Todd Louis Green has just started a new pistol endurance test, and report #2 had a few things that I’d like to point out.

This is probably more relevant to beginner and intermediate students.

First, a common thing we see in many Basic Pistol 1 & 2, Defensive Pistol 1, Handgunning: Beyond the Basics, classes is… trigger slap/yank. In fact, we actually see it in all our classes, but those classes tend to manifest it a lot more because it tends to be the first time folks become aware of the concept and start to understand why all their shots are going low-left.

From Todd:

As expected, the biggest challenge with the crisp trigger break has been anticipation. During the Rangemaster class we shot a number of qualification standards and while I was able to score 100% on all of them, at the 25yd line I definitely launched a few that danced precariously close to being outside the 8″ scoring zone. That’s just sloppy trigger work on my part and a habit I’m going to have to break. Most of Monday’s practice session was spent working on 2″ dots at speed to help exterminate the jerks and snatches infesting my trigger finger.

A 1911’s trigger is rather different from a Glock, and Todd is feeling the effects and having to adjust. The take home? Even someone who shoots as well and as much as TLG still can have troubles with trigger control. None of us are above it, so don’t get yourself too stressed out about it. Know that it’s there, know that you’re doing it, and just work to improve.

Second, equipment matters. Do not be afraid to modify the gun (within reason) to help you shoot it better. Or, don’t be afraid to get a whole other gun. Now in TLG’s case, he’s shooting a particular gun for a particular reason, so he can’t get a whole other gun, thus he has to modify it. The key is everyone is built different and so if one gun isn’t working for you, you need to make adjustments to the equipment to make it work.

The gun is wearing fairly thick stocks (Crimson Trace Lasergrips) which, combined with my stubby thumbs and more than a decade of using my trigger finger to drop a magazine rather than my thumb, made reloads glacially slow. I’ve now installed an Ed Brown extended magazine catch. The catch needed major fitting as it would neither allow a magazine to be inserted (no pressure on the mag catch button) nor allow a mag to drop free (when the button was pushed in all the way). My totally inexpert Dremel and sandpaper work was adequate to the task but I’ve got both a 10-8 mag catch and a custom Heirloom Precision (thanks, Jason!) extended catch on their way.

You can also read about some other equipment issues, such as magazine failures.

I mention these things for the sake of beginner and intermediate shooters (because I expect advanced shooters should know this already). No one is above having problems. No one is above working on their technique. Don’t beat yourself up because your technique is poor, or your equipment isn’t up to snuff. Just acknowledge the issue and work to remedy it. This will enable improvement and progress.