[Phaetos]

I keep seeing people say, "get what fits your hand". But how do you figure out what fits your hand, exactly? Is it just how it feels, or whether you can reach the trigger in the "acceptable and correct" manner using just your first joint? Is the rear of the slide supposed to sit completely in the web between the thumb joint and the fore finger? Or does it tend to rest on the thumb joint there? How do you exactly find out what criteria to use to determine proper fit? Pictures with description would be quite helpful. Thanks.

[skud_dusty]

To me, it's always been either love at first sight/feel, or not at all really. Rarely have a bought a gun that didn't scream "buy me!" the first time I touched it.

It happens more often than not:o

[mdao]

http://www.corneredcat.com/FirstGun/tryongun.aspx

Easily the best resource I've found on gun fit.

[MICHAEL T]

"get what fits your hand " Yep that what I try to do and a 1911 fits best. You will know when it well fits

[Nomad, 2nd]

Pick up, handle, and shoot many.

You will know, you'll say: "This one feels SOOO much better."

I reciently reexperenced that. I had been training with the Glock for about a month... carrying it... due to future expectations.

Then the other day I picked back up/put back on a 1911... feels SOOOOOO good!

[psyopspec]

It was trial and error at first. Now I look for something that points naturally with controls that are within reach of fingers and just seem to be "right."

[Caimlas]

My assessment is very close to the Cornered Cat approach. Basically, if I hold up my hand with my elbow bent at 90 degrees, with my hand limp and my fingers extended, that is how my hand should look while holding the gun. The backstrap sits in the crook of the thumb so that if you pull back on the firearm's frame while the gun is in your hand, the pressure will transfer back directly.

For trigger, I should be able to fully compress the trigger in double action (if it exists) and single action (again, if it exists) without the middle link in my index finger being positioned much more than about 45 degrees - because otherwise (at least for me) this results in me pulling the pistol to the side while firing (due to the involuntary movement of the other fingers - it's controllable but I'd prefer to not have to consciously work against myself).

Grip angle, I personally like 110 degrees, give or take. Not a fan of Glocks, you could say. :P I imagine it depends on the length of your fingers and the shape of your palm. My palm is fairly square and my fingers of fairly common length (unlike some people's fingers who appear to taper down consistently instead of being in a V shape, and their palms thinner on the 'bottom' than at the top). I imagine glocks fit much better in people with thinner, more feminine palms due to their angle.

Operating mechanisms, I don't really care to much, as long as there is a manual safety of JMB extraction (ie not a Beretta), I can carry in condition one, and no lever mag releases (oops, there goes the USP), because I keep bumping them with my fingers.

For me, the only handguns I've found which fit ideally/well are USPs, doublestack and single stack 1911s (less so on the single stacks), BHPs, and CZ-75s and derivatives. Most revolvers fit just fine ("good enough") ironically - probably due to their longer refinement and the different grip style. However, if I shoot a given pistol enough, it becomes more natural due to experience and I'm able to comfortably and accurately shoot it (Taurus PT111 Pro, Walther P22) - though at first, it's a real bear. I've got long, slender fingers, which is the likely reason why I'm in this situation. :P

[svtruth]

Full size single stack 1911 fits me nicely. My Para 13-.45 is only a fraction fatter.
A guy let me try his XDs in .45 and .40, man did they fit well, and shoot accurately.
Good luck.

[Majic]

Fit is an action that must be experienced rather than described. No one had to describe to you how a shirt or pair of pants should fit to be comfortable to you. As an example go pick up a Desert Eagle to check it's fit then a Keltec P3AT. I'm willing to bet both of those will immediately let you know they don't fit your hand very well.

[Shipwreck]

To me - the P99 is the most ergonomic pistol I've held - It just feels the most comfortable. Not Blocky. Not too fat or too thing. Just right :)

[SAWBONES]

It should be comfortable first of all, then it should "point" naturally.
This is important.
You should be able to grasp the stocks and find that the gun is pointing right at your desired point of impact when you bring the piece up to firing position. This should be reproducible on demand.

[Boats]

I go by feel and indexing.

By indexing, it has to come up to the eye as if I was pointing with it, no deviation up or down or to the side. The Glock and the HK P7 grip angles are out.

By feel, it cannot promise hammer bite, running the slide over the web of my thumb, rub my ring finger uncomfortably with the bottom of the triggerguard, the length of pull for my trigger finger should not feel contorted and the firing controls should all fall to the proper digits without promising accidental activation if I "ride" them.

