TargetTalk

Does it help? What do you use?
My hold isn't bad, but the moment I start applying pressure on the trigger, my hand starts shaking. Stronger grip helps, but it increases my wobble area.

Roll it up, roll it down. Not convinced that you need Herculean strength in the forearms, but enough to provide consistent (and repeatable) grip strength definitely helps.

Perhaps some interesting things to read here: https://www.reddit.com/r/griptraining

You don't need to be Popeye but wrist wraps helped me tremendously (am up to 9lbs) and here is a link to a strength training regime: http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/stren ... ng-ont.pdf

I shot with two of the Canadian (Lady) Olympic hopefuls at the weekend - they beat me well and their forearms aren't that big... (a SCATT may help too)

You don't need to be Popeye but wrist wraps helped me tremendously (am up to 9lbs) and here is a link to a strength training regime: http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/stren ... ng-ont.pdf

I shot with two of the Canadian (Lady) Olympic hopefuls at the weekend - they beat me well and their forearms aren't big but grip is a constant topic... (a SCATT may help too)

I use eight pound dumbbells in both hands and rotate my arms in circles. You can also hold a dumbbell as if it’s a pistol, then slowly raise your arm up and down as if you’re firing a shot.

Wrist curls in four different directions will also help to strengthen your wrists and forearms. I also use a powerball gyroscope.

Lenny wrote:Stronger grip helps, but it increases my wobble area.

When you're holding your pistol, do not exert too much pressure on the grip. (If this is 10 meter airpistol) The only part of your hand that should be moving is your index finger. The rest of your hand and fingers should be relaxed, only lightly holding onto the grip.

For weights & such, the reading I have done all says you want to develop your "fast twitch" muscles for stability & fine motor control. This is best done with lighter weights & lots of reps, not massive amounts of weight that you can only lift a few times. The wrist roller is a great exercise, but I wouldn't get carried away with the weight. If you shoot a 2.5 lb pistol, and figure you are using two arms, I wouldn't go to more than 5 lbs. If you find it easy to do 10 reps, I'd add more reps before increasing the weight.

Cardio fitness & exercises to develop core stability are also good. USA Shooting News has had quite a few articles on various exercises you can do. Although many of them are geared towards rifle shooting, the core stability & cardio benefits are pretty much sport independent.

Thanks to all for comments. Lots of useful information here. When I posted I was thinking more of squeezing type of exercisers. Like a rubber ball or a plastic gadget with springs. I think I saw one made especially for pistol shooters with a separate trigger finger pad.

Lenny wrote:Thanks to all for comments. Lots of useful information here. When I posted I was thinking more of squeezing type of exercisers. Like a rubber ball or a plastic gadget with springs. I think I saw one made especially for pistol shooters with a separate trigger finger pad.

For air and free pistol, you don't need a gorilla grip. The wrist roller exercise tends to work on your grip strength as well. I have a couple of strengths of the "Grip Master" exercisers, and I would recommend going with "light" (blue) one, with lots of reps. You used to be able to get a clip on pistol sight with a plastic block that disabled the rear springs, and a large cover for the back. You could use that to try to perfect a trigger squeeze that doesn't disturb your sights. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find that accessory for sale for several years. I just did a search, and eBay has some "new old stock" listed:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351625547051



The bad news is that the Grip Master they include is WAY to strong, IMHO.

I can definitely say it doesn't hurt to have the strength there. It however will get you far less points then good dry practice. As my day job is teaching people to shoot a .40 S&W service pistol, I shoot a LOT of center fire pistol rounds (and at speed) compared to most people. I don't do much lifting these days, but I've got grip strength that makes some of my old rock climbing buddies jealous, and I've got forearm definition that looks like I spend a lot of time working them. It's simply muscular development from use. Does it help with shooting, even air pistol or free pistol, absolutely. It however is almost nothing compared to the tens of thousands of hours I've spent on dry fire over the years doing this for a living. If you have the time in your schedule to work hand strength and for arms AND do the dry fire, go for it. If you've only got time for one, then do the dry fire.

-Jenrick

jenrick wrote:If you have the time in your schedule to work hand strength and for arms AND do the dry fire, go for it. If you've only got time for one, then do the dry fire.

+1

Thanks.
Is dry-firing preferable to live-fire? I have 10m range in my basement and pellets are cheap.

Both are valuable. You can learn a lot dry firing that you can't live firing. With live fire, you never know how much of the motion of the pistol is you & how much is recoil. It is also much easier to focus on proper execution when there's nothing in the back of your head thinking about scores.

I had read from the Airgun Digest, U.S. pistol coach Arnie Vitarbo says that to master sight alignment and trigger control, dry and live fire at blank targets.

"The better you become, the more you need blank target drills. Bullseyes let you see the movement more readily and can distract your attention from the fundamentals. Over time, this drill builds confidence in your grip, stance, sight alignment and trigger control."

"And when your mind sees good things, it'll produce in the match."

A lot depends on age. If one is older (50+) one must make extra effort to keep the muscles toned. I used to be able to shoot regularly and keep toned up, but now it takes extra exercises.

All good suggestions. I am 54.

"And when your mind sees good things, it'll produce in the match."

And Arnie makes great Italian food, too!

I used a grip master exerciser for a while and it ended up giving me tendonitis that took almost a year to recover from. Nowadays I find regular dry firing traning with my S&W .500 revolver keeps me in shape for all other calibers :)