Don’t Jerk It: Pistol Trigger Control Tips With Brian Zins

by
posted on January 16, 2018
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
Last week for Part 1 of our “Precision Pistol Tips with Brian Zins” video series, we covered pistol grip improvement. Now for Part 2, Brian, a 12-time NRA National Pistol Champion, reviews his pistol trigger control tips (watch the video above).

Part 2: Trigger control
What is trigger control? Brian Zins believes that trigger control is the ability to manipulate the trigger without disturbing the sights. Trigger control, simply put, is “getting the gun to shoot, once you get the sights where you want them.” Brian tweaks this advice to, “Align the sights as you pull the trigger.” More on this later.

Brian Zins on pistol trigger control
Stance, grip and aiming are important, but you can have a perfect grip, and hold perfect sight alignment all day long―but it only counts when the gun goes bang and only one action causes the gun to do that―pulling the trigger.


According to Brian, there are two fundamentals in shooting, aiming and trigger control. Trigger control is the more important of the two, because it’s the only part of the gun that’s actually moving before the shot breaks. There’s no sense in aiming if you can’t pull the trigger without disturbing the sights. This is not limited to precision pistol―trigger control is key for all pistol shooting disciplines.

Trigger finger placement in bullseye
Now for bullseye, where should the trigger make contact on the finger? We touched on this a bit in Part 1, so if you have not watched it yet, be sure to review it. The trigger should be centered in the first crease of the trigger finger. Why you ask? We have always been taught to place the pad on the trigger. Brian would rather have the hard surfaces of the creases on the trigger, because when pressure is applied, we know the trigger is actually moving to the rear, and we are not just feeling the fat and skin of the finger being pushed out of the way.

Brian Zins shares his tips for pistol trigger control in bullseye
In Part 3, which is upcoming, Brian will marry up his concepts of sight alignment and trigger control.


Trigger control, you should make yours nice and smooth. Learn it, live it, love it!

In Part 3 of our video series, Brian will cover the relationship between sight alignment and trigger control. The tips in these videos are taken from Brian’s instructional clinics. Learn more about Brian Zins pistol training at www.pointblankrange.com/training-instructor-bios/brian-zins

Latest

2026 Gatorcupsportingclays 1A
2026 Gatorcupsportingclays 1A

Gator Cup Returns to Back Woods Quail Club with Beretta DT11 Giveaway

The 2026 Gator Cup at Back Woods Quail Club in South Carolina runs March 24-29, featuring eight events, guaranteed payouts and a Beretta DT11 giveaway.

New: Springfield Armory XD Mod.4 OSP

Springfield Armory’s XD Mod.4 OSP is a 9 mm striker-fired pistol with a factory-milled optics-ready slide, flat-face trigger and passive grip safety, shipping in 16-round and 10-round configurations at $399.

Mark The Milestone: Federal’s America 250th Commemorative Loads Have Arrived

Federal Ammunition’s America 250th commemorative line is shipping now with five loads across the American Eagle, Top Gun and Champion families, priced from $12.99 to $74.99.

West Virginia Claims NCAA Air Rifle Team Title With Record-Tying 2395

WVU matches NCAA air rifle team record with 2395, powered by three 599 scores from Lake, Muller and Kocher, to win discipline title by eight points.

NRA America’s Rifle Challenge: Kyle Lamb’s Guide to Zeroing Your Rifle for ARC

Kyle Lamb zeroes three rifles across ARC’s Stock, Limited and Open divisions, then demonstrates height-over-bore holds at 10 yards and mil-based elevation dials out to 384 yards.

Anderson Shares Singles Title After 450-Target Marathon at Southern Grand American

Weston Anderson and Ricky Marshall, Jr., declared Singles Co-Champions after breaking 450 consecutive targets at 2026 Southern Grand American.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.