Welcome to this issue of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter.  This is the monthly communication from my Web site at www.SaveTheGuns.com.  Thank you for reading this month's issue and for passing it on to a friend.

As a retired NRA Certified Firearm Instructor, I have learned that the two most important aspects of shooting accurately are sight picture control and trigger control.  Everything else such as stance, grip and breathing and whatever else comes secondary to those.

But trigger control is the main key to accurate placement of the bullet.  In this month's issue of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter, I have a guest writer, Tom Perroni from Perroni's Tactical Training Academy and a great article he wrote on the subject of trigger control.

                                                                                                                        Read on...

SaveTheGuns.com Quotes of the Month

"Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence."
Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph Story (1779-1845)

"The inherent right in the people to reform their government, I do not deny;
and they have another right, and that is to resist unconstitutional laws without overturning the government."
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) US Senator

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
Thomas Paine (1737-1809) Source: Common Sense, February 14, 1776

"Absolute, arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of freemen exists nowhere in a republic, not even in the largest majority."
Wyoming Declaration of Rights Art. I, Sec. 7 also found in the Kentucky Declaration of Rights - Art. I, Sec. 2

"Constitutions are checks upon the hasty action of the majority.  They are the self-imposed restraints of a whole people upon a majority of them to secure sober action and a respect for the rights of the minority."
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) 27th US President Source: Veto Message, Arizona Enabling Act, 1911

"The Constitution is like my old blue dress... it doesn't fit anymore."
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)

SaveTheGuns.com Gun Safety Tip of the Month

There are only two causes of an accidental death that results from the mishandling of a loaded firearm.  The first is a lack of knowledge.  If the person handling the gun is not aware of the three basic rules of safe gun handling or proper hunter safety rules, they are likely to do something wrong or dangerous.  Ignorance of these handling rules are the primary cause of an accidental discharge.

The second cause of an accidental discharge is simple carelessness.  Carelessness is knowing basic safe gun handling rules and recklessly not observing them.  Ignoring gun safety rules and "showing off" to friends by doing something stupid is just one example.  Another example of carelessness might be drinking too much alcohol and then handling a loaded gun like a jackass.

An accidental discharge that results from a lack of knowledge usually comes from young people under twenty five years old, who are inexperienced shooters.  You can help me prevent these types of accidents by sending young people to my "Safety Rules" page this month where they can learn about gun safety.

www.SaveTheGuns.com/safety_rules.htm

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them..."
Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters From The Federal Farmer, 1788

I however cannot continue to teach basic gun safety to more than 10,000 visitors a month without more active participants and contributors.

Please contribute this month if you have not done so before.

NRA Membership Recruiter Corner

http://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807

As you may already know, SaveTheGuns.com is one of thousands of NRA Membership Recruiters across America.  As an NRA Recruiter, I'm officially a subcontractor for the National Rifle Association of America and not an employee.

I make a small commission whenever you join, renew or give an NRA Membership as a gift.  Please use the link above for all your NRA Membership needs.

I have written a Web page with more information on membership in the National Rifle Association.  It has a list of benefits as well as membership options and prices.  For your convenience the above NRA Membership link is there as well.

http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htm

P.S.  Remember, my link goes directly to the NRA Membership check out page.  Using my special link is a lot more convenient than trying to find the page yourself.

As of this issue of the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter, I've recruited 125 NRA Members through this link.

I want to be one of the Top Ten NRA Recruiters for the nine (9) state northeast district of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Please use my convenient links for all your NRA membership needs.

Contributions to SaveTheGuns.com

Please use the following convenient link to securely use a credit card online to give SaveTheGuns.com a voluntary contribution:

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To write me a personal check, it's almost as easy!

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Marc H. Richardson
P.O. Box 424
Shapleigh, ME 04076-0424

My contributors have kept this informative Web site going for more than seven years.  Become a contributor today... please?  Active contributors are the only thing keeping www.SaveTheGuns.com online.

Thank you very much for your support!

A generous $25.00 contribution was received this month out of more than 15,500 visitors!  Thanks for your continued support of my efforts teaching gun safety and firearm education to children all over the world.  The $25.00 is very much appreciated and will be spent wisely.

Item of the Month

The item of the month is going to be an ongoing feature in the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter.  I hope you find it useful.

This month I have placed a banner for a company called Northern Tool.  If you have not been to Northern Tool's Web site, you're missing out.  I've bought almost a dozen items from Northern Tool myself.  They carry everything from augers and backhoes to welders and winches.  It's definitely worth a visit!

Minuteman Monthly Newsletter Aiming Point

1. It is the most common problem in shooters.

2. If not done correctly, you will not hit what you aim at.

3. Has to be done properly, even when hurried.

4. Trigger jerk and anticipation of recoil will consume 75% of your corrective action as an instructor.

5. This is the cornerstone of shooting fundamentals.

6. Once mastered, it must be practiced to the point where it is a subconscious act.

7. A shooter can practice with dry fire or ball and dummy exercises.

8. A shooter's target clearly tells the instructor whether proper trigger control is being employed.

9. Too large a percentage of firearms instructors do not know how to correct this in shooters, or themselves.

10. The exact same fundamental should be used no matter what weapon system the shooter is utilizing double action (DA), single action (SA), double action only (DAO).

