How firmly do you hold your handgun: Question from a rifle shooter.

[Pete F]

I don't think about it much. It depends on the gun I am shooting, but otherwise a firm grip, support hand tighter than firing hand. As far as stance, I am comfortable, left foot forward of right and on the balls of my feet leaning slightly forward. I can only describe it as a natural stance.

I have tried different grips and stances recommended by the professionals, but if it is uncomfortable for me, my accuracy and precision suffers. If I have to think about it too much, I am lucky to hit anywhere on the target.

My Dad tried various grips on his 1911 and all he got for it was slide bit. He went back to his usual grip with a few minor changes and got very good with his WWII Remington. It was the grip that he was most comfortable with.

I am not saying don't try different grips and stances, but if you are uncomfortable, good luck hitting what you are shooting at.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

tight af with support hand

 

[Flymph]

I hold it with about the same strength I would a hammer, which is firmly.
Magnum caliber revolvers require a little stouter grip than automatics, but I've had better luck locking up my arm more with that firm a grip.

 

[zenbreath]

Six rounds, rapid fire.

The target will tell you if you need more, or less, grip.

 

[Pandaz3]

I have just been firm, will try a heavy grip next time.

 

[Onramp]

I've tried all kinds of grip over the 60 years I've been shooting pistols, and finally settled on one that really works well for me, even with arthritis starting to get it's own grip on me. The squeeze I describe as a VERY firm handshake, barrel aligned with the two big bones in my forearm, with everything pushed up as high as possible without encountering slide bite or rubbing all the skin off your middle finger from contact with the trigger guard (tho sometimes I modify the trigger guard to give a bit more room). Support hand is placed far enough back to give firm support against the side panel of the grip, and the big muscle between your thumb and wrist area is indexed back against the same area on the firing hand. I apply pressure against the grip panel toward the firing hand, which is countered with pressure from the "pad" under your fingers on the firing hand. Support hand fingers wrap UNDER the trigger guard, index finger under the trigger finger, and really put all the squeeze on. Both thumbs are pointing straight at the target unless using any of the devices often found on competition guns. I have a thumb rest on the slide stop, and a wide thumb safety on my 2011 style comp pistol. One last thing is I try to roll the elbow area of my support hand closer to my body, which puts some torque on my support hand, somehow tightening my grip. It is hard to describe, but it really works, I learned to do that from watching a grip instruction video from the Warrior Poet Society YouTube Channel, where he shows this torquing motion very well.

Of note, this grip works best for me on 1911s, Beretta 92s and Glock 19 sized pistols. My "dress up", gonna be hugging people gun (P365) is too small for all of this to work well, so when practicing with this puppy I just hang on like hell using what I can of my standard grip and still do pretty well.

 

[oremike]

I just hang the ol' hogleg out there, and let'er buck. Honestly different guns, shooting styles and games all can have different grips. There is no One and True way. You just got to figure what works best for you.

 

[kmk1012]

I let someone shoot my 500 Mag, he was gripping it too tightly and it ended up doubling on hit. He squeezed so tightly that the second shot came double action inadvertently. Luckily no one or nothing got hurt.

 

[DirectDrive]

Over thinking it....

100% Right hand, and 100% Left hand.

Hold it like someone is tying to rip it out of your hands.

Class dismissed...I'm running out of Easy buttons.

Good way to describe it. ^^^

I like thumbs forward and depending on the pistol, I sometimes drive my support thumb into the forward part of the frame.
My current fave, P320 X-Five, puts me into a different grip, but a very comfortable grip.
That is an easy pistol to shoot accurately.

 

[Hueco]

When training I start by squeezing the ever loving hell out of it. To the point of shaking and past. I do this to make sure that when I'm gripping that tight, the gun does not tilt off to a side. Everything should be aligned properly such that crushing it might cause some shakes, but you're still on target.

Good. Now back off the pressure to a good, firm grip.

