention to detail. She’s a bit of a perfectionist and I can see it when she shoots.
What does it take to get a shooter to accept what they see and stop trying to make it all perfect? For Jasmine, it was as simple as setting the gun down and having her make as if to draw her pistol and press out with just her hands (no gun). Demonstrating and telling her how to go faster by giving her cue words like punch and hit helped her pick up the pace as she went through the motions. Taking the handgun out of the equation allowed her to focus on just the movement and use her hands to drive through the motion.
Jasmine is a very fast learner. When we transitioned back to live fire she was able to apply a good stance with an aggressive push to the target. Lining up and accepting her sight picture combined with trigger control had her hitting her desired target every single time. Those kinds of results only reinforces that smooth can also be fast too.
Watch this week’s full episode at NRA.TV.
