Is "limp wristing" real or urban legend?

Do you believe "limp wristing" has an effect on semi auto handgun performance?

  • YES - "limp wristing" can and does affect cycling of semi auto handguns.

    Votes: 345 85.6%

  • NO - There is no such thing as "limp wristing". It is a myth.

    Votes: 16 4.0%

  • NOT SURE - I really don't know!

    Votes: 42 10.4%
  • Total voters
    403
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What model Gl*ck and what ammo are you experiencing this with? I'd like to add it to the tests.
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G17 1st gen factory rebuilt. I usually use cheap Remington UMC or Ultramax re manufactured ammo for playing at the range. As soon as I advised my wife to keep her wrist ridgid it immediately stopped. So limp wristing had to be the problem.
 
I firmly believe limp wristing is real. I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but it was explained in another that most semiautos rely on a firm grip from the shooter in order to cycle the slide properly. I don't doubt it, as the only stoppages my Glock has experienced was when I let my GF's 10 year old son fire it. Other than those 2 or 3 incidents the gun has been flawless for nearly 1k rounds (being fired mostly by me; though 5 or 6 other <grown> people have fired it without issue). Her son was also able to get his grandfather's M&P 9mm to stovepipe, while it operated perfectly for the rest of us. I am certain these mishaps were due to the way he was holding it. I'm starting to think the only gun that won't malfunction with him shooting it is a revolver. :p
 
James NM said:
Oh, its real alright.

If anyone doubts it, a quick trip to San Francisco will remove all doubt.
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While off topic, I can't help but
laugh.gif
 
Limp wristing is the Loch Ness Monster of the shooting world... meaning it's very, very, extremely real and the government is covering it up for strategic amusement park purposes.

Okay, but seriously, it's real. Hold your gun like you're an arthritic senile Antique Roadshow-watching granny and pull the trigger. Observe how your once reliable gun is now a jam factory. This is limp wristing.
 
Hold your gun like you're an arthritic senile Antique Roadshow-watching granny and pull the trigger. Observe how your once reliable gun is now a jam factory. This is limp wristing
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If you do this and the guns continue to work anyway, what is that? :D

Seriously, so far we have not been able to induce said failure in a gun with any lubrication at all. And the guns aren't supported on the back strap in any way, shape or form. More testing is forthcoming though.
 
I can induce malfunctions if I wish. Limp wristing is very real. My brother had a problem with this when he started shooting.

Choke up on that thing. Shoot with authority and conviction. Don't laze about or malfunctions will occur. One handed grip is okay, but you have to really hold onto the gun.
 
I would love to see a real-world test on this. I've tried to make malfunctions happen and they simply don't...I call BS....Until otherwise proven wrong....
 
I've seen it while doing pistol qualifications in the Navy with the 9mm Beretta. One guy kept getting jams with 2 different pistols. After several people watched what he was doing we finally got him to firm up his wrist. Problem cured.
I think I could probably duplicate the problem if I really tried, but I would have to tape the pistol to my wrist to be sure I didn't drop it.
In any case, this is a rare problem that is probably attributed to an extreme fear of firearms. It should be an easy cure.
 
USAF Pistol Team

My father was on the USAF pistol team in the mid 1950's and traveled quite a bit in the 4 or 5 years he shot on the team. His pistol was a Colt 1911A1 45 of course, and he always used to talk about the 'secret' to becoming accurate with a pistol... hold it loosely. I am sure that Limp wristing is factual with many autoloaders (I have experienced problems myself), but he didn't ever have a problem... maybe because it was a Colt 1911?
 
I just got back from the range. While there tonight, I met a couple shooting a Glock 17 rental gun and it seemed like they were contantly going to the RO to have a jam cleared. After the 4th or 5th RO visit, I explained to them about limpwristing the gun. I met up w/ some resistance w/ the male, but the female seemed to take the advice to heart & started shooting better. The guy just seemed to think it was strickly the gun's fault :rolleyes:
 
who would want to admit to holding the gun like a girl... in front of girl Lol.
 
