Jumping Targets: A Guide to Improving Handgun Accuracy

To help improve target shooting, gun owners can regularly practice using dry fire techniques.

• Remove All Ammunition – Before dry firing, remove all magazines or ammunition from the gun. Afterward, rack the slide of a semi-automatic to remove any cartridges from the chamber and verify that the gun is empty.
• Move the Ammunition from Practice Areas – Remove all live ammunition from practice areas. It is common for gun owners to get distracted and load a gun using live ammunition when practicing dry fire.
• Choose a Safe Target and Backstop – Treat all guns, even if unloaded, as if they are loaded. Always aim at safe targets and backstops during any dry fire practice.
• Focus on the Front Sight – Focus using the front sight, ensures that vision is clear. The target may be slightly blurry, but all focus should remain solely on the front sight. Shooters’ sights may slightly move around, as it is nearly impossible to hold handguns perfectly still. This is completely normal.
• Slowly Depressing the Trigger – Never press the trigger if the sights are only on a target for a millisecond. This will ultimately result in a missed target. Slowly and smoothly, depress the trigger, never removing focus from the target. Slow and smooth releases are the best habit to develop. This will gradually become an automatic response.
• Follow Through – Even as the gun dry fires always follow through by watching the sights until the action is complete. Once the gun clicks, shooters will want to continue following through with this action. Shooters should begin training their eyes to see the sight alignment even after the gun fires. Shooters will eventually know where shots will hit without focusing on targets for long durations of time.
• Reset – Depending upon the type of gun, resets may be required.
• Semi-Automatic Pistols – This includes double or single-action pistols. Shooters can simply pull the trigger to help mimic real-life motions. Dry firing will require manually pulling the hammer back for single-action shots.
• Striker-Fired Pistols – These require cocking after each shot. Shooters simply slide the rack back after each shot and the striker mechanism resets.
• Concluding Practice – When shooters are finished dry firing, they should make a clear demonstration that they are done. This means immediately storing guns in safe places or returning guns to holsters. Gun owners should always check gun manufacturer specifications to ensure that dry firing is acceptable. Some weapons, such as .22s are not designed for dry firing.

Jumping Targets offers a wide variety of pistol targets, which are ideal for dry firing or live ammunition practice. Made of AR500 steel, these exceptional targets can withstand a wide variety of ammunition for live practice. The metal spinning targets also provide immediate feedback for shooters.

References:

• http://blog.beretta.com/rehow-to-improve-your-handgun-accuracy-in-one-easy-step