Do You Vary Your Grip Tightness Based on Shooting Task?

[GJM]

re "post ignition push" - to quote Keith Richards, "It just happens mannn."

I never trained it. Only noticed it when I fail to get slide lock and think I've got another round. But I don't see it shooting slowfire. I think it's just there as a by product of the recoil management.

Not sure what I think, still figuring it out. However, there have been times lately I inadvertently drew to an empty chamber and the muzzle stayed perfectly still. What I do believe in, is isolating the trigger press as much as possible.

[GuanoLoco]

re "post ignition push" - to quote Keith Richards, "It just happens mannn."

I never trained it. Only noticed it when I fail to get slide lock and think I've got another round. But I don't see it shooting slowfire. I think it's just there as a by product of the recoil management.

When I watch friends that do it, especially with lighter guns, I notice that they are also extremely sensitive to any changes in the gun, spring or ammo, leading me to believe that it is a setup-specific timing thing.

I don’t want to create such dependencies. If it ‘just happens’ without creating wierd dependencies, no problem.

[Gio]

The only time I back off my full grip pressure is if I'm shooting a serious bullseye course for score.

[Mr_White]

To folks that keep grip the same - do you regular group shooting? Like literally just slow fire just trying to put shots in same hole.

Just curious.

Late to reply, but yes. That's something I do regularly (most occasions I practice live fire.)

[Sauer Koch]

I don’t want to derail the thread, but just wanted to say that these are the kinds of threads that made me become a site supporter. I’ve never seen this level of discussion anywhere before.

If you don’t learn something here every time you log in, you’re brain dead!

Thanks for the great discussion!

[jetfire]

Late to reply, but yes. That's something I do regularly (most occasions I practice live fire.)

Same as Mr White - I regularly make group shooting or accuracy shooting part of my practice regimen. There are lessons to be learned when all you're doing is shooting one shot at a time and not trying to shoot a string of shots. For me, the big value is it allows me to be very present in the moment of that specific shot and what I'm doing with my eyes in relation to the sighting system, and what my finger is doing in relation to the trigger.

[rdtompki]

The minute I tell myself to crush it for a Bill Drill, the whole thing goes to shit. Trigger freeze, pushing down a gun etc.
I try to crush with my support hand on everything, I try to relax my strong hand on everything. I find that this works best for every task, and promotes consistency.

I recently experienced a mini-epiphany very much on this point. Wife and I shoot steel challenge and up until our move to a cold(er) climate (from CA) we practiced 2x/week only on stages. Paper targets used for sight-in only. After a couple of sessions at a local indoor range doing essentially bullseye shooting I found that excessive grip with my strong hand would cause a further increase in grip when squeezing the 3 lb. 1911 trigger resulting in low left POI.

I think it's time to break out the bullet laser and start really fixing this. I can imagine this is having a significant effect at speed since during the entire 5 target engagement you can't manage the gun with the soft strong hand grip that may work during controlled fire.

[Pistol Pete 10]

I grip the same - unless i'm doing it wrong or fatigued, tight enough to tremble and shake, then back it off until not shaking. So, pretty tight all the time.

This is it in a nutshell. otherwise, erratic groups.

[Jay Cunningham]

Briefly regarding post-ignition push...

This is one of those places where the rubber meets the road in regards to a trainers ability to troubleshoot and diagnose.

A very experienced, high performance shooter may in fact not do well on ball and dummy drills. Precisely because of post ignition push.

Does this mean the shooter needs remediation? Is it something worth expending effort on? Is ball and dummy even a good diagnostic tool?

[Mr_White]

Briefly regarding post-ignition push...

This is one of those places where the rubber meets the road in regards to a trainers ability to troubleshoot and diagnose.

A very experienced, high performance shooter may in fact not do well on ball and dummy drills. Precisely because of post ignition push.

Does this mean the shooter needs remediation? Is it something worth expending effort on? Is ball and dummy even a good diagnostic tool?

I agree with you about that Jay. I think random ball and dummy is useful early on to help a new shooter perceive that they are anticipating. Later it can become counterproductive for exactly the reason you cite.

Staggered ball and dummy like they do at Rogers is something that I think can be useful longer than the random version. You know when the dummies will occur and they simply serve as a rehearsal for the live shot that will follow.