How To Shoot A Hand Gun

Do you want to learn how to shoot a handgun? Shooting a handgun is one of those things which can be done by anyone. There are many schools of handgun shooting available, each will teach different grips, positions, and shooting styles. They all have a few things in common, however, and these are the basics of shooting the handgun. The basics are what we will discuss here. Once the basics are learned, the shooter can develop their style of shooting the handgun, but the basics must always be observed.

The items needed to shoot a handgun are:

• Handgun
• Ammunition
• Shooting range
• Targets
• Shooting glasses

The process of shooting a handgun will go as follows:

1. Purchase equipment. What you will want to do is purchase a handgun which feels good to you. It is important that it not be too powerful to shoot comfortably. A lot of practice is important to good shooting. Hopefully you will be able to shoot it before purchasing, to get a feel for it. Buy appropriate ammunition for your selected handgun, targets, and shooting glasses. Shooting glasses are an important safety item to protect ones eyes, you only get one set of them, better to be safe than sorry.
2. Find a safe location to shoot.  You will want to find a place with a safe backstop to shoot at. Always make sure what is behind your targets. Target ranges with professional range masters are perhaps the best place to learn. There will be plenty of help there for the newcomer also.
3. Learn proper stance. You will want to get a good stance. The proper stance should be stable, yet comfortable, It should provide a platform for drawing and shooting the handgun. A crouch like a boxer is called the Power Stance; it is an excellent stance for the handgun shooter. There are various grips and arm stances which can be utilized, experimentation here will find what works best for each shooter. Remember what is comfortable is often the best as it will allow you to shoot more, and longer.
4. Learn proper grip.   The proper grip on the handgun should be high, bringing the handguns bore closer to the hand. The grip should be solid, almost crushing the handle in the hand as tightly as possible. A solid grip is important for reliable cycling of semi-automatic pistols also so practice a strong solid grip. A steady hand is important, and a two handed grip is steadier than a single hand grip. Use a two handed grip when possible.
5. Learn proper sight picture.  Proper alignment of the front and rear sight is essential to good shooting. The front sight will nestle down in the rear sight with equal amounts of space on both sides. The shooter will sit the handgun's front sight in some alignment with the target. There are variations of sight picture, "center mass", "6 o'clock", and "sub 6 o'clock" are three popular sight pictures used by different shooters with different handguns. Practice here will determine what is best used by each shooter for a specific handgun.
6. Learn trigger control.  The trigger needs to be smoothly pulled back until it breaks and fires the handgun. Jerking or yanking the trigger will throw the shot off target. It is important to learn and use a constant, smooth, trigger pull with each and every shot.  

These are the basics of shooting a handgun. It takes considerable practice to shoot a handgun and shoot it well. Proper handgun selection, proper ammunition, clothing, and a place to shoot will make that practice much more comfortable and enjoyable. Good luck, and enjoy your shooting.