TargetTalk

my pistol shooting experience has been limited (if thats a drawback) to IPSC/USPSA action shooting, PPC (police pistol competition) and other shooting styles with a revolver or 1911 type...

are the grip angles on the CO2/PCP match pistols REQUIRED to be so extreme? i tried holding one at a recent match and i had a very difficult time holding the barrel level to the point of having the sights on target. my wrist just doesnt naturally tilt down like that...

Different pistol & grip vendors have different angles. Here's some info on .22 grips:

http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?t=19764

Ltdave, The grip angles that you are use to ( 1911 is about 20 degrees off of vertical ) are well suited to two handed shooting and adsorbing recoil in the disciplines that you enumerated. However in ISSF style, one handed shooting, the much more aggressive rake angle has shown to be more relaxed and natural.
Gort

on the other hand, most modern match pistols are adjustable, so there's no general rule. and grip angle also changed over time( just compare a hämmerli 150 to a cm84e). the key is consistency, so every angle that helps you to get consistent results, and feels good, is ok. extreme angles also have drawbacks, so try to adjust to the natural position of your hands.

From where I stand I understand it as the result of the limitations of Anatomy; essentially.

Consider the following:

Biggest baddest grip you can muster - what does your hand look like? What does your wrist do? My hand squares up and retreats into the wrist joint.

Most delicate, relaxed, and perhaps - in a way - the most repeatable/precise grip? My hand drops well down into the wrist joint.

Strangely when my hand drops down it kind of looks like it should naturally fit into a TOZ grip.

Crafty Soviets.

With further investigation you may find your hands require no power to hold an air pistol - when fitted you should be able to pick it up with impinging little/no inwards force with your hands. You may also realise that as your hands relax your trigger finger is much more free to move.

This is related to the forearm I am pretty sure. Lots of stuff going through there and the delicate motions are easily disturbed.
You can try this at home. Grab something (coffee mug?) and squeeze the crap out of it and try to make a delicate index finger movement akin to firing an airgun. Now relax your hand - what happens?

This is taken to another extreme with Free Pistol.

Do this with a .45 Automatic and it wouldn't be in your possession for very long after you fired it. This is perhaps where a lanyard would really shine...

My experience is that the muscles in the top side of the forearm are under tension with the euro grip. Placing these muscles under tension instead of having a free wrist motion is much less tiring for me. It makes a huge difference to me in shot stability since my hold becomes more stable..... The position is nor "required" but seems to have many practical benefits.

Grip angle is a function of a number of things.
Basically the more rake in a grip, the more the wrist is restricted to
movement but the less it can handle recoil.
Free pistol, low recoil, high precision with no box limitations.
Air pistol, very low recoil but limited by measuring box.
.22 Auto limited by measuring box, medium recoil and some limited by
the magazine angle in grip.
.45 upright grip angle restricted by magazine angle to feed fat cases.

Muscles and tendons stretch after a while, then you're back to square one except its harder to apply grip force with a raked grip.