How do I know my grip fits me?

[ELPRESADOR]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new to 10m AP shooting.

I've bought a morini and managed to find a medium rink grip. Once the shelf was adjusted it feels lovely to pick up and shoot.

However, I'm wondering if setting up my grip is as simple as this?

Are there any rules or guides I can follow to optimally set the grip up to shoot well and consistently? I know from rifle shooting the optimal set up isn't the most comfortable... Is pistol shooting the same?

Thanks

[PirateJohn]

Early on, it's more a matter of if it feels right. You don't really have to worry about customizing until you're consistently shooting good scores already.

[Gwhite]

The most important thing is that it fits well enough (in the right places) so that EVERY time you pick up the pistol, you know your grip is the same. Some of that is the grip, but a lot of it is practice. ALWAYS use your non-shooting hand to deliberately seat the pistol into your shooting hand.

For example: Most grips will have a vertical section (on the left of a right hand grip) that the side of the heel of the hand should fit against. I see lots of beginners rotating their hand around the grip, which leaves a gap there. The width of that gap is a variable you want to eliminate. Most of the time, all they need to do is to be aware that it's a reference point to help with grip consistency, and they can rotate their hand slightly to close that gap. Some people do it to reach the trigger better, which usually means either they aren't using the tip of their finger, or they need to move their trigger back.

Ideally, after you have found your natural point of aim, when you bring up the pistol, the sights should be aligned. That takes a combination of practice, and THEN you can try making SMALL changes to the shape of the grip to get it pointed right. I see lots of people adding putty to places that don't matter (like the sides of the grip), or can actually make things worse. It may feel "better", but it can push the pistol sideways if your grip is inconsistent, or worse yet, tenses up in anticipation of the shot.

[rmca]

How do I know my grip fits me?

The grip has to do two things:
1- Give you a consistent grip, and that means, you pick your gun up with your eyes closed and point it to the target, when you open your eyes your sights are aligned. All the time, every time.
2- Spread the load of the gun over the surface of your hand without major pressure points or voids.

Now the bad news...
from your question, you probably don't have a muscle memory that allows you to pick the gun with your eyes closed and end up in the same place every time... and it's normal when you start.
The main reason to fit a grip is to make the gun point to the target naturally. But to get there, you first have to be able to do it yourself.
I see a lot of new shooters go down this path, without realizing that it takes a lot of training to get it right.
Some even think that they can't shoot better without a custom grip. And that's false.
It may feel better, but it may not be better for the shooter in the long run.

And the good news!
You say your grip feels lovely, so there shouldn't be any major alterations to do.
I don't like to put a number on this things, but I wouldn't start messing with the grip until you are scoring consistently around the 540 mark. And yes, it's perfectly achievable with a stock grip.
As you develop, you will find out what you need from your grip. It takes time, but you get there.

All this came from my personal experience. I've modified a lot of grips over the years.
But if I could travel back in time and give myself advice when I started shooting, I would change a word of what I wrote above.

Hope this helps
rmca

[dk114]

Here's a page from Rink on how to slip on the grip:

https://formgriffe.de/en/Infos/to-shoot ... e/Slip-on/

[ELPRESADOR]

Many thanks for the replies guys, all of this makes sense.

I'm certainly not thinking about making modifications yet, it's a new grip to me but I did need a new one. My hand physically didn't fit into the grip that came with my pistol and after shooting the new grip for a couple of hours last night the difference is night and day in terms of comfort and control.

I've certainly not yet got the muscle memory you speak of yet, but this is week 2 of learning pistol shooting so I'm ok with that.

Thank you all again.