20 years ago, the press-out was not very well known. 30 years ago only a small handful of us were doing it. In the last 15 years, it has become known well enough that some people are even against it. You know you’ve arrived when that happens! Nonetheless, I think there is a bit of confusion about what the press-out is and what it does for you.
Today, you can fire up the computer and find the thoughts and ideas of many of the top performers in the world. That was not the case in the mid-90s when I first learned the press-out. There were some good books available, a small handful of shooting schools, and even one video from John Shaw, but there wasn’t much else for the serious student. People talked about “good trigger control” but they didn’t teach much in the way of mechanics to accomplish the task. “Don’t disturb the sights!” was about as far as most people went. Some balanced coins on their front sight. Others talked about which part of the finger should contact the trigger. That last one has always kinda cracked me up.
In fairness, the double-action revolver stroke was pretty well understood, and many people touted the benefits of stroking through in one continuous movement. Applying that idea to the then-modern crop of double-action autos proved beyond the abilities of most. Some took the easy way out and simply shot single action guns like the 1911 and Browning Hi-Power. Others, by choice or mandate, were using the still misunderstood Glock, with its unique trigger that was neither single nor double action. Many of the gun writers of the time talked about how cops and other people they shot with often shot much better with the Glock than with any other pistol. I suspect that they were mostly not testing anything I would find meaningful. Also, if you give a mediocre shooter a Glock and compare it to a Beretta 92 or Sig 226, you will often see a small improvement on the first shot.
The press-out was designed to solve these issues. It allows you to turn a long, heavy, double-action trigger into a short, light, single-action trigger. Maybe not literally, but in practice, it works out pretty well. It also turns a mushy, indistinct, safe-action trigger into a short, light, single-action trigger, though the difference is not as large. The press-out can be used when shooting from a ready position or from a draw. High ready is the most common ready position for using the press-out, but low ready works as well. The draw simply adds the steps needed to get the gun into both hands and pointed at the target. From there, a press-out is the same as any other position.
I first learned about the press-out from Greg Hamilton and John Holschen, both then at Insights Training Center. I believe that they got it from John Shaw but I can’t say for sure. When Greg first taught it to me, it was as if I was struck by lightning. The obvious superiority of the technique made me feel dumb for not figuring it out on my own. The actual superiority of the technique allowed me to beat everyone I ever shot against for many years. Only when I got to the national level in USPSA, IDPA and Steel Challenge, did I meet shooters who were a little or a lot better. Nonetheless, we are talking about a small handful of shooters at the very top. Other than those top shooters, it seemed like everyone else, everywhere else was just throwing rocks, while I had a slingshot.
So, starting from a two-handed ready position, the press-out in its most basic form involves pushing the gun to the target while pulling the trigger to the rear. Done correctly, the trigger breaks at the exact time that the gun stops on target. You can push the gun slowly and pull the trigger slowly (essential for learning correct timing, not so useful for actual performance-oriented shooting), or you can push the gun quickly and pull the trigger quickly. The main idea is that the gun movement and trigger break have to be coordinated. If your gun gets to its firing position but the trigger isn’t breaking, you need more work. If the gun goes off before it gets to its final firing position, you need more work.
A bit more on that last bit. When learning the press-out, occasionally the gun will fire fractionally early before it stops moving. Those shots are often the most accurate shots fired and are not to be considered ND’s or AD’s, since you are trying to make the gun go off. When it goes off in that situation, it is a true “surprise break” and you are incapable of adding pressure to the gun that might throw your shot low or left. All it means is that your timing was very slightly off, nothing else.
Now that we have looked at a short history and the basic idea behind the press-out, we will get into the mechanics of it next week.
Curious, who was the evangelist of your group, Todd, Ernest or you regarding the press out? Todd got me started with the press out back in 2010.
Not totally sure what you mean. I think Todd learned it from Ernest, but by the time the three of us were shooting together, we were all preaching it to anyone who would listen. I met Todd in 2002, but had learned the pressout about 6 years earlier.
Another who learned it from Todd here. I wish I’d kept better notes, in case he mentioned where he’d gotten it, but alas.
(AFHF, March 2010, Sacramento CA)
Sadly, for whatever reason that weekend, I just could not seem to soak up the lessons as well as I’d done in some other classes. That’s been a regret ever since, compounded by Todd’s death.
Well, I hope to see you in a class sometime so we can fix that. If not, maybe this series on the press-out will help.
I am glad to have learned this from Ernest and then Todd back in the early 2000s. But strangely enough I find I’m really not doing it as much as I used to, and I don’t know why. I am still taking up slack on the draw, or on the mount, but I’ve worked away from a proper pressout, for no reason I can think of.
What are you shooting these days? Shooting a lot? What kind of shooting? Depending on the trigger, targets and your skill, you may not need the press-out as much.