ERRANT NINE O'ClOCK HITS?

[mr alexander]

The following seems to be happening to me more often than not lately. After shooting the first 5 shot string in either Timed or Rapid Fire,

I will peek through my spotting scope in order to observe and check my progress. All of the hits are in the X and Ten Rings. After the second

string is fired, two hits just barely made it into the 9 Ring. Both of them are at the far, nine o'clock location. The other three are in the center

of the bullseye. According to the guide above, "Too much or too little trigger finger" is the cause of those two errant hits. How can this be? I do

believe that this is not a case of inconsistent trigger finger placement. When positioned on the trigger prior to the start of the string, my finger

seems to be staying in the same spot. If this is true, then what is causing those stray impacts? Did the size of my wobble area suddenly increase

during the string? What else might be causing this to happen? Do note that I am right handed. Thank you!

[JamesH]

Pretty well everyone does this in timed fire in all matches.
I believe it comes down to how you use your trigger finger
Pulling the trigger directly backwards is a complex movement for multiple joints - which are operated my multiple overlapping muscles and tendons - it takes willpower to do this.
Slapping the trigger to the left is not nearly as difficult, anyone can do this with ease.

What you can do.

Get your grip right - most grips are wrong - the thumb should point at the target, not off to the left.

Set your finger on the trigger correctly.

Focus on pulling the trigger directly backwards - imagine you're pulling the foresight straight back to your eye.

Hire someone to stand behind you and give you a mild tazing each time you pull a 9 o'clock 9

[Gwhite]

Yes, the trigger finger action can pull the shots at 9:00. In 50+ years of shooting & coaching experience, 90% of the time, 9:00 shots are caused by tightening up the finger tips (assuming you are right handed) against the side of the grip. It's instinctive to tighten up you fingers at the same time you tighten your trigger finger, so you have to train that out of your grip. With air pistol & .22, you do NOT need nearly as tight a grip as you think. You can shoot both perfectly well with your finger tips completely OFF the side of the grip.

I had this issue when I was on the pistol team in college in the early 70's. My coach kept yelling at me to loosen my finger tip pressure. One day he gave up and taped a row of thumb tacks (pointy bits out) to the left side of my grip where my finger tips normally sat. Problem solved... I no longer shoot with thumbtacks on my pistols, but if I get a shot at 9:00, it's almost invariably because my old habits have started creeping back.

The chart you show is not a very good one. Here's the one I use with my students:

[mr alexander]

Gwhite,

I won't be shooting with thumb tacks taped on my pistols. But, pretending that they are present, just might do the trick! I appreciate your tip.

For a right-handed shooter, could pivoting the wrist slightly to the left, just prior to discharge, also be a possible cause of those hits? The chart

you posted shows that impacts between 10 and 11 o'clock are caused by "riding the recoil". Please expand on exactly what is meant by this and

how to prevent it. Thank you.