Accurate Handgun Shooting

Paul Harrell’s Great Videos for New Shooters

Given the number of new gun owners out there it’s probably a good idea to review how to accurately shoot a handgun. As always two of the greatest sources of information are internet websites and YouTube – assuming that you read articles and watch videos made by someone that actually knows what they’re doing.
 
For our money one of the best online video sources for firearm and shooting technique information is Paul Harrell – who we like to think of as the “Bob Ross of firearms”- informative, descriptive, humorous and calming. Paul's YouTube channel has lots of great videos that are always filled with actual methodical shooting demonstrations.

With regards to accurate handgun shooting, back in January/February 2017 Paul posted three videos on what he believes are the key points and the proper techniques.
 

• Part One:    Accurate Hand Gun Shooting: Grip and Stance (~6 minutes)
• Part Two:    Accurate Handgun Shooting: Sight Alignment/Sight Picture (~7 minutes)
• Part Three: Accurate Handgun Shooting: Trigger Control (~6:30 minutes)

 
Part One focuses on handgun “Grip and Stance” and makes the following key points:
 

• You need to develop a degree of competency in hitting the target before you start adding multiple target engagements, shooting on the run, combat reloads, etc., 
• Start with a user friendly handgun and a really stable normal stance
• Either an Isosceles Stance or Weaver Stance are great for learning to shoot
• Bring the gun up to your line of sight. Don’t bring your head down to the gun.

Part Two focuses on handgun “Sight Alignment/Sight Picture” and makes the following key points:
 

• Purchase a gun with adjustable sights – assuming that your budget allows it
• Get a good sight picture – preferably “Point of Aim = Point of Impact”
• Shoot some rounds to get an initial group that you can adjust off of
• Move the rear sight in the direction of where you want the rounds to move
• Move the front sight in the opposite direction of where you want the rounds to move
• Test different types of ammo since your ammo can make a significant difference in your accuracy and groupings

Part Three focuses on handgun “Trigger Control” and makes the following key points:
 

• Trigger control is the most difficult aspect of handgun shooting
• Start with a good grip
• Choke up on the grip as much as you can with all your fingers and thumb
• Place the middle of your forefinger's "pad" on the trigger – not in the joint of the finger or just on the finger tip
• Make a steady squeeze straight back
• You should be surprised when it goes off - don't anticipate the firing
• Mastering trigger control takes a lot of work, a lot of concentration and a lot of rounds

If you’re a new shooter, or an experienced shooter looking to improve, you should really spend 20 minutes and watch these three videos from Paul.
 
For a more detailed look at stances here’s a good article from Pew Pew Tactical:
           “Shooting Stances & Grip: Isosceles vs Weaver vs Chapman”

If you want additional details on how to improve your accuracy with a handgun - then you should also checkout our previous blog post on "The Secret to Mastering the Handgun" which features a 19 minute video by Alex Hommes, the Operations Manager for the Silverado Shooting Academy.