Intermediate and Advanced Pistol Adjustments
This document is intended for intermediate to advanced shooters. Beginners may read with interest but are best advised not make these kind of adjustments before perfecting the basics.
Many shooters experience comments such as “Your sights are too narrow”, “too wide” or “Your grip is too small”, “Your sight radius too long” etc. etc. However; the truth is that nobody can pick up your gun and categorically say the sights are xyz (too narrow, too wide, too what ever). What they are in fact saying is: “The sights are too xyz for them!”. The purpose of this article is to develop a greater understanding, of all the factors involved and help Intermediate and Advanced shooters to refine their current setup.
Sights
Front-sight
As pistol shooters, the primary point of focus for our eyes is the fore sight. The easier it is to see, the less strain it puts on our eyes. The theory is that the larger the object we see, the more receptor cells respond to provide the brain with information, – the result: a more positive and clearer image with less eye strain. Numerous experiments have been conducted and lead manufacturers to offer various sizes for various purposes. However; experiences and competition results of top shooters have lead to the following rules of thumb with the following widths now being recommended for shooters;
- 10m Air Pistol a width of 4.5 mm
- 50m Pistol a width of 5 mm.
It has also been noted the older shooters often prefer a fore sight that is wider than the above
Though not normally a recommended practice, it has been observed that younger shooters and beginners may initially find narrower fore sights make it easier to perceive miss alignment with the target – the apparent size difference helps. It should be noted though, as skills develop and techniques are refined, most will learn to make use of the greater information provided by the wider fore sight.
Rear-sight
Rear sight width selection is affected by many factors, fore sight width, arm length, sight radius, and eye sight. Cognitive psychology shows that the “normal” person is only capable of concentrating on thee things as any given time, whilst the elite athlete may be capable of concentrating on up to seven. A narrow rear sight in effect reduces work load: If you can see the fore sight you must be aligned, however you can not perceive the quality of that alignment. For the same reason that a wide fore sight triggers off more retina cells, so does wider notches either side, especially since the rear sight is out of focus and consequently has blurred edges.
Don Nygord found that his personal preference was for a 1:2:1 ratio. Unfortunately, it is not clear from his notes if that was perceived size or actual physical size. It is more likely that this was “perceived” size. Other commonly used ratios include 1:1:1 and 0.5:1:0.5.
It has been noted that rear sight adjustment seems to be a journey, with Beginners closing it down, Intermediates opening it up again and Experts closing it down somewhat. See Mick Gault’s interview.
Grip
Palm Rest
Rake
Trigger
The Rules
Under ISSF rules, which form the basis for most national disciplines, there are two minimum trigger weights;
| Air Pistol | 500g |
| Center Fire Pistol & Rimfire Pistol (25M Rapid Fire Pistol, 25M Standard Pistol, 25M Womens Pistol, 25M Junior Pistol) | 1000g |
| 50m Pistol | No Minimum. |
In competition, trigger testing is done at Equipment Control before the match. Up to three attempts are made. If a pistol fails all three, it may be resubmitted after adjustment. In the case of air pistols, gas must be released during the test. (ISSF Rule 8.4.2.6.1).
In general once a pistol has passed the Equipment Control it should not be altered.
While it is permitted to further modify the trigger, it is inadvisable, (per ISSF rule 8.10.6, “it must not be altered at any time prior to or during the competition in any way that would conflict with the ISSF Rules” ). Jury members have the right to request a retest, which could result in a disqualification. The trigger may however be tested (and modified and retested with out penalty) before a final. (Rule 8.4.2.6.2)
The rules also state that “Random Trigger Weight control checks must be conducted immediately after the last series in all qualification rounds of 10 m and 25 m events. …. Any shooter whose pistol fails this test or when a shooter is selected fails to undertake the test, he must be disqualified.” (ISSF Rule 8.4.1.6.4). Adjustment at this stage is not permitted. It is for this reason that a safety margin of at least 15 – 35 grams is recommended. E.g. for air pistol about 520 grams.
In 2005 an International shooter succeeded in passing Equipment Control before the match and qualified for the final, however he was disqualified before he could compete in the final for failing a random check. There are many reasons for this to happen, that don’t involve cheating, e.g. heat, use, mechanical creep, etc. etc., The change, if any, is never usually no more than 10g, unless there has been a mechanical failure, and 10g is not enough to feel, especially when under pressure, but it is enough to measure!
A “rule of thumb” used by the England squad is to allow the testing weight to swing very slightly / gently when setting up the trigger. This movement provides a small margin for error.
The first question is how do you want your trigger set up? Different people have different ideas. There are 4 variables, first stage travel, post second stage (after) travel, first stage pressure, and second stage pressure.
Beginners
In general beginning shooters should “leave the trigger alone“. The factory setting is typically 1:3 ratio between the first and second stages. They should however check the minimum requirement for the pistol type. This should be adjusted, if necessary, by setting the first stage and not the second. More experienced beginners may choose a 50:50 ratio ( i.e. a 250g second stage on an air pistol and a 500g second stage on a standard pistol) . Further adjustments are not recommended, as it is essential to learn trigger control and prevent bad habits forming early on.
Everything beyond this point in the article should be considered as advanced, although it may be interesting to read, the details should not be attempted by beginners.
The Theory
The action for flexing muscles can cause a slight disturbance; the objective is to minimize this. Since the first stage is taken up long before stabilization and when the gun is still moving up and down, any disturbance here is irrelevant. Once in the aiming area the movement should be minimum. (This is why there is no second stage travel adjustment – it’s Zero.) However, the increase in pressure, required to achieve the release, can also cause unintended movement. So, the idea is to keep that to a minimum by reducing the second stage. However, the required second stage pressure must remain significant enough that the shooter can still feel when the second stage has been reached and accidental or premature release does not occur. Under competition pressure the risk of premature release, when using a very light second stage, is significantly increased.
First stage travel is the distance the trigger moves whilst taking up the first stage pressure. The ideal (if there even is such a thing as ideal) is for first stage to have enough travel to be able to feel the transition from first to second stage and to be able to hold on that point. It is personal taste, but it should not be too long. WARNING: on some trigger designs, e.g. the Styer LP10, It must not be set too short or it will add excessive pressure to the first stage and can prevent the gun from firing!
When the shot is released, the trigger continues to move backwards. This movement is countered by the after-travel spring and the trigger stop. If the after travel is set too short the trigger will hit the back stop and the pistol will kick. A longer after travel reduces the likelihood of a kick, as does a lighter second stage. This is critical in 10m and 50m pistols, although it can affect 25m ‘standard’ pistols as well.
The next, and perhaps the most important question is how much second stage pressure do you find desirable. This is very personal – it is a matter of making a change in a given direction and sticking with it until such time the benefit or disadvantage can be assessed. After that, more refinements can be made. The danger is that constant fiddling will prevent true evaluation of the results. By all means try lots of different setups during one session, but when one is chosen it should be kept until it has been properly evaluated. Keeping a shooting log and describing how it feels after each shoot can help later evaluation.
For a 500g Air pistol trigger, some people like the ratio to be 250/250, however other opt for 300/200 or 400/100 and some top shooters (very few) with perfect control go as low as 490/35. For a 1000g Standard pistol ratios are similar 500/500, 700/300, and 750/250.
Note. The two weights need to be added to get the total trigger pressure.
The body cannot ascertain these values; they need to be measured accurately. Lastly, it is important to make a note of your trigger setup so it can be reproduced, for example after the gun has been serviced.
Multiple Disciplines
A second issue occurs when a given shooter shoots multiple disciplines. The objective is to minimize the difference the shooter experiences when transitioning from discipline to discipline. Whilst some international shooters advocate having the same second stage weight for all types (other than free pistol), the problem is that this will create progressively heavier first stages. The heavier the first stage the lighter the second stage will feel. It has also been noted that top shooters that shoot air and free pistol tend to opt for a comparatively lighter second stage on the air pistol and shooters that shoot air and standard pistol will opt for a slightly heavier second stage on the air pistol. There is no rule for how this should be set up but if you decide not to keep all triggers the same, two options exist;
- Keep the ratio between first and second stage the same. So if you use a 300g second stage on a standard pistol, use a 400g for centre fire and 150g for air.
- Just add a bit for each increase e.g. 200g for air, 300g for standard and 350g for centre fire.