I haven't ever needed to pull my gun in a stressful situation and have no idea how my body is going to react. So I try to practice with a really tight grip, 'cause honestly, I'll probably be white knuckling it if the situation ever does come to pass. Might as well know that I can still be on target even then.

 

[thorborg]

I squeeze off a round with a rather tight grip then following rounds I lighten or tighten according to what I would think is needed.
Bill Jordan, of admirable repute, (for me) advocated for a just firm hand explaining the tighter the grip the less control you have with the trigger finger as it tends to stiffen along with the rest of the hand. I found this to be true.
He goes on to say use the support hand for the larger share of retention.
Highly recommended is a continuous beam laser attached to your gun, aimed at a spot on the wall while dry firing will show just how much your point of aim moves with poor trigger control. It's a challenge, and a lot of practice to keep the dot from moving while pulling the trigger but is possible.

 

[tinkerbill]

Short question: How firmly do you hold your gun?

Context:

I have shot mostly rifle all my years of competition. I did a bit of handgun silhouette and bullseye (now called precision pistol) shooting many years ago. I played a bit at pin shooting with my Combat Commander too. I'm an OK handgun shooter, I have bagged deer, bear and an elk with my .44, shot Pistol Expert in the Corps six years straight, passed the LEO certifications in a couple of states and met the "Pistoleer" level of competency on a recent beta test of the new pistol course that Project Appleseed is developing.

In the past I was trained to shoot handguns with what was described as a firm handshake level of tension in the hand.

Now, recently I've started playing with ICORE matches and shooting DRRCs Rimfire Challenge which has a pistol component. I've also shot a few Speed Steel practice matches. This has caused me to do some research and based on a recommendation here I've picked up Dryfire Reloaded by Ben Stoeger. In his book he recommends a monster level of hold, using terms like crush grip etc.

Is this the new normal?

I've been playing with this level of tension with my dry fire and it seems to hinder clean trigger press and induce tremors in my hold.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks and Merry Christmas.

I do think it is a somewhat individual thing among shooters and depends on a lot of factors. I will stick with the physical gun here though. I really like my Beretta 92 older service pistol because it is both a heavy gun because of all the steel in it and because it holds a lot of rounds. Because of those two attributes, I can get very good accuracy from this weapon consistently. Put a poly gun in my hands and it takes me a fair amount of time to readjust to how the weapon shoots. I can relax my grip when shooting the fully loaded 92. The same applies to target rifles and pistols in general. That's why there are bull barrels and other weight systems for custom shooting. Hope that helps.

 

[Deavis]

Framing hammer driving a 16d nail?

Same grip.

 

[tac]

I hold a handgun like I'd hold a politician by the throat.

That is to say, firmly, and determined not to let go.

 

[SA Shooter]

70% of your grip should come from your support hand. I don't personally "white knuckle" it. A properly applied combat grip goes a long way here.

This is my approach as well.

 

[tac]

I'd just like to explain that ALL my shooting is one-handed. That's all that is permitted in the kind of shooting that I do. So, no blood spurting out from under the finger nails or dith of grep.

I shoot with either hand with equal ineptitude, this - leftie only

or this - also leftie only

or these - left or right


or either of these [I have two - the other has a brown grip], also left or right -


But THIS is shot off a rest, and needs two hands.............

 

[CLT65]

Interesting thread, never gave it much thought before. I had to pull out a couple guns to get a feel for how to describe it.

I would also be a "very firm handshake" grip, firm enough that if I actually shook hands with that grip, a lot of people wouldn't want to shake hands with me. It's not a death grip though. I tried that for feel, and I wouldn't want to do that for very long.

 

[zenbreath]

and get that weight off those heels!

The best description I have heard is that you should feel your heels touch....but no more.

 

[CountryGent]

I shoot with either hand with equal ineptitude, this - leftie only

Sort of reminds me of my ambidextrous beloved. She shoots automatics with her right, but revolvers with her left. Why? Your guess is good as mine, friend.

 

[CLT65]

I've always been impressed by ambidextrous people. I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!