G34 (and other long-slide pistols) recoil muzzle wobble: Am I doing it wrong?

[AtomicToaster]

I shot a Glock 34 heavily all last year, and thought I was doing pretty well with it. Then I borrowed a G17 and beat the hell out of my G34 split times, due to far less vertical muzzle 'wobble' after the gun comes back down from recoil. In short, the G34 takes much longer to stabilize in my hands, whereas the G17 gets out of my way and lets me shoot, to paraphrase OrigamiAK. I've noticed and been annoyed by the 'muzzle bounce' phenomenon with many other guns, and am wondering what the proper way is to deal with it:

1: Change my grip in some way to stabilize the pistol more quickly? Some quick details on how I grip the pistol: hand position is very Vogel-esque, and grip pressure is as follows: strong hand in a C-clamp on the front and backstrap with the part of the hand behind the trigger finger torquing inward against the side of the gun, weak hand pulling back against the strong hand somewhat (just as a function of arm length and hand position, not an active pull) and torquing inward high on the gun.

2: Get better at timing my trigger press to "catch" the trigger at the right moment of recoil recovery (this one seems unlikely to be the answer, given the benefits of the "compressed surprise break" method of running the trigger)

3: Something else entirely...

Thanks, all!
-C.J.

[JV_]

Interesting. I really don't notice that much difference between a 34 and a 17.

[AtomicToaster]

I was surprised at how much difference there was. My first thought was that it was the difference in recoil spring assemblies between the two guns (the G34 is a Gen4, while the 17 is a Gen3), so I stuck a Jager guide rod with a Gen3 G17 spring in the 34. This improved things somewhat, but the 'wobble' issue persists. If I recall correctly, I also never experienced wobble issues with the Gen4 G17 I put a couple thousand rounds through early last year.

[TheTrevor]

How is your grip and wrist strength? Longer slide/barrel can mean a longer lever to work against your wrists if you aren't able to aggressively manage recoil.

ETA: Now that I think about it, I saw an exaggerated version of this at a recent USPSA match. A new shooter was running a G35 and was very visibly struggling to manage recoil because he didn't have the hand or wrist strength needed. The result was exactly as you describe, a lot of front-sight bobbing during recovery after the shot.

[AtomicToaster]

How is your grip and wrist strength? Longer slide/barrel can mean a longer lever to work against your wrists if you aren't able to aggressively manage recoil.

Fine, as far as I know. I wonder if my grip is fighting the recoil a little too much, actually.

[TheTrevor]

Fine, as far as I know. I wonder if my grip is fighting the recoil a little too much, actually.

It's a lot easier to experiment with using less strength to manage recoil than vice versa.

[GJM]

Most folks, including Origami (since you mentioned him) think a 34 is easier to shoot but the difference to a 17 is very slight. If the 34 doesn't suit you, I would just use a 17 since it is easier to carry and more reliable across a wide range of ammo.

[AtomicToaster]

Most folks, including Origami (since you mentioned him) think a 34 is easier to shoot but the difference to a 17 is very slight. If the 34 doesn't suit you, I would just use a 17 since it is easier to carry and more reliable across a wide range of ammo.

Except that I already own the 34 and am borrowing the 17

More importantly, I experience this same issue with ANY long-slide pistol. 1911s, M&P Pros, etc.. I think there's a technique issue here, and since I like to play around with other guns from time to time (like you, I shoot for fun), I'd like to see if I can correct the software problem.

[AtomicToaster]

Another idea: my shooting stance is somewhat 'turtled', with elbows pointed out sideways, because I feel like that helps lock my wrists. It could be that I'm not taking enough of the recoil in my elbows as a consequence. Thoughts?

[GJM]

Another idea: my shooting stance is somewhat 'turtled', with elbows pointed out sideways, because I feel like that helps lock my wrists. It could be that I'm not taking enough of the recoil in my elbows as a consequence. Thoughts?

Video?