Tips & Tactics

Smooth Is the Groove

Smooth Is the Groove

By Ken Piper

We’d all like to improve our shooting, whether we use a gun, a bow or both. We owe it to the animals we hunt to make the best shot possible, and nobody wants to miss the trophy of a lifetime.

There are books on proper shooting, but everyone can benefit from this simple tip: The moment of release is critical to a good shot. "Punching" the trigger of a gun or bow release can easily cause a miss. Excessive or abrupt trigger pressure often will move the entire gun or bow.

Gun hunters can have their local gun smith work with a trigger so that less poundage in necessary to fire the pin. For safety reasons, we recommend that such work be performed by a knowledgeable gunsmith, most of whom won’t adjust a trigger below 3 pounds of pull. Many of the mechanical bow releases have hex screws that perform the same adjustment so the slightest touch will release the bow string.

With or without such adjustments, practice shooting and concentrate on making a smooth trigger pull that doesn’t alter your aim.

Resist the urge to adjust your trigger and make it too light. Bow releases can cease to function if they’re adjusted too loose, and sometimes all it takes to push it over the edge is a bumpy ride in a truck or ATV.

Firearms with over-adjusted triggers are simply unsafe. There is no magic number for the correct trigger pull. There are too many variables like trigger design, the shooter’s experience and the hunting conditions (will you be wearing gloves?), but as a general rule, anything in the 3-pound range should be safe for hunting.

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Copyright 2024 by Buckmasters, Ltd.

Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd