TargetTalk

I read an interview with a U.S. air pistol Olympian. He said that most people shoot with a minimal overtralvel which is a mistake.

From what I read on how to adjust overtravel trigger, most posts on this forum recommend a 1/4 turn above no overtravel.

Long overtravel gives you a better follow through? If not, then what is the rationale for minimal overtravel? What is the effect of minimal overtravel on follow through alignment?

Just personal preferance I profer to have the trigger stop wound right off. when i started at probable my second open shoot my trigger didnt pass and whilst adjusting it which i had no idea i wound the trigger stop up and i ended up with what felt like a 3 stage trigger. I also feel that if you pull against the trigger stop it makes you finish the shot earlier

"What is the effect of minimal overtravel on follow through alignment?"

At the instant just prior to shot release, you have all of these imbalanced forces just precisely lined up for perfect alignment.

At the instant of shot release, one of those balanced force couples (trigger against finger = finger against trigger) experiences a sudden "shock" as the trigger force goes from somewhere north of 500 grams down to whatever residual spring/reset force there is beyond the letoff.

This sudden imbalance can be taken up by

1) the trigger stop
2) your physical juggling reaction to the sudden change
3) a balancing spring, like Morini electronic systems (problem doesn't exist)
4) the mass of the gun reacting by jumping about

So

Most shooters opt for either 1) or 3), because 4) shows up as a "jerk" motion at the instant the pellet is travelling down the barrel (bad), and 2) is physically impossible, although some folks can come close to dampening the jerk by just applying a ton of gripping force.

Steve Swartz

I set the trigger stops to about .050 to .o60" movement ( 1-1.5mm) at mid trigger.
It is neither a fine stop nor a sloppy travel. Too fine and you risk a triggered shot hitting the stop and pulling the pistol off line, too slack and a collapsing trigger will also induce movement.
A percission trigger can have a lesser travel with more travel on a Standard or Rapid fire trigger.
Ideal is a trigger with no weight change felt at hammer fall (trigger break) and no trigger stop at all, very difficult to set up on a mechanical trigger.

David M wrote:I set the trigger stops to about .050 to .o60" movement ( 1-1.5mm) at mid trigger.
It is neither a fine stop nor a sloppy travel. Too fine and you risk a triggered shot hitting the stop and pulling the pistol off line, too slack and a collapsing trigger will also induce movement.
A percission trigger can have a lesser travel with more travel on a Standard or Rapid fire trigger.
Ideal is a trigger with no weight change felt at hammer fall (trigger break) and no trigger stop at all, very difficult to set up on a mechanical trigger.

Oh, I understand now. I have electronic triggers and don't use a tight stop. I didn't consider the weight drop with a mechanical trigger.