Gripping
the gun is one of the most critical processes in shooting a handgun,
and this is primarily because controlling the recoil is so important to
us because we want to fire fast repeat shots. At USSA we teach that
the mechanics of the grip need to offer maximum leverage and friction
benefits against the handgun. Handguns recoil travels in one key
direction, and therefore there are also key areas of the handgun grip
that are important when we look at where we want to apply pressure to
control recoil. Lets break the grip down:
Leverage.
Applying leverage against the gun is incredibly important when trying
to control recoil. The access of recoil for a handgun travels
rearward on a line equal to the height of the barrel, and because the
grip of a handgun extends down, the farther down the grip we move our
hand, the less we can control recoil. Both strong and support hands
must be placed as high on the grip of the handgun as possible. We
increase our recoil control by increasing our leverage on the gun.
Friction.
This is a key area that some shooters make mistakes on when gripping
a handgun in what some describe as a “thumb over thumb” grip. The
grip panels on a handgun usually have some sort of checkering or
aggressive surface that is designed to create friction between our
hands and the grip. This friction allows us to control the handgun
better and limit its movement upward and rearward during recoil.
Keys to using these friction areas are a matter of placing our hands on
the grip so we maximize our skin contact with the grip panels. When
gripping with the strong hand, we must keep our strong hand thumb high
(called flagging it) allowing our support hand to make as much contact
with the grip panel as possible.
Pressure
Areas. Placing pressure on the handgun grip is the key to controlling
recoil, but it is important to understand where pressure is important,
and where it is not. The key area is:
The
back of the gun (back strap)- Most shooters spend a ton of working at
griping and applying pressure to the wrong areas of the gun. The simple
fact is that the gun recoils along the access of the bore to the rear,
and most of the recoil force is transmitted, to the rear. Building a
solid foundation against the rear of the grip is the best way to
control recoil without having to over grip the gun. How much pressure
should we grip the gun with? Enough to control recoil! Seems
simple, but the best way to ensure you are gripping the gun tight
enough is to watch the sights. When gripping correctly, the gun will
recoil and snap back to alignment. Over gripping the gun will cause
fatigue, and a possible shaking, and limited motion of the trigger
finger. Take your strong hand and grip an unloaded handgun with your
finger on the trigger. Increase the pressure until you lose the
ability to move your trigger finger quickly and without tension, and
then back off the pressure again until you can move your trigger finger
freely. That is about enough pressure to grip the gun properly! The
support hand should be the gripping hand that applies the most
pressure. I won’t get into the ratio (like 60/40) because I have
never found it to be relevant. I grip the gun relatively hard with
both hands when at full extension and shooting. The true secret is to
focus on hand placement, vs. grip pressure.
Building the Grip (1,2,3):
Grip from the Top:
Support hand on the back of the gun (notice the strong hand thumb flagged high to allow the support hand to get onto the back-strap). Although it doesn't look like much, I have about 1/3 of the back-strap covered by my support hand when I clamp my hands down. I am also pressing my palms against the back-strap to increase pressure there.
