Trigger Squeeze.

looking straight out through your shooting eye. Keep your shooting arm fully extended. In the one-handed position, the shoulder of your shooting hand should be slightly raised. Turn your head in order to see the target through the sights. The ease with which your head can be turned is another determining factor in how far you must turn to the right or left. There should be no strain on the neck muscles with your head held upright. The whole position, with the exception of your shooting arm, is one that can be maintained with the least muscular effort. Your body is balanced, rather than held in position. The muscles of your shooting arm and shoulder should be tightened somewhat to sustain the weight of the pistol and to maintain a correct grip. Excessive tightening of the muscles of your shooting arm and hand should be avoided. The tension in the muscles of your shooting arm and hand should be maintained after the hammer falls. This will assist in getting off your second shot quicker. Because of the differences in the body structure of individuals, the standing position will vary slightly. However, regardless of your size, your position should be relaxed and comfortable. The pistol should point at the center of the target or you will be tense while firing. If you are tense, there will be excessive muzzle movement. Trigger Squeeze Poor shooting is most often caused by disturbing your aim as the bullet is leaving the barrel. This is usually the result of jerking the trigger or flinching. The trigger does not have to be jerked violently to spoil your aim; even a slight off-center pressure of your finger while squeezing the trigger is enough to move the strike of the bullet several inches. � Flinching is a subconscious reflex caused by anticipating the recoil from firing. � Jerking results from attempting to fire the pistol at the precise time that you align the sights with the target. � Heeling causes the bullet to strike the target high and to the right. You can correct all these shooting errors by understanding and using the correct trigger squeeze. Both flinching and jerking will cause the bullet to strike the lower left section of the target. An attempt to correct flinching and jerking by tightening the large muscle in the heel of the hand may cause heeling. An improper trigger squeeze will cause more misses on the target than any other single step of preparatory marksmanship training. You obtain a correct trigger squeeze by applying a uniformly increasing pressure on the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing the sight alignment until the pistol fires. The trigger slack, or free play, is taken up first, and the correct squeeze continues steadily until the hammer falls. If the trigger is squeezed properly, you will not know when the hammer will fall. This is the best way to prevent jerking, flinching, and heeling. To help you squeeze the pistol trigger properly, use the acronym BRASS as you did with the rifle. You must also learn to call your shots. If you cannot call your shots 11-23 Student Notes: Figure 11-35.—Two-hand grip.