Pistol Torque?

[walking arsenal]

As the saying goes "you learn somthin new every day".

This day it was a lesson in torque aparently.

I just bought a springfield XD subcompact in 9mm and wanted to take it out to the range for a reliability test before i carried it.

I stopped off at the shop and picked up 3 boxes of fiochi 9mm in 125 grn.

At the range the gun ran flawlessly and after a while i figured there were going to be no problems under "normal" conditions so i started trying to induce jams.

I tried everything and again, nothing.

So i decided to try and practice my week hand shooting.

I grasped the gun in my left hand brought it up to fire and squeezed the trigger. BANG. The pistol twists sharply to the right. hmmmm, Bang, same thing.

Thats different, bang, bang, bang, Twist, twist, twist.

By now i've put about 20 rounds through the gun while holding it left handed and the twisting motion is starting to make my wrist hurt.

I still cant figure out what the deal is as it doesnt happen when i fire it right handed, only when it's fired left handed. I've never really noticed this before with my other guns. I had to fire my glock 33 weak handed for my CCW course and didnt have this problem with that either and they are a similar frame size. Any ideas?

 

[pauli]

pay closer attention to your grip on the gun, and how you're operating the trigger. i suspect this is the root of the issue.

 

[1911 guy]

It's gotta be the grip.

I'll toss in my vote with pauli. I've noticed the same thing when shooting my pistol left handed. After a couple rounds (maybe by then my grip is compromised) I notice the same sideways movement on recoil.

 

[walking arsenal]

It must be more noticable with the shorter barrel.

 

[Bobo]

From the normal shooting position the hand/arm/wrist doesn't turn very far to the outside, but turns quite a bit (about twice as much) to the inside.

Try it... Hold your hand right hand in the shooting position, then twist it clockwise. It will only twist about 90 degrees.

Now twist it to the inside (counter-clockwise). It will twist about twice as far - 180 degrees.

Also your "weak" hand is called that because it is weaker than your strong hand. So your resistance to the twist (and also to recoil) will be less.

Don't know why this would happen more with the XD than other guns unless it has a lot more twist in the rifling.

 

[walking arsenal]

I wonder if it would be safe to say that left handed shooters should consider choosing a handgun with a left hand twist to minimize torque?

 

[ZXD9]

I noticed the same thing doing one handed drills the other day. I shoot a 9mm XD Tactical. Next time I tried something a little different after watching a Matt Burkett video tape. He recommended that instead of trying to hold the gun straight up and down you should let your arm turn a little, with your thumb side rotating downwards towards the ground. I guess I turn mine about 30-40 degrees. Seems to help with the torque you describe. Matt said it shouldn't affect accuracy within a 25yd limit.

 

[Tim3256]

Posted by ZXD9

He (Matt Burkett) recommended that instead of trying to hold the gun straight up and down you should let your arm turn a little, with your thumb side rotating downwards towards the ground. I guess I turn mine about 30-40 degrees. Seems to help with the torque you describe. Matt said it shouldn't affect accuracy within a 25yd limit.

+1

Allow the arm to rotate about 5-10 degrees. Problem should go away.

Tim3256

 

[walking arsenal]

Interesting, i'll have to give that a try next trip out.

 

[MachIVshooter]

I wonder if it would be safe to say that left handed shooters should consider choosing a handgun with a left hand twist to minimize torque?

Won't make any difference. The amount of rotational inertia developed by inducing a spin on the bullet is negligeable at most. I have guns with both left and right hand rifling, and they all "torque" the same direction; up and right from right hand, up and left in left hand. It is the natural motion of the wrist.

I have witnessed several people wind up with the gun twisting inward, and it has always been a result of grip. Often, this is exhibited by someone trying to shoot with the strong, hand even though the dominant eye is oppsite. This can create an awkward shooting position that is conducive to poor recoil management.