Originally Posted by
HCM
“Limp wristing” is some red shirt /fudd lore b******t people who don’t know any better say when they don’t really know why malfunctions are occurring.
The answer is grip, specifically the grip, draw and presentation process.
Semi automatic pistols are recoil operated. For the pistol to function through the cycle of operation, it needs something to recoil against to allow the recoil spring to compress fully and allow the slide to travel to rear before the recoil, spring allows, the slide to move forward and pick up another round. That “something to recoil against” is the shooter’s grip.
So DB is spot on since the cycle of operation for double action revolvers depends on working the trigger finger, not on having something to recoil against as it is much more forgiving of grip issues.
If you study enough OIS videos you’ll notice that the incidence of malfunctions is significantly higher when officers are drawing under time in response to a threat vs shootings where officers start out with the gun already in hand and their grip is already established.
Most cops are not gun people. They don’t dry fire or do dry practice on their grip and draw on their own even though it’s something that their life could depend on. They might do it a little bit when they’re in the police Academy but that’s it.
Combine that with the fact that most police qualification courses are designed to check a box and are not particularly challenging. The time pressure is minimal and what little time pressure there is involves a known par time.
Then all of a sudden somebody is trying to kill them while their gun is holstered and they are trying to draw the gun as fast as possible for the first time ever.
It’s a recipe for getting a bad grip and bad grips induce malfunctions.
If you look at the law enforcement use force video thread here you’ll also see multiple instances where officers draw in response to a threat and then place their support hand thumb behind the slide inducing malfunctions. This is an issue with improperly building the grip during presentation.
In my experience, we also see that when officers get stressed and or disoriented such as in high stress, force on force training or when shooting from unconventional or “down and disabled “positions.
To a lesser extent you also see officers inducing malfunctions by unintentionally, hitting magazine, releases, or activating slide locks with rounds remaining in the gun, these are also grip related malfunctions.
You can also have officers who are injured, including injuries to the hands. People tend to focus on what they perceive as the threat, meaning they will often focus on the weapon in somebody’s hand, resulting in a disproportionate amount of hits to the hands.
After the Academy, the average police officer in the United States goes to the range with their agency once or twice a year and shoots anywhere between 50 and 200 rounds. In my area most of the smaller departments shoot once a year and shoot 50 or 100 rounds.
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