Signs of a good grip

[Ronin]

I've had the same problem as Doughnut, I'm issued a S&W M&P40 with external safety and I compete with a Glock 17 in IPSC. When I draw my Glock my thumb instinctively looks for something to rest on; the slide stop. This usually results in me not getting lock back stoppages.

[MD7305]

Over the last week with two trips to the range and lots of dryfire I think I managed to point myself in the right direction of fixing my grip issue of riding the slide lock lever. The advice I got on this thread helped me "look" at what I was doing. I found trying to be too fast was giving me a crappy grip on my holstered gun and by the time I had my sights in my line of sight I had thumbs on levers and a grip that looked scary. This may sound silly but in front of a mirror I concentrated on finding a good grip with my hands positioned correctly. Then I made note of various points of index that I could use to tell me if my grip was situated correctly. I concentrated on what the grip felt like and what fingers were touching different parts of the pistol. I practiced finiding that grip from the holster (slowly) and it's becoming natural with more and more practice. On the range I found my control of the pistol has greatly improved and the psitol stays flat under recoil. I thought I previously understood grip but it just goes to show that there's always room for learning and improvement.