Noob question on grip

[Luke]

Well, I finally have my first class schedules for the 3rd and I couldn't be happier. Talking with a buddy (he's going too) I mentioned one of the things I really wanted help with was grip because I do not have a grip that I feel is correct. He told me to check out a video on grip from Travis Hayley (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tMzQIHN-LiI)
So I watched it, a few times. And now I have come to the best forum on the planet for help. In this video he talks about using your support hand to make the grip 100%. He grips the gun with his right hand and then uses his support hand to fill the void of the grip with his left. My problem is that if I center the beaver tail right in the "pocket" between my thumb and index finger, my fingers curl around the grip a good ways leaving not
Much room to get my support hand on the grip for added support, and when i do get it finangled in toiching the grip it feels "awkward". Does it feel this way just because I've shot so many rounds the wrong way? Or is this not right? I have the small panels (back and sides) on the VP9 because it just feels right. My thinking is if I were to install the large back strap I would have more room for my support hand to go, but the large back strap just doesn't feel..right.
Do I have the beaver tail too far towards the thumb making my fingers wrap around the grip more?
I don't have crazy big hands. There nice and thick and rough but I don't have above average size so I know this is operator error. I'm gonna try and get some pictures uploaded. The first pic is how I normally have the weapon centered into by hand, second picture is showing how much finger wrap around I have, which doesn't look like much but between the finger tips and Palm its a tight fit for the support hand.

[Luke]

[167]

Flag your shooting hand thumb up. This will open space on the side of the gun for your support hand.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BrCfHYdyhw0

[Luke]

Thanks 167, very informative video!

[45dotACP]

Flag your shooting hand thumb up. This will open space on the side of the gun for your support hand.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BrCfHYdyhw0

This is good advice. Also, cock the support hand forward so that the fingers on the support hand point at a 45 degree angle downwards when you open the hand when you have your two handed grip established. Grip the gun as hard as possible with your support hand. The harder the better because it will help with recoil control. Lock your wrists like you don't have a wrist joint. Like it's all one long bone that doesn't bend whatsoever.

[Luke]

Thanks guys! Gonna try all these out after work today. So would I benifit by installing the large back strap just so the support hand had a little more surface area on the grip?

[167]

I would say probably not. Here is a picture of my shooting hand grip on a Gen4 G22 with no backstrap.



I am a big guy at 6'4" and 270, and have skeletor fingers. The important place to have space is where you see the grip tape in my gun. I think if you just flag your thumb up, like mine is in the picture, it will open up the space you need to place your support hand appropriately.

[Luke]

Thank you very much 167, if it's not too much to ask, could you post a picture of the back of your hand holding the pistol showing were you have the beaver tail in your hand?

[167]

You can also see it here:

[Corlissimo]

Another thing to to keep in mind concerning the backstrap & side panel selection: How it affects your finger placement on the trigger.

For example: I use the small side panels and large backstrap on my P30L. From your description, it sounds like we have similar hand sizes. This is also supported by what I see in your pictures. That said, When I used to have the medium sides & strap my grip was still pretty good but my finger was too close to the trigger and I had to curl it excessively to place my pad on the trigger face. This had a horrible effect on my DA stroke and was really bad on the SA stroke.

Play with the combination of sides and strap to find the best setup, and don't forget to scrutinize both your 2H and SHO/WHO grips as well as your trigger manipulation.

HTH