Training Notes: Knowing Your Trigger Reset
What are the fundamentals of solid marksmanship?
- Steady Position
- Consistent Aim
- Consistent Breath Control
- Consistent Trigger Pull
I’m willing to build on this concept…just a bit. Notice that on each of those bullet points, aside form the first one, consistency is the key. And the first one, by the way, is only achieved through consistency as well- this is why we drill consistent cheek welds and the placement of the support and firing hands on the weapon during manipulation. Consistency is the key to accuracy.
The last point, consistent trigger pull, is frequently misunderstood. Most only think of it as the pressing of the trigger and the weapon discharging, beginning the extraction and feeding cycle. But what many miss is the incredibly important role of the trigger reset.
Trigger reset occurs at that critical point after the weapon is discharged and the bolt has completed its extracting and feeding cycle. The hammer is reset. A well trained shooter will keep the trigger depressed until this cycle is complete, letting the trigger out just enough to feel and hear a loud click.
This is the trigger reset.
What this does for us on a semi-auto weapon is give us a point of reference on where the trigger is going to break, firing the weapon again. Whether that’s a high-end AR-15 competition trigger, a mil-spec AR trigger, the AK trigger, a Glock Trigger, so on and so forth, mastering the trigger reset is an important step in learning a consistent trigger pull.
Zeroing a Primary Arms 4-14×42 currently being evaluated by a Brushbeater Training and Consulting AI mounted on an accurized AR.
Do this next time you go to the range. Put a target out at any given distance and fire a magazine, holding the trigger, releasing to hear the reset, and firing again. It doesn’t matter what your weapon of choice might be, or even the distance. Work on it- slow is smooth, smooth is fast and the speed will come in time. You’re going to notice your groups getting better and you becoming a better shooter. You’ll come to know your weapon better while focusing on that critical consistency.
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As a firearms instructor for more than a couple years, I must concur that consistency is one of the greatest keys for both marksmanship and manipulation training. Proper trigger reset is often overlooked or misunderstood by many shooters. But it can be implemented in our dry fire practice to reinforce our time on the range. An excellent tool to help teach and practice trigger reset is a simple ink pen with a clicker cap. Give it a try and watch your manipulation improve. Don’t forget to train that finger on your other hand as well. We don’t always get to dictate which shooting hand we’ll have to engage with.
It has taken me several classes (Scout, Fighting Carbine, and Fighting AK) and about 700 rounds downrange to “feel” trigger reset. It is one of the greatest benefits of all the training I’ve done. Those who have been with me in this journey know how slow and deliberate I was in the early classes. I am now picking up speed with controlled doubles, failure drills, and zipper drills. I am becoming a skilled fighter. Constant practice…always learning…always improving. Rifle handling is a martial art.
I very much agree with you DVM,
The trigger reset prevents induced malfunctions too. That one malfunction being “Hammer Follow”. A rare, and unique malfunction that has basically been eliminated in the Military M4/M16 series of weapons. But these Civilian AR’s with God only knows what under the hood are tricky sometimes. Especially the ones from 5-10 years ago when the quality on some parts was substandard at best.
I have the expensive Chip Mccormick trigger pack in one of my weapons. While that trigger is great, and never induced a malfunction in my gun during any rate of fire, I find myself “Missing” that “Klunk” sound after I pull the trigger and allow the reset to occur as intentionally as I allowed the “Bang” to occur. I do miss that sound.
This kind of article is what makes you guys the best in the business because releasing your trigger properly is as important as squeezing the trigger properly.
Especially when you are shooting an SKS, which has a long reset, or some AKs. Which can vary in their triggers greatly(In my experience)
By far, I think the Beretta M9/92FS has the longest trigger reset in the business. If you have one, You should practice on that weapon. Pick one up and give it a try. Make sure your weapon is clear first. You’ll be like “Really Beretta, are you serious?” Great guns though. I really like my berettas. They are quite accurate for a $300-600 dollar pistol. And they come with a match grade barrel stock.
Accuracy, and precision are commonly misused words.
Consistency is the key to precision. Putting the precise fire in the right place is accuracy.
Your statement is precisely accurate. Unless my dyslexia is playing mind tricks again. It’s a miracle I can drive a car with GPS directions sometimes.
Appropriate stuff. I recall words of a pistol coach (and dear friend) who mentored me to my first clean match and onto the journey into the deep end of the competive pool.
“Shoot it clean. You’ll go faster when you get bored.”
Thanks Bud.