Going fast and getting a good solid grip on the gun?

[Clobbersaurus]

I dry fire pretty much every day.

I have a 15 - 20 minute routine I do that includes draws from concealment on a little square with a 1.4sec PAR time.

After many months of practice, I don't have a whole lot of issue meeting that time with the standards I set for myself, which is a hard register out of the holster, and seeing a crisp front sight at the end of the press out.

What I've been struggling with is getting a good firm grip while meeting that PAR time. If I take the time to get a good firm grip, I generally can't break the shot in 1.4 sec. To be clear, I'm able to get the grip placement I want, but I'm not feeling that I am gripping firmly enough.

I punch a keyboard all day at work and generally feel I have the grip strength of a one month old baby. But perhaps this isn't an issue of physical strength, but rather an issue of just trying to go too fast.

My general feeling is that I should increase my PAR time and enure I get a good solid grip before I break my shot. Or perhaps I should be increasing grip pressure through the shot process and not worry as much about grip pressure as long as it's solid for any follow up shots.

Any tips on this folks?

[Failure2Stop]

I just grip at full strength as soon as my hand hits the gun.
Support hand crushes as soon as it rotates into position.

Grip should not be increasing as the trigger completes its travel.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[LSP552]

Your grip should be established in the holster. The only thing that should change during the press out is correcting for a bad grip position. Varying the grip strength during the press out will not lead to consistency. I'm a believer in single point practice sessions for the things that needs the most attention. Practice only draws to work on draws. I'd start slow and focus on establishing your proper grip in the holster. I'd put the timer up until you can consistently establish a proper grip.

Ken

[Clobbersaurus]

I just grip at full strength as soon as my hand hits the gun.
Support hand crushes as soon as it rotates into position.

Grip should not be increasing as the trigger completes its travel.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Thanks for the feedback, perhaps I'm just over-thinking it and going too fast for what I'm capable of.

Your grip should be established in the holster. The only thing that should change during the press out is correcting for a bad grip position. Varying the grip strength during the press out will not lead to consistency. I'm a believer in single point practice sessions for the things that needs the most attention. Practice only draws to work on draws. I'd start slow and focus on establishing your proper grip in the holster. I'd put the timer up until you can consistently establish a proper grip.

Ken

Thanks for the comments. It's my support hand grip pressure that I'm having the most trouble with. But I agree, I should be gripping at full stregth as soon as I establish my grip in the holster. I have lots to work on.

[JeffJ]

It really shouldn't take any longer to get a good grip than it does a crappy grip (at least not at 1.4) - you should view this as a technique problem and realize that it is going to take A LOT of reps to unlearn and relearn how to establish your master grip. Also, actually breaking the shot when you dryfire a par time draw has the potential to introduce a bunch of problems - you would be much better served just drawing to a sight picture so you don't end up sacrificing technique as you "chase the beep"

[Irelander]

My issue is with getting a master grip while the gun still in the holster. I carry AIWB and I find it very hard to get my thumb down between my body and my gun to get a good grip. Usually I am adjusting my grip throughout my draw to establish the master grip. I do not have this issue when using an OWB holster since the gun is not pressed tightly against my body. I know I need to practice my draw more to get that thumb jammed in there to the point where my master grip is achievable with my gun in the holster. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Sheep Have Wool]

My issue is with getting a master grip while the gun still in the holster. I carry AIWB and I find it very hard to get my thumb down between my body and my gun to get a good grip. Usually I am adjusting my grip throughout my draw to establish the master grip. I do not have this issue when using an OWB holster since the gun is not pressed tightly against my body. I know I need to practice my draw more to get that thumb jammed in there to the point where my master grip is achievable with my gun in the holster. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

I'm working on this in dry fire as well, since I'm bad about lifting the gun out with my strong hand fingertips and then getting a crappy grip. When I'm practicing, I want to feel two things: the pistol pressed firmly against the web of my hand and the front strap against the middle joint of the strong hand fingers. I've found that if I consciously feel for those things when I practice, I establish a much more consistent and full grip, even if my thumb is flagged and not driving down.

[Mr_White]

My issue is with getting a master grip while the gun still in the holster. I carry AIWB and I find it very hard to get my thumb down between my body and my gun to get a good grip. Usually I am adjusting my grip throughout my draw to establish the master grip. I do not have this issue when using an OWB holster since the gun is not pressed tightly against my body. I know I need to practice my draw more to get that thumb jammed in there to the point where my master grip is achievable with my gun in the holster. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

I echo a lot of what Sheep Have Wool has to say.

Like you, I also have a hard time getting my thumb between the gun and my abdomen when acquiring master grip. So I just don't. I lay the thumb on the back of the slide, otherwise establishing master grip. As soon as I start to lift the gun, there is space to get my thumb on the left side of the gun. The tactile reference points I want to feel are the back strap in contact with the right part of my palm and the Glock knuckle on my middle finger in contact with the underside of the trigger guard.

[Surf]

Like you, I also have a hard time getting my thumb between the gun and my abdomen when acquiring master grip. So I just don't. I lay the thumb on the back of the slide, otherwise establishing master grip. As soon as I start to lift the gun, there is space to get my thumb on the left side of the gun. The tactile reference points I want to feel are the back strap in contact with the right part of my palm and the Glock knuckle on my middle finger in contact with the underside of the trigger guard.

This is the same for me when I carry appendix. Primary hand sinks the web of the hand into the tang while the middle finger starts its wrap under the trigger guard. The thumb is high on the back of the slide area. As the weapon draws out, the thumb slides down just a bit.

For the OP, the biggest issue that I see with people establishing the support hand on the grip is that they try to fill the grip panel first and then wrap their fingers under the trigger guard and around the primary shooting hands fingers. This tends to create a weaker grip. Support hand should make first contact with the weapon with the support hands index finger first contacting the underside of the trigger guard and then rotate into the grip with the thumb going forward and the palm swell finally filling the grip panel. The crush should come from the fingers and as we extend the arms, palm pressure increases in a side to side clamp. We should not be applying front to rear grip pressure as the trigger is pulled as in how one might squeeze when milking a cow. Locking out at the wrists helps greatly in allowing the fingers to be more relaxed. Do not crush with the fingers, but a firm placement turns into a strong clamp when extension occurs. This also allows there to be less tension in the trigger finger allowing for a more precise manipulation of the trigger.

[Keltyke]

I've modified all my holsters so I get a proper fighting grip while the gun is still firmly in place. My hand touches nothing but gun. I can shoot as soon as the muzzle clears the kydex. I shoot 147 gr.Speer Gold Dot from a XD9SC. While I don't have a death grip on the gun, it IS firmly seated in my hand, and I don't have to regrip after every shot. Practice, practice, practice..