Help with proper grip on semi auto

[HughD1]

My wife has decided to get her concealed carry permit. I own nothing but revolvers. The only place I have managed to get her to shoot is our backyard. She has shot several of my revolvers but none of them strikes the right balance of size and shoot ability. So I bought her a 380 EZ to see what she thought of a semi auto. Figured it would be a good one for her to learn on. We started with the straight thumb grip I was told was the proper way. With her stubby little thumbs she had immediate difficulty. If it didn't jam it would throw the hulls on top of her head. We then tried basically the same grip she used on the revolvers. She had much better success. Her aim improved and the jams stopped. Should we continue on with the thumb over thumb grip or try something else. Thanks for your input.

I think she likes the EZ. Light weight, light recoil, and sights her 61 year old eyes can see.

Thanks again! Hugh

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[Raisin]

What ever works best for her is the way to go.

 

[jbtrucker]

RO at the shooting range grips his semi auto thumbs down so whatever works best for you.

 

[Mister X]

The thumbs forward grip came from gamers and that's what it's best suited for IMO.

I shoot my autos with the same grip I use for my revolvers, which I view as being the most practical and effective in the context of civilian self-defense.

Stick with what works for you regardless of what any Tactical Timmy might recommend.

 

[Ranger17]

My grips may not always be fully correct but it works for me and i can do pretty well with it. Same for me and stance etc...

 

[OKFC05]

The problem I see most often with untrained beginners is they hold the gun too loose and yank the trigger. About 70% of the grip force should be with the support (weak) hand, and the hands should be tightly pressed toward each other, using the muscles all the way up the arms into the chest. Control the pistol and PRESS the trigger straight back using ONLY the trigger finger.
Don't worry about this week's fad for exactly where the thumbs should point..or "trigger reset"

 

[BigDog48]

well Jerry Miculek says he just lets his thumbs hang out and do nothing while gripping as high as he can with his right hand and wrapping his left hand tightly over the fingers of his right. Works for him and works for me, so she can do whatever she wants with her thumbs.

 

[coachray]

As a RSO at a gun range I'm going to tell you NO on the thumb over thumb grip. There's been too much blood shed on my range floor from the slide tearing off a chunk of skin from the thumb that's on top.

 

[Goldstar225]

As a RSO at a gun range I'm going to tell you NO on the thumb over thumb grip. There's been too much blood shed on my range floor from the slide tearing off a chunk of skin from the thumb that's on top.

That's only if you place the thumb behind the slide. For most people, thumb-over-thumb is (for right hand shooters) support thumb covering firing thumb on the left side of the pistol.

 

[HughD1]

Both of her thumbs are on the left side of the gun. Best picture I could come up with.

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[BB57]

As a RSO at a gun range I'm going to tell you NO on the thumb over thumb grip. There's been too much blood shed on my range floor from the slide tearing off a chunk of skin from the thumb that's on top.

THat's my advice as well. I carry Steri-strips in the first aid kit in my truck and I've used them twice at the range. Both times it was a female shooter being coached by a boyfriend who thought he knew how to shoot.

I'm not suggesting anything about the OP, but I am suggesting some range time with an instructor or mentoring from very well trained shooter is never a bad idea.

 

[BB57]

Both of her thumbs are on the left side of the gun. Best picture I could come up with.

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There is the "thumbs forward" grip and the "interlocked thumbs" or "thumb over thumb" grip. I think you're trying to show something similar to the latter.

A "crossed thumbs" grip is sometimes used on revolvers, but should never be used on semi autos as it potentially puts the support hand thumb in the way of the slide.

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The thumbs forward is more popular at present with the go-fast crowd. It has some benefits however they are quite frankly more theoretical than practical. The thumb over thumb grip is often more comfortable for some shooters and I generally have shooters try both and go with the one that works best for them.

The bottom line is that the combination of a properly fitting handgun and a well developed, consistent grip should result in the sights being naturally aligned when the shooter raises the pistol up into his or her line of sight to the target from a draw or low ready position. The rest is just maintaining constant grip pressure while pressing the trigger and keeping the front blade on target.

 

[BB57]

My wife has decided to get her concealed carry permit. I own nothing but revolvers. The only place I have managed to get her to shoot is our backyard. She has shot several of my revolvers but none of them strikes the right balance of size and shoot ability. So I bought her a 380 EZ to see what she thought of a semi auto. Figured it would be a good one for her to learn on. .../
/...I think she likes the EZ. Light weight, light recoil, and sights her 61 year old eyes can see.

