Is trigger staging bad?

[rwsmith]

I just try......

When competing in bullseye competition you are not allowed to have but one hand to facilitate the gun, your weak hand is no where near the gun.

Unless preparing for an old fashioned pistol duel, WHY? Training with both/either hands, a good idea? FOR SURE. REQUIRING a single hand hold for a shooting event seems a bit outdated, But TEHO.

I just try to shoot every way practical. Weak side, one hand, two hand. I don't shoot upside down like Jerry Miculek though.

 

[Jessie]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but I think staging is a helpful tool on a moving target.
At least it helps me.

 

[rwsmith]

I aim......

If you think about it from a mechanical viewpoint, it's a lot easier to just keep the trigger going than to stop and restart (staging). When you stop in the middle, it takes more effort to get the hammer and trigger going again. This is much more likely to make you pull the shot than just pulling smoothly right on through.

I aim and pull the trigger. If my hand/gun is waving around, I'll stop just short of the release and tighten my aim. Then it's only a very short pull to fire. Getting a final aim seems to make it worth it. From that position I shoot my best with it.

That raises an interesting thought, though. Have a trigger than has a distinct 'cocking phase' and a 'firing phase' with the trigger in a detent position. That might be an interesting 'hybrid'. Not that it would sell or anything.

 

[ContinentalOp]

When competing in bullseye competition you are not allowed to have but one hand to facilitate the gun, your weak hand is no where near the gun.

Unless preparing for an old fashioned pistol duel, WHY? Training with both/either hands, a good idea? FOR SURE. REQUIRING a single hand hold for a shooting event seems a bit outdated, But TEHO.

That's because he's talking about a specific form of competition with a specific set of rules.

 

[Toolguy]

I aim and pull the trigger. If my hand/gun is waving around, I'll stop just short of the release and tighten my aim. Then it's only a very short pull to fire. Getting a final aim seems to make it worth it. From that position I shoot my best with it.

That raises an interesting thought, though. Have a trigger than has a distinct 'cocking phase' and a 'firing phase' with the trigger in a detent position. That might be an interesting 'hybrid'. Not that it would sell or anything.

The old PPC shooters that wanted to do that used to glue a pencil eraser on the back of the trigger, then file it down to where the eraser would contact the trigger guard just before the hammer fell, then compress the eraser to drop the hammer. I tried that, but my scores went down, so I went back to the straight pull. Try it and see if you like it, nothing to lose.

 

[OttoLoader]

I stage but so quickly to the uniformed observer it appears like a straight pull.
I started doing this with a 60-14 I am way more accurate because I make sure the front sight is right on as the trigger breaks. The doube action motion is 1: pull the cyinder in place 2: When at the break point be sure front sight is on target 3: squeeze the trigger. Of course I keep my eye on the target and the the front sight is brought up to it, then at time of break make sure the front sight stays on target.
So I donot consider this as staging as it is apparently described (hold real long).. Do I consider this as a straight pull? No because I rely on the feel of trigger to tell when it will break (no surprise) and keeping the target and fronsight aligned. Having the feel of the trigger is not the same as muscle memory, it is knowing when the break will occur so I be sure to be on target. Also this technique for allows easy transition to the 60-14 or 686-6 because the heavy double action pull can vary and not intefer with my operation. My S&W are are stock with 500 round trigger jobs.

 

[rwsmith]

SD definitely not....

I practice with my semis and .38 revolvers w/o staging the trigger, except I do stack some with the 5943 because of the long DAO trigger.

I probably shoot too many different ways to get good at any one.

 

[argon18smith]

I was actually getting light strikes by staging with a new 686. I stopped the staging and problem cured. Just a nice steady motion is all that is required and more practice of course.

 

[rockquarry]

Staging? I've never quite understood this, but perhaps there is a purpose.

I shoot them all as they come straight out of the box. For a good while, I've seen two-handed, double-action shooting as something for emergency use only, but I'm not a competitor.

For those who haven't tried it, shooting revolvers single action using one hand is quite enjoyable and a pretty good test of shooting skills. I guess from a technical perspective, the trigger is already pre-"staged" for the stagers.

 

[rwsmith]

Oh mercy, yes!

Staging? I've never quite understood this, but perhaps there is a purpose.

I shoot them all as they come straight out of the box. For a good while, I've seen two-handed, double-action shooting as something for emergency use only, but I'm not a competitor.

For those who haven't tried it, shooting revolvers single action using one hand is quite enjoyable and a pretty good test of shooting skills. I guess from a technical perspective, the trigger is already pre-"staged" for the stagers.

