Gripping too tight

[KentF]

I just finished the NRA Basic Pistol Course and while at the range the instructor told me I was gripping the gun too tight. He said he could see my knuckles turn white and my hands start shaking. He told me to hold the gun with the same grip as a weak handshake, or like holding a puppy. When I did so, my shooting immediately improved. I've never been told or heard this before.

[Jay Cunningham]

It's very common. Use your support hand to supply the extra grip strength and allow your firing hand to be relaxed enough so that the movement of your trigger finger is an isolated action.

[John Ralston]

I always "Over Grip" (but not to the point of shaking) - I get better recoil control, and I figure that when the time comes to use the gun...I am going to be so amped that I will be over gripping anyway. I do shoot more accurately with a more relaxed grip, but I stopped worring about it long ago. I think any puppy I held with my current grip wouldn't follow me home :)

Every aspect of my shooting has changed in the last 10 years...I am sure yours will too. :cool:

[JHC]

Strong hand grip cranked up hard but short of tremble was key to getting the Glock trigger press right for me. My revolvers in single action I would shoot like the NRA instructor said.

[ubervic]

I'm fairly new to pistol shooting after many years of shotgunning. I think that I began shooting handguns with a grip that was as strong and, potentially, as ineffective as your original grip.

With shotgunning, you have your cheek, your shoulder and both hands contacting the firearm, and so a relaxed grip is much more natural and intuitive. Once you understand the recoil factor, and with four major contact points on a long, heavy weapon, relaxing as you swing on target and pull the trigger is easy.

In contrast, when I began firing handguns, with only my two hands to guide and control the pistol, my grip was so tight (probably to 'control' recoil and muzzle flip) that I'm guessing my knuckles were almost piercing through my skin. :o However, as I've read about and watched skilled handgun shooters (many of whom are on this board), I've adopted a much more relaxed grip with success.

After achieving a good, strong, firm grip to pull the weapon clear from holster, I then marry up with my support hand and progressively reduce my strong-hand grip as I raise the gun to my sight line. As I extend the pistol, I imagine only 30-40 percent of my total grip strength in my strong-hand, and the balance is sustained with my weak-hand.

My primary intent is to sweep straight back through the very front surface of the trigger with my trigger-finger as I align the sights to full extension, allowing the rest of my strong-hand to gently relax as I apply pressure high up on the pistol with my weak-hand. I have found that this method reduces felt recoil and increases accuracy, making shooting feel much more intuitive.

Hope this is helpful to you.:cool:

[John Ralston]

BTW - The stronger you can make your grip, the lower percentage of your max strength you can use and still have great control on the weapon. If you double your grip strength, you only have to use 50% of it to achieve the same control as the shaky choke hold you have now (without the shaking).

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[KentF]

Yea, I definitely need to improve my grip strength.

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[SLG]

I pretty much try to break the grip of my gun everytime I shoot it. So does Rob Leatham, FWIW. Haven't succeeded yet.

There are times when the above isn't true, but most of the time, that's how I do it.

[oboe]

Being new to the entire subject of pistols, I read - stuff like this, and articles, and books. A guy named Massad Ayoob [sp?] appears to be highly regarded in this field, as is Todd Louis Green - so I try to pay attention to these guys.

Ayoob writes that there is something like "autonomic" response, or something like that. He says that when the trigger finger moves to pull the trigger back, the other fingers on that hand autonomically [?] move also - thus moving the gun off target.

To remedy that problem, he has written, the strong/trigger hand should grip quite hard. The when the trigger is pulled, those fingers already have been moved as far as they will go and will not move further. Thus, they will not pull the gun off target.

I have read other advice by obviously talented shooters who say almost the opposite - keep the trigger hand relaxed. Also, Ayoob mentions three types of trigger fingering - saying to use which one works best. One is that the finger tip is barely on the trigger, then one where the "pad" of the front part of the finger is on the trigger, and finally the "power finger" in which it is actually the first joint itself that is on the trigger.

Believing that what technique "should" be is always a matter of personal opinion even from the best teachers, I wanted to find out - not what SHOULD, but rather what IS. To that end [with three different borrowed pistols], I tried shooting with these various techniques at the range.

Here's what I found worked - for ME: Gripping very firmly [but not to the point of strain or jitters] with the strong/trigger hand did indeed give me better results down range. Also, using the middle of the first digit - the pad of the trigger finger - also improved my down range results.

Thus, for ME - not for someone else, but for ME, using a very firm strong/trigger hand grip and the pad of my trigger finger on the trigger had me regularly hitting marks I could not have hit regularly before.

Since most if not all of your are WAAAAAAAY further into this subject than I'm I - may I have your views on this?

[JHC]

I have long read Ayoob's advocacy of the crush grip and I recall reading TLG advise a very firm strong hand grip also. This has worked best for me.

[ToddG]

My take on grip, fwiw:

Strong hand has a primary role, and that is making the trigger press successful. Everything else is secondary to that when shooting 2H. The more accomplished and experienced you are at pulling the trigger without moving your other fingers, the harder you can grip. But it's pretty easy to see that a lighter SH grip means less likelihood of influencing your gun during the trigger press. Wrap your SH middle, ring, and pinky fingers around your WH thumb and then simulating pressing a trigger with your SH trigger finger. The tighter your grip your thumb, the more you'll feel the other fingers as you "press the trigger." If you could add resistance to the trigger press, this would be even more pronounced.

The crush grip that some advocate certainly does work under many circumstances for many people, but as your skill progresses and you want/try to make tougher shots under pressure you'll find that gorilla gripping the pistol with your strong hand diminishes both precision and speed of trigger finger movement.

The weak hand has a primary role, too. Its job is to control the gun. Because you do not need any fine movement with your WH nor do you have to move any of your WH muscles quickly and precisely, you can afford to grip just about as hard as possible (without inducing a tremor) with that hand.

[oboe]

Thank you, Todd. I'll try it each way. Bear in mind that while the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step - that one step is pretty much the only one I've taken. I'll be back!

[Pistol Shooter]

My take on grip, fwiw:

Strong hand has a primary role, and that is making the trigger press successful. Everything else is secondary to that when shooting 2H. The more accomplished and experienced you are at pulling the trigger without moving your other fingers, the harder you can grip. But it's pretty easy to see that a lighter SH grip means less likelihood of influencing your gun during the trigger press. Wrap your SH middle, ring, and pinky fingers around your WH thumb and then simulating pressing a trigger with your SH trigger finger. The tighter your grip your thumb, the more you'll feel the other fingers as you "press the trigger." If you could add resistance to the trigger press, this would be even more pronounced.

The crush grip that some advocate certainly does work under many circumstances for many people, but as your skill progresses and you want/try to make tougher shots under pressure you'll find that gorilla gripping the pistol with your strong hand diminishes both precision and speed of trigger finger movement.

The weak hand has a primary role, too. Its job is to control the gun. Because you do not need any fine movement with your WH nor do you have to move any of your WH muscles quickly and precisely, you can afford to grip just about as hard as possible (without inducing a tremor) with that hand.

Great information Todd. :D

Thanks for sharing!