How to grip?

[Electronrider]

I like to hold the front of my dominate hand with my off hand while shooting a handgun. My father swears by holding the underneath side of his shooting hand.
any suggestions?

That is an age difference. Your father is using the "cup and saucer" grip that was widely used in the past. The modern "wrap both hads around the grip" is popular now. One provides a more stable platform for shooting, while the other helps make follow up shots a lot faster.

 

[actaeon277]

Either way is better than the one handed they used to teach.

Unless of course, you are injured in one hand/arm, and only can use one.

 

[kyotekilr]

I think to shoot accuratley you could use either. however, the cup and sauce does not let you follow up with a second shot like the method Todd Jarrett uses.

 

[dom1104]

I think everyone dispensing advice needs to show a 7 yard target.

If you dont know how to grip a gun, you need gun training. Find someone to work with you.

 

[Sylvain]

I think everyone dispensing advice needs to show a 7 yard target.

Here is my target, but it was the same day I forgot my gun, as mentioned in my previous post.
Is it still good?

 

[dom1104]

Here is my target, but it was the same day I forgot my gun, as mentioned in my previous post.
Is it still good?

lol. Good one

 

[Sylvain]

lol. Good one

To be honest there is some times where I DID have my gun but the target still looked like that.
That was the case the first time I shot a 9mm at 25 meters.
I thought that maybe a 9mm was no powerful enough to make holes in paper from that distance.
Sometimes I wonder if I just bought blanks by mistake or if im such a bad shooter.

 

[dom1104]

To be honest there is some times where I DID have my gun but the target still looked like that.
That was the case the first time I shot a 9mm at 25 meters.
I thought that maybe a 9mm was no powerful enough to make holes in paper from that distance.
Sometimes I wonder if I just bought blanks by mistake or if im such a bad shooter.

I know the feeling.

The first time I shot a USPSA target at 25, on the move, it looked like I was gunning for his crotch.

Nice grouping, just about oh 2 feet low.

 

[jayhawk]

This article has some interesting insights from Enos and Sevigny:
The Combat Grip

 

[netsecurity]

This article has some interesting insights from Enos, Sevigny and the like:
The Combat Grip

Indeed, that is a great article. This picture shows how to make the utmost surface contact, by raising your right thumb over the left. This is how I went from being an average pistol shooter, to a pretty good one. It doesn't feel natural, but with practice it is extremely stable. It just doesn't work on revolvers, as the article states.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I hold like Jeff Cooper told me to hold it, however I do not wear the hat.

 

[Coach]

Grip: A never ending discussion. Partly due to evolution of technique.

Accurate shots can be taken with any grip. As long as the sights remain aligned and on target as the trigger is pressed and the bullet leaves the gun the hit will be there.

Stance as in body position is a luxury. In self defense situations you will not always be able to assume the perfect text book position. In competition obstabcles, ports and barricaides will prevent perfect position many times.

However, the grip is important for rapid and accurate follow up shots. Practice until the grip becomes your normal grip. The worse or different your grip compared to a proper grip the more difficult this will be to do. It took me a long while to change my grip back in 2006 or 2007 but it was one of the smartest things I did to improve my shooting.

I am a firm believer that in most things there is a best way to do things. The grip TJ demonstrates has so much to offer that I feel it is the best way.

Depending on hand size and gun size it can work sometimes for revolvers. If establishing this grip on a revolver your thumb does not extend past the cylinder you are fine. I have seen some combinations of shooters and revolvers where this works. But if your thumb is extended too far lock it back over your other thumb. Being out past the cylinder is asking for trouble.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

The most important thing is to find what works for you and practice. Use the same technique until it becomes second nature.

 

[blamecharles]

Oooohhhh, thaaaaaat's what Grebner was doing in that infamous video. I always wondered...

NO Grebner was shooting his Fing Self

Actually, before body armor became popular, Weaver was taught in the military. It wasn't till the late 90s that I think they switched. It was a pretty hot topic for a while, switching the way you teach thousands of people.

I got out in 1999 and they were still teaching Weaver stance.

Indeed, that is a great article. This picture shows how to make the utmost surface contact, by raising your right thumb over the left. This is how I went from being an average pistol shooter, to a pretty good one. It doesn't feel natural, but with practice it is extremely stable. It just doesn't work on revolvers, as the article states.