11. Shooters will find a hundred excuses before they admit they are jerking the trigger or anticipating recoil. Most single action systems allow the shooter to jerk the trigger with minimal sight movement. Up close this is not a problem. To find out about trigger control, shoot from 15 to 25 yards.

13. A firearms instructor MUST be able to teach the proper method of controlling the trigger.

14. No matter what terminology you use, the trigger must cause the hammer to fall without disturbing the proper sight alignment!

All too often instructors will tell the student about their trigger control or lack thereof; however no one seems to be able to tell that student how to fix the problem. I will attempt to give you a few tools to fix this problem in your students or yourself.

Let's begin with the trigger finger's placement vis-à-vis the trigger. At Perroni's Tactical Training Academy we teach students who are using a semi-auto pistol that the trigger should cross the finger approximately halfway between the tip of the finger and the first joint, over the swirl of the fingerprint.

Finger Placement The finger is placed so that the trigger is halfway between the tip of the finger and the first joint. "The trigger is squeezed or pressed straight to the rear in a smooth continuous manner without disturbing sight alignment." You should not be able to predict the instant the gun will fire. Each shot should come as a surprise. Note the trigger finger continually maintains contact with the trigger.

Trigger Squeeze / Press. After attaining proper placement of the finger on the trigger, proper trigger pressure can be applied to the trigger. There are three parts of trigger pressure each time the weapon is fired. They are slack, squeeze / press, and follow through.

All three parts are important to proper trigger control.

1. Slack. The shooter must first take up the slack at the beginning of the trigger movement by applying slight pressure to the trigger. The trigger will move slightly to the rear until the internal parts of the trigger mechanism come into full contact with each other, and the "softness" in the tip of the finger is eliminated.

2. Squeeze / Press. The trigger is then in the squeeze / press portion of its movement, which is when the internal parts of the weapon are being disengaged from each other to allow the hammer to fall. The pressure should be a smooth, constant, and even pressure, applied straight to the rear so that the sights are not misaligned at the instant the hammer falls. Once the hammer begins to fall, the follow through portion of trigger control begins.

3. Follow Through. Follow through is the continued steady pressure applied to the trigger until the trigger reaches its most rearward point of travel. If the shooter does not continue to apply the constant, even pressure during follow through, it is possible that the impact of the round could move on the target, thus spoiling an otherwise good shot.

Trigger Release. Once the shot has broken and the trigger is fully to the rear it must be released forward for follow up shots. The most failsafe method is to maintain contact with the trigger and let it move fully forward at the same speed with which you pressed it. The marksman's trick of letting the trigger return only far enough to reset the sear or "hear the click" This is most evident in Glocks! When shooting fast with a loss of fine motor dexterity the tendency is to not let the trigger forward enough. The result is at best a momentary pause in the firing and at worst a perception that the gun has malfunctioned somehow. We call it "double clutching" the trigger.

There is one Federal Law Enforcement agency so consumed by trigger press that is trains new agents to acquire finger placement on the trigger first then acquire a grip on the handgun.

Dry fire practice is the key to achieve proper trigger press and will not damage a modern handgun. However you must press the trigger to the rear without disrupting sight picture and sight alignment.

Point of aim is point of impact. Which means where ever the front sight is when the bullet leaves the barrel is where it will impact on the target. There is also one other Federal Law Enforcement Agency that has it's agents repeat front sight, front sight, front sight, front sight until the trigger breaks. This allows them to focus on the front sight to get that surprise break "while using proper trigger control."

Believe it or not there are more things to talk about when it comes to trigger control but we only have so much room for the article. Want to know more? Come to class, and we'll talk.....

Tom Perroni is the owner, President and Chief Instructor of Perroni's Tactical Training Academy. Pulling on a five-year law enforcement operational background, Tom has spent the last fifteen years delivering training to government, military, law enforcement and private security companies. Tom is also the lead contract instructor trainer for the Virginia Dept. of Criminal Justice Services, responsible for vetting private security trainers approved by DCJS. Tom is also a Contract Instructor for Blackwater Training Center. Tom appreciates feedback and can be reached through the Contact page on his company website at http://www.perronitactical.com.

Closing Comments

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read the Minuteman Monthly Newsletter.  I encourage you to pass it on.

You may use this newsletter as you see fit.  You may post it, blog it, print it, forward it and publish it.  The only thing I ask is that somewhere in your material, make sure the URL www.SaveTheGuns.com appears prominently.

Thanks,
Marc Richardson
Owner/Founder
www.SaveTheGuns.com

"Congress have no power to disarm the
militia. Their swords, and every other
terrible implement of the soldier, are the
birth-right of an American..."

Tench Coxe

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