Addressing Excessively Sweaty Hands

[Chance]

There have been other discussion here on this general topic (such as this http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...Grip-Reduction), but the gist of the conversation was a little different, so I figured it warranted a new thread.

I tend to sweat a *lot*, to the point where I probably have a moderate case of hyperhidrosis. My palms often sweat so much that when I’m writing something by hand, I have to wear food handling gloves or the piece of paper I’m writing on ends up looking like I dropped it in a sink. I use antiperspirants on my palms, which seems to help a little, but from what I’ve read there’s just not much you can do about sweating too much.

I’m new to serious shooting, so I’ve been hesitant to look at rubber grips, stippling textures and so forth to help mitigate the issue when a few changes in grip technique could be much more helpful. At this point though, it’s clear my pistol (Gen4 G19) sits in my hand differently after each shot because of how slick the grip becomes and I’m just not sure how much improvement in stability I can expect without changing the surface my hand is sitting on.

I’ve tried some cheap rubber grips a friend had (don’t recall the brand). They seemed to help initially, but once the sweating was in full swing, I didn’t notice any substantial improvement. They might have even been a little worse once they were completely soaked.

I haven’t had the opportunity to try any Glocks that have had their grips resurfaced. I’m a little concerned that just making the texture more “aggressive” may not be especially helpful, since the grip is constantly being re-lubricated by my hand, but that’s purely my uninformed speculation. I have seen Bowie Tactical Concepts “tree bark” style resurfacing and that seems like it might provide a channel for the moisture to actually be pushed out of the way, rather than a dimple where it would just pool. Again, that’s purely my speculation.

Has anyone come across shooters that have to deal with an over-abundance of sweat? I know shooters in more humid climates have this issue frequently. Are there any actual grip techniques that can help, or am I pretty well stuck in that regard? Would getting a more abrasive texture on the grip help, or would that just file away at my hands faster? Are there any quality rubber grips anyone can recommend – the ones I’ve come across don’t seem like they would help much?

Any pointers or suggestions would be appreciated.

[JV_]

Have you looked at grip tape?
http://www.ericwesselman.com/store/Glock.html

[Tamara]

This is kinda similar to the double-bind I found myself in when I was toting a 1911. (My palms will start sweating like a fountain just watching a Jeb Corliss video...)

20 lpi checkering on the frontstrap and MSH was the berries for holding on to the gun in any realistic scenario, and at the same time, checkering that coarse would chew my hands up in a two- or three-day pistol course I went with training guns that had much finer checkering or used skateboard tape on the frontstrap, and saved the coarsely-checkered 20-lpi guns for actually toting.

[Buzz Fledderjohn]

I'd give grip tape a shot first before sending the gun off to be stippled or going at it yourself. I ground down and stippled one of my 19's with a very aggressive texture that will eat my hands up during a long shooting session but doesn't budge no matter how sweaty my hands are.

~Matt

[TGS]

In addition to the grip tape, consider getting a decent pair of gloves. IMO, if you need a training aid in order to make useful training, then use it.

I don't have particularly sweaty hands, but my HK P2000 has a pretty slick grip....I've found placing grip tape on the right side only of my grip to make a huge difference with my grip on the weapon when sweaty.

As to your grip technique, that's certainly something that can matter. Since you're self-proclaimed new to serious shooting, then consider finding a well known instructor that is very technique focused in his classes. When I say well known, I mean well-known as someone who advances and contributes to shooting technique, not just some guy who's well known by people at the local gun shop.

[YVK]

I have seen Bowie Tactical Concepts “tree bark” style resurfacing and that seems like it might provide a channel for the moisture to actually be pushed out of the way, rather than a dimple where it would just pool. Again, that’s purely my speculation.

I've had Bowie's stippling on Glock, and still have 1911 Crimson Trace grips done by him. While I don't have issues with hyperhidrosis, I've not found his treatment to be any superior to others in regards to weapon retention. I think it is a function how coarse/aggressive stippling is, rather than style and type. Boresight's medium treatment is good; I'd imaging coarse would be even better, but you'd have to always wear an undershirt if you conceal-carried that pistol.

Other options may include absorbent wristbands and powders like baby powder or climbing chalk. Never needed to use them with guns but did so when I used to play tennis a lot. Powders are a bit messy.

Obviously, shooting gloves should mitigate the issue quite a bit.

The most important part would be to get a competent instructor to look at your grip, but you already mentioned that.

If all of the above failed, and only after that, I'd look at changing a pistol to something with less of a muzzle flip, but I doubt that would be necessary.

[JHC]

TGS suggestion of gloves may be necessary. Try grip tape. I guess maybe an extreme textured gun like the RTF2 Glocks would be interesting to try.

My 23 year old is a fast and heavy sweater too. I've never heard him comment about the guns shifting and he shoots them extremely well, fast including in intense Georgia heat while sweating profusely. But he has incredible gorilla grip strength and he does "crush grip" the gun.

There has been so much published that suggests a firm but not crush grip on the dominant hand. What approach do you take on that?

[Chance]

But he has incredible gorilla grip strength and he does "crush grip" the gun. There has been so much published that suggests a firm but not crush grip on the dominant hand. What approach do you take on that?

I try not to crush the gun, but any thing shy of that after about 50 rounds and I honestly don't feel I have much control because of how wet the grip becomes. My grip strength needs improvement though.

Have you looked at grip tape?
http://www.ericwesselman.com/store/Glock.html

Seems like an excellent place to start. Is that company still active, though? It has a few dead links, and I can't find any info if the tape fits Gen4 Glocks.

[TGS]

Seems like an excellent place to start. Is that company still active, though? It has a few dead links, and I can't find any info if the tape fits Gen4 Glocks.

If you're driving by a hardware store, stop in for some 3M grip tape that's made for outdoor steps and the like. It's worked well on my grip, and costs under $10 for a big sheet of it.

[JHC]

If you're driving by a hardware store, stop in for some 3M grip tape that's made for outdoor steps and the like. It's worked well on my grip, and costs under $10 for a big sheet of it.

This. I just taped up a Gen 3 G17 tonight with that stuff because they shift too much compared to RTF2 or Gen 4's. The 3M stuff is helpful.