ReluctantDecoy
NES Member
I took a co-worker to shoot over the weekend. It was his first time, so I gave him the full run down before we even got to the range. Showed him all the parts of a gun and how they function. Showed him grip/stance/sight. Work with snap caps so he could get used to function.
So we get to the range and he's feeling confident. I was only giving him 1 round in a mag at a time just to get his feet wet with recoil. First shot doesn't hit paper. I kind of expected that. Second shot, near bullseye. After the first 5 shots, 4 are actually in a pretty decent group near the bullseye. I'm kind of shocked, frankly, and I move him into a full mag. He has a few flyers, but overall surprised how well he's doing. He loads the third mag, but then I notice it. He's shooting with his middle finger.
I originally thought he was being very good with the trigger discipline I showed him, but on that third mag I noticed his index didn't move off the frame when he squeezed the trigger. I called a stop and explained that you use your index on the trigger. He asked "why", and honestly, I didn't know. Figure it just keeps your hand off the moving parts and makes it easier to keep the sights steady through pull. So that's what I told him. He corrected the grip for the remainder of the third mag, but couldn't hit paper any more. Just for a test, I had him shoot another mag, half with correct form and half with his middle finger. Again, barely hit paper with index and was pretty damn good for a novice with his middle.
So what do you do? I'm inclined to tell him to learn properly with his index, even if that means not shooting to your best potential at first. But I'm no trainer. What's the proper logic behind using the index so I can explain it to him? He says his middle finger feels like the natural choice.
So we get to the range and he's feeling confident. I was only giving him 1 round in a mag at a time just to get his feet wet with recoil. First shot doesn't hit paper. I kind of expected that. Second shot, near bullseye. After the first 5 shots, 4 are actually in a pretty decent group near the bullseye. I'm kind of shocked, frankly, and I move him into a full mag. He has a few flyers, but overall surprised how well he's doing. He loads the third mag, but then I notice it. He's shooting with his middle finger.
I originally thought he was being very good with the trigger discipline I showed him, but on that third mag I noticed his index didn't move off the frame when he squeezed the trigger. I called a stop and explained that you use your index on the trigger. He asked "why", and honestly, I didn't know. Figure it just keeps your hand off the moving parts and makes it easier to keep the sights steady through pull. So that's what I told him. He corrected the grip for the remainder of the third mag, but couldn't hit paper any more. Just for a test, I had him shoot another mag, half with correct form and half with his middle finger. Again, barely hit paper with index and was pretty damn good for a novice with his middle.
So what do you do? I'm inclined to tell him to learn properly with his index, even if that means not shooting to your best potential at first. But I'm no trainer. What's the proper logic behind using the index so I can explain it to him? He says his middle finger feels like the natural choice.