I wouldn't recommend doing alot with your strong hand thumb. What I've noticed with my hands is that more than any of my other fingers, my thumb and my middle finger have the strongest sympathy with my trigger finger, ie, if I flick my trigger finger back and forth while trying to keep the rest of my fingers still, it works on my ring and pinky fingers but not so well with my thumb and middle fingers (something I was made aware of while learning the piano, how's that for cross training? ).
What I'm trying to say is, if I were to try and clamp down with my strong hand thumb, I think it would detrimentally effect my trigger finger's dexterity. I try to keep my thumb relaxed and just resting on top of my weak hand.
This might help too, nice closeups on his grip:
Unlike him, I keep my weak hand thumb off the frame to avoid steering the gun in true Brian Enos style. All of the pressure in my weak hand comes from the crushing action of the four non-thumb fingers and the palm into the side of the gun.
Out of anything that has really helped me solidify my grip and get consistent sight return, Matt Burkett's timing drills stand above the rest. Check them out here - http://www.doublealpha.biz/courses-t...tts-tips/#c200
All I know is that I know nothing. - Socrates
It's really easy to see a picture of Sevigny's grip and say, "Oh, I use that same grip."
Chances are you're probably missing several key ingredients, though close definitely counts.
Also, Sevigny's grip is different from Leatham's is different from Enos's is different from Vogel's. There is more than one way to skin a cat.
The best thing to do is get with a good instructor who can work directly on your grip. When golfers of any level work with an instructor, they spend a great deal of time on gripping the club, and shooting should be no different.
If you can't get with an instructor, then use the drill where you shoot at the berm that John Ralston mentioned. That drill, coupled with your brain learning to follow the front sight and your subconscious adjusting your grip to make everything work better will get you where you need to be... eventually.
This.Originally Posted by John Ralston
I have a very bad anticipation problem - I know I have it and it's something that I try to minimize. I had read a recommendation (somewhere - don't recall) to shoot into the berm at a fast pace to get past the "i can feel the trigger is about to trip" sensation and subsequent anticipation dip of the muzzle.
Combining that with a hard focus on the front sight - something *else* I had never really done before - and I could suddenly see the front sight lifting with the recoil. It was a truly amazing thing, as you said.
Mike
Along those lines, I think it's worth remembering that not all hands fit all guns the same way. Somebody with small hands may not have the best results using the exact same grip as somebody with Johnny Benchian, Truckasaurus Rex hands.
Even without my hands changing size () I find that I usually have to make slight alterations to my grip between guns to account for differences in size and shape to do my best with a given gun.
It seems to me this is one of those things that it's best to understand the mechanics and the whys of how your grip should work rather than try to exactly mimic shooter X.
Donovan, I am definitely tracking you , and thank you for the link. That will be most helpful.
beltjones, I should have been more clear in my response. I use a two thumbs forward grip with all 4 support fingers under the trigger guard. I would love to make it to a Vickers or Hackathorn, et al pistol course, but travel in and out of Alaska is costly and time consuming. So I do what I can. I have been doing some experimenting with my grip and have seen good improvement with tip of using my shoulder and chest muscles to tighten up the grip.
And yes, when I began to track the front sight it is/was a light bulb moment! Learning occurred. Between to berm drill and the link Donovan added. I will have much to work on. Fortunately, the sun does not go down this time of year and I can shoot on my private range as late/early as I like.
Thanks all for the input, I enjoy the exchange of ideas and tips. This forum is a great resource.