Glock grip angle

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In the words of the late Steve Job's in reference to iPhone 4 antenna issues. "You're holding it wrong!"
I think much of what has been said here has to do with older shooters changing to a new style and how they are able to adapt to it. New shooters with little to no experience with some instruction point very well with the Glock angle.
When holding a glock properly you are able to hold it is such a way that you can achieve a wrist lock that I don't think can be easily done with other grip angles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBmN7mpVZWE
This shows a proper grip of a glock.
I have started shooting matches at a local gun club this summer for the first time. I switched to a glock last year from a S&W 59. I have spent a lot of time learning how to hold guns best. I have found that rolling the wrists forward to the limit will provide a very stable hold and allow you to resist recoil best. This also bring the high glock point of aim down to a proper level. I shoot speed steel shooting and IDPA with my G34 and I points perfectly when held properly.
If Gaston were here today I think he would say that same thing. "You're holding it wrong!"
 
My classes are well reviewed by everyone but the "know-it-all-that-can't-shoot-worth-crap-but-ignores-instruction-anyway" doofus.

If all you're drawing on is your own experience, then obviously it's limited. Well, it should be obvious.

Are you sure you haven't taken a class? I think I heard about you...;)
 
Honestly grip angle is over rated. A good shooter is going to be a good shooter cause of the basics not the grip angle of the gun.
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It's not as much accuracy as it is about muzzle flip, recoil feel/control, and followup shots. Make a fist. Cock your hand back. Look how high the pistol will be, suspended way above your radius bone. Now tilt your hand forward. The top of your hand is now in line with the radius, keeping the bore as low as possible.

For low-recoil handguns, the lower the better, generally speaking. But get into the higher recoil toys, and that low bore can become a pain, literally.

Shooting an XD in 40 or 45 side by side with a Glock, the difference in feel of the recoil is enormous. Now the most flippy gun I've ever shot was a SW99 in .45 ACP. It was super accurate. It just took quite a bit to get used to the feel compared to my G21. I have really strong wrists, and yet shooting that gun, every shot had the muzzle kicking to the sky.

It's not that one is necessarily better, but some people will develop a preference one way or another, and it won't necessarily be the same for every caliber/category of handgun.

FYI, I prefer the recoil characteristics of a Glock in 9mm and the slightly less angled FNX in 40 cal, just as an example. This is partly based on preference, but I also think there's an element of upper body mass. The less you have, the less angle you would end up preferring, is my guess. Because without that upper body mass, the straight back recoil will take longer to recover from than a wrist flip. So for me, the Glock angle is great for 9mm and 45, but it's a little too steep in 40.
 
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I agree with David E's statement in post #42. The main problem with the Glock grip is the "hump" in the lower part of the backstrap, not the grip angle. When that hump is removed, the Glock grip angle no longer constitutes a problem for most shooters.

Because of the hump, a firmly gripped Glock often shoots high for many shooters during fast or instinctive ("point") shooting. When the hump is removed, most shooters who had that problem no longer have a tendency to shoot high with it.

Even shooters who like ( or have learned to adapt to) "the hump" and shoot Glocks pretty well usually shoot better after a few months of practice after the hump has been removed.
 
If you can shoot it well, and it's reliable, who cares what the grip angle is. I shoot both equally well, but prefer the Glock for reasons unrelated to grip angle. I don't think Glock is the end all, and be all of handguns. Neither do I feel the 1911 is. If you like 1911's, fine, if you like Glocks, fine. Chevy, Ford, Beatles, Stones, it's all personal preference. Neither gun is superior to the other based on performance. Anyone who says so is a fanboy who ignores the performance records of both handguns. It would seem the two are equally popular, and rabidly defended. Can't we just agree that I like my wrist-breaking brick and you like your overweight caulking gun.
 
Was it not the mid nineteen eighties or there about that the great transition from revolvers to the semiautomatic pistols took place in law-enforcement and non law-enforcement followed belatedly.

If memory serves me correctly (which it may or may not) I believe that the Glock grip angle wasn’t noted as being problematic but maybe it was and I never took note of it. With that noted the transition took place and Glock became the dominate pistol employed.

I’m not a proponent of Glock to the exclusion of other manufactures examples being the S&W99-45ACP and the S&W MP9. I like the S&W99-45ACP but the magazine release levers were problematic at first which required modifying my hold/grip. As for the S&W MP9 the trigger manipulation took time getting use to. At least for me there is a learning curve and I adapt with out dwelling on the negative but address and correct handling issues.

I use to hear in the military this doesn’t work for me and the standard reply was learn how to use it everyone else has.
 
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As I said, it's all in the head. It sure isn't in the grip angle! (me)

you also said it depends on what you're used to. Which is it? (David E)

What you are used to IS in your head, isn't it? :D (me)
 
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LOL Sharpdressedman...must be a NE Ohio thing...our Motto around here is "Cleveland...you gotta be tough"...we play the cards we are dealt, and don't spend a lot of time complaining about it...we make things work....whether it is the messed up NE Ohio economy, or the grip angle on our handguns.
Some apparently have a lot of time on their hands to sit and stare at the grip angle of their pistol and complain about it.
I look at my pistol over the sights. Dosn't matter whether it is a Glock, a Browning HiPower, a 1911 flat or arched mainspring, a Tokarev, or a S&W Model 15...they all are natural pointers for me.
God save the shooting sports from the esoteric Internet fussbudgets and those who seem to be making money dispensing their "wisdom" while insulting any who don't agree with them.
 