That is pretty much my grip except weak side index finger goes to the trigger guard automatically i just leave it because its natural for me. Only when shooting my gfs revolver do i have to remind myself.

That is pretty much my grip except weak side index finger goes to the trigger guard automatically i just leave it because its natural for me. Only when shooting my gfs revolver do i have to remind myself.

 

[Billy Bob Chubb]

Frankly this is just terrible advice, maybe he was joking, I dont know. For most people it takes a lot more practice. The firmer and balanced the grip, the better you shoot. And I dont think it feels natural at all, quite the opposite, hence the need for muscle memory...

I guess maybe it's bad advice for someone who isn't naturally good at shooting guns. It's been established that I'm a natural shot and have no ability to teach anyone anything because for me, all I have to do to smoke a bullseye is pick up a gun, point it, & pull the trigger. I can't teach that I guess, so I'll forever refrain from offering technique advice.

And this is how I hold a murder weapon...

 

[actaeon277]

Take it easy. Don't take it personal.

 

[Paul Gomez]

Here's my take on grip. The more contact you can get on the frame, and the higher in relation to the bore line, the better off you are. Accurate shooting can be done from any hand position since hands, other than the trigger finger, have nothing to do with hitting what you aim at. However, firing multiple, accurate shots in compressed time frames does require more attention to technique & effort on the part of the shooter.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJOslIIfggk[/ame]

 

[cedartop]

Thanks for that Tod Jarret video, had not seen it before. What he demonstrates there is the optimum way to grip and shoot for accuracy. It is the way we teach at the fundemental level and should be learned by everyone starting out or looking to shoot better. That being said,

Situations dictate strategy, strategy dictates tactics, and tactics dictate technique. This is Roger Phillips favorite line and I agree. What do I mean by this? If all you know is that one optimum grip, you are going to try to fit that in to every situation. That is backwards. If I have the upper hand and the situation has given me the time to get a solid platform, a good two handed grip, and perfect sight alignment, with a surprise break, then by all means, I will take advantage of that. How many times do you think that is likely to happen in a reactive situation?

A more likely situation is that I got caught behind the curve (no one can live in condition yellow all of the time), and I am going to be forced to modify away from the optimum. Something like, moving out of the line of fire quickly, while drawing and firing with one hand. If I am married to the optimum grip and "stance" what is going to happen if the situation dictates that those tactics and techniques won't work? Most likely, I will be shot (or stabbed, or whatever). If however, I let the situation dictate my tactics, I will bust off the X, laying down multiple rounds with a convulsive grip while point shooting my assailant to the ground, all the while him still trying to catch up in his OODA loop.

So yes, learn the optimum first, then figure out why and when you need to move away from this. FOF training is a good way to figure this out.

 

[churchmouse]

I am a fair shot and hold like Jeff Cooper but I see there is some room for improvement in what I am doing and teaching my kids. Maybe some adjustment needed.. I think hand size dictates a lot about how you grip you pistol and differs from gun to gun wit grip width.

 

[netsecurity]

I guess maybe it's bad advice for someone who isn't naturally good at shooting guns. It's been established that I'm a natural shot and have no ability to teach anyone anything because for me, all I have to do to smoke a bullseye is pick up a gun, point it, & pull the trigger. I can't teach that I guess, so I'll forever refrain from offering technique advice.

Even if you feel your grip and resulting accuracy are acceptable, I bet you can take accuracy to the next level with a two thumbs forward grip. Don't give up if it doesn't work better right away, practice dry firing to see which exact grip holds those sites 100% steady after pulling the trigger. Once you get the grip that is steadiest, then practice that muscle memory when picking up the gun. Repeat as necessary to improve muscle memory. You should be able to do this without ammo, in your bedroom, within a half hour each time until it feels like the only way you want to hold the weapon.

We haven't talked about trigger pull, but I assume everyone knows to only use the tip of your index finger on the trigger (this is common to all firearms, not just pistols). I have big hands, so I must bend my right wrist back almost as far as it will go in order to keep my index finger from protruding through the trigger guard too far. This has a hidden benefit of lining the backstrap and recoil from the pistol up with the center of my forearm. Again, even a single handed grip is far from natural for me because of this.

I will admit that I am envious when someone says they can be acurate without much effort on the grip, since it has literally taken me years to refine my technique to the point where I can hit dead center to where I aim.