Read Online Killer Instincts v5 by Jack Badelaire - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jack Badelaire
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pistols use high grade polymers and ultralight metals, but that revolver's almost as old as I am, and still going strong."
I found myself trying to get a good grip on the butt of the revolver. Someone had taken a small knife or file and made a number of tiny grooves or notches along the back edge of each wooden grip.
"Is this to help get a better grip?" I asked Jamie, pointing to the marks.
He grunted. "No, the previous owner, ah, wanted to add a personal touch, that's all."
"Okay, so how should I hold it?" I asked.
"Settle it in so the backstrap - that bit of blued steel between the grips - sits in the web of your hand so that it's aligned with your wrist. That way when the gun recoils, the force is translated right back into the bones of your forearm and it doesn't torque your hand left or right."
I did as he told me, and the gun seemed to settle into my hand.
"Now what?"
"Shooting a handgun is all about two things; sight picture and trigger control. If you have a proper sight picture and maintain trigger control, you'll hit your target every time."
"Okay..."
Jamie put his hand under mine, on the butt of the gun. He raised it up so it was pointing at the bottle in the middle of the stump.
"Focus on the front sight. You want it to appear clear and sharp in your vision. Once you focus on the front sight, feel yourself naturally aligning the rear sight so that it cradles the front sight, just like you're fitting a tab into a slot."
I held the pistol out and focused on the tiny blued steel blade at the end of the barrel. As I held my arm out straight and looked down the gun, the natural alignment of arm, wrist, and revolver placed the front sight almost perfectly within the V-shaped notch of the rear sight. A few adjustments and I had mated the sights together as best I could, but found that the gun kept wobbling.
"It's hard to keep it steady."
"Don't worry too much about that, you've got to train your muscles to hold a gun steady over time. Now, once you've got your sight picture, keep the front sight in focus, let it stay nestled in the rear sight, and bring the gun to bear on the target. Once you have those three points aligned - rear sight, front sight, and target - you draw the trigger back in one smooth, controlled motion. Don't pull or jerk the trigger, just draw back smooth and slow."
I lined up my sight picture as Jamie instructed, and in spite of the slight waver in my gun hand, I put my finger on the trigger, took a couple of calm breaths, and applied pressure to the trigger until suddenly it shifted back half an inch, and the revolver bucked in my hand. I felt the overpressure of the gunshot slap at my face and ears, and a tiny puff of gunsmoke appeared. The bottle I was aiming at didn't break, but I saw an eruption of rock dust behind the stump, perhaps thirty feet away.
"Not bad, " Jamie said. "Your pull was a little wobbly though, and you drifted to the right at the last moment. Go ahead and touch off the rest. Just focus on maintaining your sight picture and keep your trigger pull steady."
"I can't seem to find a comfortable position on the trigger."
Jamie reached over and adjusted my grip a bit. "You want your finger to sit so that the trigger is between the pad of your finger and the first joint. Too close to the fingertip and you don't have leverage. Too close to the joint and you lose trigger control."
With Jamie's help, I fired the remaining five shots, breaking two of the four bottles. I was pretty happy with myself, and even when I missed, I could tell that the shots came relatively close to the target. After Jamie showed me how to eject the spent casings and reload the cylinder, I replaced the broken bottles and asked Jamie to demonstrate for me how it's done.
Jamie shrugged. "Just remember, I've been doing this for over thirty years. I've got some practice under my belt."
I nodded and smiled. "Okay, so you're old and gray. I'll take that into account when you miss."
Jamie gave me a
I found myself trying to get a good grip on the butt of the revolver. Someone had taken a small knife or file and made a number of tiny grooves or notches along the back edge of each wooden grip.
"Is this to help get a better grip?" I asked Jamie, pointing to the marks.
He grunted. "No, the previous owner, ah, wanted to add a personal touch, that's all."
"Okay, so how should I hold it?" I asked.
"Settle it in so the backstrap - that bit of blued steel between the grips - sits in the web of your hand so that it's aligned with your wrist. That way when the gun recoils, the force is translated right back into the bones of your forearm and it doesn't torque your hand left or right."
I did as he told me, and the gun seemed to settle into my hand.
"Now what?"
"Shooting a handgun is all about two things; sight picture and trigger control. If you have a proper sight picture and maintain trigger control, you'll hit your target every time."
"Okay..."
Jamie put his hand under mine, on the butt of the gun. He raised it up so it was pointing at the bottle in the middle of the stump.
"Focus on the front sight. You want it to appear clear and sharp in your vision. Once you focus on the front sight, feel yourself naturally aligning the rear sight so that it cradles the front sight, just like you're fitting a tab into a slot."
I held the pistol out and focused on the tiny blued steel blade at the end of the barrel. As I held my arm out straight and looked down the gun, the natural alignment of arm, wrist, and revolver placed the front sight almost perfectly within the V-shaped notch of the rear sight. A few adjustments and I had mated the sights together as best I could, but found that the gun kept wobbling.
"It's hard to keep it steady."
"Don't worry too much about that, you've got to train your muscles to hold a gun steady over time. Now, once you've got your sight picture, keep the front sight in focus, let it stay nestled in the rear sight, and bring the gun to bear on the target. Once you have those three points aligned - rear sight, front sight, and target - you draw the trigger back in one smooth, controlled motion. Don't pull or jerk the trigger, just draw back smooth and slow."
I lined up my sight picture as Jamie instructed, and in spite of the slight waver in my gun hand, I put my finger on the trigger, took a couple of calm breaths, and applied pressure to the trigger until suddenly it shifted back half an inch, and the revolver bucked in my hand. I felt the overpressure of the gunshot slap at my face and ears, and a tiny puff of gunsmoke appeared. The bottle I was aiming at didn't break, but I saw an eruption of rock dust behind the stump, perhaps thirty feet away.
"Not bad, " Jamie said. "Your pull was a little wobbly though, and you drifted to the right at the last moment. Go ahead and touch off the rest. Just focus on maintaining your sight picture and keep your trigger pull steady."
"I can't seem to find a comfortable position on the trigger."
Jamie reached over and adjusted my grip a bit. "You want your finger to sit so that the trigger is between the pad of your finger and the first joint. Too close to the fingertip and you don't have leverage. Too close to the joint and you lose trigger control."
With Jamie's help, I fired the remaining five shots, breaking two of the four bottles. I was pretty happy with myself, and even when I missed, I could tell that the shots came relatively close to the target. After Jamie showed me how to eject the spent casings and reload the cylinder, I replaced the broken bottles and asked Jamie to demonstrate for me how it's done.
Jamie shrugged. "Just remember, I've been doing this for over thirty years. I've got some practice under my belt."
I nodded and smiled. "Okay, so you're old and gray. I'll take that into account when you miss."
Jamie gave me a
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