The Mechanics Of Shooting Low And To The Left.
The following details why shooters often shoot low and to the left.
MECHANICS OF THE KNUCKLES OF THE HAND
If you hold a piece of 1 or 2 inch pipe loosely in your right hand with your palm down, and then grasp it firmly, you will find that it will tip down on the right side and up on the left.
That happens because the knuckles of your ring and little finger where they meet your hand, will have rolled forward and down. They will no longer be in alignment with the knuckles of the index and middle fingers.
You can test this without a piece of pipe.
Hold your hand out in front of you, palm down, and make a relaxed fist.
Then clench your fist tightly. And as you do that look at the knuckles of your ring and little finger where they meet your hand. They will move or roll down and forward some.
The third knuckle of the ring finger and the little finger, are hinge joints which can rotate some. And with their movement, the ring and little fingers will clamp down and give tenacity to the grip.
The same knuckles of your index finger and your middle finger, are not hinge joints. They are stable.
So, when you grip a gun firmly, the knuckles of the index and middle finger will remain in place, and the knuckles of the ring and little fingers will roll forward. The ring and little fingers will clamp onto the grip and twist it down and to the left and down. And as a result, the gun barrel will be pulled down and to the left with the muzzle taking a nose dive.
Note that a big or double stack grip that is also big for a hand, may prevent the ring and little fingers from moving and clamping down and result in a weak grip.
MECHANICS OF THE LOWER ARM AND HAND
If a gun is grasped, and then shoved full out, the gun and barrel will rotate left and with full extension, the muzzle will take a slight nose dive. That is due to the arrangement of bones and muscles of the lower arm and hand.
Here is a note from Applegate's Kill or Get Killed about that..."the student may shove the gun forward when firing. This causes the barrel to point downward..."
You can test this yourself as well.
Clench your fist tightly, and shove it out to full extension. As it reaches full extension, the hand, wrist, and lower arm will rotate to the left and, your hand will tip down.
According to Applegate, the nose dive of the muzzle, will be more pronounced with the .45 because of its design and angle of the grip.
To counter this, he said the gun should be cocked up some, and the wrist should be flexed to the right, to bring the gun barrel in line with the arm.
MECHANICS OF THE TRADITIONAL GRIP
The "traditional" grip is made up of the thumb, the web of the hand, and the middle finger.
Together, they form an unbalanced pincer, with the middle finger lower than the thumb.
So, when the gun is gripped and pressure is applied, the middle finger will twist the grip around to the left, with the muzzle again taking a nose dive
And the stronger the grip pressure, the more the gun will twist down and left.
Also, a heavy trigger pull can result in more down and left twisting. That could happen with "double action" where the trigger is used to pull back the hammer, and also fire the gun.
..........
Applegate said the the gun should be kept perpendicular with the belt buckle (indexed on your centerline), and that the barrel should be kept level (to counter shooting low and to the left).
He also said that when the gun is raised, the shoulder joint should be used as the fulcrum. (That will avoid the left twist of the gun, and the muzzle dive when the gun is pushed out to full extension.)
If one is able to do all the things suggested, and they practice until they are very proficient in controlling grip forces and recoil, shooting low and to the left, might be avoided.
However, if you do not practice as much as you should, or if in a life or death close quarters situation, your instinctive Fight or Flight response kicks and voids some of your practice routines, chances are, you will miss and low and to the left, given the mechanics described above.
Applegate said that in a life and death close quarters confrontation, you will be grasping the pistol in an almost convulsive grip. In Kill or Get Killed, he said that..."in the midst of battle excitement, a man instinctively grips his weapon in this manner and certainly does not take time to hold his breath, line up the sights, and squeeze the trigger."
Now, a specialized stance, or two handed grip may help, but that is doubtful. Per the NYPD's extensive SOP 9 study of police combat, officers with an occasional exception, fired with the strong hand.
So what is the average home defender to do?
Well, he/she might:
Grab your gun, place your index finger along the side and in line with the barrel, and extend your arm and point at an object naturally.
Surprise!
You will find that you have a strong and level shooting platform with no left twist or muzzle dive.
Mechanically, the act of extending the index finger along the side of the gun, helps to extend and "lock up" the wrist, which adds strength to the grip, improves recoil control, and minimizes the tendency to shoot low and left.
And that brings into this discussion, the subject of AIMED Point Shooting or P&S which won't be covered here.
