Offhand Hold

[WaltherWill]

I use a backhand hold for my air rifle when shooting International. I don't know how to explain it much better. My thumb is on the right side of the stock and the other four on the left (i'm a righty). I originally used a closed fist but found that I had alot of sideways movement. I switched to this new one and my scores jumped ten or twenty points. I've now found though that with my bulky jacket (it's a borrowed leather Kurt Thune about wo sizes too big for me) my pistol grip, or more correctly, my fingers on the grip are touching the my jacket. I know this is illegal and i'm getting a new jacket for Christmas so the problem should diminish but i just wanted to know if anyone knows what grip the REALLY good shooters use and how they keep the pistol grip from touching.
When i say REALLY good shooters i mean like 590's/600 international. I currently shoot about 570.
Any input would be very helpful, it's not limited to 590 shooters :)

[wch]

Most shooters will take a file and file off the part of the grip that the fingers aren't touching.
Hold the rifle in position and have someone mark where your fingers rest. Leave a little bit of room just in case you make a change in your grip on the rifle and file off the rest at a angle. Put some kind of wood finish on the filed part to make it look better.

[WaltherWill]

I plan on buying a couple more pistol grips for the rifle so I can experiment, but this poses another question. I see many shooters with puttilike substances on their grips. Where can I get the stuff to do this and what is legal for ISSF?

[pdeal]

I suggest checking out some of the world cup finals on issf tv. www.issf.tv I think is the site. You can in many cases see very plainly what the top shooters are doing. There does not appear to be much consensus of anything to me.

[B.T.Carstensen]

I plan on buying a couple more pistol grips for the rifle so I can experiment, but this poses another question. I see many shooters with puttilike substances on their grips. Where can I get the stuff to do this and what is legal for ISSF?

It's just wood filler you can get it at walmart if you want or any hardware store. After you put it on you sand it down and put a finish on it. And it is ISSF legal.

<>Brian<>

[WaltherWill]

It's just wood filler you can get it at walmart if you want or any hardware store. After you put it on you sand it down and put a finish on it. And it is ISSF legal.

<>Brian<>

Will this work on laminated wood grips? Would I have to sand the grip some to give it a surface to adhere to?

[B.T.Carstensen]

There are a few things you can do, Sand down the part you want or you can get vary short nails ( less then 1/2 in ) make a patten with the nails (it's kind of like pouring a concrete foundation over steel rods so it gives it some strength ) tap them in about 1/2 way then put the putty in. Sand it smooth and your done. But be vary sure that you what to do this before you do it. If any one knows of a better way please share it.

<>Brian<>

[Dani[not]California]

WatherWill-

I also use the same style of hold as you do. I recently watched a collage shooter shoot with the fingers down the barrel of the gun, his pinky and index fingers were on the side of the stock, and he was able to shoot pretty decent like that. But that may not work for you. Just experiment with your position and see what works best.