NRA Pistol Training – and a finger update.

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Well, it’s still attached, which is a bonus. Since I tried (thankfully unsuccessfully) to cut the tip of my trigger finger off, I haven’t been back shooting. So over the past weekend, I decided it was time to head back and see what the finger was going to be like. The reality is/was that it still hurts, a lot, so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot of success, but wanted to head along and start getting back into the swing of things.

I have nearly completed the process of getting my B and E Firearms endorsement (Pistol and MSSA), and had been talking to Clive from the Auckland Pistol Club about the next steps. He mentioned that it would be good to head along to training that week, as Jack S was heading in to do some NRA training. As I had never shot any NRA style pistol, I thought it would be a good opportunity to head down and see how the finger was going to respond.

Firstly, the training was excellent. Jack is a wealth of information, and we additionally had Brent Millard there, who among other awards, won the 2012 Australian 1920 Action National Shooting Championships. Another well qualified pistol shooter!

The two of them ran us through the common NRA shooting courses – giving us a taste of what it is like to shoot NRA, as well as importing a pile of really good hints and tips along the way.

Unfortunately, my finger was not really co-operating.

It’s still very sensitive to pressure – and the Double Action of the Beretta 92 I was using, was borderline impossible. Because it was so uncomfortable,  I was pushing my finger through all the way through to it’s first joint, and therefore pulling all my shots over to the left (I am left handed). One the first round was down range, I went back to using the pad to fire the pistol as single action.

Now, if you know the 92, it’s not necessarily the lightest of triggers.

Beretta92And, as I always seem to manage to do – I managed to knock/leave the safety on – resulting in me pulling a trigger wondering why there wasn’t any bang. I certainly prefer a safety I can push, and hold down. This combined with a heavy trigger didn’t really help my time or accuracy.

However, Brent allowed us to try out his 1911, and Jacks also let me have a shoot of his race pistol, both with much lighter triggers, and both a lot easier on the finger. It was the first time I shot a pistol with an optic on it – and Jacks Aimpoint made shooting down steel plates at 50 yards a lot easier that I would ever thought it would be. Lots of fun!

So, it isn’t all bad news. It is obviously going to take quite a while longer before my finger is close to being back to where it was, but it’s at least nice to know I can still pull a trigger.

I am going to head down to the rifle range this weekend, to have a shoot of the X-Bolt. We shall see how that goes.

 

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