Trigger feeling too heavy

[kristjan]

I am casual/amateur shooter shooting AP on and off for a few years, but only recently been trying to train more consistently, usually 2-3 times a week. But I am often having problems with my trigger feeling really heavy, sometimes to an extent that the trigger seems so heavy that I am unable to release the shot. In reality of course its not heavy at all, just barely above the allowed minimum of 500g. I also shoot .22 and 9mm pistols occasionally and it is never as bad with those.

I am guessing that I somehow tense up some other muscles in my hand so much that this also makes it harder to use the trigger finger. Generally at some point during the match I manage to "figure it out" and the shots feel really light and I get relatively good scores (above 90). But that doesn't last very long and I can drop back to shooting low-mid 80s. On rare occasions this problem disappears completely, but I have been unable to determine what I am doing differently and cannot replicate at later sessions.

So what exactly am I doing wrong? Gripping too tight? Gripping too tight with wrong parts of the hand? Gripping too loosely? Grip size wrong? Trigger position wrong? Psychological? Muscles too weak? Need warm-up?

I am shooting with an ISZ-46. Because of my smallish hands the trigger is set as far back as it can be, otherwise my finger is not able to reach it well and I have also modified the original grip to be a bit smaller and more like my .22 pistol grip which feels better in my hand, but maybe I need to shrink it a bit more.

I am shooting at a club where there are good coaches for rifles, but not for pistols and the pistol shooters are all more or less self-learned, so getting good advice has been hard.

Anybody had a similar problem?

[David M]

Trigger freeze can be a problem on a lightly set second stage crisp trigger.
Adding more weight to second stage and a little bit of travel can help.
Is it a two stage trigger, if so what is the weight split between the stages ?
Also is it set as a crisp trigger or slight roll off (second stage travel) ?

[EdStevens]

Tensing the hand on the grip has the side-effect of making the trigger seem really heavy. For me, the tensing of my hand is a reaction to emotions and often comes from trying too hard, and forcing the shot. Mentally regroup, relax and calm the mind, and relax and then re-grip the gun without trying to strangle it.

[kristjan]

Trigger freeze can be a problem on a lightly set second stage crisp trigger.

I've always thought of it as 1-stage, but it might actually be 2-stage with very lightly set second stage crisp release. IZH should be with 2-stage trigger so either its that or the first stage is removed altogether. I'll try to adjust the trigger to see if it helps.

For me, the tensing of my hand is a reaction to emotions and often comes from trying too hard, and forcing the shot. Mentally regroup, relax and calm the mind, and relax and then re-grip the gun without trying to strangle it.

This is more or less what I am feeling, although I am not sure if I am tensing my hand because of trying too hard or trying so hard because the trigger feels so heavy. However the relaxing part is not going so easy for me. If I take a longer break it helps, but sometimes it comes back too fast to take that many breaks.

[Pat McCoy]

I am guessing that I somehow tense up some other muscles in my hand so much that this also makes it harder to use the trigger finger. Generally at some point during the match I manage to "figure it out" and the shots feel really light and I get relatively good scores (above 90). But that doesn't last very long and I can drop back to shooting low-mid 80s. On rare occasions this problem disappears completely, but I have been unable to determine what I am doing differently and cannot replicate at later sessions.

Based on your mention of scores, you may be focused too much on the quality of the result (the score), rather than on the process of firing a good shot. Try to keep your mind on the process, and the score will take care of itself.

[Coolmeester]

One reason could be that you're not pulling the trigger straight backwards.