The following details why shooters often shoot low and to the left.
MECHANICS OF THE KNUCKLES OF THE HAND
If you hold a piece of 1 or 2 inch pipe loosely in your right hand with your palm down, and then grasp it firmly, you will find that it will tip down on the right side and up on the left.
That happens because the knuckles of your ring and little finger where they meet your hand, will have rolled forward and down. They will no longer be in alignment with the knuckles of the index and middle fingers.
You can test this without a piece of pipe.
Hold your hand out in front of you, palm down, and make a relaxed fist.
Then clench your fist tightly. And as you do that look at the knuckles of your ring and little finger where they meet your hand. They will move or roll down and forward some.
The third knuckle of the ring finger and the little finger, are hinge joints which can rotate some. And with their movement, the ring and little fingers will clamp down and give tenacity to the grip.
The same knuckles of your index finger and your middle finger, are not hinge joints. They are stable.
So, when you grip a gun firmly, the knuckles of the index and middle finger will remain in place, and the knuckles of the ring and little fingers will roll forward. The ring and little fingers will clamp onto the grip and twist it down and to the left and down. And as a result, the gun barrel will be pulled down and to the left with the muzzle taking a nose dive.
Note that a big or double stack grip that is also big for a hand, may prevent the ring and little fingers from moving and clamping down and result in a weak grip.
MECHANICS OF THE LOWER ARM AND HAND
If a gun is grasped, and then shoved full out, the gun and barrel will rotate left and with full extension, the muzzle will take a slight nose dive. That is due to the arrangement of bones and muscles of the lower arm and hand.
Here is a note from Applegate's Kill or Get Killed about that..."the student may shove the gun forward when firing. This causes the barrel to point downward..."
You can test this yourself as well.
Clench your fist tightly, and shove it out to full extension. As it reaches full extension, the hand, wrist, and lower arm will rotate to the left and, your hand will tip down.
According to Applegate, the nose dive of the muzzle, will be more pronounced with the .45 because of its design and angle of the grip.
To counter this, he said the gun should be cocked up some, and the wrist should be flexed to the right, to bring the gun barrel in line with the arm.
MECHANICS OF THE TRADITIONAL GRIP
The "traditional" grip is made up of the thumb, the web of the hand, and the middle finger.
Together, they form an unbalanced pincer, with the middle finger lower than the thumb.
So, when the gun is gripped and pressure is applied, the middle finger will twist the grip around to the left, with the muzzle again taking a nose dive
And the stronger the grip pressure, the more the gun will twist down and left.
Also, a heavy trigger pull can result in more down and left twisting. That could happen with "double action" where the trigger is used to pull back the hammer, and also fire the gun.
..........
Applegate said the the gun should be kept perpendicular with the belt buckle (indexed on your centerline), and that the barrel should be kept level (to counter shooting low and to the left).
He also said that when the gun is raised, the shoulder joint should be used as the fulcrum. (That will avoid the left twist of the gun, and the muzzle dive when the gun is pushed out to full extension.)
If one is able to do all the things suggested, and they practice until they are very proficient in controlling grip forces and recoil, shooting low and to the left, might be avoided.
However, if you do not practice as much as you should, or if in a life or death close quarters situation, your instinctive Fight or Flight response kicks and voids some of your practice routines, chances are, you will miss and low and to the left, given the mechanics described above.
Applegate said that in a life and death close quarters confrontation, you will be grasping the pistol in an almost convulsive grip. In Kill or Get Killed, he said that..."in the midst of battle excitement, a man instinctively grips his weapon in this manner and certainly does not take time to hold his breath, line up the sights, and squeeze the trigger."
Now, a specialized stance, or two handed grip may help, but that is doubtful. Per the NYPD's extensive SOP 9 study of police combat, officers with an occasional exception, fired with the strong hand.
So what is the average home defender to do?
Well, he/she might:
Grab your gun, place your index finger along the side and in line with the barrel, and extend your arm and point at an object naturally.
Surprise!
You will find that you have a strong and level shooting platform with no left twist or muzzle dive.
Mechanically, the act of extending the index finger along the side of the gun, helps to extend and "lock up" the wrist, which adds strength to the grip, improves recoil control, and minimizes the tendency to shoot low and left.
And that brings into this discussion, the subject of AIMED Point Shooting or P&S which won't be covered here.
