Guitar Playing Affecting Shooting

Does anyone here play guitar and shoot bullseye?  Have callouses on your fretting hand index finger affected your sensitivity when pulling a trigger? i.e., will playing guitar potentially affect your shooting?

The short answer is - no.
The longer answer is: you fret the notes with your non-dominant hand (left, if you are right-handed) and you hold the gun in your dominant hand.
Additionally, the only potential effect of guitar playing I can see is a positive one: strength and dexterity developed for paying guitar or another musical instrument, can only help, not hurt.
Don't worry about this and focus on your training.

The other thing is to use your first knuckle instead of the ball of the finger on the trigger. Better and no problems with callouses.

The thing is, I shoot left handed and learning to play right handed (fret with left hand). 

I've tried Zins' pull with the joint technique. God bless him, I don't know how he does it, but I couldn't get it to work. Maybe my hands are smaller than his, but my groups opened up a bunch and I started stringing horizontally.

Even if you position your index finger to press the trigger with the pad, not the joint, the callus on that finger will NOT interfere with the trigger press. The callus develops on the tip of the finger, not the pad. If you are pressing the trigger with the very tip of your finger - the same part you use to fret the guitar strings - this may not be the best technique for shooting. If you are fretting the guitar strings with the pad of your finger, it may not be the best technique for playing...

What I am saying is:
1.  You use different parts of your finger for fretting strings and pressing trigger.
2. Even if you somehow manage to use the same part of your finger for both activities, I can't see how one would negatively affect the other.

Can you, please, describe the perceived negative effect of the callus on the tip of the index finger?
BTW, I am not trying to be snarky, just trying to understand the issue you are attempting to solve.

Regards,
Oleg.

Since the picture is worth a thousand words:

Here's the image of the finger placement on the trigger, I believe, you're using:


And here's the image of the correct and incorrect fingers placement on the guitar fretboard:



So, guitar playing should not at all interfere with your shooting.

Regards,
Oleg.

My other son Frank Jr plays more guitar than shooting. He don't have any problems with callus. Didn't shoot all year but won .22 only at Perry. Plays Guitar every week! My hands are callused from working on metal all day but I don't have a problem. The finger can sense pressure on the other side of the callus. As to where to put the finger on the trigger it's best to determine what location is best for you.

Just don't shoot from the hip, like Steve Harris

I say no. Guitar playing hasnt affected my shooting in the slightest.

I play bassoon. If anything, it helps my shooting because of breath control -- I am very used to "holding" my breath for many seconds while playing long notes. My finger pads are so worn that getting decent inked fingerprints is almost impossible.

I've got a slight callous from the grooved trigger of my 1911.  I guess that helps to find the right spot!

Thanks a bunch for all the reassurances!  I guess I'm good to go. Just had a moment of paranoia.

I had to quit playing guitar. All the girls kept me up too late and just wore me out. I couldn't even fire my gun after a while.

I almost have as many guitars as I do handguns and haven't learned to use either every well.  I do like to crank the distortion up to 357 mag level.  Don

One of the guys on my team said that the amount of mental focus that is needed for shooting allowed him to take his banjo playing up a notch.

My trigger placement puts the trigger closer to the first joint in my finger--not near the pad or anywhere that the guitar string would touch. I play bass, and my trigger finger never touches the fingerboard--only my non-shooting hand does that.

mpolans wrote:The thing is, I shoot left handed and learning to play right handed (fret with left hand). 

I've tried Zins' pull with the joint technique. God bless him, I don't know how he does it, but I couldn't get it to work. Maybe my hands are smaller than his, but my groups opened up a bunch and I started stringing horizontally.

I dont play guitar but I play banjo.   I also shoot left handed and fret with my left hand on the banjo.  

I think playing actually makes my shooting better.  Maybe just because my fingers tend to get stronger and my wrist gets stronger?

Playing also might help with trigger control due to the manual dexterity involved in playing.

Well, I play classical (DMA in guitar performance) and teach it at the collegiate level, and I adhere to the belief that a refined plucking technique can help trigger control.  A prepared rest stroke "kinda sorta" feels like the crisp light release on my Hämmerli 100 free pistol.
The bigger factor, of course, is the mental aspect.  Recital preparation and practice time/strategies aren't much different than that for competitive shooting.
My problem is trying to devote a larger proportion of time towards shooting!

Jim

scheibenpistole wrote:Well, I play classical (DMA in guitar performance) and teach it at the collegiate level, and I adhere to the belief that a refined plucking technique can help trigger control.  A prepared rest stroke "kinda sorta" feels like the crisp light release on my Hämmerli 100 free pistol.
The bigger factor, of course, is the mental aspect.  Recital preparation and practice time/strategies aren't much different than that for competitive shooting.
My problem is trying to devote a larger proportion of time towards shooting!

Jim

Interesting. I was a classical guitar major and still play but I see no connection to shooting. Apples and oranges to me.

I play bass as well and recently added in an upright bass. The upright is a different beast for sure, due to the increased strength needed to play it and that it uses more of the whole upper body rather than being quite so forearm focused as electric bass.

 It definitely strengthens the forearms and shoulders, increasing finger strength and control.  You also get some left shoulder workout on upright bass, as you have to keep your arm up.  Right hand plucking on upright is also more aggressive than electric and uses the whole arm, rather than finger twiddling.

My shooting scores have increased in the weeks since my upright purchase.  I think it has been very good cross training. 

 I’d say a steadier arm is going to give more points than a calloused finger might cost you.

I'm confused, if your right handed, you fret with your left. You pull the trigger with your right hand (the strumming hand). Am I missing something?

Are you playing a left handed guitar, and shooting right handed?

KenO wrote:I'm confused, if your right handed, you fret with your left. You pull the trigger with your right hand (the strumming hand). Am I missing something?

Are you playing a left handed guitar, and shooting right handed?

Upright bass players pluck for the most part. Rest strokes are similar to triggering motion.

This is one of the craziest conversation I've ever read
Phil