Some of the pistols my wife & I own are more likely to be affected by "limp wrist" than others. Our full size SA 1911's will cycle even if you hold them with only two fingers. My PM9 and her PF9 need a good grip. Her P3AT is even easier to jam with a loose grip. If you notice though we went from a 5" metal gun to 3" poly gun to mini poly gun. Is it the limp wrist that induces failures or do the small & mini length slides just jam more? I think the shorter pistols just don't cycle as reliably.
 
I have taken about FIVE new shooters out and seen the effects of limp wristing a gun .. It IS real .. usually just ejection problems ..
 
I’ve got a 2nd generation Glock 17 that has always worked perfect for me. One time I took a girl that worked for me to “shoot a 9mm”. She had never shot before. I had heard of limp wristing but never saw it with my own eyes. Anyway I’d shoot and it would work fine but hand it to her and it would jam (stovepipe). I’d clear it and I’d shoot again and it would work fine but hand it to her and it would jam. This is the only time my G17 ever jammed. Since then I’ve tried shooting it one handed from weird angles to see if it would jam but it still worked for me but I never tried barely holding on to it.
 
I'm with Leedevisone's Dad and I'm Air Force trained as well.
We were taught to hold a pistol very loosely. Let it recoil. No Vulcan death grips or even a firm hold.
And if it Mal'd, it was the pistol not your grip. If a pistol jams when you're holding it loosely it's in need of adjustment.
The proof is the people here that can't induce a jam even if the gun is sideways.
I have a 1911 Springer "Special Build" and it won't jam from so called limp wristing.

AFS
 
Limp wristing

I was interested in trying to induce a limp wrist malfunction about a year ago. The only successful limp wrist that I've ever induced was on a XD9. I really had a very, very light grip on the gun. I think XDs are good guns, but I was unable to get this to happen with any other polymer gun that I shot that day. I tried with a Glock 19, Glock 17, Sig SP2022, HK USP, and Beretta PX4. I probably could've induced problems with the other guns if I would have tried a little harder.

I've heard that limp wristing is more of a problem with polymer guns because of how the weight is distributed in these guns. In general these guns have more weight in the barrel/slide and less weight in the frame/grip. The more "unbalanced" the gun, the more of a problem it is. Again, I read this online, so I really can't confirm that this is true, but it does make sense to me.
 
limp wristing

Real. I shot my second IDPA match yesterday. One stage required you to hold a dummy with your weak hand and to draw and fire with your strong hand at targets that included some fairly small steel plates. 3 or 4 times my gun wouldn't fire and that's what I was doing, not having a good solid grip on the gun. It was windy and difficult to hold the sights on target and I was so concerned with that, that I just was concentrating on the sights while holding the gun loosely. At first I thought I might be having trouble with my reloads, but I never had a problem when shooting two handed.
 
yes

It is not only true it happens a lot. a local police force which issues glocks in .40 caliber were experiencing a lot of jams with their female officers. It became such a problem one hand drills were a real hold up on finishing the day.

You need real forearms when shooting a light guns for small frame persons.
 
Thanks to ALL for great insights and reading. This has been one of the most interesting and enlightening set of answers to a question that I have ever had.

It seem that somehow with our technology somebody could perform an accurate scientific study on the matter.

But, with all of the responses, I GET THE POINT!

THANKS AGAIN!
 
I shot a Taurus Millenium Pro once that I could make choke every singe time by limpwristing. It was fine if I kept the wrist stiff. Yes, it exists.
 
I have a Browning hi power I bought brand new. The slide would many times stay open in between shots or fail to stay open on the last shot. Range guy said I was limp wristing and 2 gumsmiths concurred with him after checking the gun out. Sent it back to Browning and they did a "minor adjustment". I've never had any problem (2 years) -limp wristing is an excuse for a defective firearm.
 
.

I have never had a failure due to limp wristing, nor have I ever seen
a failure due to limp wristing.

Does this mean its impossible or that it doesn't exist? No. Do I think its
urban legend? No.

It could be due to the fact that the people I shoot with know how to properly
shoot auto-loading handguns and don't use junk equipment.



:)
 
as an adolescent i couldn't shoot glocks because i didn't have enough strength. my dad told me i was limp wristing, but i just didn't have the strength to go more then a couple rounds without a jam. unfortunatly, it put me off glocks. which is a pity cause i think they are really cool guns. i would like to try shooting them again, now that i'm older (just don't have the time)
 
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