Fit is paramount. Generally speaking, a hand gun fits if the shooter can look at a target, close his or her eyes, bring the pistol (or revolver) up into his or her line of sight, then open his or her eyes and see the sights in fairly close alignment. At a bare minimum the shooter should see the front blade on the target. If the blade is not visible (too low with the slide in the way), the best that shooter will ever be doing with that pistol and/or set of grips is polishing a ****.

Fit matters, as a good fit makes it exponentially easier to develop a consistent grip, and you need a consistent grip for accuracy, particularly when shooting at speed.

Whether the support hand thumb is forward, or on top of the strong hand thumb isn't important, as long as the grip is comfortable and consistent.

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Assuming the pistol fits her, a .380 ACP pistol with a Browning lockup is a good choice for a 61 year old woman. The recoil spring is light, and the ears on the EZ's slide is gravy on the potatoes as it makes it easier to manipulate, especially for women of a certain age who may have reduced hand strength and some arthritis happening.

 

[Pondoro]

The pictured grip is a fine grip. I agree with thumbs never being behind the slide. Also the thumbs should not ride any part of the slide. I had a semi auto that threw brass right on top of my head when new. All the internet expurts told me I was gripping it "wrong" without ever seeing my grip. The gun stopped doing it after maybe 150 rounds or so. Either it wore in (I'm thinking the extractor area) or I subtly adjusted my grip to the new shape (I made no major changes and made no purposeful changes.) So my opinion of ejected cases hitting you is "wait."

 

[Pisgah]

Many folks swear by the thumbs-forward grip, If it works for them, fine. But I have always felt, and still believe, that the #1 reason it ever came in to existence is the perceived "cool factor" by people who don't know any better. It simply makes no practical sense whatsoever.

She should use whatever grip allows her a firm grip and positive control of the gun, no matter what any "expert" says.

 

[sotexas]

I use a thumbs parallel to the slide grip with my polymer guns and will let my right thumb rest on the safety occasionally with my 1911's. The reason I shoot with this grip is I found it allows me to maintain solid grip pressure, contact and recoil control. My wife uses a thumb over thumb but curls both thumbs upward instead of laying them flat.

 

[sotexas]

Forgot to add my wife loves her new EZ... and so do I

 

[SoCalDep]

If you have no intention of further training and the thumb over thumb grip works better than it works better.

All this advise about the thumbs forward grip being a "cool factor", "unimportant", or "gamer" stuff is flat out horrible advise. The thumbs forward grip - done right and trained correctly, is singnifocantly better at controlling recoil and developing grip strength and consistency while maintaining a squared off position (which further aids in recoil consistensy and control).

There is simply no longer any debate regarding this except from those people who pretend that anything making one faster or better or more accurate or more able to fight is just "gamer stuff" and the way we do it is the way we always done it so it's the way we'll always do it...so there.

I've trained thousands of cops, including hundreds of females- many very petite women, and thumbs forward has never not-worked. This is with Berettas, M&Ps, Glocks, And Sigs in calibers 9mm through .45. The key is training.

 

[Rastoff]

What ever works best for her is the way to go.

Almost. I've watched too many shooters shoot poorly because they weren't willing to try any adjustment. A better way to say this is, whatever allows her to hit the intended target is right.

The key is training.

Almost. Training is important, but it has to be the right training. Lots of people were "trained" by granpa and their uncle and can't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside. Then there are some that have received no formal training and shoot very well.

There are 6 fundamentals to shooting a gun:

1. Stance
2. Grip
3. Sight Alignment
4. Sight Picture
5. Trigger Control
6. Follow Through

Today's lesson will be on grip.

Here is the proper grip explainedI'm a lefty, but it's the same for a right hand shooter just mirror image.)

Get your shooting hand as high in the grip as possible. By doing this, it puts the bore of the gun as low as possible. The lower the bore, the easier it is to control muzzle flip.

The support hand goes on top of the shooting hand. Note that the support hand fingers are on top of the shooting hand fingers.

The gun is gripped by the palm of the hand and the middle and ring fingers. The thumbs and pinky should be relaxed. They are not really part of the grip and can only cause the shot to be pulled off line.

While I prefer to see a thumbs high and relaxed type of grip, crossing the thumbs is not bad as long as they can be kept relaxed. What absolutely must not be done is this:

The left thumb being across the back is a recipe for disaster. This will be the result:

 

[crankyoldlady]

If I used the grip style your wife is using, my pistol would feel like it is rocking up and down. I would also have difficulty keeping the web of my hand as high up on the backstrap as possible.

But that's just me.