Grip: Tuesday Training Tip

Tuesday is here and it is time for another Tuesday training tip. Last week we talked about stance, and how it is the foundation that we build everything else on. Today we talk about proper pistol grip and how having proper grip is one of the most important factors in not only hitting your target, but being safe as well.

We have all seen the movies and T.V. shows where the good guy is searching for the bad guy and he is holding his pistol kind of like we see here. The problem with this is that if he actually shot the gun the way he is holding it there is a really good chance that.

• He in no way is going to get an accurate hit.
• Probably going to end up hitting himself in the face when it recoils.

There are so many wrong ways to hold a gun that if I tried to show them all to you, you would be here for the next year reading, but I wanted to show one of the most well know  wrong ways.

The proper pistol grip is about controlling the pistol. It allows you to manage recoil, deliver your round on target,  get and keep your sights on your target, and in a self-defense situation keep your pistol in your possession. so lets get into how to form the proper grip.

When setting up your grip, the pistol should be placed firmly into your firing hand like you are making a fist, with the web of your hand high and centered on the back strap. The firing hand thumb should be high, to create a space for the support hand. Your index finger needs to be OUTSIDE THE TRIGGER GUARD and placed high up on the frame of the pistol.

The fingers of your support hand wrap firmly around the firing hand with the index finger pressed firmly against the bottom of the trigger guard and the meaty part of your support hand nestled into the open space on the grip left by the firing hand. Your thumbs should be “stacked” firing hand thumb over support hand thumb.

When you look at your grip you should not see any “space” between your palm and the grip of the pistol. We want to make sure that we have total contact between our hands and the pistol. A mantra that my mentor drills into us is “the more of the gun you can touch, the more of the gun you can control”

Now lets talk about grip pressure, or how tight you grip with each hand. I will tell you now, i don’t know and the truth is I don’t care. If you do a search for this topic you will find that EVERYONE has their opinion and everyone THINKS they are right. You will see 50/50, 60% support hand 40% firing hand, 70/30, 80/20, whatever! They are all wrong, yet…they are all right as well. The fact is that it is going to be different for every single person out there, and the only way to know is to get out there and find an instructor, train and shoot. I can tell you that for me it is about 75/25. Once again though you will be different.

If you hold a hammer with two fingers you way still be able to drive that nail, but it isn’t going to be nearly as easy to control, or even as close to as effective as it could be. The same goes for the grip on your firearm. develop a proper grip and you will be safe and a far more effective shooter.