Originally Posted by
zacii
At the risk of exposing myself a total novice, I believe that I can relate here.
I have small hands, too. It was very frustrating learning to shoot pistols. My first training experience was a 4 day affair with a 1911 from a less than desirable manufacturer. I was using what I had.
It became very apparent that my finger placement on the trigger was paramount for accuracy. I was really struggling because to guarantee my 1st shot was good meant that my follow-up shot was rushed and thrown low and left. I had to choose between good trigger finger placement, or forearm alignment. Couldn't have both.
The instructors insisted that I used their preferred grip, which they called a modified Weaver.
It just didn't work for me. No matter what, I couldn't make that pistol recoil straight back like I was supposed to. Very frustrating.
Later on, I took a 2 day class from the same people. This time I took an XD Subcompact 9 and a Glock 23. I was experiencing the same problems. I attributed my lack of control to my small hands and the inability to line the pistol up with my forearm.
After taking those 2 classes, I tried numerous different pistols; read tons of info and watched tons of videos, including many from Surf.
I was very discouraged because I wanted to shoot the pistols that I wanted. I didn't want to be limited to the small revolvers, and small semiautomatics that supposedly fit properly.
One day I just decided to hell with it. I'm gonna shoot what I want to shoot and figure out a way to drive them that works for me.
I found some Jerry Miculek videos and also some videos by a guy calling his technique 'Fist Fire'. Now, maybe this was being taught all along and I didn't hear it, but I found my solution: it's all in the weak hand.
I started experimenting and focusing more on my left hand for recoil control, and my right hand was positioned so that I had perfect trigger control. I rolled my left wrist dramatically forward and locked my wrist so that it was a stationary wall in front of the pistol handle. I was trying to use leverage in front of the pistol, rather than bone mass behind the pistol.
Holy smokes. I can't tell you how happy I was when my M&P 45 started going straight back and then forward again on target! I tried it with all my semi-autos and I was able to do it with consistency.
The downside side is that some instructors may give me a hard time, because my grip is not textbook.
But it works for me and I can shoot any pistol I please, and that's all I care about. My forearm and wrist aren't aligned with the bore of the pistol and I don't care.