Gripping Your Pistol

Grip is really important for defensing shooting.  A proper grip will allow greater control over the pistol recoil and allow more accurate and timely followup shots.  I have posted a video below of one excellent approach to grip.  There are many other ways to teach it, but all of the fundamentals are there.  He also gives some great tips for good grip when presenting from the holster.  He covers a lot, so you may want to watch it several times and again before you go to the range.  Smart phones are great for allowing review before your practice on the range.

Here are some quick pointers:

1. Grip the pistol high.  Your shooting hand should be high on the backstrap, or back of the grip.  Your support hand should also be high.  This does not mean you should put your support hand index finger on the front of the trigger guard - even if it looks like it was designed for that.  While I am an advocate for everyone choosing what works best for them, I have never seen that work well.  You get far more support by keeping your fingers together.
2. Fill the exposed part of the pistol grip and frame with your support hand.  The video covers this well.  Most of my students are surprised at how high their support hand is and how much of an angle (about 45 degrees) is introduced as they fill the space, get a good high grip, and rotate the wrist to lock the wrist and control recoil.
3. Do not put your support hand thumb behind the slide.  The slide will cut your thumb and it is unpleasant.  Thumbs should be fairly relaxed and both pointing forward with the shooting hand thumb on top of and to the rear of the support hand thumb.  If your thumbs are too tense they can push the frame and disrupt the shot.  Control comes from the firm grip of fingers and hands, not the thumbs.  For a revolver, you will want to cross your thumbs with the support hand thumb crossing over the top of the shooting hand thumb and then bending down away from the back of the cylinder.  The pressure and heat from burning gas and powder can cause injury if either thumb is too close to the rear of the cylinder.
4. Your support hand grips very firmly and your shooting hand firmly.  A bit of a lighter grip on your shooting hand allows for better trigger control.  A tight grip with your support hand in the correct position, along with a proper lock on your support hand wrist is usually sufficient to control the recoil.
5. If you repeatedly have empty brass getting caught in the slide (a type 2 malfunction or "stovepipe") you may not be gripping with enough force, or you many not be locking your support hand wrist.  That type of malfunction can be caused by a weak grip.
6. For beginning students I encourage a simple process for obtaining a firm grip.  Squeeze the grip with both hands until you start to shack, then back off a little.  This can be further improved by backing the shooting hand off a bit more to allow for the improved trigger control.
7. The same basic approach can be taken with what is called isometric treason (the tension created by pushing out with your shooting hand and pulling back toward you body with your support hand).  This further improves recoil control along with followup accuracy and speed.  You can push and pull until you start to shake then back off a bit. You want these elements of your grip to be firm, but not shaking or you will dramatically reduce your accuracy.
8. I encourage a little mental exercise as you learn your grip.  Each time to take your grip you can mentally think through "grip to shaking, then back off" and "push-pull to shaking, then back off".  This allows you to quickly get to a strong grip and develop muscle memory over time.
9. Once you have a good grip down, you can focus on what is most important for accurate shooting on the range and in defense - aiming and trigger control.

All of us can benefit from additional training, including feedback from an experienced instructor.  I enjoy providing this help online, but it is no substitute for good training.  Come join us, and get the training you have always wanted.

Copyright 2016,  Steven Adams
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Enjoy the video: