Proper handgun grip

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rammie

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Got a Sig 226 9mm and have been thinking about how to be more accurate, wondering if my grip might be holding me back. Are there any photos that show good grip technique or what other ways could i increase accuracy? I'm thinking that I have a target sighted in well, but then I am off when firing. Either that or the gun is off (but i havent bench tested it and my buddies are bad with handguns too:scrutiny: )
 
When you say "off" what do you mean?

Where are your shots hitting? if they are low, you might be filnching. If you tell us where your shots are going we would be better able to help.
 
id say that many are missed low, only problem is a lot of the targets im shooting at are placed low. But definitely missing low, yes. Where i mostly shoot (in a field) the bunker/backstop is not high enough to really shoot chest or head high targets, unfortunatley im usually aiming at waist height or below. But id still like to hit more if possible.

Its not likely that I'll get to a real range soon, although I would imagine the handgun being more accurate when fired at taller targets.
 
I am not the best shooter on this forum, nor am I the most qualified to advise anyone on handgun-shooting technique. Despite what I just said, I can easily comment on your last post. Having a low or high target, at relatively close distances, is sort of irrelevant. The question posed to you had to do with your point of impact (POI) in relation to your point of aim (POA). In other words, when you aim at the bull's eye (regardless of the height placement of the target itself--high, low, etc.), where do your shots hit the paper?

There are many factors that contribute to a miss, including errors in grip, stance, aiming, and trigger pull.

If you are hitting to the left of POA (and you are right-handed), you might not have enough finger on the trigger and are in effect pushing the trigger, and consequently the gun, to the left as you pull the trigger. You may have too much finger on the trigger or even the right amount but are rolling or hooking your finger as you press the trigger rather than pulling it straight back toward your nose. The only part of your body that should be moving when you pull the trigger is your trigger finger--and only its last two phalanges, from the middle joint and beyond with no movement at the knuckle joint.

If you are hitting to the right of POA (again, right-handed), it is most likely that you have too much finger on the trigger (actually wrapped around the trigger) and are pulling the gun to the right.

The trigger should contact the middle of the distal pad of your index (trigger) finger. You may find it best to be slightly left or right of the pad's center, but the portion of the finger used to pull the trigger should still be roughly the center of the pad.

If you are hitting low, you are probably flinching in anticipation of recoil and muzzle lift.

Other pointers: With autoloaders, keep your hand high on the pistol. Doing this minimizes the distance between your shooting hand and the bore's axis. The greater the distance, the more leverage the recoil will have against your hand. With a two-hand hold, don't simply use your weak hand to support your shooting hand but use it to grip the gun. The more hand to grip contact you are able to achieve the better. So don't have your left hand hold your right, but get the heel of your left palm onto the left side of the pistol's grip between the heel of your right palm and the tips of your right fingers. Your left thumb should be parallel to the barrel and should be resting on the frame of the gun, above the trigger guard and under the slide. Your right thumb should rest on top of your left thumb's first joint (or there about).

The middle, ring, and pinky fingers of your right (strong) hand should be in tight contact with one another, with the middle finger right up under and against the bottom of the trigger guard. Your left (weak/supporting) hand's fingers should be right on top of your right's, with your left's index finger under and up against the bottom of the trigger guard.
 
This is what I teach on grip.

Meat on steel is a good thing. The more meat (hand) you can get on the gun, the better.

Grip the gun about like you would hold a hammer to drive a nail. Don't squeeze it until you shake, and don't limp wrist it.

Get the main hand as high on the gun as possible. If you can see air between the tang and your hand, go higher. That gives the gun room to shift.

The biggest mistake I see from new shooters is what to do with their support hand. If you put your main hand thumb down on the grip, then you are blocking contact with your off hand, and it doesn't get to do anything.

Move your main thumb up and out of the way. Stick your off hand firmly against the grip. Place your main thumb on top of your support thumb, both pointing towards the target. This way your left hand is doing an equal amount of work.

Fingers interlaced. Don't put your finger on the front of the trigger guard. Some guns have square trigger guards for this reason, but it tends to pull the muzzle down for most shooters.

Use more grip strength with your left than your right. Here is why. Take your main hand (assuming you're a righty I guess). Clench it into a tight fist. Now move your trigger finger as fast as you can. Relax your hand a bit, and now try again. See how much faster you go with a looser main hand? Let your support hand work harder, and you get more trigger control.
 