I'm not surprised that, to make his point about "complainers", he persists on overlooking the 1000's of people that spent 100's of 1000's of dollars to fix how a stock Glock points. I guess those 1000's of folks are just complaining for no reason....:rolleyes:
 
David E said:
I'm not surprised that, to make his point about "complainers", he persists on overlooking the 1000's of people that spent 100's of 1000's of dollars to fix how a stock Glock points. I guess those 1000's of folks are just complaining for no reason....:rolleyes:
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I would think the vast majority of these people have other handguns that they grew used to before picking a Glock. (Where do the numbers come from, by the way ? Most all Glock grip modifications I see on Glocktalk are about making it shorter and easier to conceal)
 
I'm not surprised that, to make his point about "complainers", he persists on overlooking the 1000's of people that spent 100's of 1000's of dollars to fix how a stock Glock points. I guess those 1000's of folks are just complaining for no reason....
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So when 0.1% of your products are eventually customized by other companies or end users, there's a problem with the design?

By that logic, the 1911 was one big flaw, all around. The trigger is too short, the main spring cover is too arched, the beavertail is too short, the safety lever is too small and needs to be ambidextrous, the magwell is too small, the hammer needs to be lightened, the rear corner of the grip needs to be chopped, the mag release needs to be enlarged, and the slide release needs to be extended, the flats need to be polished, and the grips need to be replaced with something more expensive, like mother of pearl. Since more than 0.1% of users do these mods, and there are several comanies that make a living providing these corrections, it's obvious they address design flaws that are quietly suffered by everyone else.
 
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Based on the arched mainspring housings, bobtail versions, and Para doublestack offerings it is apparent that the 1911 grip frame is not as popular as it once was. I think people are more picky, nowadays. Whatever. At least it's stimulating the firearms market.
 
David E, I'm going to come right out and say it. How much people spend means nothing, absolutely nothing. That they say they "can't" shoot a Glock as-is and spend money to alter it is just a measure of their stubborness to adapt, ignorance of HOW to adapt, and naivite. Don't jump on their bandwagon. I believe you are smarter than that. Just grab a Glock, and LEARN how to adapt to the grip. Then grab another gun and do the same. It IS all in your ATTITUDE, which is in your head!
 
"God save the shooting sports from the esoteric Internet fussbudgets and those who seem to be making money dispensing their "wisdom" while insulting any who don't agree with them."

Like you are doing?
 
"Just grab a Glock, and LEARN how to adapt to the grip."

But why should anyone bother? Just to join the club? There are so many other guns that don't require adapting to them. I don't buy shotguns that don't fit either.
 
I guess we have two distinct followings, and it has nothing to do with Glocks. Those who can only function in a world that fits them, and those who can adapt to different things. I choose the latter. It makes me more versatile............and deadly...........
 
".....If all you're drawing on is your own experience, then obviously it's limited. Well, it should be obvious....". -DavidE

My goal in my 50 years of shooting experience has been to try all the major types of handguns. I have achieved that, as well as many of the minor ones. The only one i can think of which has eluded me is the P08 Luger (though i did have a run in with a bad actor who was known to carry a luger. At the time i carried a Radom...the world is full of irony).And, not by borrowing one for a mag full, but by owning them and shooting them extensively. In this endeavor, I have rarely even changed the grips on my handguns, preferring to use the stock grips.
The end result is that I find myself to be comfortable shooting just about any handgun.
I have no problem whatsoever with anyone who wants to focus on one brand or another for their shooting, or who feel the need to customize their handgun to fit their hand or shooting style. More power to them.
To me, however, the practical shooter learns to deal with the weapon that falls to hand. Whether it is a weapon issued to them, dads pistol they inherited, or the weapon they take from a fallen opponent. Many situations demand that what is available is what needs to be made to work...without complaining, without custom work, without what if's.
 
GLOOB said:
So when 0.1% of your products are eventually customized by other companies or end users, there's a problem with the design?
.
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That's not what I said. Glocks point high for many people. Its a fact. It's enough of an issue a cottage industry has popped up to make the Glock point better by removing that hump.

Glock recognized the issue and attempted to fix that problem themselves with the interchangeable backstraps, but missed the mark.
 
SharpsDressedMan said:
David E, I'm going to come right out and say it. How much people spend means nothing, absolutely nothing. That they say they "can't" shoot a Glock as-is and spend money to alter it is just a measure of their stubborness to adapt, ignorance of HOW to adapt, and naivite. Don't jump on their bandwagon. I believe you are smarter than that. Just grab a Glock, and LEARN how to adapt to the grip. Then grab another gun and do the same. It IS all in your ATTITUDE, which is in your head!
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In the words of Chris Rock: "that's just ig'nint."

I didn't say that everyone has an issue with the grip angle. I didn't even say "most."

I said many have a problem and for most of them, it's because they already have a lot of trigger time on something else.

Nowhere have I defended anyone who stubbornly claims they "can't" shoot one. I did say it'll take some effort to do so.

If someone has a lot of trigger time on a Glock then must (for whatever reason) learn to shoot a 1911 with a flat MSH, (to borrow from another tangental post about 1911's being imperfect :rolleyes: ) it'd be irresponsible to not suggest they swap out the flat MSH for an arched one. And again it'd be downright "ig'nint" to call the former Glock shooter a "stubborn complainer" whose problem is "all in his head" when he knows he needs to put in some effort to adapt to the new platform.

It does not matter if one person cites 50 years of shooting experience if the only perception is his own. Their "skill standards," if any, may be quite low when compared to anyone else.

Someone who comes in contact with 100's, if not 1000's, of other shooters has a far broader experience base from which to draw meaningful conclusions. Then there's the guy that only draws from his own limited experience and ill-formed conclusions and smugly thinks it should apply to everyone.
 
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