How to Become a Master Handgunner: The Mechanics of X-Count ...
How to Become a Master Handgunner: The Mechanics of X-Count ... How to Become a Master Handgunner: The Mechanics of X-Count ...
Chapter 1Perfecting theFundamentalsCan any person master the skills required to allow him orher to shoot a handgun perfectly as regards exactaccuracy each time? The answer to this question isunequivocally yes. With the aid of recently developed tests,checks, and mental tools, and using the most modern handgunsever manufactured, most anyone can attain the highest level ofexcellence while shooting. A look back at the history andrecords of what is known among handgun sport shootingcompetitors as the Bianchi Cup and NRA Action ShootingPistol National Championship, the NRA Hunters Pistol, andLong Range Silhouette Pistol National Championship eventsprovides the proof that many master handgunners have achievedperfection while shooting their pistols.Riley Gilmore was the first to accomplish the believed-tobeimpossible task of shooting the Bianchi Cup with a perfectscore in 1990. In 1986, Larry Weir shot the first NRA HuntersPistol Silhouette National Championship perfectly. MarvinTannihill fired a perfect score of 80/80 over the long-rangestanding silhouette pistol NRA National Championship coursein 1998.7
8How to Become a Master HandgunnerNo fewer than a dozen handgunners have now fired perfectscores in national, international, and world championshipevents since the turn of the century. Prior to the publication ofthis new edition, Bruce Piatt of Montvale, New Jersey, won theNRA Action Pistol World Championship held in Shalvey,Australia, near Sidney, on November 5, 2006. Piatt fired aperfect score of 1920 with a 176 X-count.Handgun shooting requires only simple hand-eyecoordi na tion to achieve perfection, along with correctindoctrination, training, correct practice, and the mostmodern equipment manufactured. To perform at the verytop level while shooting a handgun, a person must firstmaster the basic fundamentals of position or stance, grip,aiming, and trigger control.Of all the above fundamentals, I have come to theconclusion after many years of experience that trigger controlis the key to achieving perfection. As in many sportingendeavors, whether it is stroking a golf ball with a putter,contacting the baseball with the bat, releasing a basketball onits arc to the hoop, or pulling the trigger on a pistol, the verylast basic fundamental in performance is the key to achievingexcellence. I suppose that’s why pulling the trigger is found tobe so intimidating to most anyone who has ever shot afirearm, especially a handgun. You can do everything perfectleading up to the very last moment, then screw up the triggerpull, with the result being an egg or zero instead of a score oran X-count.I’ve fired handguns while holding them upside down, andwhile holding them with the right, left, and both hands withvarious gripping techniques, with the result being a hit on thetarget resulting in a score on the card in competition. But noneof my perfect scorecards recorded in any handgun shootingevent were accomplished without applying perfect triggercontrol. Oh sure, one can occasionally hit the intended targetby slapping or even jerking the trigger, but I’ve never been ableto achieve perfect scores unless the trigger control wasconsistently perfect.
8<strong>How</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Become</strong> a <strong>Master</strong> <strong>Handgunner</strong>No fewer than a dozen handgunners have now fired perfectscores in national, international, and world championshipevents since the turn <strong>of</strong> the century. Prior <strong>to</strong> the publication <strong>of</strong>this new edition, Bruce Piatt <strong>of</strong> Montvale, New Jersey, won theNRA Action Pis<strong>to</strong>l World Championship held in Shalvey,Australia, near Sidney, on November 5, 2006. Piatt fired aperfect score <strong>of</strong> 1920 with a 176 X-count.Handgun shooting requires only simple hand-eyecoordi na tion <strong>to</strong> achieve perfection, along with correctindoctrination, training, correct practice, and the mostmodern equipment manufactured. To perform at the very<strong>to</strong>p level while shooting a handgun, a person must firstmaster the basic fundamentals <strong>of</strong> position or stance, grip,aiming, and trigger control.Of all the above fundamentals, I have come <strong>to</strong> theconclusion after many years <strong>of</strong> experience that trigger controlis the key <strong>to</strong> achieving perfection. As in many sportingendeavors, whether it is stroking a golf ball with a putter,contacting the baseball with the bat, releasing a basketball onits arc <strong>to</strong> the hoop, or pulling the trigger on a pis<strong>to</strong>l, the verylast basic fundamental in performance is the key <strong>to</strong> achievingexcellence. I suppose that’s why pulling the trigger is found <strong>to</strong>be so intimidating <strong>to</strong> most anyone who has ever shot afirearm, especially a handgun. You can do everything perfectleading up <strong>to</strong> the very last moment, then screw up the triggerpull, with the result being an egg or zero instead <strong>of</strong> a score oran X-count.I’ve fired handguns while holding them upside down, andwhile holding them with the right, left, and both hands withvarious gripping techniques, with the result being a hit on thetarget resulting in a score on the card in competition. But none<strong>of</strong> my perfect scorecards recorded in any handgun shootingevent were accomplished without applying perfect triggercontrol. Oh sure, one can occasionally hit the intended targetby slapping or even jerking the trigger, but I’ve never been able<strong>to</strong> achieve perfect scores unless the trigger control wasconsistently perfect.
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