Double-Action finger strength....

[WebHobbit]

My right hand HURTS.

I went shooting with some buddies today and shot my new 5 inch 686.

My right hand/fingers ache.

After shooting about 60 or so Magnums DA it started hurting...by the time I got through all 85+ rounds I had planned to shoot I could barely squeeze the DA trigger all the way through.

After a few dry-fire cycles...that was it. I no longer had the trigger finger strength to pull the trigger.

The truth is:

1) My hand DID hurt some before I went shooting --from too much PC use. My wife thinks I may have a mild case of carpal tunnel (spelling is off here I'm fairly sure).

2) The gun is new and still has a pretty HEAVY DA pull.


What I'm wondering is would "working out" a few minutes everyday with one of those finger/hand strength spring thingies make this situation better or worse?

What do you all think?

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Gripmaster.

Keep one in my car. Gives me something to do while following the blue haired rolling roadblocks visiting from up north.

 

[Jim March]

Why buy some extra device? The gun itself is all you need!

Most S&W triggers "stack a bit" at the end of the DA stroke, letting you know it's about to go bang. It's often possible to "pause it right there" and hold it for "SA stroke accuracy, 'cept you're technically shooting it DA". People with Centennials and other hammerless pieces (Taurus CIA) often use this to substitute for the lack of a cockable hammer.

Is that the case on your gun? Cool. For at least 15 minutes a day, UNLOAD IT!!! and practice dry-firing in a peculiar way: stroke the DA trigger until you feel that "trip point" coming, and then HOLD it there while holding sight alignment on your least favorite CNN anchor or whoever. Then when you just can't hold it anymore, do a clean trigger break with sight alignment.

This will build both strength and "precision" in your trigger finger, and will have major long-term effects.

The other way:

Sell your car. Buy a motorcycle. Between the clutch in your left hand and the front brake on the right, you'll get all the finger strength you could possibly need .

 

[WebHobbit]

Hey, Jim I've heard that called "staging the trigger" and that's exactly how I usually shoot my big S&Ws...including this one. It's a lot harder to do on my J-Frame for some reason.

Yesterday I was for the most part doing it that way. A few times it went BANG when I didn't expect it to because I failed to hold at that stack point. But mostly I was staging the trigger. Some say this is "cheating" (for DA) but I don't think so.

 

[Stabby]

from too much PC use

heh, you by any chance the Webhobbit that used to post on Ars?

Hkmp5sd's Suggestion looks like a good one. I think I am gonna try that out, can't hurt. I have carpal tunnel from the pc too.

 

[WebHobbit]

Yes I am! The One and Only!



Are you the infamous "Stab Master J"???????

Good to see ya man!

I pretty much gave up on Ars. How about you? This is my new home....although I'm also a Mod over at the Tech-Report Forums . Too bad my part of the forum (Matrox) is pretty much DEAD! Also post at a lot of comicbook news sites.

And I also have a Journal on my own site now.

As for my problem I think I'm gonna try Jim's suggestion (the dry fire not the bike!) first.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

A little off topic.....

But I see Mr. March got his picture in the new issue of Shotgun News!

 

[Stabby]

Are you the infamous "Stab Master J"???????

yeah thats me.

I still go to ars sometimes but it kinda sucks now.

 

[plnkr1234]

Hi Guys,

I know this is a bit off topic, but IIRC on an old DEA recruiting brochure from the early 90's, one of the requirements was each hand being able to pull the DA trigger of a service semi-auto 90 times in under something like 3 minutes. I tried it once with my weak hand, and it was not as easy to do as one would think. By the end, my forearms were burning and my rate of "fire" was quite slow.

 

[WebHobbit]

Well I just tried Jim's excercise suggestion and I only made through about 10 minutes of that!

My hand is still a little sore from yesterday though...plus maybe I'm gonna have to work up to the full 15 minute sessions?

Tomorrow I'll try it with my older 4 inch 686-4. It has a much lighter pull. See how many minutes I make it with that.

 

[Jim March]

Hkmp5sd: just another way to "win" one of those "you might be a gun nut if..." threads .



WebHobbit:

Finger strength doesn't take all that long to develop. As one example, one way to spot a newbie biker (motorcycles) is to watch what they do when they pull up to a light: they'll put the clutch in (left hand lever) and frantically punch for neutral with the left-foot shifter so they don't have to keep holding the clutch.

The experienced biker: pull up, grab the left clutch with the bike in first, and just hold it there through the whole light. Don't even have to think about it. Go find a friend with a bike, preferrably a big sucker, and get a feel for how much pull we're talkin' about. You'll be shocked: you're fighting a set of springs that hold the clutch pack closed under accelleration. (The right hand develops off of the front brake on the right lever.)

If 10 minutes a day is all you can do, cool. Keep working at it. Do it a couple times a day if possible, start with the lighter-feel gun (686?) and work up to what's nastier. Your shooting skills will improve with the finger strength.

 

[mikey357]

...dry-fire...dry-fire...dry-fire...ESPECIALLY with the offending piece...it'll have the dual positive effects of "smoothing up" the DA triggerpull on the new revolver, AND building your hand/finger/forearm strength...FWIW....mikey357

 

[keithernTN]

Just got a 642 yesterday and doing the same break in routine. The DA trigger is a little harder to pull than anticipated but not that bad.

Is it better to use snap-caps during dry fire in a 642 or nothing at all?

 

[Jim March]

Snap-caps are preferred if you're doing endless dry-fire. If you're doing it right, hanging the piece on the break-point for a while will result in fewer dry-fires during the session, and snap-caps aren't as critical although still better.

 

[WebHobbit]

According to the FAQ at S&W's site it IS safe to dry-fire Smith revolvers...all except for the 22's.

So why would snap-caps be better?

I rested my poor hand yesterday (soaked it in warm water even).

A while ago I did my 15 minute session. This time I made it all the way through the 15 minutes. But this time I used my older 4 inch 686-4. It has a MUCH better trigger. Tomorrow night I plan to use my carry gun (640 Centennial) & then the day after that switch back to the new gun.

 

[10-Ring]

I've got 22lr Taurus revo that has a truly awful trigger. It has gotten smoother over the years, but it's still very heavy & the rear sight "self-adjusts" I dedicated time to shooting it properly. Now, regardless of which gun I pick up the DA trigger is not bad

 

[mtnbkr]

Captains of Crush grippers (Start with the "Training" version first). Not only does it increase your hand strength, but it helps ward off CTS (at least it helps me) and helps you handle recoil in handguns better (well, at least it helps me).

I can close a CofC gripper #1 10 times. I was up to 13, but slacked off.

Chris