I teach about three or four one-hour pistol lessons every week. The most common problem that most shooters have is consistency. A lot of their shots are great, but there is always a flyer or two that misses the mark. Why is this?
The answer is: stability.
Most shooters think they have some super-human ability to stick their arms out in front of themselves and stay perfectly still as they pull the trigger. That’s a tough task. If you thumb through most shooting magazines or visit a few of the sites of top-notch competitive shooters, you’ll notice that nearly all of them have the same upper-body stance when they are shooting in active competitions. They don’t stand up straight.
They bend forward slightly at the waist, which lowers their center of gravity.
They roll their shoulders forward slightly, which reduces the distance between their shoulders and eyes, bringing their head in line with their sights.
They have their weight on the balls of their feet, not their heels, which moves their center of gravity forward.
The resulting stance creates a turret from which they shoot. This turret is amazingly stable. The pistol is held in place by both their firm grip and the squeezing of their forearms.
The amazing Jessie Duff, Taurus USA team captain and winner of eight US Steel Ladies Open National Titles has the same stance that I’m demonstrating.
One more thing to add to your stance… Push-ups!
Get some muscle tone in those upper arms so you can add more stability to your stance. You won’t believe the difference it makes in your shooting.
A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.
Thomas Jefferson
(Letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785)
See you at the range!
JoeGLOCK