- Your dominant hand is to be at the very top of the grip right under the beaver tail (the curved piece on the back of the handle right below the slide). Most revolvers with not have a beaver tail. With a revolver, find a comfortable grip as high as possible without interfering with the revolver’s action (hammer movement), everything else is the same.
- Your support hand should be tilted down as far as possible with the thumb pointing downward if possible but never less than parallel with the slide. Your support thumb should fit under your dominant thumb acting as a brace with minimal pressure applied to the pistol.
- When you are not ready to fire, your dominant index finger is to be fully extended on riding on the frame above the trigger compartment.
- When you put your finger on the trigger, you do so with the pad of the last index finger joint. Do not put your complete finger inside the trigger guard.
- Lineup your sights to were your front sight (dot or post) is exactly between the two rear sight dots, posts, “U”, etc. (For longer shots, understand what type of “hold” your sights are. The “hold” tells you if the front dot/post is supposed to line up with the rear dots, top of the post, or the bottom of the “U” or cradle.) Red/Green dots will be discussed later.
- Stance:
- Feet should be should be shoulder width apart with you dominant foot toes are back at least to arch but not past your heal of the other foot. Pulling your dominant foot back too far will turn your hips affecting your accuracy;
- At the waist, slightly lean into your target;
- Arms are to be straight and firm, do not give with the recoil (soft arms can cause jams and other feeding issues); and
- Pistol sights should be directly beneath your dominant eye, do not move your head to the sights. When your arms are fully and properly extended, the sights should be inline with your dominant eye.
- Changing magazines/reloading (practice these steps so it is natural and fast):
- Never take the muzzle of the gun off the target (it is okay if the pistol tilts up or down during the reload, especially with a revolver to dump shells);
- Press your mag release as reaching for a full mag with your nondominant hand (extra mags should be kept where your hand can reach);
- Slam the fresh mag into the pistol, preferably taking your eyes off of the target;
- Do not use the slide release, it is a fine motor skill to operate and under pressure, you lose those motor skills. Instead, reach over the gun and grab the back of the slide pulling backwards until the click, then let it go. (For a revolver after loading the bullets, snap the wheel closed and check to make sure it is locked in place); and
- Return your weak hand to the support position and begin firing again.
- Red/Green Dot Sights
- It is easier for beginners to use the dot sights than the people that are use to iron sights like me.
- Designed to keep both eyes open on the target. Both eyes look through the glass unless you are capable of watching the surround area with nondominant eye.
- Choose the color the best suits your eye. Green has help those with a stigmatism. (I prefer green but the only one I have is red).
- For aftermarket budget sights there are Vortex, Holosun, Sig Romeo (currently red only), and the new kid on the block O-Sight.
- Things to consider:
- Dot color and pattern (dot, circle, circle-dot; I prefer just the dot for a pistol sight.
- Dot MOA (size of dot). Remember the dot does not get smaller the farther the target is, but the target does resulting in the dot covering more area on the target. I prefer a 2 MOA at the biggest because of qualifying at a distance. “Aim small, miss small.”
- Open sight or enclosed sight (enclosed usually costs more).
- Power source: Holosun and some Vortex has solar cells while O-Sight has a model with a recharging hood for the optic. If they are just battery powered, make sure the battery compartment is not accessible from the bottom.
- Does the sight allow for co-witnessing (being able to see the iron sights through the glass is the battery dies). Co-witnessing also helps with sighting the dot in.
- Tricks for finding your dot after drawing your weapon from the holster. Many people, especially the ones that started shooting using iron sights, have a tendency to look over at the top of the sight to the front post, leaving the dot out of the screen.
- Squeeze the grip with your dominant “pinkie” finger. That pressure pulls the muzzle down and brings the dot into sight picture.
- Line up the shot using your iron sights, then switch to the dot. If your sight does not allow co-witnessing, pretend you are lining it up then locate the dot.
- A way that I DO NOT recommend is closing your eyes until you have the pistol up in the firing position, then open your eyes. That does the same thing as lining up with your iron sight but never should you take your eyes off of a target.