TargetTalk

I use what I think to be a reasonable amount of strength/force when I grip my AP; like a firm hand shake, not loose, far from a "death grip", but moderately firm. If I apply this handshake force to the grip as I set the pistol into my hand, I must keep applying this constant force while I take a breath or two, raise above the target and slowly settle down, focus and then squeeze out the shot. That is a considerable amout of time of course and brings me to my question. Is it a bad idea to set the pistol with a more relaxed grip, raise over the target and THEN firm up my hold as I'm lowering down to my area of aim? Seems like it should "save" the muscles and nerves a bit of wear and tear but I'm worried (out of ignorance) about developing a bad habit; is this a bad habit that will hurt me in the long run?
Thanks for any suggestion, todd.

You should be holding the gun with the same amount of force at all times. As with most things shooting, it should feel natural and solid / stable. If you feel it's hard work or makes your arm ache then I would suggest you should loosen off a bit. It's also possible the grip fit isn't perfect making it seem more difficult. The key really is to be consistent from shot to shot, day to day.

Rob.

Use what works for you(=gives good results), either more relaxed or firmer.
I even change grip when I hange between AP cause some seem to prefer a different grip for best accuracy.
Just try it and find out

It is very easy to say that the grip should be firm and comfortable as well as giving you "good" feedback characteristics as the shot breaks. Ultimately, your grip must be consistent from shot to shot and match to match.

Although I suspect that there is a quantifiable (measurable) ideal firmness by which you should hold a particular pistol (the ideal hold of a 38 Special centre fire pistol will be different to the firmness of the grip on a free pistol or an air pistol), I believe that this would be difficult to measure.

The firmness of grip will depend on your ability to control the sight alignment and the movement of the pistol during the operation of the trigger and recoil. The sight alignment issue is perhaps the best indicator. Because a precision shot should break from 7 to 10 seconds after the sights have settled into the aiming area, a grip that is so tight that it causes violent uncontrollable shaking during this time is too tight. Likewise, a grip that causes fatigue and an inability to maintain the same area of aim as you held at the start of the match is probably too tight (although you may be able to program breaks into your shooting to recover - or improve muscular fitness by an exercise program to overcome this if you know that your fitness is letting you down).

On the contrary, a grip that is too loose will (at the extreme) move in your hand during recoil. Also, if your group is generally larger than your area of aim on the target (particularly high shots), this is an indicator of a loose grip (there are many other reasons for this, though).

There is no easy answer. I believe that the firmer the grip, the better for shot control but fatigue must be avoided. You can only determine what is right for yourself by trying different "settings" of firmness.

The comfort of a grip is achieved by having it fitted properly to your hand so that it allows you to grip the pistol in exactly the same position each time, causes the sights to align when you raise the pistol into the aiming position, allows the appropriate amount of firmness to be applied and allows the trigger finger to operate independently of the grips, pistol or any other fingers. It should also be comfortable during recoil.

Once you have tried all the possibilities during training and have achieved the best "settings", many practice shots need to be fired - dry and live firing - to affirm your choices.

The matters of how to settle the sights into the aiming area really is a function of stance/positioning, minor stretching and breath control. Many people who have studied the physiology of movement during pistol shooting will say it is best to settle down into the aiming area rather than moving up to it. I suspect that this has minimal impact. In Rapid Fire stages and Standard Pistol 20- and 10-second series, the motion is upwards. I think you should try different ways, establish a pattern and stick with it. Remember that the ultimate objective is to achieve a small area of aim leading up to when the shot breaks.

toddinjax wrote:I use what I think to be a reasonable amount of strength/force when I grip my AP; like a firm hand shake, not loose, far from a "death grip", but moderately firm. If I apply this handshake force to the grip as I set the pistol into my hand, I must keep applying this constant force while I take a breath or two, raise above the target and slowly settle down, focus and then squeeze out the shot. That is a considerable amout of time of course and brings me to my question. Is it a bad idea to set the pistol with a more relaxed grip, raise over the target and THEN firm up my hold as I'm lowering down to my area of aim? Seems like it should "save" the muscles and nerves a bit of wear and tear but I'm worried (out of ignorance) about developing a bad habit; is this a bad habit that will hurt me in the long run?
Thanks for any suggestion, todd.

Surly you dont put the pistol down and pick it back up again between every shot. theres no need to keep a firm grip tension while its sitting on the bench. just before you pick it up that would be the time to take up the grip tension. funnily enough I have just changed from a firm grip to a relaxed grip and my group sizes have halved and bad shots have reduced dramatically

Muffo wrote:Surly you dont put the pistol down and pick it back up again between every shot. theres no need to keep a firm grip tension while its sitting on the bench. just before you pick it up that would be the time to take up the grip tension. funnily enough I have just changed from a firm grip to a relaxed grip and my group sizes have halved and bad shots have reduced dramatically

You should regrip the pistol for every shot. Relaxing and tightening the hold on the grip (especially adding in cocking and loading) will move the gun slightly in the hand. Retaking the grip for every shot ensures it's the same for every shot. For example I ungrip the gun, but still hold it, and then cock and load it. I will then retake up the grip and check it feels correct before beginning my shot cycle.

Rob.