Hand anatomy, grip and trigger control

[toddinjax]

Not sure how to put all of this together to form a question but here goes. Without knowing all details of the nerves and muscles that work in concert with one another to control our hands and fingers I understand they DO all work together. For example if you are trying to open a screw top bottle that is very tight, it’s impossible to squeeze the cap as hard as you can while simultaneously keeping the other 3 digits relaxed/loose. The muscles in the forearm and palm cannot help but activate all digits at some level, Given this, it seems counterintuitive to try to hold a pistol grip “ like a good handshake” or even “ like shaking a child’s hand” and simultaneously applying little more than 500 grams of pressure as smoothly as possible to the trigger. Should we be seeking some sort of balance between grip effort and controlled trigger force? Seems like the more firmly one grips an AP, the more “out of balance” you’d be with the common 500 -525 gram trigger?
As an aside my 46m weights in at just a hair over 1000 grams(without a pellet for you sticklers) I don’t suppose I could hold it with as little as 500 grams pressure. Would a heavier pistol and/or a tighter hold of the grip be matched with a heavier trigger?

[PirateJohn]

You'll find out with practice what works best for you, but any card magician will tell you it's absolutely possible to train your fingers to work well independently. But does take a lot of practice. I do a lot of dry firing while laser-focusing on the front sight to train myself to pull the trigger with as little movement as possible. I also train with a hand gripper (with springs for individual fingers) to get my strength to where the 500 gram trigger can be pulled with minimal effort.

[David M]

General rule, the heavier the calibre, the firmer the grip and the heavier the trigger.
Free pistol light full contact grip and light trigger 55g to 120g.
Air pistol slightly firmer grip with 500g trigger.
Std pistol firm grip 1000g.
Now I know ISSF Centrefire was dropped to 1000g from 1360g, but I found 1000g was too light for
the bigger calibres. With a good good strong grip and 1200g to 1360g trigger, it gave a better control
of shot and recoil.
Service/Action pistol, two handed very positive grip and 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 lb trigger.

[GoodEnuf]

It sounds like you are interested in the details to -1) shoot better, and -2) learn something.

A (somewhat dated) bible in these matters is A.A. Yur'yev's Competitive Shooting, 399 pp., published by the NRA, 1985. He goes on for between 150 - 200 pages on all things physiological and neurological related to the "Technique of Firing the Shot" , which is Section two of his book. Chapter headings of that section are:

Ch. 4, The Human Motor Apparatus;
Ch. 5, Statics of the Human Body;
Ch. 6, The Rifle Shooting Position;
Ch. 7, The Pistol Shooting Position;
Ch. 8, Aiming;
Ch. 9, Breathing;
Ch. 10, Releasing the Trigger.

Ch. 10 subtitles are: Basic Conditions for Good Trigger Release; Hold Patterns and Their Relation to Trigger Release; Methods of Controlling Trigger Release; Physiological and Psychological Factors Related to Trigger Release; Common Trigger Control Errors and Ways to Correct Them; The Importance of Proper Trigger Adjustment; Triggers and Trigger Release Techniques. This chapter alone is 34 pages long.

Partial responses to your questions are addressed as part of each of the several chapters, and elsewhere in this book.

The point of this post is to demonstrate the existence of resources that go into whatever depth suits you to satisfy your curiosity. The research, diagrams, analysis, photographs, etc. are distilled in the observations and advice of many of the posters in this forum. The succinct posts are probably as useful to improve your shooting as are the 395 pages in this book (and other sources like it out there), but there is value to some in knowing where those observations and that advice is rooted, beyond the personal and incontrovertible experience of the individual posters. In other words, it makes good bedtime reading.

JE