Grip pressure...or pressing the grip

[toddinjax]

Hi all,

I'm still a rookie 10m shooter with about 9 months experience. I learn something just about every session. Sometimes I make a technical "discovery" that seems to work well and cause improvement for me, but of course I often don't know if it's "correct" technique and/or if it will eventually hinder me when I get to a higher level or worse, keep from that higher level, and have to be unlearned further on down the road. Below is one such discovery; please add any thoughts you might have. I check this site just about every day, looking for dialog about technique and any pointers I might find to better myself.

I find that rather than "squeezing the sap" out of the grips, I can hold steadier with what I'd call a "gentle, barely firm" grasp. I do however when grasping the barrel to pick up the pistol, use quite a substantial amount of force to press the grip "into" my hand. Then pretty much just use exactly enough "grip" to keep it just there. I'd been keeping my finger tips very loose (taking advice not to apply pressure with them too literally) but now I let them "feel" the inside of the grip, still not applying "force", but just enough muscle tension in them the keep the gun from pushing left.

[lastman]

Hi Todd,

As a new shooter, you will find that "Tip of the day" complex is common. It's because you are thinking specifically about something and it stops you fretting about other things. Don't worry too much about it.

As for your grip. It's such a personal thing and what works for me may not work for you.

1 thing I would suggest is that your setting your grip prior to the commencement of your shot process you should be setting your grip for the shot. If you don't hold tightly, there's no need to use a lot of force to set your grip. Just set it with the same pressure you use while shooting.

As with just about everything in shooting, consistency is they key!

Good luck

[Gwhite]

As Lastman said, it highly personal. A force that feels high for one person could be light for another. I've heard a variety of guidance from various coaches over the years.

My first coach was fond of saying "the tighter the grip the tighter the group". The theory is that if your trigger squeeze isn't perfect, the pistol will move less if you have a firmer grip. He used to recommend gripping tighter & tighter until your started shaking, and then relax until the tremor goes away and you are stable.

That's OK, but an equally (or more) important issue is to have consistency. It can't be any tighter than you can shoot REPEATABLY for 70 or 80 shots without tiring.

[seamaster]

Grip hard or grip less hard, it a personal choice, may be a day to day choice.

But the most import thing to grip with this triangle enforcement grip, all other non triangle parts should be loose.

http://www.issf-academy.com/courses/fun ... tol.html/7

Make sure you are gripping properly with this triangle, not on one angle, not on two angles, but on all three angles of this triangle.

[EdStevens]

I believe that the single biggest issue with shooting well for the vast majority of shooters is some kind of unconscious reaction in anticipation of the shot; some kind of micro-twitch just before/as the gun goes off that creates a flyer or at least a movement of the front sight out of alignment.

The really, really tight grip can help to overcome this because it's very difficult for any kind of twitch to occur if the muscles are already at maximum use. A muscle can't increase pressure if it's already pressing as hard as it can. However, I believe this is covering up rather than addressing the problem, and can also lead to short term issues with maintaining that kind of exertion over a match, and can cause long term issues with RSI-type injury after constant use of this technique.

OTOH, a very light grip creates an environment where even a slight unconscious muscular reaction will have potentially large effects. If you can maintain an even light pressure all the way through the shot, it can work, but this can be difficult to do without exceptional conscious control over your emotions (i.e. no anticipation).

[crankythunder]

that when you grip, the pressure should be on the back strap and the front of the grip of the pistol. there should be no pressure squeezing but more of a front to back tightness.

While she is not a professional shooting coach, she is a very accomplished shooter at camp perry and has a closet full of pistols she won at various matches. (yeah, she humiliates me every time too! Gawd I love her!)

Regards,
Cranky

[Rover]

This is too good a resource to be buried here:

http://www.issf-academy.com/courses/fun ... istol.html

Spread it around.

[John Marchant]

Thanks Rover, I had forgotten about that information link.

[David M]

One thing to remember with grip pressure is that it is related to trigger weight. Because all the tendons of the fingers all come back to a common point on the hand, the tension in all fingers is similar.
It takes a huge amount of training to vary each finger tension. Try gripping a free pistol tight and control its light trigger or grip a revolver loosely and pull a heavy double action trigger.
So grip the pistol with about the same tension in each finger as the trigger finger at letoff.
Do not try to "squeeze the sap out of the grip", use the same tension as a light to medium hand shake.

[Coastwatcher]

Don't forget the fatigue factor that a very tight grip creates. It is very difficult to be consistent during a 2 hour match at the best of times. Any exaggerated action will be even more difficult to maintain.

[Isabel1130]

One thing to remember with grip pressure is that it is related to trigger weight. Because all the tendons of the fingers all come back to a common point on the hand, the tension in all fingers is similar.
It takes a huge amount of training to vary each finger tension. Try gripping a free pistol tight and control its light trigger or grip a revolver loosely and pull a heavy double action trigger.
So grip the pistol with about the same tension in each finger as the trigger finger at letoff.
Do not try to "squeeze the sap out of the grip", use the same tension as a light to medium hand shake.

Yes, and yes....! It is extremely difficult to discover if you are making triggering errors or gripping too hard with a light triggered gun. The lighter the trigger, the harder you can grip because a light trigger covers triggering errors that will be exposed with a heavier triggered gun. Experimentation will show you what works and what doesnt. Learn to isolate the different muscle groups. I had a real problem learning that I shot best with a light grip but a firm wrist because when I realized that floppy wrist was causing me problems, I attempted to fix it by tightening up my arm and my hand. Too tight a grip caused more problems than a floppy wrist.