SHOOT Quick Tip – Trigger Control & Peanut Butter

Many shooters take trigger control for granted. Close and easy targets can inflate a shooter’s ego. Make the target smaller or stretch out the distance, a lack of trigger control becomes obvious. The challenge is in the consistent engagement of the trigger as the shot breaks. With good trigger control, that explosion going off in front of your face ultimately has no effect on how you pull, press or squeeze the trigger.

Trigger control isn’t necessarily slow. For proficient shooters, the type, size and distance of the targets dictate how they engage the trigger. Whether it’s a target with a large scoring zone just 3 yards away or a 4-inch X-ring at 50 yards, respecting target difficulty and accounting for it determines how you engage and control your trigger finger.

When I first learned to shoot my dad taught me the importance of trigger control. He would say things like “nice and easy” or “smooth.” The smoothest thing I could think of was peanut butter and it worked! When I train shooters that struggle with making center hits on a target I tell them it’s really as simple as… peanut butter. It’s a silly comparison, but by imagining the trigger finger dragging through thick peanut butter, the shooter often becomes so focused on this smooth action that they accept the minor movement in their sight picture and the shot breaks without any anticipation or flinch.

The saying you don’t know what you don’t know applies to trigger control. Slapping, mashing, jerking or whatever you want to call it can be cured with focus. Once you know how good trigger control feels, it’s much easier to repeat it.

Here’s one of my Shoot Sweet Range365.com videos that talks about trigger control and how you can train your trigger finger.