Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
I picked up the Jan issue of "Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement" and was once again startled by what I thought was something silly, maybe dangerous, in the form of a pistol handling technique. Previously, they had shown the Center Axis Relock (last year sometime?) that looked rather dangerous and from what was described, there was probably good reason that no police departments had adpoted the method (as stated in the article).
This new method is described in Scott Wagner's "Get a Grip/Take a Stance" article and is the "High Thumbs Grip." This is not the high thumb riding the grip safety as on the 1911, but where the weak thumb rides over the dominant thumb in a manner that would seem to make the dominant thmb completely disfunctional for operating controls.
The article notes that this is used with a weaver stance and that it was a competition grip that apparently produces a fine combination for shooting. Maybe it does. My concern her is the ability to safely used this technique in combat. Unlike more conservative shooting techniques using two hands that stress keeping the pistol next to the body, meeting with the off hand in front of the chest/gut midline close to the body, and being able to thrust the gun forward from there, the High Thumbs Grip suggests your off hand be extended further out than the gun in the strong hand. This is so the strong hand with the gun can be 'punched' into the off hand. Then the weak thumb locks over the strong thumb. The pictures shown do not actually show a 'punch' of the hand but more of a bowling swing of the gun hand into the off hand. The gun is arced up into position and not rotated above the holster in a more traditional technique.
Okay, aside from the fact that this is obviously not retetention technique, the bowling acr loses time where the gun could be fired on target if necessary, there are two alarming aspects that I just have trouble believing a gun rag supposedly for professionals would show and even describe as being proper. Why!!!? Why in the world would you want to have your off hand leading your gun hand in a potential shooting situation (life or death or competition)? Do these folks not realize that there is a greatly increased risk of shooting one's off hand?
This seems further compounded by the aspect that the shooter is supposed to 'punch' the gun-wielding strong hand into the off hand. Granted, one's finger is SUPPOSED to be off the trigger and well outside the trigger guard, but here I see the problem of squeezing the gun during the punch and if the finger isn't well outside the guard, there may be a problem. The way I see it as described and shown, the combination of off hand position in front of the gun during the draw and the 'punch' technique by someone other than who is performing this perfectly, and the shooter ends up with a negligent discharge and potentionally a few fingers/hand shy of what he started with during the draw.
Then there is the impact of the 'punch' with the squeezing strong hand impacting the off hand. The off hand is safe, but the potential for negligent discharge goes way up. At a point in time when you are about to be making a controlled trigger depression so as to get off a nice control shot, do you really want to be losing time recovering from the impact of a hand to hand punch? Obvoiusly, you can't be shooting before the hands come together and should should not have your finger in the trigger guard during the punch. So at worst, there is time lost waiting until after the punch is complete, the sights settle, and you can shoot. At worst, if you don't shoot your off hand, if your finger is in or close to the trigger during the punch, then you may have a ND.
Do I read this right or have I missed some really blatant aspect that makes this technique safe for training, competition, and combat? I understand it may work in competition to get quick aimed shots on target, but it isn't going to be a CQB shooting style if one wants to be shooting SAFELY before the hands come together and I don't see it as particularly safe to one's off hand.
This new method is described in Scott Wagner's "Get a Grip/Take a Stance" article and is the "High Thumbs Grip." This is not the high thumb riding the grip safety as on the 1911, but where the weak thumb rides over the dominant thumb in a manner that would seem to make the dominant thmb completely disfunctional for operating controls.
The article notes that this is used with a weaver stance and that it was a competition grip that apparently produces a fine combination for shooting. Maybe it does. My concern her is the ability to safely used this technique in combat. Unlike more conservative shooting techniques using two hands that stress keeping the pistol next to the body, meeting with the off hand in front of the chest/gut midline close to the body, and being able to thrust the gun forward from there, the High Thumbs Grip suggests your off hand be extended further out than the gun in the strong hand. This is so the strong hand with the gun can be 'punched' into the off hand. Then the weak thumb locks over the strong thumb. The pictures shown do not actually show a 'punch' of the hand but more of a bowling swing of the gun hand into the off hand. The gun is arced up into position and not rotated above the holster in a more traditional technique.
Okay, aside from the fact that this is obviously not retetention technique, the bowling acr loses time where the gun could be fired on target if necessary, there are two alarming aspects that I just have trouble believing a gun rag supposedly for professionals would show and even describe as being proper. Why!!!? Why in the world would you want to have your off hand leading your gun hand in a potential shooting situation (life or death or competition)? Do these folks not realize that there is a greatly increased risk of shooting one's off hand?
This seems further compounded by the aspect that the shooter is supposed to 'punch' the gun-wielding strong hand into the off hand. Granted, one's finger is SUPPOSED to be off the trigger and well outside the trigger guard, but here I see the problem of squeezing the gun during the punch and if the finger isn't well outside the guard, there may be a problem. The way I see it as described and shown, the combination of off hand position in front of the gun during the draw and the 'punch' technique by someone other than who is performing this perfectly, and the shooter ends up with a negligent discharge and potentionally a few fingers/hand shy of what he started with during the draw.
Then there is the impact of the 'punch' with the squeezing strong hand impacting the off hand. The off hand is safe, but the potential for negligent discharge goes way up. At a point in time when you are about to be making a controlled trigger depression so as to get off a nice control shot, do you really want to be losing time recovering from the impact of a hand to hand punch? Obvoiusly, you can't be shooting before the hands come together and should should not have your finger in the trigger guard during the punch. So at worst, there is time lost waiting until after the punch is complete, the sights settle, and you can shoot. At worst, if you don't shoot your off hand, if your finger is in or close to the trigger during the punch, then you may have a ND.
Do I read this right or have I missed some really blatant aspect that makes this technique safe for training, competition, and combat? I understand it may work in competition to get quick aimed shots on target, but it isn't going to be a CQB shooting style if one wants to be shooting SAFELY before the hands come together and I don't see it as particularly safe to one's off hand.