Long and the short of it is that I have become a fan of highly customizeable grips. The 1911A1 offers this as do a modern crop of pistols that offer different backstraps. Of course revolvers are the ultimate in changeability as one can send off a tracing of one's hand and get back an Excalibur like feel.

[-terry]

That's what I do, SawBones. Close my eyes, bring the gun up, then open my eyes. On all the guns I have, I am almost dead on when I open my eyes.

[Phaetos]

Here in lies the problem. I didn't ask for a subjective answer. I asked for a technically correct answer. I have 2 guns that I'm looking at to buy and both subjectively "feel" good when held one way. But if that grip is shifted just a tad to get the back of the slide off of my thumb joint, then it feels all kinds of wrong. Not to mention that I can then barely reach the trigger at all. That is what I am asking. If I were to ask any say top level pro shooter what the correct fitting criteria is, then what answers would I get? How would they tell me to PHYSICALLY handle the firearm to see if it felt comfortable? God I so wish I had a camera :(

[pax]

phaetos ~

My answer, with pictures and a technical explanation, is in the link in post #3.

pax

[Sunray]

Mdao's link is about as good as it gets.
However, grasp the handgun like you're shaking hands. If you can't easily reach the trigger, it's too big. If you can wrap your trigger finger around the whole trigger, it's too small. Your fingers on the grip will be pushed together when it's too small as well. You can tell if it's too small, generally, just by the feel. Changing grips will fix a too small fit.
"...shifted just a tad...barely reach the trigger..." It's a tick too big. A change of grips can fix it. Changing grips won't always make a handgun fit your hand though. Take off the existing grips to see if you can easily reach the trigger without them. That'll tell you if it's the grips or the frame. Sometimes the frame can be just too big for your hand and different grips won't help. The placement of the trigger can be too far forward on a pistol that otherwise fits well. Changing grips won't help that either.

[hemiram]

I for one find 1911's "not quite right", I've shot a few over the years and they just don't fit my hand comfortably at all. I prefer the CZ-75 and it's clones over just about any other semiautos. The first time I picked up a CZ-75, back in the days when they were hard to find, was, "That's it!" My friend's dad got one through all his friends he had in the movie business over in Europe, and I really wanted one for a long time.


On revolvers, that's just a matter of having a custom grip made, but I'm basically Dan Wesson all the way.

[Jeff22]

The critical dimensions are the circumference of the grip and the length of pull between the backstrap and the face of the trigger. In firing position, the shooter should be able to smoothly actuate the trigger by contacting the face of the trigger with the pad of the fingertip or the crease of the first joint. If the gun is too big around to grasp properly, the shooter is faced with a handicap that no amount of practice can overcome.
So how do you determine if your sidearm properly fits your hand? Grasp it with the web of the hand high up on the grip frame into the tang, and with the barrel straight in line with the long bones of your forearm. If your index finger doesn’t fall at or near the crease of the farthest joint, it doesn’t fit.
Fit of the gun to the hand is pretty subjective. Also, some people prefer a certain grip angle over another because it points better in their hands. (Some shooters really find the Glock points well for them, and others can't stand it) Guns that have the axis of the bore lower in relation to their hand point better. (Sigs and the H&K pistols have a high bore axis, and don't point as well as some other guns.)
If you could test fire a selection of different guns, you'd be better able to judge that for yourself . . .

[PrimaryB]

Hello Phaetos. This has been posted before and if you've already seen it my apologies but check it out. http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ow8slcckcb

As mention above my 1911 Springer Loaded Operator with Pachmayr Grips is the bomb. It feels so nice and cushy. When I hold and caress it my mind goes.................oops. Sorry I started getting carried away.:neener:

[denfoote]

Trigger reach. Your index finger must reach the trigger without having to cock your wrist.
The girth test: if your second finger and thumb do not touch when you wrap them around the butt, the gun is to fat!!

Achieve both these and the gun will fit!!

That covers the mechanics.
Ergonomics is a different animal altogether!!
That is accomplished only by handeling guns that fit mechanically and judging how each "feels"!!

[Majic]

I have 2 guns that I'm looking at to buy and both subjectively "feel" good when held one way. But if that grip is shifted just a tad to get the back of the slide off of my thumb joint, then it feels all kinds of wrong.
If the gun felt good in the hand there would be no need to shift your grip. By having to shift your grip then you know it just doesn't fit.