How to Aim a Pistol
1. Use your dominant hand to grip the gun on the backstrap and place your non-dominant hand against the exposed grip.
- Dominant hand should grip the gun high on the backstrap. This position gives you more control against the weapon which will help you regulate recoil when you fire the gun.
- Your index finger should rest against the outside of the trigger guard.
- Place your support or non-dominant hand firmly on the exposed portion of the grip not covered by the gun hand. All four fingers of your support hand should be under the trigger guard with the index finger pressed hard underneath it.
2. Take the extended shooting position
- Stand with a little space between your feet and slightly bend your knees. This stance makes it easy to fire the weapon with stability and mobility.
- Raise the weapon toward your target.
- Your arms should be straight out and slightly bent at the elbows, and always remember that the gun should be nowhere near your face or to anyone.
3. Use your dominant eye when aiming.
Your dominant eye gives a little more information to the brain’s visual center. It provides more accurate picture of your target aim. (When you’re aiming a gun, you’re looking at three objects: the front sight, the rear sight, and your target.)
How to tell which eye is dominant:
- Choose your target in the distance.
- Point at the target focusing on the front sight.
- Take turns closing each eye while fixating on the target.
Result: The eye that is lined up with the target is your dominant eye.
4. Align the front and back sight properly.
Sight alignment is the relationship of the front and rear sights. Simply, the eye must be lined up with the front and rear sight. The TOP of the Front Sight is vertically centered in the NOTCH of the rear sight, so that there is an equal amount of white space on either side of the front sight post. It also means that the TOP of the front sight is LEVEL horizontally with the TOP of the rear sight.
5. Focus on the front sight when pointing the gun.
You should be focusing on your front sight. The front sight lets you know what your gun's relative position to the target is.
{When you have a correct sight picture, the sights are in focus and the target is blurry.)
6. Center your index finger pad on the trigger pull.
- Majority of instructors will tell you to center your index finger pad on the trigger and pull straight back.
- Using the very tip of your finger, the second pad, or the “crease” between pads can cause you to pull shots left or right.
- Note that only you can determine what works best for you. If you know your way is what makes you more accurate and a better shooter overall, practice hard and don’t let any instructor or any friend of yours try and tell you to do it one way.
7. Exercise proper breath control.
- Breathing causes motion, so it must be controlled. This causes your shots on the target to be high or low if you are breathing while squeezing the trigger.
- Hold your breath while pulling the trigger. As you are exhaling, let about half of the air out of your lungs, aim and pull the trigger. To insure that you have enough oxygen in your system to last for the 10 to 20 seconds needed you need to practice breath control.
8. Press the trigger until the pistol fires.
- Instead of "pulling" the trigger, press or squeeze it to the point you start feeling resistance. Try not to anticipate when this will happen so it won’t lead to a last-minute error in aim.
- Keep pressing until the gun fires. You sort of want to surprise yourself as to when the gun actually discharges.
If you’ve never fired a gun before, we strongly suggest you visit our Indoor range located at our main showroom at the 4th-floor PBD I Building, 27 Don Alejandro Roces Avenue, Quezon City.
The 20 meters Indoor firing range has 5-6 lanes with 3 bays for precision rifle marksmanship.
The company employs NROI certified range safety officers who are trained to assist customers with their needs and orient them about gun safety and proper gun handling.
Telephone number:
(632) 373-3088
922-8361 to 64
372-2710 to 12 local 316
Indoor Range Schedule:
Monday-Friday
9am-4pm
Due to the DOH guidelines on social distancing and limitation of social gathering, we encourage shooters to please make reservations for time slots using this online form:
https://forms.gle/WktyJSHjpMn9ydLe6
Range Fees – Regular Members:
(Membership fee is Php 3,500.00 a year; Renewal fee is Php 2,500.00)
Range fee: Php 250.00 per hour; Php 100.00 for succeeding
Ammo charge: Php 3.00 per bullet (when ammo is supplied by customer)
Range ammo: Php 11.00 per bullet (when ammo is supplied by the range)
* If purchased from PBD stores no charge
Target board:
Medium- Php 10.50 each
Classic – Php 15.00 each
IPSC – Php 17.00 each
Impact Vision – Php 33.00 each
Gun rental: P300.00 for the first 100 rounds
Range Fees – Non-Member:
Range fee: Php 500.00 per hour; Php 200.00 for succeeding hour
Ammo charge: Php 3.00 per bullet (when ammo is supplied by customer)
Range ammo: Php 12.00 per bullet (when ammo is supplied by the range)
* If purchased from PBD stores no charge
Target board:
Medium- Php 10.50 each
Classic – Php 15.00 each
IPSC – Php 17.00 each
Impact Vision – Php 33.00 each
Gun rental: Php 500.00 for the first 100 rounds (pistols)
Php 300.00 for the first 100 rounds (shotgun, rifles & airguns)
Resources:
NRA.ORG – A Quick Guide to Shooting Fundamentals
https://www.usacarry.com/where-finger-trigger/
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-fire-a-handgun-safely-and-correctly/
https://www.wikihow.com/Aim-a-Pistol
https://www.usacarry.com/proper-sight-alignment-keys-to-accuracy/
Sign up to receive regular updates and tips on everything firearms from P.B.Dionisio & Co.
Join our community and stay up to date with everything we do.
stories, Photoes and PBD.TV Episodes.
Catch our PBD.TV Episodes.
The most direct & personal way for 1-1 conversations.
Our Business Platform.
