How To Grip A Compact Gun

This is a very common issue…either for people shooting small pistols or shooters with big hands.

Here'southward an case…this is what my grip looks like with a standard mag in a Glock 26.

This isn't platonic, only it is reality for a lot of shooters.

But how big of a departure does it make, and what can you lot do to make the best of the situation?

Let's go back to principles…there are 2 places on the gun where grip forcefulness matters about. Loftier on the back and low on the front end.

During recoil, the pistol will rotate around the highest point where you're pushing forrad on the dorsum of the grip.

You've probably seen the video where I demonstrate managing recoil from a subcompact Glock and a .45 caliber Sig P220 with only two fingers. If you oasis't here'due south the video:

*Quick note–I've had some people get dislocated on this. Do Not use a ii finger grip for shooting. This video is a demonstration of a principle.*And the longer the altitude between the highest point where you're applying strength on the rear of the grip and the lowest signal that yous're applying rearward pressure on the forepart of the grip, the more leverage you'll accept.

Your ring finger is going to accept roughly 66% more leverage than your middle finger and your pinkie is going to take 2x the leverage…merely because of how far away they are from the beavertail.

The more forcefulness yous tin can apply loftier on the back and low on the front and the further those 2 points are abroad from each other, the less muzzle flip yous'll accept and the quicker you'll be able to make authentic followup shots.

Most people tin can utilize 50%-100% more strength with their band finger than with their pinkie. (You can test this past gripping an electronic scale with ane finger at a time) That means that if yous're going to accept one finger out of the game…the pinkie is the i to bench.

Ideally, yous'd be able to have all of your fingers on the grip…merely we live in a reality based world where compromise and accommodation is the norm. And the faster and more finer you adjust to non-ideal situations, the better you lot'll perform.

You may choose to take a different approach, only hither's how this plays out for me.

I carry a Glock 26 subcompact. My pinkie hangs off of the end of the grip with a normal magazine inserted.

In the summer, I acquit a flush magazine and a full size backup magazine. The full size backup mag lets me become my little finger into the grip.

In the winter, I deport a +two extension and a full size backup mag.

Either style, in the winter months, my pinkie is on the grip.

Yr circular, I practice using a http://dryfirepistol.com with my pinkie on the grip.

I also do grip strength exercises…hammer drills, isometric gripping of my steering wheel, gripmasters, hanging from a pullup bar for time, etc.

The majority of the times when I unexpectedly draw my pistol and shoot critters (coyotes, porcupines, raccoons, etc.) is in the warmer months when I've got my brusk magazine and my pinkie is hanging off of the finish. They're ordinarily quickly evolving situations that include one or both of my dogs and I don't have the luxury of thinking a lot about my pinkie. I just shoot and my pinkie hanging off of the end of the grip isn't a trouble…fifty-fifty if I've been doing the majority of my exercise with my little finger on the grip.

The key to being able to practice with your finger on the grip and still perform at a high level when your pinkie is hanging off of the end is HOW you practice.

When you lot understand and practise simple, mechanically sound fundamentals, you can immediately apply them to whatsoever handgun you have in your hand and perform at a high level…no matter how different it may be from what you're used to. You'll probably always be best with the pistol that yous practice the well-nigh with, just the more solid your fundamentals, the easier information technology is to adapt to non-ideal situations.

That'south i of the keys to why the 21 Day Alpha Shooter course is so incredibly constructive. When you focus on the fundamentals, you tin can utilize them to whatsoever pistol you pick up. To learn more, and meet how y'all can improve more equally a shooter over the next 21 days than you have in the last 12 months, click >HERE<

If you lot acquit a pocket-size pistol and/or have big hands, what practice you practice with your pinkie? Does it bother you when it'due south hanging off of the grip? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

by Mike Ox

Mike Ox is an avid defensive and competitive shooter who has co-created several firearms training products, including Dry Burn down Training Cards, https://se965.infusionsoft.com/go/dftcmedia/loadout

Dry Burn down Fit, 21 Day Alpha Shooter, and See Faster, Shoot Faster. His brain based training focuses on accelerated learning techniques for shooting as well as controlling brain state and brain chemistry for optimal performance in farthermost stress situations. Learn more most dynamic dry fire training for defense and competition at www.DryFireTrainingCards.com/blog

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