Marksmanship Fundamentals: Finger Placement on Trigger
You can spend thousands on a fancy new rifle, but all that expensive hardware won’t perform at its best if you have poor trigger technique. One key element of precision shooting is trigger control. Our friend Kirsten Joy Weiss has produced a good video that shows how to refine your trigger technique for better accuracy. In this video, Kirsten talks about the actual placement of a shooter’s index finger on the trigger. It is important to have the finger positioned optimally. Otherwise you can pull the shot slightly left or slightly right.
Kirsten tells us: “Finger placement on the trigger might not seem like a big deal, but it actually is. The reason for this is because, depending on where your index finger is placed on the trigger, [this] translates to different muscle interactions with the gun.” Watch this video to see Kirsten demonstrate proper finger placement (and explain problems caused by improper finger positioning).
When you pull the trigger, you only want to engage the last section of your finger, in order to avoid unwanted muscle engagement and to achieve a smooth shot. Remember there is a “sweet spot” between the crease (first joint) and the tip of the finger. If you position the trigger in that “sweet spot”, you should see an increase in your accuracy. Don’t make the mistake of putting the trigger in the crease of your finger, as shown below.
Effects of Incorrect Finger Placements
You want to place the trigger shoe between the end of your finger and the first joint. If you place the trigger on the very tip of you finger you’ll tend to push the rear of the rifle to the left when engaging the trigger, causing shots to go right (for a right-handed shooter). On the other hand, if you put the trigger in the crease (first joint), you’ll tend to bring the rear of the rifle to the right, causing shots to fall left. This is illustrated below for a right-handed shooter.
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Tags: Anschutz, Dry-Fire, Kirsten Joy Weiss, Marksmanship, Smallbore, trigger
Great tip;one of the most ignored in precision shooting.Thanks!
Critical. Good article.
Kisten
I know that you are an excellent shot but finger placement depends on trigger pull and I suspect that your rifle has a light trigger.
Steve, how you figure that?
I shoot a 4.8 lb Service Rifle trigger in the same place as a 100g Annie target trigger in the same place as a 2 lb Walker Remington. Last I checked, it was working fine.
Making statements as broad as you do above…well, you’re almost bound to be wrong.
-Nate
While watching a recent Gunwerks episode , televised this week , Kristen stated that she shot with a extremely “light” trigger pull on her competition rifle . So Steve wasn’t far off in his comment . What works for one person , doesn’t always work for everyone . And I personally agree with Kristen’s own statement in the same show , that trigger pull weight can affect finger placement on the trigger . And she suggested always working on proper placement , each and every time .
Gene D, I don’t disagree that Kirsten’s trigger is probably very light. I have the same trigger.
I don’t disagree with you or Kirsten that weight can affect placement.
What I disagree with (and stated above) is a statement as definitive as Steve’s, on a site that is as widely read as this one. His statement is not always truth, but he wrote it as such.