How do you hold your AR?

[Jammersix]

For my money, using a sling is far more consistently reliable as far as producing the results I want. (Fast hits.)

 

[GBExpat]

Rarely like miss America 1962,

View attachment 861103

Pretty girl ...

... she is at least 75 years old now, if she is still alive.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh ... now I feel so old.

 

[cougar1717]

Why are they doing this?

Because a number of competitive shooters use a form of this stance - some more than others. It trickles down and evolves to some really exaggerated forms seen at your local range or on YT. It is the training du jour that requires a handguard that extends near or past the gas block (so you don't grip the barrel) and benefits from a more vertical grip angle. A person is fully facing the target, with your feet in line, shoulder width apart. (As opposed to the more traditional angled to the target with one foot in front of the other.) When seconds matter, shot strings are quick, and this stance doesn't have to be held forever, a form of this may be able to shave precious tenths of seconds off your stages. You just point the bullet hose where it goes - haha. Oh, and it's AR and similar only - most people don't want to do this with an AK - haha.

OTOH:
If you're attempting a freehand shot and want to sling up
If you're passing through doors
If you have to hold the stance so long that muscle fatigue affects your shoulder, elbow, or wrist
If you want any situational awareness on your support side
If you get annoyed by seeing your thumb in your sight picture
Or if you have a 16" carbine with a regular, double heat shield plastic carbine handguard
The c-clamp may not be for you.

Don't get me wrong, it is good for it's competition purpose, but not so good for everything.
Also, training videos don't just sell themselves. There has to be something new and novel that requires the purchase of additional accessories. Like a new handguard, grip, VFG, safety selector, hand stop, etc.

 

[ATLDave]

The thumb-over-bore/c-clamp grip trades stability/smallness-of-hold and energy/strength-savings for faster transitions and recoil control.

For close-range hoser stuff, it's definitely worth playing around with. If you're trying to do positional shooting at 300 yards, it's dumb.

 

[shoobe01]

Dave has it.

I tried for a bit (after classes where promoted) and found my simple unfrozen caveman brain is too small to handle multiple methods. I do something not far from old-school arm-directly-under-forearm all the time. At speed, I grab on vs resting, but I can transition from one to the other in fractions of a second, never find myself in the wrong mode as I go from moving 5 yd targets to supported 300 yards.

I also use other tricks — like my left-around-barricades with strong hand, weak shoulder — because I work with what I can. Worth trying out everything to see how it works for you.

 

[jmorris]

Pretty girl ...

... she is at least 75 years old now, if she is still alive.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-oh ... now I feel so old.

Actually posted it for the “my how times have changed” perspective.

We have quite different attitudes in this Country now vs back then, in many ways.

77 and lives in NC though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Fletcher

 

[jdh]

Don't have an AR to hold.

Your loss.

 

[rdnktrkr]

I hold mine with arm wrapped around the sling and hand about midway or so, I have never done competitions but regularly shoot 100yrds at paper plates and usually don't have a problem hitting 20 out of 20.

 

[GBExpat]

Actually posted it for the “my how times have changed” perspective.

We have quite different attitudes in this Country now vs back then, in many ways.

Oh yeah! I got my first firearm (semi-auto .22) from Santa for Christmas at about that same time.

If that occurred these days, in some areas, the parents would probably get locked up.

 

[herrwalther]

You will never see me using any form of C grip on an AR. Most comfortable is a vertical foregrip half way or so along the handguard. Minus that, I grip close to the magazine well/lower receiver.

 

[C-grunt]

It is used for muzzle control and target transitions. Very useful in CQB environments. It can still be used for longer distance shots as it stabilizes the muzzle well.

Here is a quick video of me doing a 1 reload 1 drill at a C zone size steel at 150 yards. I also use this grip method to shoot full size silhouette targets at 250 and 300 yards regularly.