I love to shoot my 686 SA. But that doesn't cut it when you are training for SD.

 

[rwsmith]

i tried it.....

I tried not staging yesterday with some semi pistols. I don't think that my score went up or down. I haven't made much progress shooting with staging, so I'll try NOT staging and see if I can improve from here.

 

[JohnRippert]

The way I look at it, with a revolver, if you have time to hesitate and stage then you have time to cock the hammer and use SA.

 

[nachogrande]

I DIDN'T HAVE MY LAWYER READ THE FINE PRINT, BUT...

There's not problem with the 686 except the long trigger pull, and the trigger is not really 'heavy', but heavier than some semi guns I shoot in DAO, like the Shield. I have to work on sighting the gun, then keeping the target all though the pull. It will just make me a better shooter. What you describe in your guns sounds like my 686. With that silky trigger It's going to be the last gun to leave my collection and even then I'll be kicking and screaming.

Mentioning the shield in the same sentence, or comparing it to a 686, MAY get you dinged.

 

[jimbo728]

I have never heard of staging the trigger in precision DA shooting.
What RW describes was more commonly referred to as "brakeing" the trigger pull.
Jim

 

[CapnB]

Virtually all my shooting (over the course of 40 plus years) has been with double action revolvers. Trained, shot, and qualified often during that time, and I never once heard the word “staging”. Must be a competition thing. The only competition I was ever in was “Low score buys the beer”
Cheers,
Doug

 

[willy]

I'll throw a wrench in the works,,,I don't stage ,,and I do not pull straight through..I use a slow pull,,,I teach this as a way from flinching for new shooters..Pull slow all the way through keeping sights on target,,WEhen gun goes off it is a surprise to the shooter..No flinch..With practice you can pick up speed ..With a lot of practice it seems as though are pulling straight through..I'm no bullseye shooter,,but I can hit a five gallon bucket at 100 yards double action 6 out of 6 times with any of my S&W center fires..It might look like I'm staging the trigger ,,but it is a slow pull at that distance.

 

[rwsmith]

Forgive me.......

Mentioning the shield in the same sentence, or comparing it to a 686, MAY get you dinged.

....I was kind of rambling, just trying to a make a comparison where there is none. The pull on the Shield just isn't as long as the 686. BUT, my 686 is as smooth as silk and if I stage, I'm not taking advantage of that.

 

[Whitwabit]

Drawing my weapon the trigger finger doesn't touch the trigger till I am ready to destroy what ever I am aiming at .. Then the trigger is pressed in one fluid motion as to not upset my aim ..

I can't recall ever staging a trigger and if you are doing so and not meaning to fire a negligent discharge is more likely then not staging .. someone barely bumping your arm might cause you to fire .. in a chaotic situation that is likely to happen ..

If you are not going to fire your finger shouldn't be on the trigger !!!

 

[S&WsRsweet]

Drawing my weapon the trigger finger doesn't touch the trigger till I am ready to destroy what ever I am aiming at .. Then the trigger is pressed in one fluid motion as to not upset my aim ..

I can't recall ever staging a trigger and if you are doing so and not meaning to fire a negligent discharge is more likely then not staging .. someone barely bumping your arm might cause you to fire .. in a chaotic situation that is likely to happen ..

If you are not going to fire your finger shouldn't be on the trigger !!!

I would have to agree as if you fight like you train as they say and you practice stageing you might try it in the real world only to have your gun go off unintentionally so the advice of " keep your finger off the trigger " is probabaly the best advice any of us has given so far .

 

[rwsmith]

I can see your point......

I don't do this in self defense type shooting, just target. But if it WAS a defense situation, if I pull the trigger 3/4 of the way, I'm planning on letting loose a shot.

Anyway, it was a good question, but now it's moot for me because I'm already starting to work on not staging the trigger.

 

[nachogrande]

THANKS TO ALL CAPTAINS OBVIOUS.

That's because he's talking about a specific form of competition with a specific set of rules.

Next thing you know shooting gangsta style hold will be a thing, in some event.

 

[ContinentalOp]

Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.

 

[mag318]

One thing I really like about a well tuned S&W revolver is how easy it is to stage the trigger. Many years ago while shooting with my neighbor Gil Hebard he helped me fine tune my staging skills. For me I can now shoot as accurately double action as I can single action. You can also do this with most Ruger DA revolvers and the new Kimber K6S which has a wonderful trigger. A lot of shooters don't like to stage their triggers when shooting, I 'm one who really likes this method for super accurate DA firing.
S&W 686 3" 1'st Shots - YouTube