Shooting left

Guys,
The issue here is not so much grip as it is trigger control and a pronounced "mash". Rammie have you had a formal firearms training to date...??? If you have had no firearms training...then this "thumbs forward" grip system is only going to confuse you even more. I have some pictures on the Internet that you can browse, if you would like. Thye are of a simplier and easier grip to learn and master than that aforementioned grip system. Let me know if you are inclined.....Good luck..
 
the technique correia describes is explained in extreme detail in the book _The MEchanics of X-Count Shooting_ by Charles STephens, particularly in the first chapter, "A Winning Grip"


the whole book is only 50 pages, and perhaps 5x8" so you can read it in about an hour.

$15 for such a small book doesn't seem like a very good value, but if you think about it, it's worth a lot more than 150 rnds of practice ammo, since practice doesn't make perfect, it just makes permanent.

ISBN -0-87364-709-2
 
You can go to Bullseye Pistoland download or read the lessons that are available. The Army Pistol Marksmanship Manual is an invaluable resource as is the "Wheel of Misfortune" found under in Error Analysis and Correction. Good free information!
 
Awesome guys, thanks for all the assistance. Im going to print all this out and see what I can do next time Im out (which should be this weekend!). I definitely will be experimenting with grip because I think I need to tighten mine up a bit and get my left hand more involved.
 
mzmtg, that video was great! Thanks so much for posting it, as it's really helped me figure out a good grip. I'm relatively new to the whole shooting thing too and I've never had any actual instruction so that was an invaluable lesson. :cool:
 
That 4 1/2 minute video is pure gold. Better than all the handgunning books and magazine articles I've ever read.
 
This is what (grip) works for me

The shooting hand should be as high as possible on the grip. This will help to control recoil and muzzle flip.

The fingers of the support hand should be up against/underneath the trigger guard and wrapped around the fingers of the shooting hand.

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The thumbs should be stacked as shown and pointed straight at the target along the frame.

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The “heel” of the support hand should be tucked tightly in front of/against the shooting thumb/hand and pressed against the grip. This allows the support hand to have maximum contact with the frame, providing a better two-handed feel for the gun which will help with control.

This is especially important as it is really the support hand that should be holding the gun. The main job of the shooting hand is to pull the trigger. When too much pressure is applied with the shooting hand, it is harder to isolate the independent function of the trigger finger. Not only that, but the tight grip of your fingers curled around the grip can actually turn the gun to the left. The pressure of your grip should be 70% support hand, 30% shooting hand. Some guys recommend that you pull with the support hand and push with the shooting hand, but what I personally found with this push/pull method was that I was still gripping the gun too tightly with my shooting hand. The 70/30 grip works like a charm for me.

Here are some links to tips and discussions on "proper" grip:
http://hkpro.websolv.com/ubbthreads...=315649&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
http://www.uspsa.com/gmTips/tip01.html
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5008
http://www.shootingusa.com/PRO_TIPS/JARRETT2/jarrett2.html
http://www.shootingusa.com/PRO_TIPS/KOENIG1/koenig1.html
And yes, that earlier Todd Jarrett video is a classic.
 
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Upon further thought, if you are shooting low its possible that your grip and trigger pull are fine but you're aim is off for that gun. I don't have a Sig so I don't know what distance they're zeroed in for, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was similar to my USP which is zeroed in at 25 metres. I was shooting low at targets at 21 feet until I found out the distance my USP was zeroed in at. If you're shooting at targets that around the same distance as I was, you want to cover the bull, making your sights a little high in relation to the bull, and you'll hit it every time. At longer distances you can go back to the 6 o'clock hold.
 
I know this is a bit of a gravedig, but I stumbled upon this in a search yesterday and found the vid very helpful (link still works). I've been shooting for years and never really had anybody to show me proper grip before; it's even more important when you're trying to get proficient with a snubby.


Hope this helps someone else, too.
 
I have been using a grip similar to the illustrated in previous post...good illustration by the way!...it does seem to help w/ keeping eveything in line & on target while firing the pistol
 
I have that vid bookmarked and watch it a time or two before every trip to the range.

I know there are some who criticize the Jarrett method (or whatever it's called), but I've found that his two handed, high hold technique helps me feel like I'm in full control of the the gun and it's not controlling me. I know the first shot is going to be on target and follow-up shots are going to be easier because the high two handed wrap-around reduces muzzle flip.

There's another thread floating around right now about some guy's buddy who is having trouble hitting anything with a 9mm. I bet if he studies this video and practices with slow, controlled fire, he'll be chewing up targets in short order.
 
execellent video; been shooting for 45 years and it gave me a couple of good pointers.
 
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