Control Matrix

Any professional shooter will tell you that accuracy is nothing more than a byproduct of control—the precarious balancing act of a three-by-three skillset matrix.

To put it all in perspective, accuracy is technically defined as the degree to which a shooter’s average point-of-impact (POI) aligns with the intended point-of-aim (POA). It is a measure of correctness rather than consistency. Accuracy describes where the group lands relative to the target’s center (provided your firearm is appropriately zeroed), not how tightly the shots cluster together.

In technical marksmanship, ballistics and performance diagnostics used across military, law-enforcement and competitive shooting communities, accuracy is determined by how far the center of the shot group strays from the intended POA. This is why a shooter can deliver a tight group yet still miss the mark entirely. When paired with speed, accuracy becomes one of the two cornerstone performance metrics by which professionals are evaluated.

Applied to either defense or competition, precise POA-POI round placement is paramount to accuracy and, in turn, on-demand performance shooting. At its core, accuracy is a byproduct of your ability to control this placement. The secret is to simply increase your control, which will inevitably result in greater accuracy, easy right?

An easy concept to understand, of course, but not so simple a task. Tightening your control means balancing a three-by-three control matrix that governs round placement. The matrix is a combination of three interactive and independent processes. The first layer is the shooting sub-processes. The second layer is visual confirmation patterns. The third is starting trigger-finger positions.

Subprocesses

If the shooting process is defined as “bring stability to alignment and press off the round without disturbing that alignment,” then the mental, visual and mechanical sub-processes comprise this first layer.

The mental subprocess is further decomposed into three levels. The first is your mental connection to the shooting process. Professionals focus on the process itself, whereas amateurs focus on “going fast” and “being accurate.” Underneath this is the procedural subtask how many rounds, which targets, what order, movement, etc. The final component is staying mentally connected to precisely what you’re doing. For example, a professional mentally processes one (or more) rounds per target. on target one, repeats for target two, repeats for target three. Entry-level shooters simply try to “hit three targets,” which is not the same thing.

Confirmation Patterns

Visual confirmation patterns comprise the next matrix layer. Using carry optics as an example, and again following the shooting process, the shooting professional employs three visual confirmation patters—a flash, bounce or float.

The flash is designated specifically for optimal speed, close to your operational limit. For example, closer and/or larger targets, shorter movements and the like, allow the shooter the least amount of confirmation time. Simply being aware of, (as opposed to a hard target (POA) focus), a flash of color across your POA, is a good enough indicator to torch one off.

Demanding less stochastic dot movement as the result of a bit more technical shot, the 6-12 bounce indicates sufficient stability to send it.

Lastly, and for significantly more technical shots, greater stability is required, which may take a tenth of a second longer than either of the previous two. Here, the dot must float ‘long enough’ to visually confirm alignment.

Starting Positions

The final matrix row is your trigger-finger starting position. The three most commonly cited positions are: off the trigger completely (inside or outside the trigger guard), lightly touching the trigger or “at the wall” (a term coined by Rob Leatham in the 1990s). Lesser target difficulty affords you the luxury of slapping the trigger from the off position.

A bit more target difficulty requires commensurate initial trigger control so for some shooters, starting in the touch position provides greater control. The third and final starting position is designated for the most technically difficult targets—starting from the wall.

Starting trigger position is what determines the probability of muzzle movement based squarely on shooter skill. The novice attempting accurate round placement on a highly technical target would induce more movement from the off position than from the wall. The mark of a true professional is reduction of movement regardless of starting position.

Matrix Magic

The magic is found in balancing each individual matrix lever to ultimately hold POA alignment all the way through the press regardless of target difficulty.

Refining your subprocesses, trusting your subconscious awareness of the most appropriate confirmation pattern and developing your skills to optimally control your hold regardless of starting trigger position are all part and parcel of this balancing act.

Mastering accuracy is never about chasing luck, hope or “trying to be accurate.” It’s about building disciplined control over every lever in the matrix until the entire process becomes a seamless progression of tension-free effort.

When your subprocesses run clean, your visual confirmations match the shot you’re taking, and your trigger prep aligns with the technical demands in front of you, round placement stops being a gamble and becomes an inevitability. It’s the predictable outcome of a shooter who has invested the time and work required for the control matrix to produce the only thing it can: the byproduct of accuracy.